“The Trouble with Tradition” (Mark 7:1-13)
THE TROUBLE WITH TRADITION
(Mark 7:1-13)
INTRODUCTION: What should we do with our religious traditions?
I. BEWARE TRADITIONS THAT NULLIFY THE WORD OF GOD.
II. BEWARE TRADITIONS THAT ADD TO THE WORD OF GOD.
III. BEWARE THINKING THAT TRADITIONS BETTER COMMEND US TO GOD.
Questions for Family Review/Discussion:
- What are some of your Christmas traditions? How did you adopt them? Have you ever broken some of them? What was the result?
- Would you consider yourself more of an innovationist or a traditionalist? Why?
- What do you think was at the root of the conflict between Jesus and the Pharisees? Weren’t they reading from the same Bible?
- What does “putting a fence around God’s Law” mean? Can you think of instances where churches today may have attempted this?
- What does the Roman church mean when it speaks of the Word of God? How is this different from the way Protestants mean this? What concerns do you have with the Roman practice?
- Why must the Christian conscience be left free from “doctrines of men”?
- What are some current examples of “Jesus…and _____”? Why do these always seem to grown in popularity? How is this different from the Great Commission’s “AND teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you”?
- What kinds of extrabiblical practices or abstentions do people think commend them to God? Why do you think people seek these new practices beyond what God has already told us? According to verse 6, what happens when Christians follow these innovations?
- What did John Calvin say would happen when consciences were ensnared by restrictive extra-biblical rules? Are there any such rules that have attracted you?
- What does this freedom from human traditions mean to you? What customs or traditions might you need to revisit and reevaluate?