Conclusion of the Matter

Judge for yourselves what is right, to obey God or man's rules, Acts 4:19. Making rules of etiquette and justifying those rules with good intentions does not prevent wrong doing of any kind. Instead, it merely displaces where the wrong is done. Rules of etiquette or today's traditions of the elders added to the scriptures actually nullify God's words the same way they did in the past. But rules of etiquette also set up the scenario for people in authority to lord those rules over others, Matthew 20:25, Mark 10:42, Luke 22:25. 

God's words are violated no matter the justification for rules of etiquette. Thus, rules of etiquette actually bind burdens upon people's shoulders and do nothing to help those people be set free from the chains that enslave them to burdens, Matthew 23:2-5. In other words, people behave the way they do because of their chains. Adding rules of etiquette to those chains does nothing to remove the chains and set them free. Had Christians been taught to obey the command to bare with one another's freedoms and weaknesses, 1 Corinthians 8:9, there would be no need for any other rules added for the sake of so called "love," good intentions.

People who do not have a clear understanding of God's words will use the rules of etiquette to justify telling others to obey their rules of etiquette and ignore the words of God. However, shepherds should be leading their flocks to the Word and allowing them to eat as the sheep find the grass, Acts 20:28. The flock belongs to Christ not to the hired shepherds.

•  Rules of Etiquette - Introduction
• Moses' Example
• Pharisee Examples
• Today's Application
  • First Problem
  • Second Problem
• Three Current Examples
  • Keep Your Shoes On
  • No Laptops in the First Four Rows
  • No Loud Worship
• Testing Paul's Words
• The Addition
• God's Original Design
• The Subtraction
• The Curse
• Conclusion of the Matter