Friday 20 August 2021

Traditional Errors

 



Scripture: Matthew 15 v 8 - 9:  "This people draweth nigh unto Me with their mouth, and honoureth Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. 
9 But in vain they do worship Me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men."

1 Peter 1 v 18 - 20: "Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers;
19  But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:
20  Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you,"

2 Thessalonians 2 v 14 - 15: "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."


We need to sift out truth from lies, right from wrong, and good or bad traditions, in order to walk in the light and bring others into it.  The controversies that have split the Church into thousands of sects,  denominations, groups are those which have become traditional doctrines of man, which are contrary to the true gospel.

Tradition has become an insurmountable obstacle to knowing and doing the will of God.  Jesus made Himself very unpopular by confronting the traditions of the Pharisees, full of pride and unteachableness.  He overthrew the tables on the contenders (bankers) on the steps of the Temple.

He said to them, Why do you make My Father's house a place of merchandise?  How many churches sell merchandise before and after church meetings inside or outside their churches?  Then they wonder why there is no anointing for miracles, healing or salvation.

According to Paul in his letter to the Thessalonians, we can follow the tradition the apostles taught them, like Communion, Bible Study, Prayer meetings, caring for widows and orphans, giving to the poor.  The traditions attached to the Mosaic law were removed because of the New Covenant based on better promises and benefits.

Acts 15 v 5-6; 19-20: "But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed, saying, That it was needful to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses. 
6  And the apostles and elders came together for to consider of this matter.
19  Wherefore my sentence is, that we trouble not them, which from among the Gentiles are turned to God:
20  But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood."

Only those four things out of the whole law of Moses were kept for Gentile believers.  Jesus said the New law would be to love the Lord your God with all your heart and mind, and love your neighbour as yourself.  If we do that we will never steal, cheat, kill, covet, lie or commit adultery with or from or to our neighbours, which includes every person on Earth.  That is what being a follower of Jesus means.

The Cross was entertainment for some, but for those who know and love Jesus Christ; who worship the Father in Spirit and truth, it was the darkest day in world history. The day man killed God because Jesus flouted the traditions of the priesthood and it offended them. 

I don't worship the Cross nor wear it around my neck.  Inasmuch as I would not wear an emblem of a crashed car on a chain around my neck because a loved one was killed that way.  But the Cross is symbolic of death and resurrection, not only of Jesus but of our salvation through identifying with His death.

Two thousand years ago Jesus did miracles on the sabbath; He called the Pharisees and scribes  hypocrites and vipers; He read Luke 4 v 18-19 in the synagogue quoting Isaiah: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He hath anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He hath sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord." 

He then shattered them by saying "This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears." Verse 28 says that all who heard these words in the synagogue were filled with wrath. Tradition met Truth and declared war.  

If you are following religious tradition you christen babies; celebrate Christmas and Easter (pagan festivals); because all these came from the Mary-worshipping Roman Catholics. Easter comes from Oestre a fertility goddess of the Roman-Babylonian tradition. 

When the Roman-Babylonians needed to blend their beliefs with Christianity they fused their gods and goddesses into the mix. They had no use for Passover, a Jewish feast, which formed The Last Supper. They replaced it with Easter, already a popular feast in most of the known world. That's why we have chocolate eggs, bunnies, chicks - fertility goddess. It has nothing whatsoever to do with Jesus and His death and resurrection. 

Everyone enjoys the Easter treats and there is nothing wrong with that, but let us respect what it actually means and teach our children truth. Do not tell them the eggs represent new birth in Jesus Christ. Tell them the eggs represent Oestre from which the word Oestrogen comes. 

I love the Passover. I am not a follower of the law, nor a keeper of the sabbath, but the Passover has a wealth of spiritual insight for Christians and Jews.  The Passover was the Jews liberty from slavery in Egypt through the blood of lambs. Jesus is our Passover Lamb whose Blood sets us free from slavery to sin and demons. 

This is Truth v Tradition and tradition should bow to truth but it never will. Sadly traditions cause many to disobey the commands of God and make them of none effect. Jesus was not born at Christmastime on 25th December. His arch-enemy, Nimrod the hunter of men's souls, was. Nimrod's mother, the witch Semiramis, is now worshipped as Mary. Superimposed on the story of Mary and Jesus is this travesty. 

Most people know that not even the cruel Romans would expect people to travel in winter on foot to register to pay taxes. The shepherds would not be watching their sheep out on the pastures on a mid-winter night. But tradition dictates that we celebrate His birth when the Roman Catholic Church demand it. I will never hurt Jesus like that. I celebrate His birth, death and resurrection every day by being obedient and walking in His truth. 

In Romans 14 v 5 says we must make up our own minds about what days we choose to celebrate special holy times on. There is no rule. Jesus set us free of condemnation. Just be aware of the parameters of tradition and the power of truth. Jesus hated those traditions because they caused people to compromise truth. It has led many into errors. 

Prayer: Heavenly Father, I speak the truth in love to those who will hear. I pray it has an impact on those who desire to walk in your truth and not in the doctrines of man. There are many pitfalls, please steer Your people clear of them. In Jesus' name. Amen.