One of the tensions which face followers of Jesus is the tension between rules and freedom. We tend to regard the Bible as a rule book. It gives us the Ten Commandments, the Sermon on the Mount, and many other passages which provide rules for living, while at the same time teaching us that Jesus came to fulfil the law, so that followers of him live according to grace and not according to a strict set of rules. Early Christians also felt this tension, and Paul felt obliged to write in the second chapter of his letter to the Colossians:
You died with Christ to worldly powers. So why do you live as if you have to obey rules such as, “Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch?” These rules are human regulations about things which are gone when we use them. They look like wisdom with their self-imposed piety and humility, and asceticism, but they are of no value against self-indulgence.
Living according to grace and not according to rules is quite challenging. If you live according to rules it is easy to know what you should and should not do – simply consult the rules. But if you live according to grace, you need to continually be making difficult decisions. The question is no longer, “Is it wrong for me to do this?” Now the question is, “Would it help or hinder the work of the kingdom of God for me to do this?”