Whose Rules?

17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. 19 Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5)
Hallelujah for the grace of God in Jesus Christ.  Like all of His blessings, however, we have a tendency to abuse them.  We tend to expect His grace while we ignore His Word.  What we end up doing is setting up rules of our own that we can live by on our own.  That's what the Pharisees had done, and as soon as we point the finger at them in judgment, we become one of them.  We criticize and try to make ourselves feel better by others' failures.  God sets the rules; He gives the grace.  We need them both.  Let us receive them both, as He uses them both to work in our lives what pleases Him.