Ad Finem Illum
Volume 3. Issue 1
January 2016
Human traditions in the church get a bad rap
these days. Among American Protestants there is a school of thought that claims
anything originating from man has no place in the church since the church
should only be focused upon the things of God revealed in Holy Scripture.
Whether it’s the celebration of holy days, a liturgical calendar, or the
wearing of a clerical collar, there are many that get upset when it is
suggested that human traditions have a place in the church and can be useful.
The argument often centers around the words of
Jesus in Matthew 15:9, “In vain they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments
of men.” Many understand Jesus to mean that if you have commandments of men in
your church you are not teaching the true worship of Christ. Reading the words
of Jesus in this way, they hear Jesus saying that all commandments of men, that
is, all human traditions, are in vain and opposed to the Gospel. This reading
of Jesus’ words needs to be challenged.
Before we explore Jesus’ words in Matthew 15 we ought to consider what a
human tradition even is. A human tradition in the church, or ecclesiastical
usage, is something that is done in the church that is not commanded in
Scripture, usually pertaining to the worship of God. Now consider of what sort
these things are. Is the ancient liturgy a human tradition? Yes. The New
Testament does not command a particular form of outward worship. TLH Page 15
did not fall from the sky on golden
tablets. But what about the contemporary worship of the Pentecostals? Is
that external form of worship commanded in the Scripture? No. Both forms of
worship are man-made. Both are “tradition of man.” Does the New Testament
command vestments to be worn during worship, or clerical collars, which are
simply vestiges of vestments from a bygone era? No. Neither does the New
Testament command that shirts and ties, black Geneva gowns, or the current
ministerial uniform, khakis with a polo shirt, be worn. Any choice of dress for
a church’s ministers is a tradition of man. What this means is that all
churches, even the Protestant churches who vehemently rail against human
tradition have their own human traditions and ecclesiastical usages!
The New Testament does not prescribe or command
any ceremony, any holy day, or any outward specification for how the Christian
congregation is to worship. According to the New Testament, the true worship of
God is faith. The Lutheran Confessions summarize this all over.
Faith is the [worship] which receives
the benefits offered by God…God wishes to be worshiped in this way, that we
receive from Him those things which He promises and offers. (Apology II:49)
Lo, here you have the meaning of the
true honor and worship of God, which pleases God, and which He commands under
penalty of eternal wrath, namely, that the
heart know no other comfort or
confidence than in Him. (Luther’s Large Catechism I:16)
The chief worship of the Gospel is to
wish to receive remission of sins. (Apology III:189)
There is no command dictating the “how” or “when”
of worship in the New Testament. The worship of the New Testament is faith, as
Jesus says in John 4:23. All outward ceremonies, the externals of worship are
free to the Christian. They are sometimes call adiaphora, things that are neither commanded nor forbidden. The church has, throughout her history, instituted
usages, Rites, and traditions because they are helpful in teaching the Gospel
and curbing the sinful nature.
Every church has ceremony, external rites and
human traditions to which they hold and there’s nothing wrong with that. In
fact, human traditions can be beneficial to the church, as we confess:
Of Usages in the Church they teach that those ought to be observed which may be observed without sin, and which are profitable unto tranquility and good order in the Church, as particular holy days, festivals, and the like. (AC XV.1)
However, specific human traditions are to be
shunned when they oppose the Gospel. Traditions, rites, and usages oppose the
Gospel when the church teaches that their observance is necessary for salvation
and to gain God’s favor. AC 15 continues:
Nevertheless, concerning such things men are admonished that consciences are not to be burdened, as though such observance was necessary to salvation.
They are admonished also that human traditions
instituted to propitiate God, to
merit grace, and to make satisfaction for sins,
are opposed to the Gospel and the doctrine of faith. Wherefore vows and
traditions concerning meats and days, etc., instituted
to merit grace and to make satisfaction for sins, are useless and contrary to
the Gospel.
Specific human traditions are to be cast aside when
they are set up as the Word of God, as if that observance were necessary for
salvation or gaining God’s favor. This is what Jesus means when He says in
Matthew 15:9, “In vain they worship me, teaching as doctrines the
commandments of men.” It is vain, useless, and dangerous to one’s salvation to
worship God thinking that man-made commands earn His favor since the true
worship of God is faith in Christ, not outward observance.
Notice what Melanchthon does in the first paragraph of AC XV. Usages ought to be observed as long as that
observation can happen without sin. That means that a human tradition ought to
be observed by the Christian as long as the Christian is not taught to rely
upon his observance for his salvation or to gain God’s favor. When confronted
with a human tradition in the church, the first question to ask yourself is,
“Does this tradition oppose the Gospel?” If it does, it needs to be removed. If
it does not oppose the Gospel, the question must then be asked, “Does this
tradition of man made a good confession of the Gospel or an inadequate confession
of the Gospel?” It is that question which we will explore next month by the
grace of God. Ad Finem Illum. Amen.
