Dead Traditions that hinder us

While God has some traditions for the church that Paul taught, according to 2 Thessalonians 3:6, there are MANY traditions in the way most churches operate and do things that actually hinder God’s purposes.

If you read something in the New Testament and it contradicts what you think you know about the way God’s people are supposed to operate, you can be sure that your thinking has been influenced by dead tradition.

What does God want from us? In a word, LOVE. He wants our hearts. He wants us to love Him with all our hearts. This means, that we will give him our total focus. It means that we come to obey the promptings of His Spirit within us. It means we come to believe the messages He has for us. Doing what God wants because we love and trust God, will lead us to do good things for others. It will lead us to love our neighbours as ourselves.

This sounds simple, but the only way it really works is if we are connected to God in a loving relationship involving effective communication. Jesus said, “My sheep hear my voice” (John 10:34). Do you believe that? Do I? A mature child of God will know God’s voice and do the will of God. “Those who are led by the Spirit, these are the sons of God”. (Romans 8:14). The Spirit of God leads us to walk in love. We do this by firstly drawing on God, for God is love. With the love we receive from Him, we can love others – and that involves seeking for the profit and good of others as much as for ourselves. 1 Corinthians 10:33 says,

“just as I also please all men in all things, not seeking my own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved.”

Apart from salvation, there are many lesser needs people have, and the child of God will be led by God in serving others to meet these needs also. We are to do this by the power of the Holy Spirit dwelling within and resting upon us. Praise be to God for this marvellous plan.

If this is what God wants, and I believe a careful reading of the Scriptures show it to be so, then we need to ask, “How are we doing?”

How fruitful are we? How many people have you led to Christ in the last year? How many have you helped be established in the faith? How well have you “let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven”?

If you have not been fruitful, or if you are falling short of God’s intention for you as a Christian, it can be for two main reasons.

(1) Failure to draw near to God with diligence
(2) Wrong beliefs that lead you to place priority on certain things that are not important to God

Nowhere are wrong beliefs more devastating than in areas which relate directly to our understanding of how we are to please God.

This is why DEAD TRADITIONS are so dangerous and need to be exposed.

This section is devoted to exposing some of these dead traditions.

Dead Traditions that hinder us has moved here.