One night I was driving to the house of some friends of mine. I had been there before, but it had been a while and I did not have their house number. I drove down their rural road and looked for their house.

I knew my friends' house was on the right side of the road and on the hillside. I knew it had two stories. I saw a house that matched it in those respects.

I knew their house was brick, and this house had some brick on it, kind of like their house, though perhaps not exactly as I remembered it. I knew their house had a barn next to it, and this house had a barn that was kind of like what I remembered of their barn. I knew their house was across from a field, and this house was across the road from a field that seemed kind of like it. None of those last three characteristics matched my memory perfectly, but they were somewhat similar.

I parked in the driveway and soon realized that the "kind of like" similarities did not mean I was at the right house! As I was pulling out of the driveway, a man came out on his porch, but it was a stranger, not one of my friends. A few houses past that man's house was my friends' house, which was not just "kind of like" what I remembered but matched my memory much more closely.

King Saul's actions were kind of like God's commands about destroying the Amalekites in 1 Samuel 15, but Saul did not fully obey those commands. He was rejected by God as king. Matthew 7:21-23 tells us of people who would do things that were like what God's true servants were doing, but when they called to the Lord, He said that He had never known them. Some teachers would act like the apostles in some ways and teach things kind of like God's truth, but would eventually be exposed as false (2 Corinthians 11:12-15).

Many churches and many people settle for the "kind of like" in spiritual matters:

• They might worship God with musical instruments, which they could consider kind of like the New Testament commands to sing in Ephesians 5:19; Colossians 3:16 - it's all music, isn't it?
• They might use the church treasury to contribute to various charities, which they might think is kind of like what the New Testament says about sending money for poor Christians directly to the congregation in need in Acts 11:29-30 and 1 Corinthians 16:1-3 - it's all for a good cause, isn't it?
• They might have services and events that are more about entertainment than Bible teaching and that involve eating socially instead of taking the Lord's Supper (1 Corinthians 11:17-34) - those things are kind of like Bible study and fellowship, aren't they?

All those actions are not what God has authorized even if they have some similarities to the things He has authorized. We should respect the Lord enough to do exactly what He has told us to do, not just something "kind of like" it.

Many people wear the name Christian but never check to see if their beliefs and practices fully match what the New Testament says. Don't rely on intuition, tradition or human opinion, but look for instruction from the Bible for all that you do. Don't fall into the trap of the "kind of like"!