Ministry Mess - Part I: Traditions of Man

Every person follows a tradition, whether it be the customs of one's culture, habits passed down from one's familial line, or learned behaviors adapted from one's environment. They are what make us unique as humans, and can result in wonderful expressions of our beliefs. Traditions often change as beliefs evolve and people grow. In essence, there is nothing wrong with carrying tradition - for we all do it! The problem arises when we mix the traditions of man with the word of God.

"...the Pharisees and the scribes asked him (Jesus), “Why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?” And he said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.”

And he said to them, “You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition! For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ But you say, ‘If a man tells his father or his mother, “Whatever you would have gained from me is Corban”’ (that is, given to God) — then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother, thus making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And many such things you do.”

— Mark 7:5-13

In the above passage Jesus was rebuking the Pharisees, who were influential religious leaders in the Jewish world. Jesus pointed out their error in elevating their traditions above the Word of God. In doing so, they made the Word of God void by developing new doctrines and passing them off as God's commandments. He gave the example of the 5th commandment to honor thy mother and father. The Pharisees set up traditions that superseded this commandment and made it possible for Jews to lawfully forsake their parents.

Meditating on this passage and the example of the Pharisees given by Jesus, think about some of the things that you have seen and experienced in ministry. How many traditions of men have been established that have replaced the teachings of the Apostles and made the very Word of God void and of none effect?

In this age of "non-tradition", the very overzealousness that saints have to reject the traditions of our forefathers in the faith have created a vast number of new traditions of men which have infiltrated the church. This happens for a few reasons: ignorance of the Word; absence of the leading of the Holy Spirit; and pride.

The error in this thinking is that tradition is wrong. As Christian's we have a tradition!! The problem we face is that we must follow the correct tradition:

"And they (the believers) continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles. And all that believed were together, and had all things common. And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need. And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved." - Acts 2:42-47

Our tradition is to carry out the work of ministry that was laid out before us, Christ being the chief cornerstone, the Apostles laying the foundation, and us building upon that foundation. Our tradition is not in what we wear, how we speak, or the way in which we conduct worship. Our tradition is to uphold the Word of God and preach the Truth of the Gospel to people of every kindred, nation and tongue. This is how we build upon the foundation laid before us, following our forefathers as they followed Christ (and not as they followed man).

So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter (Those traditions being the Apostles' Doctrine) - 2 Thessalonians 2:15 (Paul speaking to the church at Thessalonica)

Be careful not to fall into the traditions of men - the body of Christ is full of them, in fact many denominations are founded upon them. Discard any tradition that causes you to forsake the greatest two commandments: 1. love the LORD thy God with all your heart, soul and mind; 2. love your neighbor as yourself.

The church has allowed so many things to infiltrate and affect the very word of God from being preached rightly. We have tainted the Apostle's Doctrine with our traditions of men, and the Word of God has become of none affect - the power of the cross has been lost. Don't act as the Pharisee's did. It is possible you might not even realize you are caught up in traditions of men. Let us stop focusing so much on vain traditions and instead allow the love of Christ to flow through us as we build upon the foundation laid before us - the Word of God being our guide.