Tradition and Truth

We sometimes elevate traditions so high that God himself can manifest and we’ll reject him, that’s what happen to Paul.

Make no mistake about it—how you see God will influence how you see people. You’ll see them the way you consciously or subconsciously think He sees them.

God gave life to Adam for a reason. He wanted to include humanity in the Circle of Love that had always existed among the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

The Trinity is a culture of loving acceptance and you are loved and accepted regardless of how you behave. His heart is linked to ours through love, not laws of performance. However, our Triune God desires for you to avoid bringing harm to yourself by ignoring what He has instructed about how to live. If we choose to disobey, we will suffer the consequences, but even then He will walk through the pain with us. He will comfort and guide us as we move through the injury we have brought upon ourselves. He won’t be saying, “I told you so” or “This is what you get for not listening to me.” Instead, He will sweep you up into His arms and say, “Let me carry you. Just trust me. I’ll carry you through this.” That is what a relational God does!

TRADITION AND TRUTH

Tradition and truth are not always the same thing. If we’re not careful, we end up thinking that the age of a belief makes it more valid. But consider the Israelites. Moses left them alone just a short while to go up the mountain and receive the Ten Commandments. While Moses was gone, they smelted a golden calf and then worshipped it. Then consider the Corinthians. Paul teaches them the Gospel message, and the next thing we hear, they’re practically having drunken orgies at the Lord’s Supper. And what about the Galatians? Paul taught them the purity of salvation by grace through faith. But a short time later, he was calling them “foolish” for being so distracted by those who were pushing the Jewish law. Apparently, God’s people got things very wrong, very early on.

EARLY CHURCH FATHERS

Likewise, the so-called early church fathers disagreed with each other in radical ways. Origen believed the entire world would be saved through Christ. Tertullian claimed water baptism was best practiced on one’s deathbed. Irenaeus thought Gentiles in the Old Testament were justified before God via living by ethical standards within Greek philosophy. From Athanasius to Augustine, the early church fathers held myriad views, some of which directly opposed each other. So, the idea that today we should always agree with the traditions and doctrines of the early church fathers is nothing short of absurd. There wasn’t even uniform agreement among them !

TRADITION AND TRUTH

In Colossians 2, Paul tells us to “see to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception according to the tradition of men , according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ” (Colossians 2:8). Tradition never outranks truth. Sure, some may call a certain view “Christian tradition” or a certain idea a Christian “principle” or “rule.” But we should not worship at the feet of traditions, principles, or rules.

Instead, we worship Jesus, who is the Truth. We don’t need principles. We need the person of Christ. Christianity is not about rules. It’s about letting Christ rule.

Don’t ever buy the idea that a belief is correct just because it’s old. We are as capable today of understanding God’s Word and of being taught by the Holy Spirit as anyone else in history, including the early church fathers. How are we taught? By submitting to God’s Spirit and asking Him to teach us.

GOING AGAINST THE GRAIN

In the thirteenth chapter of Hebrews, the writer warns us that the way of truth will go against popular opinion and many times against “the establishment”:

We have an altar from which those who serve the tabernacle have no right to eat. For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the holy place by the high priest as an offering for sin are burned outside the camp . Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people through His own blood, suffered outside the gate . So, let us go out to Him outside the camp , bearing His reproach. For here we do not have a lasting city, but we are seeking the city which is to come. (Hebrews 13:10–14) Animals were sacrificed, and their carcasses were tossed outside the city gates and burned. You can imagine the stench filling the air and what an unclean place it was thought to be by those who followed the Law.

Yet that’s exactly where Jesus was crucified—outside the city gates, outside the walls of established religion. Inside those city walls was the Temple, and it was a sight to behold. Decades of money and effort were poured into the edifice to ensure its grandeur. What an appearance it gave! But Jesus wasn’t sacrificed in the Temple. Jesus was crucified outside the city where the dead animal carcasses were burned. That tells you something. Jesus was a table turner, literally turning furniture over in the Temple. He was a renegade who ate with people whom religious leaders despised. And even in His death, Jesus was willing to go against the grain.

LET US GO OUT TO HIM

What does this mean for us? We can expect to go outside the walls of religious tradition to find the truth about Jesus and to honor all that He has done for us. Some don’t like the smell of real freedom. They prefer bondage and would like to drag us inside the city walls and into a temple of religiosity where we too can be fixated on effort and works instead of Jesus. When our Lord was crucified, it meant all religious systems inside those city walls were to be shut down. From then on, there was one way to get right with God: through Jesus, outside the gates of lifeless religion.

Jesus invites us to journey beyond the walls of works-based religion and to go out to Him to experience the truth that He promised would set us free

John 8:32 NASB95

and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”

Furthermore, He promised that connection with Him would be “easy and light” and that we would find “rest” for our souls

Matthew 11:28–30 NASB95

“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. “For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

Jesus invites us to journey beyond the walls of works-based religion. His promise is real.

We’re going to explore the full extent of all that Jesus has done for us. In the process, we’ll untangle the twisted lies we often believe so that the straight talk of the Gospel message can be celebrated to the fullest.

Remember when I am sharing the of the key commands or ordinances I am not saying they wrong, what I was saying is to see the scripture as God intended us to see not as you have understand through your traditions.

Because of these traditions went on to become large denominations in the word, Baptist you know what they value the most, Pentecostals, Revival centre, or Presbyterian etc.

Is there anything wrong with the commandment itself not at all, but when we have traditions that takes greater place the the orthodoxy of what scripture intends then it a problem. Than traditions become so more for us that we see the people and world round us through the lens of our age old traditions and determines whether we accept or condemn.

Today we will start with Salvation:

YOU MUST BE BAPTIZED IN WATER TO BE SAVED

Again is Baptism is important yes , I have personally baptised few people in this church and in other places.

There’s a great deal of controversy surrounding water baptism. Some claim it’s necessary for salvation. But in Acts 10,

“Surely no one can refuse the water for these to be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we did, can he?” (Acts 10:47)

“Corresponding to that, baptism now saves you not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience—through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. (1 Peter 3:21)

we see a group of Gentiles who’ve received the Holy Spirit. Upon discovering this, Peter is blown away that these “dirty” Gentiles (that was the Jewish view) had already heard the Gospel and believed. So, Peter announces that nothing should prevent them from celebrating with water baptism. Note that the Gentiles’ salvation—the indwelling of the Holy Spirit—came first, and water baptism came second.

Water baptism was not a requirement for receiving the Spirit, as some teach. Water baptism is often associated with repentance and belief in Jesus Christ for salvation.

But accounts such as this one (and the thief on the cross who went to be with Jesus in paradise without water baptism) help us verify that water baptism is not an essential component for salvation. In Acts 10, new spiritual birth came first , and the celebration in water came second .

Child born to you doesn’t become a child because she or he received your surname, the baby receives your surname because she is born to you.

In Paul time it became a big issue:

The Corinthian believers were dividing and ranking themselves by whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas had baptized them. It became a status symbol for them. This is why Paul asks, “Has Christ been divided? Paul was not crucified for you, was he? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul ?” (1 Corinthians 1:13). They had lost their focus on Jesus Christ, and they were making too big a deal of water baptism and, in particular, who baptized them. They were glorying in the name of Paul instead of magnifying the name of Jesus. This is why Paul told them that God did not send him to baptize but to preach the Gospel

1 Corinthians 1:17 NASB95

For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not in cleverness of speech, so that the cross of Christ would not be made void.

BAPTISM INTO CHRIST’S DEATH AND RESURRECTION

Why is there so much confusion surrounding water baptism?

Perhaps because many do not understand spiritual baptism. In Romans, Paul asks: Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death ?

Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.

Romans 6:3–4 NASB95

Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.

“Or do you not know?” is Paul’s question. This means that there are many believers who are in Christ but do not really understand what it means to be in Christ . Being in Christ means that we received a radical heart surgery, a spiritual DNA swap that transformed the core of our being, our very self. Our old self was ripped out, spiritually taken to the cross, crucified, and buried. Then we were raised in Christ to newness of life. This is what it means to be “born again.” To be born again, you must first die. And that is exactly what happened to all of us who are in Christ.

TWO BIRTHS: NATURAL AND SPIRITUAL

“Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” (John 3:5–6)

Some assume that “born of water” means water baptism. From there, they claim that water baptism is needed to enter the kingdom of God. Nevertheless, Jesus’s real intent here is obvious. “Born of water” means physical birth. Every human is born from a sac of amniotic fluid that, even today, we refer to as water (as in, “My water just broke!”).

How can we be sure this is what Jesus means? He explains, “that which is born of flesh is flesh” (John 3:6). The first birth that Jesus speaks of is a physical, fleshly birth. It has nothing to do with water baptism. Then, we are born again spiritually when we come to believe: “that which is born of the Spirit is spirit” (John 3:6).

Your mother gave birth to you first. And the Spirit of God gave birth to you second. Both are needed to enter the kingdom of God. First, we need to physically exist. Second, we need to escape the spiritual death we’re born into (in Adam) by being reborn of God’s Spirit.

THE PROPER PLACE FOR BAPTISM

There is nothing magical about the process of water baptism. It’s a public celebration and symbol of our being spiritually crucified, buried, and raised to newness of life in Christ. Water baptism is important, but it doesn’t cause anything. Think about it. Celebrating a birthday doesn’t mean you’re just being born. Celebrating a wedding anniversary doesn’t mean you’re getting married. You were already born or already married long before the party. You’re just celebrating.

It’s the same with water baptism. We’ve been reborn of God’s Spirit. We’ve become the bride of Christ. So why not celebrate with water baptism? But it doesn’t mean that we are just becoming the bride or just being reborn in that moment. No, water baptism is a celebration of what already took place. As we go into the water, we’re celebrating that we went into death with Christ. When we’re raised out of the water, we’re celebrating that we were raised in Christ to newness of life.

WATER BAPTISM: A CELEBRATION! Water baptism should be respected and appreciated for what it is, but it does not save.

When we inappropriately elevate the act of water baptism and ascribe to it more importance than God has given it, it becomes much like what circumcision was to the Judaizers in the early church. They were demanding that people be circumcised to be saved when Paul was clearly teaching “neither is circumcision anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation” (Galatians 6:15).

Likewise, water baptism is nothing compared with being a new creation. Being immersed in Christ is what matters; being immersed in water is simply a celebration of that reality.

YOU’RE JUSTIFIED BY FAITH PLUS GOOD WORKS