Tuesday, April 7, 2015

Bible v. Christian Tradition

Mark 7:7-9
 Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.
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.
KJV
 Col 2:6-8
 As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him:
7 Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.
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.
KJV
 The more bible studies that I teach and the more I have conversations with professing Christians the more I realize that many of them live their lives based on what others have preached to them and they believe and that they know very little about what the bible actually says.
 The basis of this writing isn't to judge or even debate ones belief from another but to challenge and encourage all believers to search the scriptures and to align their beliefs with the word of God.
 The importance of this is off the scale considering it is the word of God alone that will be our judge when we stand before the judgment seat of Christ.
 Adam and Eve had sinned against God when they ate the apple in the garden! Three wise men brought gifts to Jesus at His birth. The bible says God helps those who help themselves. Of these three which one is true? The answer is none of them are true. They ate a fruit, wise men brought gifts and there is no scripture that says anything about God helping those that help themselves!
 Far to often do I hear people say, The bible says, followed by a statement that is not in the bible. The problem is that when people hear someone say that the bible says they tend to believe it automatically. The reason for this is sad but true, not enough Christians read their bibles to know what it actually says. No this is not what your pastor, priest or minister is for, they are to preach the word of God, encourage the saints and guide them in life's journey but it is the individuals responsibility to know the word of God for themselves.
 The apostolic church of Acts based its teaching on bible doctrine but many of the churches today are teaching based on church tradition. The book of Acts is the history of the first church so the church of today should look and align itself with it as far as biblical teaching, exhorting and even church discipline goes.
 Follow along with these next few verses to see the trouble that can arise when we don't know or are unsure what Gods word says. Gen 3:1-3
 Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:
3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
KJV
 Did you catch the mistake. Eve was quoting Gods word but then she added her own belief. God said you shall not eat of it, hear it is, neither shall you touch it. God never said anything about touching it. You can say that that's semantics but that cost Eve her life!
  When it comes to salvation and Christian living the word of God is the only source of truth. Mans opinion and even his own belief does not hold a light to Gods written word. When dealing with beliefs you have to ask yourself what does the bible say and is what I believe the same thing. Don't just answer yes because you want them to match up. This is your eternity that were talking about, take the time and search the scriptures!
 The word of God has not changed but church traditions have taken much of its place. Just because something is widely accepted doesn't make it acceptable.
 Do we believe the bible or are we following the traditions of the church?

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