Traditions of Men vs GOD

Teaching for Doctrines the Traditions of Men

Christmas
Easter
Tithing
Halloween
Missions
Birthdays
Thanksgiving
Feeding the poor
Sunday morning worship service
Clothing the poor
Wednesday evening prayer meeting
Sunday School


In the beginning was the Word, then we added to it and we took away from it and we made it convenient for ourselves.  We call ourselves Christian.  We are reborn through the finished Work of Christ on the Cross and somehow that is never enough.  Instead of leaving the ways of the world behind we drag all our traditions and baggage with us.  We pretend to turn our focus on the true "reason for the season" when in fact there is no Scriptural reason for much of what we do; for what we have woven into the simple Gospel, the stand-alone Word of God.

It starts with Sunday morning.  Do we truly know why we worship on Sunday?  Do we actually worship or do we listen to announcements, listen to the choir and plan our week while the preacher drones on?

We claim to celebrate the Resurrection of the Messiah on a holiday called Easter.  Yet we feel we have to make it fun for the children with egg hunts and candy and other mess.  We tell our children that the empty egg shell represents the empty tomb.  We attend the sunrise service and we go home momentarily moved.

We hand over our donations on Sunday morning, maybe, if it is convenient.  We repeat the story of the widow's mite given to The Lord in the temple while deducting the reasons for giving less than that ten percent.

There is trunk or treat and Christian themed costume parties in order to incorporate the world's addiction to Halloween parties.

We go on mission trips and give money to missions after much pleading from the sponsors of the trips ignoring the mission field in our own town.

The celebration of birthdays has become a yearly event where the old dog and pony show is dwarfed in comparison.  We give no heed to what is mentioned in Scripture regarding birthday parties.

Thanksgiving.  Giving thanks is what we should be doing daily but we set aside one day a year to gorge ourselves in the company of people we seldom see or talk to any other time of year.

The poor are only hungry twice a year on Thanksgiving and on Christmas.  They are only unclothed and lacking in housing or furniture at this time of year.

Prayer meeting on Wednesday is no longer devoted to a time of prayer.  There was too much silence to suit so they just have another meeting.  It appears that true prayer meetings have lost their appeal.

We send our children to Sunday School because they need that instruction.  Our lives are so busy that we cannot spend the time with them during the week to teach them Biblical Truth.  Anyway, it is a time when they can socialize with other Christian children.  If you believe that, you haven't taught Sunday School lately.  Instead of studying for a lesson and preparing oneself for the class, we hand out insipid class activities from a prepackaged formula designed to follow the denominations' standards not necessarily the Biblical ones.

Following the Truth is so much richer than trying to hang on to tradition.  Traditions are filled with falsehood and can be destroyed.  The Truth, Biblical Truth is everlasting and cannot be undone.  We warp and twist the truth in order to fit in, to feel more comfortable.  We suppress and grieve the Holy Spirit with our rebellion. 

He can give us so much more if we dispense with the trappings and open up to the Truth. 

Read your Bible.  Study HIS word.  Leave off what you have always done and see what HE would have you to do.  Study with your children.  Let HIM start a revival within yourself, then your family.  HE will grow it from there. 

HIS WAY IS EVERLASTING.  The ways of the world change with every breeze.