16 Seek from the book of the Lord, and read:
Not one of these will be missing;
None will lack its mate.
For His mouth has commanded,
And His Spirit has gathered them.
17 He has cast the lot for them,
And His hand has divided it to them by the measuring line.
They shall possess it forever;
From generation to generation they will dwell in it.
Isaiah 34:16-17

There are principles to every living thing. Every type of bug has its rules for survival, a user manual if you will, to make it on this earth. Rules and laws of nature exist for every living thing; even machines and inanimate objects have instructions and principles for how they function. We have our rules for surviving and thriving. We have manuals and principles to succeed at school, our jobs, families, and life in general. Get a good education. Surround yourself with good people. Make the right choices. Work hard. You know the drill. As Christians, we’ve adopted and accepted these rules of life as truths and have applied them in our lives. But is this what God intended?

Now, if everything in life has a principle and laws governing it, don’t you think God has life rules for us? Don’t you think God has set aside a way for us to wear His redemption, change the old into the new, and the dead to life? He does. It’s the Bible. We try all kinds of things to succeed in life, but we sometimes forget God’s rules to survive and thrive in the world. The way to good health, the way to financial success, the way to happiness, and the way to a peaceful life are all possible if we follow God’s rules for life. The Bible is our user manual, our guidebook, and our rules for existing in this world.

If we accept the Bible as rules for life, it all comes down to one thing: sin. The rules of life God has given us tell us we cannot succeed or thrive with sin. That’s it in a nutshell. If you sin, you will fail. If you sin, you will not be happy. If you sin, you will not rise from the ashes. If you sin, you will not overcome. The rules of life come down to sinning, and our guide to sinning (and not sinning) is the Bible.

Where do we start? If God’s rule of life says not to sin, how do we know what is sin? Start with the ten commandments. This is the foundational piece we need as Christians, and this foundation sprouts a deeper understanding of sin and our relationship with God. Start with the first commandment. Don’t place your studies, ambition, skills, and talent above God. Don’t turn money into an idol, and don’t take the name of the Lord in vain. Don’t disrespect God, keep the Lord’s Day holy, honor your parents, don’t hate, keep your relationship with the opposite sex clean, have the proper relationship with material wealth, don’t lie, and don’t covet what others have. Before we start with some lofty intellectual dive into what is godly and not, start with the basics. Keep the ten commandments. That’s an excellent place to start and finish when it comes to sin because we know God has given us a rule of life that if you sin, you will perish.

Beyond the ten commandments, the Bible tells us in detail what sins are. This kind of sin leads to this kind of destruction. That kind of sin leads to that kind of failure. If you act righteously, God rewards you. We can look to the Bible for guidance in every situation in life. And on top of the Bible, God lives inside us and can move us with His holy inspiration. We’re covered on all grounds if we want to stick to His rules of life. Do you see how important the Bible truly is?

The Bible is our user manual to survive and thrive in the world. The words of the Bible are our rules of life. But how many of us really read or study the Bible with this in mind? How many of us look to the world for rules to succeed? It doesn’t make sense. God and the Bible are afterthoughts and suggestions. No! The Bible is our rule of life. Do you want to be happy and succeed? First, repent your sins! Second, stop sinning! Third, live righteously and according to His word! Remember, the Bible is God’s rules for life. God created us and created a set of principles by which to live. If we are His creation, it is on us to stick by His rules because they provide the blueprint to happiness and success.

Click for Korean sermon https://soundcloud.com/yhpaik/1985-10-20-full