Faith And Traditions

 Who rouses Him from among the dead, you also being dead to the offenses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He vivifies us together jointly with Him, dealing graciously with all our offenses, erasing the handwriting of the decrees against us, which was hostile to us, and has taken it away out of the midst, nailing it to the cross.

In a rare moment, I watched a nightly network news program early this week.  I was encouraged when a guest began speaking to what she perceived as an increase in those seeking religion in this country.  However, my enthusiasm waned when she began to equate God...with traditions.  So it was that she viewed a possible religious revival as issues of faith and tradition.  Of course, I would tend to disagree with this assumption, and I'll explain why.  What is it that tradition has to do with the one true gospel of Christ Jesus?  Traditions speak to long held practices.  The mainstream church is filled with far too many of these traditions.  A tradition of holy communion.  A tradition of tithing.  Even something as simple as praising and worshipping God has been hijacked by our church traditions.  What does tradition have to do with salvation?  What does tradition have to do with speaking the gospel of Christ?  In my own mini ministry which I share amongst a few of my friends at a local gym, you would be hard pressed to find much mention of tradition.  However, what you WILL find is a conversation often centered on Jesus and His desire that all of the Lords children accept the salvation which He offers {Johns Account 3:16-17}.  We don't celebrate communion.  We don't have the need to tithe for anything.  What I've noticed that a few of these men are in need of is knowing more about Christ.  More about Jesus than the church is willing to reveal.  

We can't afford, any fancy preaching

We can't afford any fancy church

We can't afford any fancy singing

But you know Jesus has a lot of poor people out doing His work

Me And Jesus, Tom T Hall 

Having grown up in the church, I'm well aware of the idea of religious tradition.  It saddens me that the church I grew up in is more interested in following its own traditions than it is about speaking the truth of the gospel of Christ.  In His woes to the Pharisees, Jesus called out the religious leaders of His day for being more concerned about tradition than about helping the Lords children {Matthews Account 25:13-33}.  I wonder how it is that Jesus would speak to the church leaders of today.  I have a feeling that His "Woes to the Pharisees" would include many of our modern church leadership.  Our focus should not be on the upholding of man created traditions, but on knowing the truth of Jesus.  What is that truth?  I believe that the apostle Paul spoke it best when he proclaimed the presence of the indwelling Christ in Him {Paul to the Galatians 2:20}.  THIS is the truth of Jesus which the church fails to speak to.  Therefore, far too many Christians are not aware that we are alive in Christ Jesus{Johns Account 14:20}.  This was not a result of tradition, but of the work of Christ on the cross.  It is Jesus who Himself became sin that we would be free from it {Paul to the Corinthians (2) 5:21}.  Again, achieving this without tradition.  Our focus should be less on the traditions we've created and more on the truth our life in Christ.  

~Scott~