Our Sacred Traditions

Introduction

Traditions conjure different images for different people. The word may bring to mind sitting around the table at Thanksgiving, or it may evoke images of restrictions and outdated habits. Traditions can be real blessings and real curses. They exist in almost any phase of life. Why do we stand at a baseball game and participate in the seventh inning stretch singing “Take Me Out to the Ballgame?” Tradition. Why do we put the fork on the left side of the plate rather than on the right side, which is the hand most of us use in eating? Tradition. Recently the Bayer Corporation announced that it has stopped putting the cotton wads in their aspirin bottles.

Traditions come and go. Some traditions last and some don’t. Some traditions are invaluable and some are worthless. Traditions exist in religious practice. Traditions are neither good nor bad in themselves. Jesus in Mark 7 mentions traditions in a negative context. Religious leaders had imposed certain rules upon people, and while those rules were not from God, because they came from the religious leaders those rules became ingrained in the minds of the people. In time the manmade rules became the accepted norm. Failure to keep these rules was seen as a violation of God’s law as well. These are the traditions which Jesus speaks against.

However, traditions are also good. Paul in 2 Thessalonians 2:15 uses the word “teachings” or “traditions” as a way of describing the gospel. The people are told to hold on to the traditions, whether they were orally given or written down. The traditions which Paul passed on to them were to be kept and practiced. The difference has to do with God’s will. Jesus’ objection to traditions had to do with manmade rules. Paul’s affirmation had to do with God’s expressed will. If the tradition or teaching is from God then we keep it no matter how boring or unappealing it may seem to us. In the same way, if a tradition or teaching is manmade then it is open to being dismissed, continued, or altered.

The question then becomes what is from God and what is from human thought. It isn’t always easy to tell the difference. If something is stated specifically in scripture, then we can say it is from God. Such things as repentance, baptism, loving each other, showing mercy are direct commands from God. Some things are not specifically stated but we understand something to be from God because of biblical examples. For instance, the frequency of the Lord’s Supper. While there is not a specific command that we are to take the Supper weekly, the example of scripture in 1 Corinthians 11 and Acts 20 suggests that a weekly Supper was the norm. Then there are some things which are practiced because of assumptions. These are the most tenuous and the areas in which our assumptions can become manmade doctrinal views. For instance, we are told to meet together as the body of Christ. Some assumed that means a building is necessary. But this assumption must not be made a doctrinal statement.

The greatest difficulty in this discussion is deciding what is essential and what is not. What is the teaching of God and what is the teaching of human thought? We have no problem saying that we should follow the commands of God, but trying to discover what are his commands and what are not may be more difficult. Human traditions become ingrained. Once ingrained, they become difficult to alter or discard. But human traditions play an invaluable role in allowing us to pass on certain truths and beliefs. So human traditions must be treated with caution and yet never treated as if commands from God. But the point of Jesus in Mark 7 is clear: When human traditions take the place of the heart then they need to be removed. When we go through traditions and lose the sense of importance of the act, then the tradition needs to be changed. And it is with this clear principle in mind that we look at our own sacred traditions.

Human Traditions

When we begin to discuss human traditions, our minds turn to our assembly. These may be the easiest for us to see, but they are not the only traditions. Have you thought about our assembly and what aspects of our assembly may be more tradition than God’s command?

Perhaps the one tradition which needs to change is the belief that our assembly is the pinnacle of Christian life. That in some way, the assembly defines us and our relationship with God is based upon an assembly. This view leads to a punch the ticket mentality regarding the assembly: “I sang, prayed, gave, heard teaching, and took the Lord’s Supper, so everything is right with me and God.” What little is said about the assembly is said in the context of correcting problems. The assembly it appears was to be an expression of love for God and an opportunity to encourage each other in our walk with God. Expressing our love and encouraging each other are to be done in an orderly nonchaotic fashion.

Within the assembly itself there are a number of traditions: from the architecture of the building to the building itself, from the use of a song leader to the way the Lord’s Supper is taken, from the singing of songs with four part harmony to how the word is preached, from the number of times we meet on the Lord’s Day to the times of meeting. We have our traditions. Do they need to be discarded? Not necessarily. If the tradition becomes the only way to be a part of the assembly, then it may need to be discarded or altered. However, any change must not violate the command of God. For example, God’s principle of order and male leadership must not be violated. Altering or discarding a tradition must not lead to violation of God’s expressed will or command.

So what does all of this mean? Does it mean that we need to revamp our approach to the assembly? Does it mean that we alter or discard every tradition in order to avoid making the tradition into command? Not necessarily. Here is what I think it does mean.

First, we must be diligent in our search of scripture and find ways to more coincide with the expressed will of God. We would not disagree with that statement but we assume too much. Each generation must restudy. The conclusions may be the same, but our convictions will not be ours unless the study is ours.

Second, where God has not spoken expressly, then we have some latitude to have a diversity of views and opinions. Where there is latitude there will be lots of room for preference. It is unwise to believe that we can all come to the same conclusions when we study. Preferences must never be allowed to divide. But preferences can allow for greater demonstration of unity for which Christ prayed. For it is learning to submit our preferences to others that we practice harmony, patience, gentleness, and respect. All of which are part of God’s expressed will. We cannot argue a preference to the detriment of another. Nor can we hold others hostage to our opinion because we are determined to get our way. There must be a spirit of love and kindness as we discuss traditions.

Third, change for the sake of change is rarely beneficial, but changing or discarding human traditions because they have become so ingrained in us that the tradition becomes more important or more binding than God’s expressed will must be done.

Fourth, we must practice love above all things. Each of us has our own ideas about what will make us better as a congregation or what traditions need to be changed or discarded. But God has expressly said that we are to love one another. This is not optional. It is not open to discussion to love nor can love be used to club a differing view. Love is giving and serving and submitting by nature. When we quit giving, serving, and submitting then we have quit loving.

Changes

So what traditions could be changed or altered? Any and all. Again just because we can change and alter doesn’t mean we should. But perhaps we do need to rethink some things. Here are some things we could rethink. These are not suggestions of things to try. These points are intended to make us look at our traditions and then to rethink why we do what we do in our assembly.

Some traditions worth reconsidering include meeting twice on Sundays, sending part of our body to a room for the Lord’s Supper on Sunday night rather than all sharing the Supper together, sharing the Lord’s Supper in the context of a meal, sitting in rows and looking at the back of each other’s head, invitations and invitation songs, formalization of song leading rather than encouraging multiple song starters, formalization of preaching, and creation of an atmosphere of confessional sharing rather than listening.

These traditions are not to be discarded or altered at whim. But to rethink them is vital so that we don’t fall into the trap of being driven by our traditions rather than being driven by God’s will and for God’s honor. I will state it again: to alter or change a human tradition must not violate God’s expressed will. Any one of these can create much discussion, but the point of the lesson is to make sure that we are not tied to our traditions but tied to Jesus. When we are driven by our traditions then we are denominational. Such must not be.

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