Week 2 Scripture: Galatians 1:10-24
God’s church is full of diverse
people; I could not imagine God’s church any other way. However, with diversity
comes difference of opinion, and quite frankly, disagreements. And with
disagreements comes church splits. It’s amazing to me what churches will split
over. Sometimes churches split because of theology (and this can occasionally be
a good thing), but most often it is over petty disagreements of preference.
I’ve heard of churches splitting for numerous reasons, from preferences of attire
(tie or no tie?) to worship style (guitar or organ?), or even seating
arrangements (pew or no pew?). Sadly, the disagreements are usually this trivial,
and not resolved easily. The Apostle Paul, in his life before Jesus, describes
how “traditions” can lead down a dangerous path.
Paul
uses the Greek word paradosis when
describing “traditions” he used to follow as a Pharisee (Gal 1:14). Paul was
part of a particular sect of Judaism called, “Pharisees.” The name literally
means, “Separate ones.” This group wanted to love and be faithful worshippers
of God. They desired to follow the rules of their religion perfectly. In their
attempt to live out this holiness, the Pharisees followed a series of
traditions (not found in Scripture) that they believed stretched back to the
time of Moses. They called this the “Oral Law.”[1]
Many of these traditions called for a separation between Jews and Gentiles
(non-Jews). For example, Jews could not eat with non-Jews, and if they did they
were considered ceremonially “unclean” before God and restricted from
worshipping God in the Temple. For the Pharisees, these “traditions” protected
them from violating God’s laws and covenant. After Paul’s encounter with the
risen Jesus (Acts 9; Gal 1:10), he sees his “traditions” as problematic with
the Gospel of Jesus. In verse 14, Paul speaking of his life before Jesus says,
“I was advancing in Judaism… being extremely militant for the traditions of my
ancestors.” Paul’s own need to keep a “tradition” eventually led him to murdering
and imprisoning Christians (Acts 8:1-3;1 Cor 15:9; Gal 1:23; Phil 3:6)—the
tradition that was supposed to lead him, and others, to be closer to God became
their greatest hindrance. Their traditions, and not love, became their
motivation for worshipping God.
Traditions
are usually started for good reasons, and with good intentions...just like the
Pharisees. But, when our traditions blind us from loving one another, then the
tradition must be destroyed. For Paul, his traditions created hate, and was
therefore to be done away with. In the same way, local churches ought to
constantly reevaluate their practices in order to preserve genuine love and not
merely traditions.
Questions to Ponder:
1.
What are some traditions you personally practice
or see practiced within the church?
2.
How do you differentiate between a tradition and
ritual (i.e. communion, baptism, etc.)?
3.
Have you ever followed a tradition to the point
of hurting someone else? If so, how would you change that now?
4.
Have you ever been part of a church split over
traditions? How did it make you feel?
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