“For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men; the washing of pitchers and cups, and many such things you do.” He said to them, “All to well you reject the commandment of God that you may keep your tradition.” Mark 7:8-9 (NKJV)

Our relationship with Jesus Christ should never be predicated on the traditions of men, but by the power, presence, and peace of God. Our devotional passage is quite clear. If we are bound and bridled by our traditions and our own personal standard of what God requires, it has the uncalculated potential to impact not only our relationship but also our revelation of the word of God. As a result we are ineffective in applying the word to our personal lives. “Thus you have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition.” Matthew 15:6b (NKJV) Jesus’ dialogue with His chief nemesis’s the Pharisees reveals a group of religious Jewish leaders who had established their own standard for righteousness and obedience to the commandments apart from the only standard that matters. That standard is the word of God.

The purpose clause in verse 9, “that you may keep your tradition,” indicates that the traditions of the Pharisees were more important to them than the word of God and His commandments. They rejected what was primary and priority “in order to keep” that which was secondary. It was reminiscent of how the Apostle Paul described Israel in his letter to the church at Rome. “For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God.” Romans 10:3 (NKJV) This is a dangerous place to be. Anytime that we convince ourselves that God is obligated to operate according to our own standards and traditions, what we feel in our own mind, or how we try to rationalize something less than what the word of God requires, not only do we render His word of no effect but we simultaneously replace the commandments of God with our own. Don’t you dare go there.

It is important to understand that God will only be worshipped on His own terms. We can only live according to His divine standard. There is no other way. The human traditions, standards, and benchmarks that we often use to appease our own self interests are pointless and powerless. When Jesus talked with the Samaritan woman at the well she had a view of worship that consisted of the traditions of her forefathers who worshipped in particular mountains. Jesus announced to her His standard that could only be met by those who would worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The tradition of worship would move from a place to a person. (See John 4:23)

When God’s word ceases to be the standard for our relationship with Him, we become a part of a system that we control and manipulate until our traditions and teachings take the place of God’s word. It is a trap that must be avoided at all costs. We have been set free from tradition and the things that keep us bound and bonded to legalism and that have the potential to render the word of God of no effect in our lives. Christ gave His life that we would be released from the tradition trap, setting us free forever. “Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.” Galatians 5:1 (NKJV)