Traditions

Tradition it is the act of giving over, giving up or surrender. It has the same etymology as the word treason. Jesus said, “Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men,” (Mark 7:7-8). Jesus declares the results of these traditions in verse 13, “Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition.” According to Thayer’s “Making of none effect” is one word meaning “deprive of force and authority.”

Man’s traditions affect our faith by creating predetermined paradigms that hinder our ability to walk in apostolic authority. A paradigm is: “A set of assumptions, concepts, values, and practices that constitutes a way of viewing reality for the community that shares them.” American Heritage Dictionary (Dictionary.com). These traditional paradigms create a filter we view the Lord, His purpose and our spiritual lives through.

During my time of practice, occasionally, there would be a patient who would come in exasperated or frustrated and say,“Just do something.” I would explain that to help them, we needed to undergo a diagnostic process to determine WHAT the true SOURCE of their problem was. In the church today, many pastors and leaders are like these patients. They know something is wrong and they are frustrated. They look to do something, by grasping the latest church growth program, big name evangelist or that one special conference. I know, I have been there. It is my desire to help us walk in apostolic authority. This Apostolic Notes and the next one, are a diagnostic process to assist us in determining WHAT the true source of our problem could be.

A review of the modern church reveals some of the developed characteristics of man’s traditions. Along with these traditions I have also given food for thought about an apostolic approach.

A traditional church is a church that….

…preaches a “bless me” gospel
This gospel and its message is an attempt to alleviate man’s discomfort and pain. The Bible is seen as a cookbook with recipes to fix our current problem. This is a “self” focused gospel. Much of modern preaching is about how we are to be "healthy, wealthy and wise."

The apostolic church is a church that...

….preaches the Gospel of the Kingdom of Heaven
Jesus’ first message and that of the disciples was the gospel of the kingdom of heaven (Matt 4:17, 4:23, 9:35; Lk 9:60, 10:9). He did not come preaching how wonderful we are, He came declaring the reality of a Spiritual Kingdom. We are to be ambassadors of this kingdom. Our blessings are a by-product of obedience to His purpose.

The purpose of the apostolic church is to demonstrate and reveal our King and His kingdom. In the next couple of posts I will give more examples of man's traditions that have affected the modern church.

Till next time
Martin