By Jon Quinn
If a religious practice is centuries old; if it is encouraging and uplifting; if it is beautiful to see or hear; if it is sanctioned by religious leaders around the world; if it is highly symbolic and moves us to think righteous thoughts; and if many, many respected people seem to get so much good out of it then it must be pleasing to God. Am I Right?
Well, no I am not. Although all the above qualifications sound so good and positive, none of them are a factor in determining what is pleasing to God. In fact, when you think about it, the above qualities could describe a noble Jewish, Moslem or Eastern religious tradition. The missing ingredient is the acceptance of Christ's authority. Apart from the authority of God's Son, a religious practice cannot be acceptable to God, no matter how beautiful or popular. King Jesus has all authority (Matthew 28:18-20; John 14:6; Ephesians 1:22,23). The most beautiful worship in God's eyes is not those acts which appeal to the eyes or flesh with glitter, pomp and circumstance. It is simple, trusting hearts yielding to His Son and expressing the soul's adoration for Him in the ways in which He has proscribed. The love of Christ and the keeping of His commandments is the key to pleasing the Father (John 14:15;21). The keeping and binding of religious traditions of human origin will obscure the truth if we are not careful. Consider as our text Jesus' own statements concerning this, and how He answered the question; "Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders...?" (Mark 7:1-13).
Sometimes, people judge the merits of a tradition based upon outward appearances. If it appears holy, then it must be. The Pharisees partook in a religious tradition of the washing of the hands. This was not a matter of personal hygiene, but elaborate religious ritual full of deep religious symbolism. It was widely practiced among the Jews of the first century, so much so that it was thought extremely strange that the Lord and His disciples did not bother with it.
Men had started this religious practice to symbolize their disdain for moral and spiritual impurity. This washing of hands consisted of thoroughly and vigorously washing the hands up to the elbows while offering prayers and blessings as a religious ritual. This tradition deluded the Pharisees into thinking themselves pure, when in reality they were only cleansing the surface. Spiritual cleansing must come from within (Mark 7:14,15).
The Pharisees thought Jesus was less than righteous for not keeping their traditions. The ceremony was so beautiful and elaborate, they thought. Likewise, we should think carefully about religious rituals offered today. We'll have to do better than the Pharisees to be pleasing to God.
The real question with all religious ritual, practices and doctrine is, "Is it of God or of man?" Jesus said that there were at least two things wrong with the Pharisees' practice. First, they were going through motions which had the appearance of holiness but their hearts were far removed from God. Second, their worship of God was rendered vain by the fact that they taught and practiced as "doctrine the precepts of men." Jesus said both of these problems were serious enough to render their worship vain.
We must remember that often times things may appear holy to men but are not pleasing to the Lord. Paul mentioned "...matters which have, to be sure, the appearance of wisdom in self-made religion..." but "...are of no value against fleshly indulgence." (Colossians 2:23). It is as Samuel told the sinful King Saul, "Behold, to obey is better than to sacrifice." (1 Samuel 15:22b).
The specific example that Jesus uses is that of the command "Honor your father and mother." This was the commandment of God, and included caring for parents when they became less able to provide for themselves due to age. But the Pharisees would sometimes take that with which they might have given to their parents, and make it "a gift to God." They would say the phrase "corban" over an item, and thereby set it apart as devoted to God. So, the parents would go without their due honor, contrary to God's commandment, and the son would retain practical ownership of the "dedicated" items.
It would be bad enough to insist our traditions were of equal weight and authority to the commandments of God, but to go even further and set aside the commandments of God for the sake of tradition is possibly even worse. For example, by the commandment of Jesus we are not to wear special religious clothing , have special places of honor, and use special religious titles to distinguish ourselves above other brethren. We are all brothers (Matthew 23:5-12). But many have set aside this commandment of Jesus by wearing special clerical garb, having special seats of honor and using religious courtesy titles, thereby "nicely setting aside the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition."
The religious world has no shortage of religious traditions of human, and not divine, origin. For example, one simply cannot find any special annual observances of either Christ's birth or death in His covenant. While we are gladdened by His coming, our way of celebrating it is to lovingly obey Him each day and be dedicated to His will being done. One cannot find babies being "christened" in our covenant. This practice also had its origin in the minds of men.
But there are rituals that are ordained of God. There is the Lord's Supper, full of meaning, sobering beauty and uplifting. There is the singing of hymns and the offering of prayers as we assemble together. There is the baptism of believers for the remission of sins as we symbolize our Lord's death, burial and resurrection. Let us be fully satisfied with keeping the Lord's covenant.
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