Introduction
Mark 7 v 8: “For laying aside the commandment of God,
you hold the tradition of men….
A tradition can be described as a norm, a practise or custom
that is acceptable among a group of people. However, certain traditions in the
church have a way of replacing the commandment of God. In other words, a
tradition can be a practice in the Church that is accepted by all, but is
contrary to the Word. These traditions do not just happen in an instance, but
they slowly take root among us until they have replaced the practise of
Scripture. In fact they get established to an extent that error is received as
truth, while Truth is frowned upon.
Paul warned Timothy about this in 1 Timothy 4 v 16 (NIV) when he said, “Watch your life and doctrine closely…” It is easy to move away from
Truth and good doctrine and start practicing harmful doctrines.
Every now and then we need to check if we are still in the
Truth. As a people, we have a tendency of slowly moving away from Truth.
Therefore we ought to always check that we are properly aligned to the Truth
and practise of Scripture.
Thus every practise in the church must pass the test of
Scripture. If we cannot support any practise with two or three Scriptures, then
it must fall away and Truth must rise. #TraditionsOfMenMustFall
The Church and Christ
Colossians 1 v 18:
And He is the head of the body, the
church, who is the beginning, the first born from the dead, that in all things
He may have the pre-eminence.
Christ is the head of the church and he must have the
“pre-eminence”. That means He must have the highest honour and adoration amongst
the saints. Alas! It is not so. The Senior pastors and founders have more honour
and adoration than Christ in most churches. In fact people believe pastors more
that Christ. Christ has become a foreigner and outcast in His own Church. The
saints talk more about their papa than Jesus. The saints long for a touch from
papa than Jesus. The highest honour and worship goes to papa than Christ.
This tradition has crept into the church and has become a
norm. Worshipping a man of God is normal and no one sees anything wrong with
that. In the Scripture above, the church is described as a body, and Christ as
its Head. We need to restore the Headship of Christ in our midst. We need to
restore the order. This phenomenon of the men of God is so established that
people think that their pastors are mediators between them and God. People even
pray to the God of their “fathers”. The Scripture is clear, “For there is one God and one mediator
between God and men, the Man Christ
Jesus.” ( I Tim 2 v 5).
The elders
1 Peter 5 v 1 – 5, “The elders who are among you I exhort, I
who am a fellow elder and witness of Christ’s sufferings, and aslo a partaker
of the glory that will be revealed. Shepherd the flock of God which is among
you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest
gain but eagerly. Not as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being
examples to the flock. And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive
the crown of glory that does not fade away.
The concept of elders is introduced in this scripture above
and many other scriptures (James 5 v 14 –
16, Philippians 1 v 1, Acts 14 v 23, Titus 1 v 5 – 9, 1 Timothy 5 v 17 – 20).
Firstly, the elders constitute a layer of leadership in the church. Secondly we
see a concept of plurality of elders, and not a concept of a singular
pastorate. In other words, the shepherding of the flock of Christ is done by a
group of elders and not a single man of God or papa. Thirdly and most
importantly, Christ is the Chief Shepherd of His flock. Therefore if there is
any seniority with regard to leadership in the church, it is Christ who is the
Chief, Senior and Major Pastor of His flock. In summary, Christ is the Senior
Pastors who leads His church with a group of pastors. These pastors must SERVE
as overseers, willingly, not for dishonest gain, and must be examples to the
church (1 Peter 5 v 1-5).
The recent traditions in the church go directly against the
exhortation by Peter through the Spirit of Christ. Firstly, a single pastorate
model is practised instead of a team of pastors. The man of God is the senior
pastor with all power and anointing. We go to church to hear a man on a show,
not to give Christ the pre-eminence He deserves. Secondly, the church seems to
exist for the man of God. The church is like a franchise and family business.
These singular men of God are untouchable and Lord it over the flock of Christ.
Under these men, the church has become the biggest scam of the 21st
century.
In the spirit of uprooting the foreign concept of superstars
and men of God, I have compared the attitudes and practices of the Men of God
(papa) with that of the God of all men (Jesus).
Men of God
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God of all men
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You pay R7000 to see the man of God.
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Christ says freely you received, freely you give. (Matthew 10 v 8)
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You can’t call him your brother.
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Christ says, “I am not ashamed to call the saints brethren.” (Hebrews
2 v 1)
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You must serve the man of God.
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Christ washed the feet of His disciples. ( John 13 v 1 – 17)
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He founded the church
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Christ died for the church. ( Ephesians 5 v 25)
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The man of God has body guards
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Christ rebuked Peter for cutting someone’s ear
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The man of God does a grand entrance and receive worship
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Angels refused the worship of men. ( Revelations 22 v 8 – 9)
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The man of God has commercialized the church
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Jesus cast out traders and dealers in the church. ( John 2 v 13 – 17)
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The man of God wants you to receive his anointing.
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Christ anoints gifts and graces everyone for the benefit of all. (I
Corinthians 12 v 7).
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