There is a good tradition – the tradition passed down by God, and there is a bad tradition – an Old Tradition of man watering down Scripture that robs us of God’s intended power. The good tradition is that of which Paul speaks when he instructs us:
2 Thessalonians 2:15 Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle.
We are “stand fast, and hold” to the good “traditions” – the word of God that we “have been taught”. Herein is the crux of the matter. We are to “prove (test) all thing; hold fast to that which is good” (I Thes 5:21); “hold fast the form of sound words” (II Tim 1:13); “Take fast hold of instruction” (Prov 4:13); “Holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught” (Titus 1:9); and so on.
“The ecclesiastical straightjacket is the hardest fetter of them all” – AB Simpson
To hold on to the good, the Truth, we must let go of the bad, the compromised version of God’s word. It is the bad tradition of which I write. This document is an expose on many Old Traditions robbing the church of power. It is the false doctrine and the beliefs of man that do not square with God’s clear word. Sadly, it permeates all – yes all, myself included – of our thinking. Much of it is subtle and hard to separate from the pure, unadulterated Word.
For 15 centuries following Christ’s atonement, the Tradition of Man obscured the Truth of God’s plan of salvation. An apostate church stepped in to fill the dark void with Traditions, mostly self-serving Traditions, and false doctrine. It was not without much sacrifice and bloodshed that the stranglehold of Tradition was broken in the 15th and 16th centuries. Tyndale, Wycliffe, Huss, Luther, Saddler, Calvin and others rediscovered the simplicity of the Gospel and personal relationship with God available to us all. This Truth we take for granted today, cost these and others dearly. Sadly, since the reformation and revivals since these reformers, much false beliefs and traditions have crept back into the church.
Charles Spurgeon spoke much about the compromising of doctrine in his later days, which he called “The Downgrade”, by the inclusion of worldly liberal thinking. It troubled him deeply, even affecting his health. He knew that it was a slippery slope that would lead to compromise throughout God’s word, even to the essentials of the faith. Since his day it has only grown worse. The Church today is ripe for a revival of Truth – and the power of God – that has been forfeited for the sake of Old Tradition and watered-down theology.
“A discrepancy between Scripture and experience is an invitation to draw closer to God, not a theological problem to explain. … If any promises of Scripture are unfulfilled in your life, don’t explain them away. Go after them with all your heart.” – Chris Tiegreen