In many Christian Churches today, we see one of two extremes. We see churches preaching against traditionalism (or legalism as it often referred to today) but not preaching against lawlessness. We also see churches preaching against lawlessness, but many of these same churches fail to preach against traditionalism (legalism). It is becoming less and less common in our culture to see Churches that neither go to the left nor the right of God’s law.
Do not turn to the right or to the left
This subject of not going to the right or left of God’s law seems to be a very important theme in the Scriptures.
“Be careful to do as the Lord your God has commanded you; you are not to turn aside to the right or the left.”
Deuteronomy 5:32 HCSB
This phrase of not turning to “the right or the left” of God’s commands is repeated 7 more times in the Scriptures(Deuteronomy 17:20, Deuteronomy 28:14, Joshua 1:7, Joshua 23:6, 2 Kings 22:2,2 Chronicles 34:2,Proverbs 4:27).
God also uses another phrase to express this same sentiment:
“You must not add anything to what I command you or take anything away from it, so that you may keep the commands of the Lord your God I am giving you.”
Deuteronomy 4:2 HCSB
This same phrase of “not adding or taking anything” away from God’s law is repeated in Deuteronomy 12:32.
So in total, 10 times, count them – 10 times God says he does not want us to go the left of his law, or to the right of his law, he does not want us to add to his law, or take away from his law.
When we go to the left of God’s law, and we take away from God’s law, we get lawlessness. When we go to the right of God’s law, we add to God’s law and we get tradition.
Jesus Christ himself reserved some of his most vehement scolding for Jewish teachers of the Law who added to God’s laws and taught their traditions as being equal to God’s law when he quoted from Isaiah:
“In this way, you have revoked God’s word because of your tradition. 7 Hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied correctly about you when he said:
8 These people honor Me with their lips,
but their heart is far from Me.
9 They worship Me in vain,
teaching as doctrines the commands of men.””
Matthew 15:6b -9 HCSB
The Apostle Paul, when fighting against a new false teaching that added rules to God’s Word spoke these words:
“8 Be careful that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit based on human tradition, based on the elemental forces of the world, and not based on Christ… 16 Therefore, don’t let anyone judge you in regard to food and drink or in the matter of a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day. 17 These are a shadow of what was to come; the substance is the Messiah. 18 Let no one disqualify you, insisting on ascetic practices and the worship of angels, claiming access to a visionary realm and inflated without cause by his unspiritual mind. 19 He doesn’t hold on to the head, from whom the whole body, nourished and held together by its ligaments and tendons, develops with growth from God.
20 If you died with the Messiah to the elemental forces of this world, why do you live as if you still belonged to the world? Why do you submit to regulations: 21 “Don’t handle, don’t taste, don’t touch”? 22 All these regulations refer to what is destroyed by being used up; they are commands and doctrines of men. 23 Although these have a reputation of wisdom by promoting ascetic practices, humility, and severe treatment of the body, they are not of any value in curbing self-indulgence.”
Colossians 2:8 & 16-23 HCSB
The Three types of spiritual slavery in the New Testament
In the passage we just quoted from Colossians 2, Paul talks about human tradition taking us captive. He has used this concept of captivity with lawlessness as well when he states:
“19 They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption, since people are enslaved to whatever defeats them.”
2 Peter 2:19 HCSB
Paul talks about another type of slavery, a positive type of slavery:
“16 Don’t you know that if you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of that one you obey—either of sin leading to death or of obedience leading to righteousness? 17 But thank God that, although you used to be slaves of sin, you obeyed from the heart that pattern of teaching you were transferred to, 18 and having been liberated from sin, you became enslaved to righteousness. “
Romans 6:16-18 HCSB
So we have three masters we can serve, Lawlessness, God or Tradition. Being a captive of Lawlessness or Tradition are both equally sinful activities.
Examples of the difference between Lawlessness, God’s law and Tradition
What if I or my Church practice some of these traditions, am I sinning?
Please don’t misunderstand me. We all have some rules for ourselves, or as parents for our children that may fall into some of the categories I have mentioned above. Even some Churches may have some rules that are not found in the Bible.
It is one thing to have a rule or standard for one’s life, one’s family, or even for Church activities, and another to teach these things as doctrines of Scripture that all men must follow, else they are sinning.
For instance, if I personally have a rule for my family that we won’t drink alcohol in our home, there is no sin in that. But if I teach that the drinking of any alcohol is wrong for all people, and sinful for all people – then I am being a slave to tradition and I am sinning by adding to God’s Word. God’s Word condemns drunkenness, not drinking.
Perhaps you believe that God wants you and your family to tithe, to give 10 percent of your gross income to your local church. There is no sin in this belief, as long as you understand that it is not sinful for others give less than 10% to their local churches, because tithing was never instituted as a method of giving for the New Testament Church. Anyone who teaches this as a doctrine for the New Testament Church is being a slave to the traditions of men, and is adding to the New Testament which clearly says with New Covenant, we are no longer under the old law.
I could go on, but you get the point. There is nothing wrong with having traditions that you follow, as long as those traditions do not cause you to violate the commands of God, and as long you never equate those traditions with the commands and doctrines of God’s Word.
So the question is what master will you serve? Lawlessness? God or Tradition?
This has been the first in series of posts I wanted to write relating to traditionalism. In this first post I wanted to compare and contrast following lawlessness, God’s law and the traditions of men. This is not just some theoretical exercise, I grew up in Churches that believed in many of the traditions I listed, and they held strong convictions that anyone who did not embrace these traditions as the commands of God, were in fact sinners under the judgment of God.
Many times on this blog I have been accused of being a traditionalist myself, because of my strong convictions regarding Biblical Gender Roles. But the major difference between mine and millions of Christians who believe in Biblical Gender Roles and these traditions I listed above is – there are ample Scriptural commands that teach Biblical Gender Roles, there are no Scriptural commands that teach any of the traditions I have shown above. They are built on conjecture, and opinion, not on clear Scriptural commands.
In upcoming posts I will be reviewing actual doctrinal statements from a church website that one my blog readers referred to me where this Church teaches many of these traditions as the commands of God, rather than the traditions of men.
Biblical Gender Roles 
i agree with the point and most of the categories of this post. what makes me scratch my head in wonder is the areas of rock music, drinking , and gambling. There may not be a specific chapter and verse that condemns it,but when it come to Bible principles, rock music violate virtually every one. There is nothing godly about rock music. As far as just observing our world, rock music promotes every sin imaginable. David Bowie once said in a 1976 interview with Rolling Stone Magazine that quote..’rock music is definitely the devils music’. Show me someone who listens to rock music and I’ll show you someone who doesn’t live for God. If there is an exception, I’ve never met one in the 30 yrs I’ve been saved.
Gambling also violates, if not in commands, again definitely principles of Scripture. It’s a bad use of stewardship. Some people think investing and gambling are the same thing. i don’t believe they are, although there is risk, and I would understand that.God wants us to be good stewards of what he entrusts to us. All of us will have to an account one day.
Alcohol has destroyed more lives and marriages than can be counted. God’s Word states in Isaiah that the man who gives his neighbor drink is cursed as well as may other passages that either condemn it or speak negatively regarding it. Eph.5:18 says ‘to be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess, but be filled with the Spirit’. If you look at that passage carefully you see that the ‘excess’ is actually in the product itself Of course not all wines in Bible days were alcoholic. Had to have been the best tasting grape juice : )
Jeff
Jeff,
Well my friend, I guess you have met your first Christian who listens to rock music and lives for God. I love some country music, I listen to Christian contemporary music(including some Christian rock) and I also listen to some secular rock music. I avoid the vulgar rock music, but main stream pop rock I might have on my radio from time to time, and I even download some songs(secular rock songs) that speak to me.
I have never believed in “guilt by association”. I take each song, in and of itself, and judge that song on its own merits. I don’t dismiss a song because of the person who sings its beliefs or behavior, anymore than I would dismiss a book, a TV show or movie because I did not agree with the author, director or actors views or lifestyles. If we follow the “guilt by association” method, none of us would leave our homes, read a book or watch a show or do anything else, we must judge each thing, each song, each tv show or movie, or any other piece of art of literature based on its own merit.
I don’t approve all types of rock music, and there is some music that my son has shown me(like “screamo” and super heavy metal) that I don’t think has any redeemable value.
And respectfully, I don’t take my theological positions from a Rock star(eg. David Bowie). When we understand the history of music, we know that that anything new has always been seen as worldly. Martin Luther took bar room songs and changed the words to Christian themes. The puritans would only sin melody for worship, because harmony was seen as more worldly.
Gambling is no more “bad stewardship” than it is for to go on a cruise, or take a vacation to your favorite destination. Gambling like anything else, can be abused. I go a couple times a year to casinos in our area with my wife, but we have budget. We spend about 200 to 300 dollars and then we are done. This is no more than we would spend going on some weekend getaway some place(which we also have done). If a person cannot control themselves and stick to a budget while gambling, then they ought not to do it. But again, just because something has the potential for abuse, does not make it wrong in and of itself.
Jeff – Alcohol has not destroyed one marriage, anymore than a gun has murdered any person. Gun’s do not kill, people do. Alcohol does not kill marriages or people, the abuse of it does. The Bible condemns drunkenness, not wine itself. The “excess” is not the product itself, but actually exactly what it says – excess(drunkenness). In fact Ephesians 5:18 actually is a great picture – saying that we ought to be controlled by Spirit of God, as opposed to being controlled by drunkenness.
I realize you and I probably won’t convince each other on these things – but I just figured I would give you a quick response on this.
I am very surprised how much of what you present on your site I have come to agree with. The Gender Roles, topic of sex, ect…and we are just in totally different leagues when it comes to some of these other things. Oh well… I guess it’s just like any other book,or site I’ve ever read on Christian living, or doctrine,church polity, ect…. your not going to agree with everything. Have a great day.
Jeff – I guess we just have to chalk this up to one of those “Romans 14” times, where we will just have accept our differences on these matters. Thanks again for you gracious comments and questions.