Bible Thoughts May 10, 1998
"So then, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye were taught, whether by word, or by epistle of ours"(II Timothy 2:15).
The encouragement given to those who composed the church at Thessalonica is no less applicable today than it was when written. Addressing the brethren to stand for those things that are taught by inspired men is never out of date.
The saints at Thessalonica were "brethren." They had heard the gospel preached by Paul and others, responded by obedience and were walking in the light of the truth. Their association as Christians established a bond with each other that can be found in no other relationship. This bond would help them to follow the rest of the instructions of the apostle.
Paul admonished them to "stand fast." It is not always easy to take a stand, especially for the truth, but disciples are to ground themselves in the faith and waiver not from the word of God. How respectable may be the teacher, how fluent may be his words, and how likable his personality, one must stand for what is right.
Those who follow Christ will "hold fast the traditions." Traditions are simply words, ideas, and positions that are passed to others. They can be acceptable or unacceptable. The traditions of which Paul speaks are not the traditions of men, of some church, of a family, or what we have been doing here for all these years. These were traditions handed down by Jesus Christ through inspired men. Simply because we have done something for years does not make it the kind of traditions spoken about in this passage.
The word "traditions" in the original language means "to hand down...to deliver." What was delivered to these and others living in the apostolic age were the commands from Christ through inspired men. Most churches are filled with traditions, but not the kind of traditions we read about in the New Testament. Their traditions are human, originating with uninspired leaders who ignore the traditions of the New Testament.
Paul made it clearer by stating "whether by word, or by epistle of ours." When men who were inspired by God spoke, they revealed divine truth. When these same ones wrote, they wrote divine truth. When the last inspired man died, the traditions were sealed. No new truth from Christ has been revealed since then. "But he that looketh into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and so continueth, being not a hearer that forgetteth but a doer that worketh, this man shall be blessed in his doing"(James 1:25). The word "perfect" means complete. The traditions were completed almost 2000 years ago; no others have been spoken or written.
This, by no means, is saying that we cannot discover a divine truth that is new to us. No man is so knowledgeable of the law of Christ that he knows all there is to know about it. Studying and applying the truth of God's book will enlighten a person and enable the searcher to find truths contained therein; truths one may not have realized previously.
All divinely approved traditions are contained in the New Testament. Men have only to study and follow those traditions to please God. No man or group of men have any authority(or right) from the Lord to ignore those traditions or try to make new traditions.
Those who please God do not walk in the traditions of men. Nor do they follow religious principles and acts because of "that is what we have always done." They walk in the light of God's truth and "hold fast the traditions" that are revealed in the New Testament.
Are there not some things that we do out of tradition? Meeting on the first day of the week...meeting at certain hours...meeting on Wednesday night, etc.? It is a command (divine tradition) to meet on the first day of the week(Acts 20:7). Hours are set so that we may follow the instructions of Christ "decently and in order"((I Corinthians 14:40). Those hours could change to fit the needs of those who assemble. Wednesday night Bible Study is a work of the local church, fulfilling the responsibility of "teaching them to observe all things"(Matthew 28:20). The time can vary and we could(and do) assemble at other times in order to grow spiritually. Whatever we do, even if it seems to be traditional, must be sanctioned by the teachings of the New Testament. When our traditions depart from the principles of Christ's law and we bind them upon others, we are wrong. Or when we become so traditional in our activities that we cannot change when it better serves the cause of Christ, we can hinder the work of spreading the gospel and strengthening the kingdom.
"For freedom did Christ set us free(by His traditions-jy): stand fast therefore, and be not entangled again in a yoke of bondage(the traditions of men-jy)"(Galatians 5:1).