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|                    B I B L E   B U L L E T I N         Number 11 |
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|                       Tradition! Tradition!                      | 
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|  Jesus said to the "religious leaders" of His day, "you nullify  | 
|  the word of God for the sake of your tradition" (Matt. 15:6).   | 
|  Today the traditions of men have overridden the very commands   | 
|  of God, robbing the Church of its power to influence the world  | 
|  with the Gospel message.  Consider these examples:              | 
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|  The Bible says if any one is sick, call the elders of the       | 
|  church to pray and anoint him with oil (James 5:14).  Man's     | 
|  Tradition says if any one is sick, pray for him but do not      | 
|  anoint with oil.  The Bible says celebrate the Lord's Supper    | 
|  on a regular basis, as often as believers meet together (Acts   | 
|  2:42,46;20:7).  Man's Tradition says celebrate the Lord's       | 
|  Supper once a month, or once a quarter.  The Bible says to      | 
|  discipline sinning members to keep the church pure and holy     | 
|  encouraging them to repent (Matt. 18:15-20).  Man's Tradition   | 
|  says avoid confrontation of sin as it is not loving or kind.    | 
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|  And we have other traditions like these.  God's Word to man is  | 
|  complete and does not need to be altered, "Every word of God is | 
|  flawless...Do not add to His words or He will rebuke you and    | 
|  prove you a liar" (Pvb. 30:5-6). We dare not continue to sit in | 
|  judgment on His Word, substituting traditions for obedience,    | 
|  or we will find ourselves like those ancient churchmen -- far   | 
|  from God and going through "vain" religious motions.            | 
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|                          Presented by                            |
|     Bible Bulletin Board, P.O. Box 115, Galveston, IN 46932      |
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