Tradition.
It’s the way we’ve done it, and it’s the way we’re going to do it.
Or, to say it another way, if it’s good enough for our momma, it’s good enough for us.
The Scriptures speak to tradition. Let’s see what five verses tell us, from the Old Testament to the New.
Leviticus 19:28 cautions us:
“You shall not make any cuts on your body for the dead or tattoo yourselves: I am the Lord.”
Essentially God is saying, “Stop doing what you’ve been doing!” When we come to Christ and find salvation in him, we no longer do the things the world does. We become different.
Acts 2:42 says:
“And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.”
Restricting our spiritual self to just Sunday isn’t enough anymore. Christ must be alive in every part of our lives. We must be devoted to him.
2 Timothy 3:16 shows us our guidebook:
“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.”
Put aside Dr. Spock, Charles Darwin, and Sigmund Freud. That’s the old way, tradition. We need to move into the Word of God.
Ephesians 4:32 reveals a new set of behaviors:
“Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”
Where is judgment, condemnation, and rigidity in this verse? We won’t find it, because it’s not there. We need to toss out tradition and show love, instead.
John 3:16-17 is the tradition game changer of all time:
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”
There is no condemnation through Christ, no finger-pointing or fist-waving. Our new tradition is salvation through the Son of God, and that comes through the love we show to those we interact with every day.
If our tradition is truly Christ, we’ll spill out love in everything we say and do.
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