TROUBLING TRADITIONS

“For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men.” - Mark 7:8

The American Church is vastly different from the Church we read about in the New Testament. Over the years, certain traditions and rituals have become second nature to us. We don't really think about them even though they are not found in the Bible. Some may be very innocent, but others are not. While believers have embraced these traditions, they have often done so to the neglect of more pertinent matters.

I realize that those who will read this will object to one or more of the complaints I have. My challenge is for you to take your Bible and prove me wrong.

Let's look at a couple of common church traditions that are not found in Scripture.

1. THE SINNER'S PRAYER

I have written on this before, but it is worth repeating. Most evangelical church end their worship service with an evangelistic invitation for sinners to come to Christ. Through the years, ministers have learned that the quickest way to get a visible response to a Gospel invitation is to use the sinner's prayer. Typically, the invitation goes like this: “Bow your head and close your eyes,” followed by an invitation, “If you want Jesus as your Savior, then repeat these words.” The minister then leads people in a response prayer. Afterwards, the pastor tells the congregation, “If you prayed that prayer with sincerity, then you are saved.”

There are numerous problems with the “sinner's prayer.” First of all, neither Jesus or His disciples used this kind of method when giving an invitation. Search the Scriptures and see if you find a strong message followed by, “Bow your heads, close your eyes and repeat this prayer after me.” Secondly, the Bible never uses the phrase, “Sinner's Prayer.” Not only is the method never used, believers are never instructed to use this method. Third, the Bible never teaches us that a person who repeats a prayer “shall be saved.” The Bible does say, “Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved,” but this is not an encouragement for responsive prayer. Fourth, a person may repeat a prayer without ever repenting of sin. Normally this is omitted from a Gospel message. Fifth, it isn't the place of the minister to declare someone saved because they repeated his prayer. It is the Spirit that witnesses to us that we are children of God. Many have a false sense of security because they repeated a prayer with a TV minister. In spite of all these issues, this is a common tradition among evangelical pastors. It needs to stop. We need to instruct sinners to repent and believe the Gospel. Furthermore, we need to quit worrying about baptism statistics and concentrate on seeing sinners become disciples. Superficial means produces superficial results.

2. DEDICATING BABIES

This is a popular tradition among evangelicals. Most Protestant denominations do not practice infant baptism. Instead, this tradition was instituted. Jesus said, “Suffer the little children to come unto me.” Jesus took children and blessed them. That is a fact. However, the tradition of dedicating babies is usually treated as a “coming out party,” to celebrate the baby and the parents. Most churches excuse this tradition by saying that the ceremony is for parents to promise to raise the child in church and pray for the child's earliest conversion. I am certainly not opposed to praying for children. However, a parent does not need a ceremony to raise the child in church. Just go ahead and do it. Furthermore, the ceremony is not found in the book of Acts, neither were believers told to do this anywhere in the New Testament. We have allowed a Roman Catholic tradition (infant baptism) to filter into our churches. We've just altered their tradition and relabeled it as a baby dedication. I know I am among the few to see this as a flaw, but I doubt anyone can find Scripture to prove me wrong. Furthermore, some parents (and later the child) may incorrectly think the child is a Christian because of the baby dedication.  Rather than having a “coming out party,” for the parents and child, I think parents should seriously invest in the child's spiritual formation.  A ceremony is not necessary to raise your child in church. There are two things a parent should do --- without ceremony. First of all, raise the child in a Christian home. A baby dedication cannot replace this. Secondly, raise the child in church by BRINGING the child to church each Sunday. Both parents need to participate in this activity. Rather than having a baby dedication in church, the parents need to dedicate themselves to raising the child according to the Scriptures. This is not a ceremony, but a continual investment in the child's life.

You may think I am nit-picking, but shouldn't our churches be more conformed to the Scriptures than man-made traditions? If we want God to bless our churches, it would be a good idea if we return to His design for the church rather than our own plan.

Not all traditions are wrong. But we need to recognize when traditions are unhealthy and unproductive. At best traditions never trump the Scriptures. If we aren't careful, church members can make a golden calf from our traditions. We can easily worship our traditions and neglect the truth.