sermonette: The Traditions of Men
Craig Sablich
Given 22-Mar-25; Sermon #1809s; 18 minutes
Description: (show)
Many of the world's religious traditions misrepresent God's word and are not in sync with His holy and spiritual law. God's saints are urged to fact-check all teaching with the Bible (after the practice of the Bereans) rather than blindly accept inherited doctrines that have been influenced by Roman and Greek philosophies, distorting biblical teachings. Such distortions have contaminated mainstream antinomian Christianity with the teaching that grace allegedly abolishes the law, making works unnecessary. While works have never justified anyone, we are required to keep the law in letter and spirit, emulating our Savior. Christ did not end the law, but fulfilled the law, providing a lasting pattern for His saints to follow. We have a somber responsibility to seek pure biblical proof, casting aside deceptive antinomian traditions which contradict God's commands. We have an obligation to diligently study the scriptures, rigorously evaluating all teaching to align our lives with God's truth rather than contaminated human traditions.
I want to kick things off this afternoon with a simple question. How do you feel when someone lies to you? Do you feel a rush of anger, maybe a bit of resentment? Does it shatter your trust in them forever, or does it fade after a while? Now let's change things up a bit. What if the person genuinely believed what they were saying was true? Does that shift your reaction? Well, let's tweak it one more time. What if you never took the time to fact check what someone told you and later found out you've been living a lie based on false information? How would that hit you? Well, consider, brethren. If someone were spreading lies about your dad, twisting his words, and making him appear to be saying something that was not true, wouldn't that get you a bit angry? Now think about all the inaccurate teachings that have been attached to God's word over the years by those groups who identify as Christians. Well, shouldn't we be just as concerned when people misrepresent our Heavenly Father? So what do we do when we hear these many diverse teachings about God? Sure, we could confront them. If we are confident we can debate them and prove the truth. But do we just ignore their teachings about our Father's plan for humanity? Well, is our foundation of knowledge solid enough that we can discern if these teachings are true or lies? Now a lie requires the intent to deceive. So are these teachings deliberate attempts to mislead or just well-meaning traditions that have taken a wrong turn? Either way, anything that contradicts God's truth is nothing more than the traditions of men. I remember back when God started introducing Himself to me. I stumbled across the World Tomorrow and there was Mr. Armstrong. He pounded his desk and looked straight into the camera saying, do not believe me, believe the Bible. I'm just a man. I can make mistakes, but the pure word of God is the only thing you can truly trust. I had a few, a few months ago, I had a conversation with a relative who asked to discuss God's truth with me. I reluctantly agreed because I knew he just wanted to challenge my decision to leave the Catholic Church. Well, he started by stating, Craig, do you think our parents and grandparents would have ever taught us anything about God that was not true? They would never lie to us. Well, I did not argue, not because I agreed, but because debating deep-seated tradition seemed pointless. It can be hard to accept that just because something has been repeated for generations doesn't make it true. Early church leaders influenced by the one who deceives the whole world have done a masterful job of twisting Paul's words about sin, the law, and grace. They've created a completely different gospel that actually contradicts Christ's gospel message of the kingdom. This warped perspective did not appear out of nowhere, no. It evolved from early church fathers influenced by Roman legal traditions and Greek philosophy. This led to a dangerous separation between faith and obedience to God's way. Today I want to take a look at two passages from Romans that expose some of the most harmful teachings that have saturated the minds of sincere people who genuinely want to love Jesus. But unknowingly they have embraced a doctrine from the traditions of men. Now, Mr. Armstrong taught the churches of God, these traditional teachings have taken Paul's words completely out of context, as if they are stand-alone statements. So in the spirit of the Bereans, let's dig into this a bit and see the proof of what Mr. Armstrong found. In the early chapters of Romans, Paul addresses both Jews and Gentiles, explaining that God's law was designed to make us aware of sin and was never intended to fix the problem of sinning. Paul emphasizes that no one can claim righteousness through their own efforts to keep the law perfectly. Instead, Paul urges the Jews to shift their focus to the righteousness that comes by faith in Jesus Christ rather than trying to earn salvation through lawkeeping. But this was a radical shift for the Jews who believed that lawkeeping was their ticket to righteousness. So Paul points to Abraham, who was declared righteous because of his faith, not his works. As Paul continues, he begins addressing the relationship between God and Israel. The Gentiles debated if God had cast off Israel, so Paul clarifies that God is still working with some Israelites like himself. God's pattern has been to work with a remnant, not the masses. So Paul explains that God calls individuals through His love and mercy, offering them grace. It's because of Jesus' sacrifice that God's grace was made available. However, the Jews rejected this knowledge, standing firm and believing their lineage entitled them to God's blessings. Paul continues by comparing Adam and Christ, noting that while Adam was aware of sin and his penalty, he chose to sin. In contrast, Christ chose not to sin, bringing righteousness into the world. So just as God condemned Adam for his choice to sin, He condemns everyone who choose a lifestyle of sin. Now to fully grasp what Paul is driving at in the first few chapters, we need to clarify which law he's discussing. Many today, just as in the 1st century, mistakenly believe the 10 Commandments began at Mount Sinai and think that when the Old Covenant became of no effect, the same happened to the law of God. But this idea contradicts scripture. God's word reveals that the 10 Commandments are the foundation of His lifestyle within His kingdom, meaning the law has been in place from the beginning, long before man. Well, Paul points out that the penalty for sin existed from the time of Adam. So why would God require a death penalty for sin if there were no law to define sin? So when Paul speaks of the law in these first few chapters, he primarily refers to the law concerning the death penalty for sin. He explains that no matter how hard someone works to be obedient, they can never achieve righteousness because they cannot erase past transgressions. Only Jesus' sacrifice can restore the right relationship with God. So this is the context of Paul's teaching as we approach Romans chapter 6. So let's go there and look at our first scripture. In chapter 6, Paul asked, can a person continue living in sin because of grace? Well, his answer is clear. No way. The old man has died to sin, and receiving God's grace washes away the past, allowing the new man to live in Christ. This leads us to verse 15 of chapter 6, where Paul asks, what then shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Well, certainly not. Paul is clear, grace does not grant permission to sin. It frees us from the penalty of breaking the law. Death, because Christ paid the price. So Paul asked again if it's a big deal to sin while under grace. Well, absolutely it is. In the following verses, he continues to explain the consequences of sin. The law regarding sin will always be in place, but having a living faith in Christ's sacrifice removes us from being under that law. He closes out chapter 6 by stating the wages of sin is death. But it seems that the majority who preach tradition while reading these early chapters in Romans is like, blah blah blah blah blah. Wait, what, what? We are no longer under the law but under grace? Awesome. They seemed to ignore everything Paul was saying that led up to this verse, treating it as a stand-alone statement. Their traditional teaching claims that being under grace means the law no longer matters. But is this what Paul said? Not at all. So is this teaching a lie, a tradition intended to deceive? Paul speaks of his own struggles with sin and truly understanding this law. He was educated and lived the lifestyle of the Jews and their unique system of Judaism and its 600 or so laws that were added to regulate conduct. When the veil was removed from Paul's mind, he realized these beliefs keep the Jews enslaved to sin. So as Paul continues speaking of the relationship between God and Israel, we come to our next verse in chapter 10 of Romans. So reading verse 4 of chapter 10, Paul states, For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. So continuing right along in context, Paul tells the Jews that if they think they can keep the law perfect enough to make themselves right with God, they are mistaken. If you could make yourself right with God by keeping the 600 added laws, Jesus' sacrifice would be unnecessary. But no one can unsin. You cannot eliminate the penalty of law breaking by obeying more. Once someone sins, the penalty is in play, and only the death of Christ can substitute for that penalty, proving that Christ is the end of that misguided belief system of the Jewish traditions and usher in righteousness. Well, once again, in keeping with their traditional views, this verse is taught as Christ ending God's law. But again, brethren, does that interpretation of this verse agree with the overall context of what Paul has been talking about? Yet this verse is used to add power to the notion that God's law has little to no meaning to the new Christian. So let's look at this verse a bit closer. Paul's phrasing in this verse may seem a bit peculiar. The Greek word for end is telos, which can be translated in various ways. First, it can mean a point in time, marking the end of a duration. Now this is the definition traditional Christian teachings latch onto because it fits their claim that Christ ended the law. However, this definition doesn't align with the context of Paul's teaching, and its use contradicts other scriptures. The word telos can also mean the result of an event or process focusing on the final state or outcome. In context, we can understand this to mean that Christ is the outcome of the law. The third meaning of telos is the purpose of an event, the result, intent, or goal. In this way we can say that Christ is the goal, the result of the law. These last two definitions fit in nicely with Paul's context and align with Christ's own words. You know there is a rule in Bible study, it's best to use clear statements to help clarify unclear ones. In Matthew chapter 5 verse 17, Jesus makes His intentions regarding the law clear, saying, Do not think that I came to destroy the law or the prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. Jesus' words strongly affirm that the whole law of God is still in place and always will be. The law which establishes God's way of life serves as the standard for all judgments of righteousness made by God throughout history. Without law, there can be no standard for future righteous judgments. In James chapter 2 verse 17, he teaches that faith without obedience is meaningless. So if there is no law, what is one to be obedient to? Inaccurate traditional teachings lead many to read into scripture what is not there, forcing scripture to align with pre-existing beliefs. The irony is that they believe God is only concerned about what's in their hearts, while it's their hearts that lead them to break the law. If their hearts were truly in harmony with God, they would hold fast to I John chapter 2 verse 4 that states, if you claim to know Him and do not keep His commandments, you are a liar. Instead they create complex arguments attempting to prove the law has been done away. Brethren, no law of God has ever been declared unnecessary or done away. It's these types of teachings, steadfast in tradition, that are dangerous and leads people into sin. Throughout the 1st 11 chapters of Romans, Paul's message is not about abolishing the law at all. It's about understanding that the law alone cannot save us. His message is centered around the problem of how sinful man who is under the law of death can be put into a right relationship with God. Brethren, we live in a world filled with false doctrines, half truths, and feel-good theology that distorts God's word to fit human desires. So circling back to the original question, what can we do when we hear these traditional teachings? The most important thing is to seek out the truth. We must go straight to the source, God's word. Then we followed the scriptural advice to test everything. Paul praised the Bereans in Acts chapter 7 verse 11 for not just taking his word for it. They searched the scriptures daily to see if what he said was true. That's what Mr. Armstrong directed us all to do. Because brethren, no matter how long you've been in God's church, you're never immune to the deceptions of tradition. So now we've seen the context of Paul's letter to the Romans that lead up to these verses. He emphasizes that because human nature's tendency is to oppose God's way, our minds are predisposed to sin, leading to the death penalty. There is nothing man can do on his own to wipe away sins from the past, as Paul points out the error of the traditions of the Jews. I think it clearly proves Mr. Armstrong's teachings to the church. These verses have been taken completely out of context. But brethren, there is so much more for us to do. We need to put this truth into action in our lives. Knowing the truth is not enough. We have to act on it and let it shape our lives, choices, and character. At the end of the day, God will not judge us based on the traditions of the world or even our parents might have taught. He will judge us based on how we respond to His truth. So I'll leave you with this. I did my best to summarize the context of the 1st 11 chapters of Paul's letter to the Romans. But brethren, do not just take my word for it. Fact check everything, study for yourself, dig deep, pray, and seek God's wisdom. When you find the truth, hold on to it tightly. Because brethren, truth is not just knowledge, it's the foundation of eternal life.
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Sermon Topics
The Gospel
