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Traditions: The delivery of opinions, doctrines, practices, rites and customs from father to son, or from ancestors to posterity; the transmission of any opinions or practice from forefathers to descendants by oral communication, without written memorials. Thus, children derive their vernacular language chiefly from tradition. Most of our early notions are received by tradition from our parents. That which is handed down from age to age by oral communication.
I have attended just about every type or name of church and there is one thing that keeps jumping out at me…. ‘Man Made Religion’. This is a set of rules that if not adhered to places the attendee in a place of – you are not welcome here.
I grew up in a church like that, and my mom came from a church like that. In my early years of construction, I was taking a lunch break and was having a wonderful conversation with one of the nicest people I had ever met. For sake of identity his first name was Lloyd. He was an elder in the fellowship that my mom grew up in, and it was labeled ‘the dunkard church’ because they believed you could not get to heaven unless you were immersed in water, thus the nickname, dunkard. During our talk, I point-blank asked Lloyd if he knew for certain he was going to heaven. In the humblest way I have ever seen in a man, he responded to me, “I hope I have been good enough.” That literally broke my heart. I was in my late 20’s and could not believe what I was hearing. I asked him if he felt that all his congregation was going to heaven. His comment was again surprising. “I don’t believe that they are.”
You see, they must be baptized in water and then join their church. To do that you have to start getting your hair cut a certain way, where special clothes, the women where bonnets, the men funny looking hats, they have no radios, televisions, computers, or white wall tires. My grandfather was once brought up to the congregation for reprimand because he had trimmed his beard. You see, once you begin to grow a beard, you can never cut it.
The list continues but the main function here is the traditions of men make the gospel of no effect. Mark 7:13 (NKJV) “Making the word of God of no effect through your tradition which you have handed down. And many such things you do." We drive more people away from God then bring them to Him by our man-made rules.
Just recently I ran into a 1st cousin who runs the largest lumber yard in Louisville, Kentucky. We were at the Builders show in Las Vegas and in conversation I asked her about her mom [my aunt] and how she was doing. In an instant of time, she stated that she was fine and we finally got her out of ‘that’ church. She was very put out by the church because of some detrimental judging that had been passed down.
Here is the key. Don’t find yourself in a judging or ‘traditions of man’ situation for you will find yourself on the wrong side of the blessings of God. Take a look at your salvation opinions and make sure they do not go beyond Ephesians 2:8 (KJV) ‘For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:” It is dangerous to be adding things to the gospel, for the gospel is the power of God unto salvation.
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