14 Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

15 Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle.

"Tradition... Tradition!" goes the powerful musical phrase from one of the songs in Fiddler on the Roof, and the audience is inexorably drawn from that introduction into Tevye's skirmishes against the encroachments of the modern world into his life and family. "Because of our traditions everyone knows who he is and what God expects him to do," explains the irrepressible Tevye. "Without our traditions, our lives would be as shaky as... a fiddler on the roof!"

Tradition. Often besmirched as the villain of true spirituality in the Christian's life, castigated as the enemy of deep spiritual understanding, avoided as an example of dead legalism, blamed for all manner of spiritual ills and lack of fervor-- this is the attitude of many toward traditions in our day. After all, didn't Jesus roundly condemn those who practiced traditions in Mark 7: 8 ?

For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do.

9 And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.

So, those who hold to traditions and practice them in the Body of Christ are often regarded as legalizers, immature-- unable to sustain meat and needing milk, and sometimes, as cultic.

But is this a fair assessment? Tevye, by the traditions handed down through generations of faithful Jews, knew who he was and what God expected of him. Tevye confesses 'How did these traditions get started? I'll tell you-- I don't know!" Nevertheless he endeavored to live by the traditions that had given the Jews in Russia (and other places) a sense of stability in what often proved to be a hostile environment. Remarkably, those traditions have kept the Jewish race separate (for a large part) from the cultures and peoples where they have been dispersed. Think of it, has any other conquered people that has been dispossessed thousands of years from their homeland been able to keep their ethnicity intact as have the Jews? Most, if not all, transplanted peoples were absorbed into the cultures in which they lived, adapting for survival's sake, and thus became 'mongrelized' as ethnic groups. But not the Jews! They managed to maintain their individual identity and culture as God's chosen people, avoiding the absorption of the 'melting pot' civilizations they found themselves amongst. This is a hallmark of God's hand upon them for purposes yet to be accomplished. Other races and ethnic groups have no such Divine appointment to be used in the end of the age to bring about the fulfillment of God's mysteries, so it is of little consequence if the other races and cultures of the world mix. But God has promised to return the Jews to their homeland for the purpose of ending Gentile world rule, and establishing Zion in safety (Eze. 39:25-29).

Many of the traditions held fast by modern Jewry have little or no base in inspired Scripture. Instead, they have their origin in the writings of respected Rabbis, who, down over the centuries addressed specific issues that cropped up threatening the delicate balance Jews have striven to maintain under the pressures of persecution and/or synchretistic encroachment.

Sadly, in many ways, these 'uninspired traditions' have hurt the Jewish cause more than helped, for they replaced the actual commandments of God. The Jews were chosen by God to bless all nations of the earth, for through them came first, the Law, which slowed down the destruction of mankind that accompanied lawlessness; and secondly through them came the Messiah and the fulfillment of what the Law began and promised but could never accomplish in itself; and thirdly, through Israel and the Jewish people we have our sense of where we are in the eschatological clock; and finally, through select Jews, Jesus will come and reign again from Mt. Zion as Revelation 14 foretells. Yes, we owe much to the Jewish traditions that have kept them culturally distinct from Gentiles. It is little wonder that down through the centuries Satan has arrayed himself so strongly against the Jews, for if they can be eliminated as a race, God will be proven a liar, and His punishment of the satanic rebellion will be held in abeyance, for Jews have an integral part to play in the procession of the final events, according to God's Word.

We see, then, the importance the traditions of the Diaspora (Jews dispersed throughout the world) played in maintaining their Chosen People status. However, their traditions have changed their expectations of the Messiah into something other than what God originally proclaimed. This is where their traditions have harmed the Jewish people. Let me explain.

A careful study of the book of Hebrews reveals that all the formulaic rites and traditions of Judaism given by God to Moses, represented, in one way or another, the life and ministry of the Messiah, Jesus. The writer of Hebrews goes on to explain that the Law was merely a shadow-- a flat, monochrome, two-dimensional representation of the dynamic, multi-dimensional, many-hued reality of Grace and Truth. The Law could not make men perfect, but what it represented would when it came (Heb. 10:1,9). God did this so that when Messiah came among them, they could see the fulfillment of the law in Him and joyfully follow Him.. Instead, they argued with Him, and rejected Him for being a scofflaw, finally executing Him on a trumped up charge of blasphemy. How could this happen? How could a people longing for their Messiah reject Him when He finally came?

Imagine a young woman betrothed to a soldier called away on a military mission before they could arrange nuptials. Before he leaves, he gives her his most recent photograph to remember him by in case the mission was prolonged. The young man knows the girl of his dreams has a tendency to be rather fickle, and will begin to cast her eyes closer to home for a lover to replace the one she's to await. So, he gives her his photograph in the hopes that as she longingly looks to it each day, her heart will not stray, but yearn for his return. For the first several months the young woman carries the photo and shows it to her friends at every opportunity, proudly showing off her beau.

Then one day she left it home, and only thought of him after her busy day when she sat down at night. This soon became a regular practice, and sometimes, when she had had a particularly hard day and was very tired, she would go to sleep without looking at the picture and thinking of her betrothed.

One day as she looked at the picture and thought of her husband-to-be, she wondered how he might have changed in the year or so he had been absent. Had he grown a beard? Did he now wear glasses? Did he have any scars from combat? Had he lost or gained weight? Had harsh experiences altered his gentle eyes or the kind smile he always wore? Wondering about these things, she absently-mindedly took a pencil in hand and filled in a beard and mustache, then added glasses, just to see what he would look like if any of those things had happened. It soon became a weekly ritual to alter some part of his appearance, and as she did so, she began to believe the changes had indeed occurred, even though she was the one who initiated them from her imagination.

Two more years went by, and the few people she did show her fiance's photo to could get no clear indication of what her fiancee looked like. She was convinced that this was how her beau now looked. She felt so sincere that she just couldn't conceive of being wrong.

Then a letter came which announced her beau's soon arrival by train. A telegram asked her to meet him at the train station. His tour of duty was over, and he was coming home to claim his bride. She went to the depot at the appointed time and carefully scanned each soldier getting off the train, but none of them looked like her picture! When a handsome young man rushed up to her calling her name and tried to sweep her off her feet, she screamed and slapped him and ran away terrified. It was her lover, looking exactly the way he had when the photo had been taken, but her distortions of the photo had changed her expectation. The man she now waited for did not exist. She rejected her true lover in favor of the imaginary man she had invented.

This is exactly what Israel has done. Jesus came proclaiming the truth of the Kingdom of God, but because so many man-made traditions had replaced the God-given commands and traditions, the Jews were (and still are) expecting someone else, someone conjured up by their imaginations.

Mk.7:13 Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition,

which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye.

It is important to note that Jesus did not condemn all traditions, just the ones man originated to replace or alter God-given traditions. The traditions God gave the Israelites were meant to stabilize them as a people and keep them close to Him, and prevent them from being assimilated into the cultures to which He ordained them. But the alterations, additions and subtractions, not being inspired, did not have the same all-encompassing goal as God's commands and traditions, being made by imperfect and non-omniscient, religious thinkers, and were, therefore, able only to relate to pressing needs on a very limited scale. Not so with God's traditions, for He, knowing the beginning from the end, knew just what images were needed to keep alive the memory and devotion to Him among His people. Had Israel not taken out the true traditions and replaced them with ones that seemed so logical and wise (but were not) they would not have missed their Messiah when He came.

But, that was all a part of the plan, for it was necessary for Israel's heart to be hardened for a time, in order to bring in the Gentile nations to the reality of the truth, these things being lessons for us, the Church, to learn from by reading of Israel's departure from truth and subsequent consequences.

But what does that have to do with the Church Age? We in the Church are not to be 'bound up' with traditions and commands, are we? We are free!

Gal. 5:1 Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ

hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke

of bondage.

The epistle to the Galatians is a masterpiece of exposition, encouraging us to throw off the restraints of the Law and live in the Spirit. It would be wrong for us to live by traditions and commands again, would it not? Paul reaffirms this stance in his epistle to the Colossians: Col.2:8 Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy

and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments

of the world, and not after Christ.

Indeed, this verse is ignored by a large segment of the Church except for its condemnation of tradition. We ourselves study, and send our children away to study at the worldly institutions to learn the philosophies and vain deceits of worldliness, but stand foursquare against any intrusion of religious tradition into our lives. 'Traditions are for lame churches, the churches that do not have a vital relationship to God through the active presence of the Holy Spirit in their midst', we comfort ourselves. We tend to have a condescending attitude toward 'less spiritual brethren' who rely on traditions for their religious feelings and experiences. Granted, there is much abuse of tradition in the churches practicing liturgy and ritual. But both sides of the issue suffer for lack of true understanding.

To say that Jesus and Paul taught against tradition is to be woefully ignorant of the Scriptures. Believe it or not, Jesus and Paul, and other apostles as well, encouraged the use of tradition in church meetings.

2Th.2:15 Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the

traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word,

or our epistle.

2Th.3:6 Now we command you, brethren, in the name

of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves

from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after

the tradition which he received of us.

2Peter 3:2 That ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment

of us the apostles of the Lord and Saviour:

Rev. 2:5 Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen,

and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto

thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place,

except thou repent.

Jude1:3 Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once and for all delivered unto the saints.

This sampling of verses show that the Church is not without its own set of rules and regulations-- traditions and commandments, if you will. But the important thing to keep in mind is that these traditions and commands the Church is to keep were once and for all time ordained by God through His apostles, not by later generations of Christians expositing and conjecturing, as did the ancient rabbis of Israel. Man-made traditions have been the cause of a dearth in the Church, not because all traditions are part of a dead formalistic religion, but because the ones practiced by much of the Church are altered or man-invented, not the ones God ordained!

The apostle John reveals what is truly in our hearts when he equates loving God with being obedient to God's commands, daring to insinuate that if we 'claim' to love God but do not actively obey his commands, we are lying to Him, ourselves and others!

I John 2:3 And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.

4 He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.

5 But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.

6 He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.

Just when were the apostles given these commandments? Matthew gives us some insight into this issue, in the last chapter of his account of the Gospel, chapter 28:

19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them

in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

What were the disciples to teach? Whatever Jesus commanded to be taught. And the apostles were faithful to teach the traditions Jesus wanted taught to the Church, preserving in 'living picture' form many of the truths of the Gospel. As Jesus taught truth in parable, or word pictures, so too, the traditions we have in the pages of the epistles are the express instruction of the Lord, giving us visible reminders of the spiritual truth He gave to His apostles to establish and protect the Church from lukewarmness and deception.

Paul, in writing a second time to the Thessalonians, links their observance of the traditions he taught them to their standing firm in sanctification and truth. He is not indicating that traditions alone can sanctify them or keep them in the truth, but he is indicating that without the traditions they run the risk of loosing their moorings, and being set adrift on a sea of deception, leading to certain shipwreck of their faith. The Greek Interlinear translation affirms that we are to strongly hold to the things taught, giving every effort to maintain what was once delivered.

Am I overstating the case here for observing the traditions? Could the traditions of the Faith really be that important? Are not the traditions of the Faith secondary considerations to other topics such as salvation, sanctification, gifts of the Spirit, the Four-fold Ministry and such? Is it majoring on minors to keep in proper form such things as water baptism, communion, foot-washing, head coverings, women's and men's role in the home and church, agape meals, etc.? Not according to Paul! Look where he positions this reminder to carefully, correctly observe the traditions he taught by word and writing (which would include what he taught other churches as well, for no inspired truth of Scripture is intended for only one locality or era and not all). Paul is in the midst of writing to the Thessalonians about the events which will signal the end of the Age and the return of the Lord-- chiefly, the danger of the falling away of many from the true Faith into a cleverly devised counterfeit of the faith, and of the arrival upon the world's stage of the person known as the Antichrist, who with all deceptive devices will give all those who love not the truth a surrogate cause and person to believe in. This person will have Satan's own power of deception and deceive even the elect if they let down their guard and make it possible (Matt 24:24). That the danger of the elect being deceived is even mentioned shows that it is possible for the elect to be deceived away from the truth if they do not take care to guard the truths given to them (see also Col. 1:23; Rom. 11:22, John 15:10; Jude 21; and Rev. 3:5 for a study on the possibility of believers being drawn away from the Faith). In the midst of this passage warning about the deceptive dangers that will be prevalent in the End time, Paul recommends that the Church cling tightly to the teachings he has given them-- both the oral tradition, and the ceremonial observances that celebrate in picture form these truths that will keep them in the true Faith.

So what is Paul saying? He is declaring that believers receive and stand in salvation by two things--sanctification by the Spirit, and belief in the TRUTH (cp. John 4:23-24).

So how does Paul indicate they should cling to the truth given them? By observing the traditions-- the combination of oral tradition and written Scripture and ceremonial observances. A wise man once coined the phrase "A picture is worth a thousand words", and that is exactly the function of the ceremonial observances given by the Lord to the apostles to the Church. A tradition is a visible commemoration or re-enactment of an event and\or truth that keeps said truth or event alive, vital and accurate in the mind and heart of the observers. In other words, Paul is exhorting the Thessalonians to keep alive the practices and teachings he taught them as a safeguard against falling into the deception that will be so rampant in the Last Days.

For instance, by observing the Lord's Table, in eating the bread and drinking the cup, we examine ourselves afresh in the light of the Lord's sacrifice and promise of a New Covenant. As each believer partakes, they are reminded and refreshed in their love for and obedience to the Lord. To alter this tradition in any way is to alter the perception of the truth represented in it to following generations of believers. A false concept of Who Jesus is, and what He did, and our own responsibility to Him would then permeate the Church, and deception would enter and be a leavening influence to the detriment of the saints. Just as Moses was sternly commanded to "...and look that thou make them after their pattern which was shown thee in the mount..."(Ex. 25:40) we are warned to keep the body of truth known as the Faith in pristine condition. The ceremonial observances, few though they be, are ordained for this very purpose: to keep the Church's teaching based on the historical record, and not on the flux of supposed 'new movements of the Spirit', or societal change.

Water baptism is another ceremonial tradition which teaches volumes about our new life in Christ, the death of the old man and the resurrection life of the believer. To change one part of it, say from immersion to sprinkling, or from the participant being a professing believer to being an unknowing infant, alters the teaching and affirmation of truth inherent in the ceremony, and therefore, the perception of truth. Immersion declares the death and burial of our Lord Jesus on our behalf, whereas sprinkling leaves the observers bereft of any true interpretation of the reason for the ceremony. On the same token, baptizing infants who have made no declaration of faith themselves, but are represented by their parents in wishful hoping that the child will live for the Lord, is to rob the power of renouncing citizenship to the world and claiming citizenship in heaven. Thus, we see how altering a tradition alters the believer's cognizance of the truth, leading to deception, which leads to spiritual death. It is tremendously important what we believe, for what we believe and practice influences how we live (I Cor. 15:2).

Like the young lady in the above parable, the Church is often a fickle, betrothed bride-to-be, lacking patience, soon losing interest in her departed Lover, seeking fulfillment elsewhere. She soon wanders away from her Lover's true visage, inventing another, imaginary person in his place. This 'other person' she invents lets her do what she will, since his picture is not a true representation of him anymore. Isaiah 4:1 denotes seven women who want to feed themselves and clothe themselves with their own desires, only they want to belong in name to a husband so they will not have to bear the reproach of being strong-willed, unmarried women. This is the Church today, refusing His teaching and substituting it with psychology, tolerance of compromise and error, and self-esteem; refusing His righteousness, and wearing the rags of their own 'good works' such as charitable contributions to various causes that do not further the Gospel and Kingdom of Christ.

When we deface the images the Lord left us of Himself, we also alter the concept of Him that the world sees when they look at us. New believers receive diluted, if not perverted, impotent teaching. The Lord left instructions, which, if observed in the right spirit, will keep us in touch with the original truth He gave His apostles. When we delete or alter the traditions He gave us, we are inexorably drawn toward deception that can only result in a lack of love for the truth. It is for this reason Paul inserts into his stark description of the realities of the End Time the reminder to adhere to the teachings and traditions God gave the Church. The teachings given by the apostles are not to be added to, nor altered, and especially not deleted, lest the Church (or that part of the Church that does so) become removed further from the truth and deceived, eventually falling away from the true Faith once and for all delivered unto the saints (Jude vs. 3).

In spite of Paul's stern admonition in I Cor. 15:37-38 that, if any think themselves spiritual or prophetic, but does not recognize his apostolic commands from the Lord's servants, though they think highly of themselves, and others may regard them as something, the Lord does not recognize them! What are the Lord's commands? All the things Paul has written in his epistles, as well as the things Luke, Peter, James and John and Jude mention. Satan attacks these traditions with a vehemence, seeking to remove the visible reminders of truth from before the eyes of the faithful so they will be weak in the understanding and transmission of the Faith, thus the knowledge of the Lord and His ways in the Church will degenerate until the final apostasy overtakes her. II Pet. 2:2 indicates that many will be led astray into this pernicious way. Doubtless, those who are in this apostasy will not be aware they are deceived, for that is the nature of deception-- to blind one's eyes to the peril one is in. But all those who are deceived will be accountable before the Lord. Why? Because the Lord gave them the safeguards to stay true to the Faith via the teachings and traditions of the apostles. But they sadly decided such rules and regulations were too burdensome. Truly, the commands of the Lord are not burdensome ( I Jn. 5:3), especially in light of what will happen if they are not kept.

Thank God we have the New Testament which faithfully records these traditions and teachings for us, because the Church hasn't, but, by and large, has forsaken these safe moorings and reminders of truth. Sadly, the Church has accepted the satanic lie that the traditions are legalistic, of minor importance, not for today, or can be tailored to fit our changing cultures. We have lost the witness of the message God established us to proclaim. Just as the Jews were given the tradition of Passover, daubing the lintels with blood, and eating the roasted lamb, so too the Church has its commemorative ceremonies that represent important truths to be observed faithfully.

There is a danger, though, as stated earlier, for traditions to become vain, empty rituals, even if observed to the letter. The matter of head coverings is one such issue that has suffered first empty observance, and then disregard. This is because the meaning of the head covering has been forgotten. The Lord would not establish in Scripture a meaningless tradition in the First Century Church that only applied to them. In fact, this is one of the commands that Paul refers to in I Cor. 15:37-38 that must be recognized as being of the Lord. Until fifty years ago, nearly every woman in church Sunday morning sported a hat of some sort, from big, flowery, vision blockers, to humble, demure scarves. There was scarcely a woman not wearing a covering; and nary a man who dared wear one in the House of the Lord. But, there was no knowledge of why. The emerging women's rights campaigns in the world assaulted what they termed the chauvinistic attitudes of the Church, and instead of exhuming the forgotten truth, they agreed with the adversaries of truth, and removed the 'oppressive' symbol. What they failed to realize was that with it, they removed the symbol that demonstrates God's right to establish authority and rule in the Church and home (I Cor. 11:3). Since that time, more and more truth has been removed from both the Church and society, and the world is in a headlong plunge to destruction. Is there a connection? Without delving into the meanings of these traditions-- that would be a good course of study on your own-- it is clear that the Church has wandered far afield, not only from the visible reminders of important truths, but from those very truths as well. The traditions were to keep alive the understanding of truth, so when the traditions were removed, the Church no longer had visible reminders of truth. The erosion of truth in the Church has resulted. When the Church ceases to be salt and light, the surrounding world becomes more entrenched in darkness.

When contrary to the Word, women stand in pulpits delivering sermons, sprinkling baptism is practiced on unbelieving infants, foot-washing is ignored, 'spiritual children' with degrees are 'ordained' to the pastorate while mature, seasoned saints are silenced, how can the Church say she has the truth of the fathers of the Faith? How can the Church not slide into great deception when they overthrow the doctrines and traditions from the Lord in favor of 'pop culture' standards? No, the traditions were not given by the Lord to the apostles as lightweight stuff, to be optionally practiced, changed, or forgotten. In some mystical way, they all declare His truth through ceremonial form to both the Church-- as reminders of what is important, and to the unbelieving world-- of what they are missing.
 

© John Macleod 1997