Perhaps every local church has some. I’m talking about traditions and man-made rules. Sometimes, they have resulted from events that happened in the past that needed to be addressed. Some of these traditions serve the local church well. But whenever the traditions of men negate the Word of God, we must refuse them.
Having been a church pastor for many years, I know how entrenched church members can become in their traditions. Sometimes congregants virtually worship the traditions of men. It takes almost an act of God to get them to abandon these customs—even when they contradict the Word of God.
Jesus encountered that kind of opposition during His public ministry. Before He came, the religious leaders had superimposed many rules and traditions upon the Word of God. Jesus came to proclaim the truth. His teachings were in direct conflict with many of the practices that existed during His day. But the scribes and Pharisees were committed to retaining their traditions. They preferred to fight Jesus rather than join Him.
The Danger of the Traditions of Men
Jesus had strong words for those who were loyal to the teachings of men.“In vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men,” He said (Matthew 15:9, KJV). His verdict conveys how serious this matter is in the eyes of the Lord. We do well to take heed, if we don’t want our worship to be deemed vain in the eyes of the Lord.
Again, I want to stress that not all of the traditions of men are bad. But it’s the ones that in order to obey, we make the Word of God null and void. For instance, many years ago, a church deacon told me that the church he attends replaces its pastor about every five years. He said they felt that after five years, the pastor has told them all he has to say. This is absolute nonsense.
The problem with this tradition is that God, not man, calls men to preach. And God, not man, determines when His servant’s time is up at a local church. Where is God in the thinking of this deacon’s church?
It’s not hard for us to determine which traditions or man-made rules we need to abandon in the church and in our personal lives. God has given us His Word in the form of the Bible. It is the standard by which all conduct is to be evaluated. It is the basis for discerning truth from error. And it is the basis of true worship, as distinguished from vain worship.
Copyright © 2022 by Frank King. All rights reserved.