Mark 7:5 Then the Pharisees and scribes asked him, Why walk not thy disciples according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashen hands? 6 He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. 7 Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. 8 For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men"....
This passage of scripture is an example of the dangers that arise when the traditions of men are allowed to take precedence over the commands and instructions of God. In this instance the scribes and pharisees became resentful because the many arduous, ceremonial washings that were imposed upon the people, were not being followed to the letter by the disciples of Christ, and this action of theirs caused the Jewish leaders to become greatly incensed, in so much that a public complaint was made to Christ, with the hope that He would immediately correct, that which they viewed as being blatantly wrong.
But instead of censuring His disciples, Jesus replied to their queries with a question of His own, one that they could not answer, for there was no valid answer for it. In this passage we are cautioned against placing church traditions which may have no scriptural basis, above that which is plainly written in God's word. The passage of time together with the process of repetition tends to cement certain actions in our minds as being valid, however there are many instances where the traditions of churches go against the grain of scripture, and often, upon investigation, there is found no scriptural reason for doing certain things.
Many of our Sunday-keeping brethren and fellow Christians are aware that the seventh day is the Sabbath day, but because their parents and grandparents, together with all their siblings and associates have worshiped on Sundays for countless years, some have concluded that it must be right, if so many people are doing the same thing. But because many people are doing something, does not guarantee that their actions are based on the Bible, and therefore it is imperative that we have a scriptural reason for everything we do, so that our consciences may be clear before God and man.
Just this week, the issue of gay marriage passed with overwhelming majority support in Ireland, with most of the politicians and populace jumping on the bandwagon of setting aside the sacred institution, which is the God-ordained foundation of all society. Because the popular majority voted in favor of it, does not make it right in the sight of God, because evil will never become good with the passage of time, nor does iniquity become righteousness because of a majority vote. In certain parts of the world, cannibalism is accepted as the norm, for it considered both right and necessary to eat fellow human beings. The popular sentiment in favor of this brutal action does not then make it right, by any stretch of the imagination, neither does popular support for gay marriage make it right. Let's read:
Exodus 23:2 Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil; neither shalt thou speak in a cause to decline after many to wrest judgment.
Proverbs 11:21 Though hand join in hand, the wicked shall not be unpunished: but the seed of the righteous shall be delivered.
Ecclesiastes 8:11 Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil. 12 Though a sinner do evil an hundred times, and his days be prolonged, yet surely I know that it shall be well with them that fear God, which fear before him: 13 But it shall not be well with the wicked, neither shall he prolong his days, which are as a shadow; because he feareth not before God.
The same principle rings true of the issue of Sabbath observance versus the keeping of Sunday, which is a tradition of men that has no support in the scripture whatsoever. History shows that the majority are hardly ever right, and with the issue of worship the same is true. It is not possible for any person to keep Sunday holy, for it has never been set aside by God as a holy day, and because we do not have the ability to sanctify anything nor make anything holy, the observance of Sunday as a holy day of rest constitutes a tradition, and should therefore be relinquished in favor of what God has clearly spoken in His word, if we are to worship God in spirit and in truth. Let's read:
Genesis 2:1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. 2 And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. 3 And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.
It thus behooves every sincere believer to study God's word for ourselves, so that the many traditions of men may not trump the commandments of God for any reason. Furthermore, if we intend to make it to heaven, we will need to keep the Sabbath there, for the sacred day has never been changed, and all the nations of the saved will be keeping it throughout the ceaseless ages of eternity. We therefore end with a passage of scripture which confirms this sacred truth, and it is the will of God that every Christian that has acted in ignorance in times past on this point, now return to the original day of rest that He has set aside for His people. Let's read:
Isaiah 66:22 For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the Lord, so shall your seed and your name remain. 23 And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the Lord.
May God add His blessing to the study and practice of His word. "Good night" and God bless!