Good evening.  Tonight we are going to do things a little differently.  Tonight, I have an episode of The Waltons, that I think it would be neat to watch the whole thing.  So, in order to do that, we are going to have our discussion time first, and then I will play the episode, and if you need to leave, go ahead, otherwise, we will watch the episode and we will dismiss around 10 minutes late this week.  The Episode that we will watch in a moment is titled The Shivaree, and it deals with traditions.

Before we get started, let’s begin with a word of prayer.  Let’s Pray!

What are some traditions that you take part in?

Can you think of any traditions that are negative in any way?

Well, tonight we are taking a look at traditions.  A tradition is a custom or practice that people observe because it has been handed down to them from their ancestors.  Every culture has many traditions which give color and definition to that society.  In America we have many traditions that we observe in connection with our holidays, birthdays, sporting competitions, weddings, graduations, and funerals.  Most religious groups also rely heavily upon tradition to determine how they will worship and practice their faith.  Because tradition plays such a large role in the realm of religion we should see what God has to say about it in the scriptures.

We learn from the scriptures that there are 3 categories of tradition in the area of religion.  1) There are traditions specifically commanded or authorized by God in the Bible.

2) There are customary practices that are sometimes adopted by God's people in order to carry out God's will in a consistent manner.

3) There are traditions which men adopt that are not authorized by God and that lead men into error and disobedience.

What I want to do this evening is take a brief look at each of these categories of traditions, and then we will watch the last episode of The Waltons.  So let's examine these 3 categories.

First, Traditions Specifically Appointed By God.

What are some traditions that God Himself appointed us to follow?

When Christ sent His apostles into the world to preach the gospel and establish churches, He gave them many commands and instructions to pass along to believers, we find that in The Great Commission in Matthew 28:18-20.  Each church founded by an apostle was commanded to observe specific practices.  In I Corinthians 11:2, Paul praised the Corinthians for faithfully upholding the traditions which they had been taught.  II Thessalonians tells us that the saints were to hold to these traditions and not drift away from them.  In fact, they were so important that if anyone failed to uphold them, the other saints were to cease associating with that person as we read in II Thessalonians 3:6.

Through the writings of the apostles and prophets in the New Testament, we can know exactly what these traditions were and we can follow them today.  Such things as immersion in water for the forgiveness of sins, Acts 2:38, weekly observance of the Lord's Supper, Acts 20:7, and singing songs of praise together, Colossians 3:16, are among the traditions handed down to us in the scriptures.  We should hold firmly to all of these Biblical traditions because they have been given by divine authority and we know that they please the Lord.

The Second Set Of Traditions Are The Customary Ways Of Keeping God's Commands.

There are traditions which, although they are not specifically commanded by God, they are acceptable ways of carrying out a practice authorized by God.  Can you think of any traditions that fall into this category?

Well, many of God's instructions in the Bible are given in general terms, so we must determine the best way for us to carry them out.  Sometimes God’s people settle upon one effective way of doing a work authorized by God.  This particular method of doing God’s will may over time become customary or traditional.  There is nothing wrong with such a tradition as long as it is understood that it is only one of many ways of doing God’s will and it does not hold the same authority as a specific Biblical command.

A Biblical example of this type of tradition would be Paul’s custom of first going to preach in the synagogue of any town that he entered.  We find this method in Acts 17:2.  This was only one of many ways that Paul could have carried out the Lord’s command to preach the gospel, it just happened to be the way that Paul found to be most effective for him.

We have also settled upon many traditional ways of carrying out God's commands.  It is customary among Christians to build special houses in which to assemble together as the Lord instructed.  In Hebrews 10:25 God instructed us to gather together, but He never said anything about building a church building.  We could make other arrangements for our assembling together, but we have found this method most convenient.  Other such traditions would be: the holding of separate classes, the placement of a sign out front to tell others who we are, our order of services, our meeting twice on Sunday and once on Wednesday night, and many of things that we do are done in this category.

All of these practices fall under the authority of God, for they are all done in order to carry out something God has told us to do.  But each of them is only one way of doing God’s will and none of them are mandatory.  We have simply fallen into the custom of doing God’s will in these ways, but if we determine that there is a better way of doing things, then we may choose to change them.

And That Brings Us To The Last Category, Traditions That Do Not Have God’s Approval.

The Bible also teaches us that men often practice traditions in their religion that do not have God’s authority behind them.  We are taught that these traditions displease God and lead men into error.

Can you think of any traditions that people do that may fall into this category?

Well, in Colossians 2:8 Paul warns the saints not to fall captive to the traditions of men.  We must therefore examine every tradition that men practice in religion and determine its source.  If it is specifically or generally authorized by God, then we may adopt it without fear.  But if it has no basis in scripture, then we should avoid it altogether.

In Matthew 15:1-9 Jesus condemns the Pharisees for their reliance upon human traditions.  The Pharisees had many religious traditions which they honored very carefully.  While most of them had some basis in the scriptures, they were primarily of human origin.  Because of this, and because of their devotion to them, the traditions of the Pharisees became a snare to them.

Their observance of these traditions became a problem for 3 reasons.

1) They taught their human traditions as being the doctrines of God, vs. 9.

2) They tried to bind their traditions on others and condemn all those who did not honor them, vs. 2.

3) They even followed their traditions when it caused them to violate some specific command of God, vs. 3-6.

There are many religious traditions that human beings have invented through the years and they have adopted them in their worship and practice.  Many of them have no basis in scriptures at all, yet men teach them and uphold them as being part of Christianity.  We must remember what Christ said in Matthew 15:13.  If it does not come from God, then God will uproot it.  Every practice in our service must therefore be supported by the authority of the scriptures.

As we begin to wrap things up this evening, allow me to make a few more observations about traditions and the things that we do.  These observations will come out in our episode of The Waltons tonight.

There are some rituals and traditions that see odd to outsiders.  Some of the things that we do, don’t make sense to people who come maybe for the first few times.  Sometimes the things that we do seem foreign to other people.  When that happens, what can we do to help them to understand?

One main thing that we have to do is make sure that we make people feel welcome no matter what.  We also have to try and understand where they are coming from.  And when we encounter a tradition that is not what we are use to, we need to do our best to understand it, and if it does not go against scripture, try and follow along if we can.

Now before we close and watch tonight’s episode, does anyone have anything that they would like to add?

Well, if there is nothing else, we will start the show, and if you have to leave before it is over, feel free to, otherwise, enjoy the last episode of The Waltons.

(Play Movie Clip.  Episode Nineteen.  Start at 1:15, and end at 48:14, at the end of the show.)