Clean And Unclean-Blind Guides-2

In our conclusion to Clean and Unclean-Blind Guides, we're confronted with a choice between following our religious traditions or following Jesus.

Clean And Unclean-Blind Guides-2

Continued from Clean And Unclean-Blind Guides

2. Crime: vs 12-14 "Then the disciples came to him and asked, "Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this?" He replied, "Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots. Leave them; they are blind guides. If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit."

Tradition leads us right into a pit. Ever experienced that? Where are we living today…You know, us Holy-Spirit-filled followers of Jesus, "holy priests", who believe God's Word should permeate our minds and direct our lives from victory to victory? Take the "Tradition Test" below, and find out:

Write the source for each item below, 'God's Word' or 'Man's Tradition':

Attending church on a specific day of the week.____________

Single professional delivering God's message each week.____________

Formal children's program (Sunday School).____________

Professional worship leader.____________

Church Building.____________

Election of leaders.____________

Men's, Women's, Youth, Single's, Senior's, Couple's Ministry____________

If you believe any of these were established in God's Word, please take the time to send me the Scripture reference. While you're searching, ask yourself a question: Would I attend a "church" that didn't have any of these things? That's the real tradition test! Are the traditions so important that they prevent us from considering other options? If traditions are that important we may be seeking traditions rather than God. It isn't that we can't find God in a traditional church; we can; I did. But, what if we didn't have the distractions of mortgage, building projects, building maintenance, elections, formal speaker, formal singing, committees, multiple departments, etc? Could we be more devoted "to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer." ? Ac 2:42 Each of us must answer this for ourselves. Jesus opposed religious tradition because it led people to honor tradition rather than God.

Religious Tradition pulls us away from God by emphasizing rules rather than Ruler, law rather than Life.

3. Conclusion: The conflict between Religious Tradition and Jesus goes on today. There are a few extreme cases, such as Afghanistan, but many more subtle cases, where average people are redirected from God to "mere rules taught by men." If you find yourself in a place where a sea of man's tradition is drowning out God's Word, don't ignore the words of Jesus, who said of the blind guides, "leave them". Let's not become a plant God will "root-out".

Dear Lord, help us to follow you and dismiss any traditions of man as unimportant. Give us a new sense of urgency to focus on things you established and ignore the rest. Don't let us be fooled by the size of someone's building, staff, budget or denomination. Instead, let us be consumed by the working of your will in our lives and those around us. Thank You!

Clean And Unclean-Blind Guides-2

I'm honored that you've allowed me to be a part of your Christian life. Please return often for fellowship, study and prayer. Thank you very much for visiting.

Love & Hugs,
Glen

In our conclusion to Clean and Unclean-Blind Guides, we're confronted with a choice between following our religious traditions or following Jesus.