Tradition – What is it?
Jesus answered and said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: These people honour me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. And in vain, they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men. For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men…” (Mark 7:6-8)
Latin – ‘Tradere’ (Handed down)
The Bible Dictionary defines tradition as ‘any kind of teaching, written or spoken handed down from generation to generation’. An example of tradition is rules handed down from generation to generation. ‘Paradosis’ – Greek word for tradition – means handed down from word of mouth or writing from one to another (over a period of time becomes adopted).
Jesus’ Disciples were Accused of Breaking with Tradition
Mat 15:2 – ‘Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread.’
Not washing their hands can be interpreted as an uninspired tradition, as it involves rules and regulations of man. Respected Jewish rabbis/teachers had taken it upon themselves to render interpretations of and decisions with regards to the Law of Moses. These ‘oral laws’ grew as more and more material was added until around the 3rd century when it became compiled into a work called Mishnah. Later, this became the Talmud, a voluminous body of collected interpretations. Of divine origin – no, but the work of man. But the Jews considered them as binding as or more binding than the Law itself. It complicated the lives of ordinary people and became a burden to them.
‘Hedge’ around the Law
The Jews considered traditions as a hedge (ring fence) around the laws. The aim being, if one violated tradition, he would never violate the law. Their intentions were good, but their application - wrong. Not washing hands before a common meal is not transgressing the Law. One does not become spiritually unclean in not doing so. For the Jew, he considered himself unclean (Mk 7:4a), as he may have touched or come into contact with an ‘unclean’ person or things. The Jews had developed innumerable and complicated rituals to keep themselves ‘pure’. Jesus did not compel His disciples to abide by the regulations of self-righteous Jews.
On another occasion, the Lord and His disciples were accused of eating on the Sabbath Day (Mat 12:1-8), when they plucked grain and put it into their mouths. Again, the Jews, in the name of tradition, were extending ritualistic thinking to bind people to the Law.
Jesus’ Response to the Jews
Jesus would rebuke them “for laying aside the commandments of God, you hold the tradition of man” (Mat 15:1-20).
By their actions, they gave the view that the Word of God is insufficient and had to be complemented by their tradition to make it complete (Mk 7:13). They invalidated the Word of God by their demands of tradition. Rabbi after rabbi over hundreds of years added more and more oral traditions. They became a power unto themselves.
Traditions are Not Necessarily Religious In Nature
There are traditions and customs which are harmless, and they add flavour and colour to our lives. This may include New Year celebrations, marriage customs, child-birth practices and cultural events. They act as roots to peoples’ past observances. One can choose to participate in them or to avoid them. There is nothing wrong with a group of people, even a congregation, having a traditional way of doing things, as long as the will of God is not violated. Tradition is only bad when it violates an expressed command of God.
Confusion – When Is Tradition Wrong?
For a church to preach that, for example, worshiping on Saturdays, observing the Sabbath, infant baptisms are Church traditions, these are wilfully wrong and invalidate the Word of God. When is a tradition wrong?
A tradition is bad when it is bound on others (Mat 15:7-9), and if the precepts of man are taught as doctrine. It becomes vain worship.
Binding one’s own teaching as divine commandments. A charismatic preacher devising his own thinking on the Word of God and insisting that this was the practice for the last 20, 30, 50 years in that church. Example - insisting that instrumental music in worship is a tradition from David’s time and the local church is just following tradition. There is no authority for this in the NT, even if it “enhances” singing, Jesus and His disciples and the early church did not use instrumental music.
A tradition is bad when it takes undue significance over God’s Word
There is no Church of Christ tradition, it is a matter of expediency if one uses a song book for 100 years and now chooses to project the songs on the screen. Having the Lord’s supper before the sermon or the sermon before the Lord’s supper is a matter left to the elders of the congregation, not church tradition.
Looking at 2 Thess 3:6, 2 Thess 2:15
2 Thess 3:6: “But we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you withdraw from every brother who walks disorderly and not according to the tradition which he received from us.”
Is there a contradiction here? Is this an example of tradition to be considered? In the context, the apostle Paul is discussing unruly, idle behaviour, wickedness among the Christians at the church and, in fact, tells them to repent as Christian conduct by tradition was one of hard work and commitment to the Lord. Christian diligence is a tradition of virtue.
2 Thess 2:15: “Therefore, brethren, stand fast and hold the traditions which you were taught, whether by word or our epistle.”
Here it is clear that the Christians were taught by word (from the apostles through inspiration, echoing also the words of the Lord) orally and in written form. There was a set of divine commandments they were to abide by. It was clearly communicated to them, not the word of man. In Chapter 2, the context warns them of the wiles of the devil, about lawlessness, trickery of the evil one, unrighteousness but conform to the Gospel of our Lord. They were to hold fast to the received message of God and not fall into Satan’s traps and reasoning. The tradition of truth given by God and inspiration is what this means.
Conclusion
Col 2: 8. Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the traditions of men, according to the basic principle of the world and not according to Christ.
Today, we hear of various religious bodies, touting their own traditions as biblical truths and treating them as divine works, since they have been doing it for hundreds of years. We know for a fact that several religious organizations under the Christian banner have over time changed their man-made traditions too. Let us not bind where God has not bound or loose what God commanded.