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Matthew 15:1-20 – What Would Jesus Think About Christmas Traditions?
As Christmas is upon us many celebrate the birth of Jesus. If we do let’s check the scriptures to make sure what we are saying happened in the songs, happened in the original story. And let us worship Jesus in those songs the way scripture teaches us to sing as worship. Anything else is teaching as doctrine the traditions of man (Matthew 15:9).
Someone asked, “Is there really anything wrong with traditions that do not point the seeker in the wrong direction?” Here is my answer: “Not if they do not: 1) Replace scripture; 2) Contradict scripture; 3) Become scripture.” Then another added how my short answer matched perfectly what Jesus stated concerning traditions in Matthew 15:
- Tradition contradicting Scripture (Matthew 15:3-6);
- Tradition becoming Scripture (15:7-9);
- Tradition replacing Scripture (15:15-20).
Any repeated act is by definition a tradition, even such things that done daily such as eating together as a family. Therefore some traditions can be quite nice and productive. However within the spiritual realm, we must be careful because of Jesus’ warnings which involved something we also do daily today which is wash our hands before eating. How do we know when our innocuous tradition has crossed the line? Well, if you get upset or uncomfortable when it is changed, then it is likely your tradition is pointing you in the wrong direction, the direction Jesus warned about.
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