Every church has rules, written and unwritten, that help create the climate of a church and infuses it with its DNA. Some examples of typical church rules include music is to be played with a piano and organ, the church is to help the less fortunate, people are expected to dress their best for church, and church members are expected to share their faith with others.
Most of the time, churches will intermingle commands of Scripture and traditions of the church to the point where it's difficult to discern between the two. But one of the greatest tasks of church leadership is doing exactly that, discerning between commands from Scripture and traditions of the church.
In Matthew 15, the Pharisees (surprise, surprise) are coming after Jesus for breaking the traditions of the synagogue. "Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked, 'Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don’t wash their hands before they eat!'"
To which Jesus promptly replies, “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition?" Matthew 15:1-3. Jesus then tears into them for failing the central command to honor their parents by not caring for their physical needs when they get older, which the Pharisees were doing and using a tradition of the synagogue as cover.
Why is this all important? Because Jesus himself made it important when he made that vital distinction between traditions and commands. When the traditions of the church break the commands of Scripture, then you've got problems. Here are five prominent church traditions that are breaking the commands of Scripture.
