INTRODUCTION

We all try to get around rules, to find and exploit wiggle room. Whether at work, home, or in our spiritual lives, we’re always looking for a loophole. Christians love loopholes. Loophole Christians ask, “How close can I get to sin without actually sinning?” But Jesus didn’t mean for his followers to game the system. He meant for them to trust God and love one another.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

  1. Are you a stickler for the rules or a rule-breaker? How did that play out in your childhood?

  2. Which parts of the Bible are you most tempted to ignore? Why?

  3. We’re all guilty in one way or another of looking for religious loopholes. How have you caught yourself using God’s words to avoid doing his will?

  4. It’s human nature to apply rules to other people more than we do to ourselves. How does Jesus’ command for us to love one another challenge that tendency?

  5. Is there someone you’re currently judging for the rules he or she breaks? How can you do a better job of loving that person?

MOVING FORWARD

Jesus entered a world full of loopholes and did a brilliant, radical thing. He basically said, Forget all the commands. I want to talk about the commander. He urged his followers to obey God from their hearts rather than taking advantage of loopholes. “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” (John 13:34) His command to love took hold among his followers in the first century. When they would gather together, they were driven by love for one another. It became the filter through which they made every decision. Following Jesus means having no loopholes. His command to love is too simple, too direct to be ignored, avoid, or taken out of context.

CHANGING YOUR MIND

Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,” and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

Romans 13:8–9