Our Traditions
Introduction: These passages are dealing with “Man’s Tradition.” “We have always done it that way.”
ILLUSTRATION: A woman has the butcher cut off the end of the ham. Her husband asked her why they cut it off. Her answer was, “Mom always did it that way. So the husband asked his mother-in-law why she did it that way, and her comment was, “so it would fit in my pan. If I had had a larger pan, I wouldn’t have had it cut off.”
We are like that in so many ways. We as Independent Fundamental Baptists abhor the methodology and tradition of the Protestants. Yet, if we would step back and have one of those “outa body” experiences, we might find we are not much different.
We have our traditions; we do it because Fundamental Independent Baptists do it that way. It isn’t always following God, it is following Baptists. Not all tradition is bad, our King James Bible is ours by tradition, our music is good, however, we walk in the tradition of the world, the agnostics, the atheists, the Protestants. We are not seen as strict in our walk.
We wash our brains (hands). We are always making rules; we change scripture to suit our friends, our convictions.
I. TRADITION IS HYPOCRITICAL. (vv 6-8)
A. We Have A Vain Tongue. (v 6)
1. We have great vain words
i. Yet our walk does not reflect our
hypocritical words
ii. We become servant of corruption.
B. We Have A Worthless Worship. (v 7)
1. The hour comes
i. Our worship will be revealed
ii. We will then know
a. What we are ignoring
2. God is seeking those who worship Him.
C. We Create Commandments From Our Tradition
1. We make our personal convictions commandments
2. With minor exceptions, our Bible:
i. KJB is a literal
a. History book
b. Book of Prophecy
c. It is God’s Word
1.) Absolutely
Complete.
II. TRADITION KEEPS BEFORE THE COMMANDMENTS
(vv 9-12)
A. “My Goods Are Corban”
1. Corban = A gift dedicated to God
i. This statement made in front of
witnesses
a. Was legally binding
2. Priests were seeking “corban” from people
who had dire financial needs
i. The family needed the sought after gift
3. God expects that we tithe
i. From the 90% we are to take care of our personal needs
ii. From any excess, “corban” can be
given
III. THROUGH TRADITION THE “WORD” BECOMES (v 13)
INEFFECTIVE
A. Any Ritual Or Procedure Which Gives Us Security 1. Without resorting to the “Word”
i. Anything which gives us security over the “Word”.
B. Personal Traditions.
1. Church attendance
2. Prayers
3. Ceremonies
i. Whatever we hang onto for
security
a. Outside of God’s “Word”
C. None Effect
1. To make worthless
i. To become vain
CONCLUSION: In the Introduction, I referred to an “outa body” experience.
Personally, I have a problem with the concept of “outa body” experiences. But I do believe we as Christians, then as Baptists, we each need to look at what our beliefs are.
Have we allowed tradition to supplement our “Word” of God?
All that we believe should be based on what is written, not necessarily on what might be implied.
When I was working at Union Pacific, a group of us entered a discussion of Noah and his ark, and all the animals two by two. I noted to a woman that there were more than two by two of the clean animals. She let me know she had been a Baptist a lot longer than I. She had heard many preachers extol on the two by two. After she read God’s Word, she apologized.
How many stories of the Bible are kinda twisted in your mind?
We need to read our Bible with a need to comprehension, and for completeness.
Read to learn, not for certificates. They are nice, but we must comprehend God’s “Word” to the best of our ability.
