A Look at Traditions in the Church

According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the word “tradition” refers to “an inherited, established, or customary pattern of thought, action, or behavior.” Practically speaking, traditions are long-held practices which were once established and have been passed down as customs throughout the ages. Interestingly, our lives are filled with customs and traditions. Very likely each family has their own unique set of traditions. These staple practices were established years ago and have sur-vived the test of time.

When we come to the Bible, there are basically two types of traditions: divine traditions and human traditions. Regarding the former, Paul said, “Now we command you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from any brother who is walking in idleness and not in accord with the tradition that you received from us” (2 Thessalonians 3:6 ESV). Notice that the traditions in this passage were divine in origin because they were established and passed down from the apostles, the inspired ambassadors of Christ. But concerning the latter, which is human tradition, Jesus said, “So for the sake of your tradition you have made void the word of God…teaching as doctrines the commandments of men” (Matthew 15:6-9 ESV). The traditions in this passage were merely human traditions established entirely by men, but they were being incorrectly bound as inspired precedents. Therefore, the Scriptures reveal that traditions of a divine origin are obligatory, but traditions of human origin are completely optional. We must learn to distinguish between these! Is it from God, or is it from man? Is it a human tradition, or is it a tradition from God? Is it optional, or is it obligatory?

In the church, we engage in practices which are both matters of divine and human tradition. For example, we take the Lord’s Supper every Sunday and sing congregational acapella hymns. These are divine traditions established by God and His apostles, and we are bound to keep them. However, we also typically meet at a traditional time, we usually have a certain customary order of worship, and many churches meet again at the building for worship on Sunday evenings in the place of an alternate format. These are human traditions established by men, and they are optional. Straying away from these arrangements would be no sin. Ultimately, a divine tradition is rooted in the New Testament, but a human tradition is not backed by Word from the Lord. Again, we must use extreme caution when it comes to our traditions. We must never reduce a divine tradition to that of a mere human tradition, and we can never elevate a human tradition to that of a divine one. Can you think of some examples throughout history where this has happened? Can you think of some ways this is possible today? Think about it!