Blind to Our Traditions
Jesus spoke more harshly to religious people than to pagans when He walked the earth. The reason for this is that the religious had been exposed to the light of God’s word and to the teachings and miracles of Christ Himself. Yet they still refused to believe. Although they knew God’s word, they did not believe in Jesus of whom Moses and the prophets had written of in the Torah. Instead of obeying Christ, they honored and followed their own man made traditions.
“He answered them, “And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition?” Matthew 15:3.
It’s easy for us in our 21st century context to read about the tradition loving Pharisees and to condemn them as to how they could be so blind. How could they read the living word of God and completely ignore it’s commands and exchange them for their own man made traditions? It can be easy for us to scoff at these traditionalists in the Scripture and praise God that we are not like them. But just like the Pharisees, even in our day, many Christians have become blind to their neglect of scripture and their love of their own traditions.
The scriptures tell us that the only way that a person can be saved is that they repent of their sins and place their faith in Jesus Christ. Repentance is not just a turning from our sins, but also to have an internal brokenness over them. And that brokenness is not something that we fabricate or muster up within ourselves, it is a work of God changing our hearts to Christ. This heart change is something that God must first do in us. Our genuine repentance is then the overflow of His work in us. And our faith and believe flow from the regenerate heart of the believer.
“The time is come the Kingdom of God is at hand, repent and believe.” Mark 1:15.
“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.” Ezekiel 36:26.
Jesus as well as the Apostles preached repentance and faith as the only means to salvation all throughout the scriptures. However, there are many pulpits today that preach faithfully on the love of God, to the neglect of preaching repentance and faith. And in place of these Biblical calls, they replace the true means of salvation with the sinners prayer.
Countless Baptist church websites will even have a link with a title like, “How Can I Be Saved?” And once this link is clicked on, it goes to a page that has a sinners prayer, prompting the person to merely ask Jesus into their hearts. At the end of many churches services, Pastors will ask people to bow their heads and close their eyes and pray the sinners prayer. Then the pastor will ask those who prayed the prayer to raise their hands before he bids them a warm welcome into the family of God. All the while, biblical repentance has not been explained.
I once preached in a church where it was common to end the service with a sinners prayer. I explained to the leadership that I would not recite such a prayer. One of the leaders then said to me, “But how will we know who has been saved?” And I responded, “You will know when their lives begin to change.” The unbiblical tradition of the sinners prayer is so popular today because preachers do not patiently wait to see the fruits of God’s work and instead, they demand immediate results that only God is privy to.
Just like the Pharisees, they have neglected the word of God in favor of their own traditions.
Another example our modern day traditions replacing the commands of scripture can be seen in the ecclesiastical structure of many churches. 1 Timothy, Titus, as well as the book of Acts make it clear that God has a certain way that He has commanded the church to be structured.
The first thing that Paul charged Titus to do when he was planting churches on the Island of Crete is to raise up spiritual leaders called Elders. Elders are men that have been gifted by God to preach and teach the Word of truth. There are some churches today that would say that the pastor is the elder and no other elders are needed. But the scriptures clearly say that elders (plural) are to be appointed in every church. This does not mean a single elder in each church.
“Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting, committed them to the Lord, in whom they had put their trust.” Acts 14:23.
A great majority of churches today have exchanged the office of elder for deacon boards. The scriptures do command the church to have deacons. But the deacons job description given in 1 Timothy 3 is not to be spiritual leaders of the church, but rather servants to the church. In neglecting to implement elders in a church, pastors stray from the task of raising up men who are able to proclaim and preach the Gospel and instead, rely on unqualified men to lead the church.
Just like the Pharisees, they have neglected the word of God in favor of their own traditions.
One more example of how our current Christian culture gravitates towards tradition can be seen in many Christian homes. In both the Old and New Testaments, God commands men to disciple their children and their wives on a daily basis through family scripture reading and prayer.
“And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” Deuteronomy 6:6-9.
“Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her to sanctify her, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word,” Ephesians 5:25-26.
This is not a mere suggestion regarding how a Christian man should lead his family, it is a command from God. Yet in many Christian homes today, these commands are exchanged for the tradition of more time in front of the television or social media scrolling.
Just like the Pharisees, they have neglected the word of God in favor of their own traditions.
You see, we cannot be so quick to wag our fingers at the traditional fallacies of the Pharisees unless we have first given a close examination to our own sins. We are all prone to fall into the trap of traditionalism, just like the religious elite of Jesus day. The difference between true believers and the Pharisees is not seen in our sinlessness. Because we all have blind spots and fall short. Rather, the difference is seen in our repentance once those blind spots have been identified.
The Pharisees justified their traditions. The question we must ask is are we like the Pharisees? Will we ardently defend the religious traditions that we have clung to for so long? Will we make excuses for them as a way to continue to cling to them? Or will we turn from the error of our ways, and run to the commands of Christ? It is easy for us to become modern day Pharisees who are blind to our traditional strongholds. And it is the word of Christ that has the power to break them and change us more into His great image.
“He answered them, “And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition?” Matthew 15:3.
It’s easy for us in our 21st century context to read about the tradition loving Pharisees and to condemn them as to how they could be so blind. How could they read the living word of God and completely ignore it’s commands and exchange them for their own man made traditions? It can be easy for us to scoff at these traditionalists in the Scripture and praise God that we are not like them. But just like the Pharisees, even in our day, many Christians have become blind to their neglect of scripture and their love of their own traditions.
The scriptures tell us that the only way that a person can be saved is that they repent of their sins and place their faith in Jesus Christ. Repentance is not just a turning from our sins, but also to have an internal brokenness over them. And that brokenness is not something that we fabricate or muster up within ourselves, it is a work of God changing our hearts to Christ. This heart change is something that God must first do in us. Our genuine repentance is then the overflow of His work in us. And our faith and believe flow from the regenerate heart of the believer.
“The time is come the Kingdom of God is at hand, repent and believe.” Mark 1:15.
“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.” Ezekiel 36:26.
Jesus as well as the Apostles preached repentance and faith as the only means to salvation all throughout the scriptures. However, there are many pulpits today that preach faithfully on the love of God, to the neglect of preaching repentance and faith. And in place of these Biblical calls, they replace the true means of salvation with the sinners prayer.
Countless Baptist church websites will even have a link with a title like, “How Can I Be Saved?” And once this link is clicked on, it goes to a page that has a sinners prayer, prompting the person to merely ask Jesus into their hearts. At the end of many churches services, Pastors will ask people to bow their heads and close their eyes and pray the sinners prayer. Then the pastor will ask those who prayed the prayer to raise their hands before he bids them a warm welcome into the family of God. All the while, biblical repentance has not been explained.
I once preached in a church where it was common to end the service with a sinners prayer. I explained to the leadership that I would not recite such a prayer. One of the leaders then said to me, “But how will we know who has been saved?” And I responded, “You will know when their lives begin to change.” The unbiblical tradition of the sinners prayer is so popular today because preachers do not patiently wait to see the fruits of God’s work and instead, they demand immediate results that only God is privy to.
Just like the Pharisees, they have neglected the word of God in favor of their own traditions.
Another example our modern day traditions replacing the commands of scripture can be seen in the ecclesiastical structure of many churches. 1 Timothy, Titus, as well as the book of Acts make it clear that God has a certain way that He has commanded the church to be structured.
The first thing that Paul charged Titus to do when he was planting churches on the Island of Crete is to raise up spiritual leaders called Elders. Elders are men that have been gifted by God to preach and teach the Word of truth. There are some churches today that would say that the pastor is the elder and no other elders are needed. But the scriptures clearly say that elders (plural) are to be appointed in every church. This does not mean a single elder in each church.
“Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting, committed them to the Lord, in whom they had put their trust.” Acts 14:23.
A great majority of churches today have exchanged the office of elder for deacon boards. The scriptures do command the church to have deacons. But the deacons job description given in 1 Timothy 3 is not to be spiritual leaders of the church, but rather servants to the church. In neglecting to implement elders in a church, pastors stray from the task of raising up men who are able to proclaim and preach the Gospel and instead, rely on unqualified men to lead the church.
Just like the Pharisees, they have neglected the word of God in favor of their own traditions.
One more example of how our current Christian culture gravitates towards tradition can be seen in many Christian homes. In both the Old and New Testaments, God commands men to disciple their children and their wives on a daily basis through family scripture reading and prayer.
“And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” Deuteronomy 6:6-9.
“Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her to sanctify her, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word,” Ephesians 5:25-26.
This is not a mere suggestion regarding how a Christian man should lead his family, it is a command from God. Yet in many Christian homes today, these commands are exchanged for the tradition of more time in front of the television or social media scrolling.
Just like the Pharisees, they have neglected the word of God in favor of their own traditions.
You see, we cannot be so quick to wag our fingers at the traditional fallacies of the Pharisees unless we have first given a close examination to our own sins. We are all prone to fall into the trap of traditionalism, just like the religious elite of Jesus day. The difference between true believers and the Pharisees is not seen in our sinlessness. Because we all have blind spots and fall short. Rather, the difference is seen in our repentance once those blind spots have been identified.
The Pharisees justified their traditions. The question we must ask is are we like the Pharisees? Will we ardently defend the religious traditions that we have clung to for so long? Will we make excuses for them as a way to continue to cling to them? Or will we turn from the error of our ways, and run to the commands of Christ? It is easy for us to become modern day Pharisees who are blind to our traditional strongholds. And it is the word of Christ that has the power to break them and change us more into His great image.
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