Jump Start # 1743

Isaiah 29:13 “Then the Lord said, ‘Because this people draw near with their words and honor Me with their lip service, but they remove their hearts from Me, and their reverence for Me consists of tradition learned by rote.”

A few years ago I wrote a Bible class booklet about the temptations of Satan. Many have studied similar topics. Paul told the Corinthians that we are not ignorant of Satan’s schemes. Peter told his readers to keep their eyes open to Satan. He’s out there. He’s dangerous. The devil is after three things: he is after our marriages and he will do anything to destroy healthy, trusting and vibrant relationships; he is after our congregations and will do anything to disrupt the peace and unity and the good that they do; and he is after our souls. Most times when a study focuses upon how Satan tempts, the direction is upon the personal level. Concepts such as the lust of the eyes and the lust of the flesh and the boastful pride of life are talked about. We need to understand those things. The booklet I wrote, was focused upon one specific area, how Satan tempts a congregation. We need to know this. Shepherds ought to put some time into thinking about this. Too often a quick and simplistic answer to how Satan tempts a church is assumed and that answer is always, false teaching. We feel that the only way Satan tempts a church is through false teaching. Lessons are given about how evil false teachers are and we move on, not giving too much more thought about Satan and his eyes upon the congregation.

This week, I want to give some thought to how Satan tempts a congregation. One of the first ways this is done is when people become tired of God’s ways and they become fascinated with new ideas and new ways that are contrary to what God teaches. The old is out and the new is in. That “old time religion,” is no longer good enough for the crowd.

There are some careful things that we need to notice. The way we have done things, the traditions, the old way, is always assumed to be right. It may not be. The model of the past generation when it comes to shepherding, is nothing more than micromanaging deacons and running the church like a corporation. That model, even though several generations old now, isn’t right. Just because we have being doing something for a long time doesn’t mean that it has been done right, not does it mean that it has been God’s way.

We can also assume that if it is new, or we have never done it this way before, then it is wrong. Old is right and new is wrong. That’s the thought process in many places. Sometimes the old is stale and not working today. Young families are hungry for depth and practical lessons that deal with the things that they face. Bringing in  a guest preacher to spend a week detailing the failures of Calvinism, may be good information, but is it what families need the most today? Bless their hearts, some preachers and some shepherds don’t seem to get it. What worked in 1970, isn’t working today. The Gospel message hasn’t changed, but the methods to teach it, what we need and how we teach it should. The world has changed since 1970 and we need to find effective and Biblical ways to connect people to the Lord.

A very old, but classic example is our verse today. Taken from the days of Isaiah, the people were still worshipping God. Their lips were moving in praise. They are doing what they had been taught. However, within their heart, there was nothing. Their faith, their worship, their walk with God was all superficial and artificial. They had learned traditions by rote.

That word “traditions,” is a hot button for many folks. This is where some want to toss out everything old. Change the name. Change the look of the place. Change what is done. Change. Change. Change. They think changing things will bring back meaningful worship and faith in the Lord. And so, some have gutted the church building, their theology and the way they worship. This is nothing new. What we notice is that after a period of time, the “new look” becomes “old.” More changes. More throwing things out. With these changes, much too often, comes changing what God wants us to do. That should never be changed. Yet, too often, it is all bundled up in the concept of tradition and all of it, including what God wants us to do, is tossed. This is common when folks fight traditions and want changes without thinking about why they ought to change.

The Isaiah passage said that Israel learned traditions by rote. Most of us have learned things by rote. This is how we learned the alphabet, the books of the Bible and other important things. Repeat, repeat, repeat. Rote is not the problem.

The Isaiah passage said that Israel learned traditions by rote. Traditions are not always bad. It’s a sour taste for some, but it shouldn’t be. Here we are at the holiday season, a time filled with classic traditions.  The “non-traditionalists” don’t seem to have  a problem with that. The same Christmas music on the radio.  The same holiday movies again this year. How many will put on the same ornaments on the tree this year? Traditions are dear to us. We begin ball games by playing the national anthem. Is there a law that says we must do that? No. It’s one of our traditions. So don’t panic each time you hear the word tradition. All that word means is a way of doing things. The opposite of tradition is doing things differently, each time and every time. Chaos is what generally follows doing when you do things differently every time.

So the problem in Israel wasn’t rote. The problem wasn’t traditions. What was the issue? The answer is found in the little expression, “but they removed their hearts from Me.” Who did that? They did. That’s the issue. That lost touch with God. They forgot their purpose.

Now, this is one of the sure ways Satan gets through the front door of the church house. It happens when we forget our purpose. We lose contact with God and His word. We become so caught up in doing things differently, that we start worshipping the concept of being “different,” instead of God. We must recognize the difference in the way we do things, tradition, and what God authorizes. We may change the order of worship, but we cannot change what we are to do in worship. We may change the time of worship, but we cannot change what God expects of us in worship. We many change the number of times we worship on Sunday, but we cannot change the fact that we must worship on Sunday. There is no changing what God wants us to do.

This fascination with the new often does not make those distinctions very clear. Trouble brews when some are calling what God authorizes “tradition.” Then they make the unqualified statement that we need to get rid of our traditions. Without knowing, or maybe they do know, some use this as a platform to change what God wants in worship. The role of women, the use of the instrument, what and how a church raises money and what they do with that money, the use of entertainment, drama, are just a few of the things some are experimenting with today. Why not, they suggest. They justify major changes as being “non-traditional.”  The expression, “I’m not traditional,” is used to justify and to flaunt changes of the very things God wants. They arrogantly believe that being “non-traditional” is more spiritual than being traditional. The key, back to our Isaiah passage, is where is your heart with God?

Israel removed their heart from God. In other places in Isaiah, we find that they were calling evil good and good evil. They were worshipping idols. They had left the faith that was founded upon the word of God. Be careful when someone boasts, “I’m non-traditional.” My reply is always, “Why?” They usually complain about stale worship, dull services, out of touch sermons, old fashioned songs. Could be. Or, could it be that they have removed their hearts from God and what they really tire of is God’s word and God’s way. They don’t want to follow, even God, they want to be the pace setters. They want to lead. No one can get ahead of God. No one can lead God.

Satan is looking for a way in. Tired of the old ways and fascinated with the new is one way he gets in. Instead of being traditional or non-traditional, let’s just be biblical.

Roger