1 Peter 3: 15 NKJV
I was thinking the other day of the many traditions of the institutional church which I find...unproductive. First off, let me say that we have traditions for a reason, and it's usually not for teaching purposes. Tradition tells us to gather as a family around the dinner table on thanksgiving. By tradition, we also celebrate our nations independence each July 4th. However, I cannot recall too many traditions from my school days which benefited me as far as learning. Arrive on time, leave on time, that was it. So, when I look upon the institutional church of today and the numbers of people who are leaving the church, it makes me wonder if all of those church traditions are one of the reasons for the exodus from our churches. A few of the traditions I find unproductive are tithing, modern praise and worship and endless sermons. How I long to see a sign outside a local church which proclaims "Come and meet Jesus!" Then, I wonder just how many people such a sign would entice to come and learn more about our Lord. Of course, I've seen such signs before, all part of some well meaning office persons desire to bring more people into the church. Well, the issue is not with how many people fill the church, but what they are being taught once they get there. I've often told a friend of mine that one of the barriers of others having the realization of Christ Jesus in them is that we are going against thousands of years of church theology. Despite this, I would bet that were I to ask someone walking out of a church who Jesus is I would get a few different answers. Jesus is our Savior, He is our Lord and moral guide. Indeed, Jesus is many different things to many different people. The traditional view of Jesus is that He was born to a virgin and then spent His life in obscurity until He reached His thirties. After this He was tempted by Satan, ministered to others, was persecuted and betrayed, put to death, rose again on the third day and ascended into heaven to be with the Father. This is the life of Jesus which church tradition has taught us. However, I can assure you that His story does not end there. Traditionally, we're not taught the story of Jesus today. That is, where Jesus is at this moment. Well, you may have learned that Jesus remained in heaven after His ascended there, but that's not the case.
"My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of my hand. My Father. who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Fathers hand. I and My Father are one."
John 10: 27 - 30 NKJV
I have not met too many Christians who would dispute the validity of the ministry of the apostle Paul. It was Paul who, after persecuting the church of the followers of Jesus, came to his own reckoning on the road to Damascus. See, the man Saul had lived a life of tradition in the Jewish faith. There are those traditions again. Having been raised in his faith, Saul sought to persecute the church of the followers of Jesus. Now, I can only assume that because Jesus Himself had been critical of the church leaders of His day, that the leaders of Saul's faith whole heartedly approved and endorsed his persecution of the early Christians. Well, until Jesus stepped in. For after that day on the road to Damascus Paul was a changed man. Gone were those traditions which he had been raised in. What Paul preached now was not tradition, but Christ. It is Paul who shows us clearly who Jesus is today. It is Jesus who is in each and every heart of those who have left the church. Paul explained that it was Christ Jesus who now lived in him after his Damascus road experience {Galatians 2:20}. Knowing the real Jesus will go against quite a few church traditions we have been taught. Jesus has never been far removed from the hearts of His children. Through Jesus, our sin issue has been done away with {Romans 6:6-11}. Remember that the next time your pastor claims that we are but sinners saved by grace. God no longer sees us in that way. It has long been my belief that were all Christians to come to the knowledge of Christ Jesus in us, that we would no longer have need to the traditions of the church. After all, it is Jesus who is our life, not the other way around. We hear His voice and we know Him...because we have hearts for Jesus.
~Scott~
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