OUR RELIGIOUS STANCE: TRADITIONAL OR BIBLICAL?

INTRODUCTION--

1. The effort to be simply a New Testament church is not so simply attained.
   
   1. Religious Denominations today are ultra-tolerant, and critical of those religious bodies that are not as tolerant as they are. (They are like the sinners who marvel at the narrowness of the righteous-- "they think it strange that ye run not with them into the same excess of riot, speaking evil of you." 1 Peter 4:4.)
      
   2. Our more liberal-minded brethren in the church, who are "straining against the leash" of Bible limitations, also criticize us in several ways.
      
      1. They say that our devotion to the motto, "Where the Bible speaks, we speak; where the Bible is silent, we are silent," is an exaltation of human tradition. (Truly, we are traditionalists, but of the Scriptural kind. We follow "apostolic tradition.")
         
         1. 1 Corinthians 11:2 "Now I praise you that ye remember me in all things, and hold fast the traditions, even as I delivered them to you."
            
         2. 2 Thessalonians 2:15 "So then, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye were taught, whether by word, or by epistle of ours."
            
      2. They call us "legalists," and say that we are like the Pharisees, implying that we should come under the condemnation of Christ as they did.
         
         1. Christ never rebuked the tendency of the Pharisees to teach compliance with the laws of Moses. Matthew 23:2-3 "The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses seat: all things therefore whatsoever they bid you, these do and observe: but do not ye after their works; for they say, and do not."
            
         2. He did condemn their improper practices.
            
            1. He rebuked their tendency to put unequal emphasis on laws. Matthew 23:23 "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye tithe mint and anise and cummin, and have left undone the weightier matters of the law, justice, and mercy, and faith: but these ye ought to have done, and not to have left the other undone."
               
               1. Our critics say that we should divide the teaching of Christ into matters "essential and non-essential," but this passage proves that all dogmas are "essential."
                  
               2. We are also impressed that all precepts of God are essential by such examples as Leviticus 10:1-3 (Nadab and Abihu)
                  
               3. Thomas Campbell also recognized that there was no such distinction, when he wrote, (Transparency: Essentials) "We dare neither assume, nor purpose the trite indefinite distinction between essentials, and non-essentials, in matter(s) of revealed truth and duty; firmly persuaded , that, whatever may be their comparative importance, simply considered, the high obligation of the Divine Authority revealing, or enjoining them, renders the belief, or performance of them, absolutely essential to us, in so far as we know them."
                  
            2. He rebuked their application of human traditions. Mark 7:1-13 "And there are gathered together unto him the Pharisees, and certain of the scribes, who had come from Jerusalem, 2 and had seen that some of his disciples ate their bread with defiled, that is, unwashen, hands. 3 (For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, except they wash their hands diligently, eat not, holding the tradition of the elders; 4 and when they come from the market-place, except they bathe themselves, they eat not; and many other things there are, which they have received to hold, washings of cups, and pots, and brazen vessels.) 5 And the Pharisees and the scribes ask him, Why walk not thy disciples according to the tradition of the elders, but eat their bread with defiled hands? 6 And he said unto them, Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, 'This people honoreth me with their lips, But their heart is far from me. 7 But in vain do they worship me, Teaching as their doctrines the precepts of men.' 8 Ye leave the commandment of God, and hold fast the tradition of men. 9 And he said unto them, Full well do ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your tradition. 10 For Moses said, Honor thy father and thy mother; and, He that speaketh evil of father or mother, let him die the death: 11 but ye say, If a man shall say to his father or his mother, That wherewith thou mightest have been profited by me is Corban, that is to say, Given to God; 12 ye no longer suffer him to do aught for his father or his mother; 13 making void the word of God by your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things ye do."
               
2. The question, then, is, "Do we follow human tradition in honoring the slogan of Thomas Campbell, or are the principles of that slogan true echoes of the precepts of Scripture?"

LESSON--

1. The principles of interpreting Scripture expressed by Campbell and his contemporaries are mere echoes of the teaching of the Bible.
   
   1. "Speaking where the Bible speaks" is a paraphrase of 1 Peter 4:11. "If any man speaketh, [speaking] as it were oracles of God."
      
   2. Being "silent where the Bible is silent" follows the precedent set by Jesus, who knew that specific language is exclusive, so that He could not serve as High Priest until the Law of Moses, which specified only a descendant of Aaron as High priest, was taken away. Hebrews 7:11-14 "Now if there was perfection through the Levitical priesthood (for under it hath the people received the law), what further need was there that another priest should arise after the order of Melchizedek, and not be reckoned after the order of Aaron? 12 For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law. 13 For he of whom these things are said belongeth to another tribe, from which no man hath given attendance at the altar. 14 For it is evident that our Lord hath sprung out of Judah; as to which tribe Moses spake nothing concerning priests."
      
   3. Our acceptance of the principle of "Necessary Inference" follows Jesus' rebuke of the Sadducees regarding their rejection of the resurrection of the dead. Matthew 22:31-32 "But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying, 32 I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living."
      
      1. The error of the Sadducees was the result of faulty Bible interpretation.
         
      2. At the time when God said, "I am the God of Abraham...," Abraham had been in his grave for hundreds of years.
         
      3. The necessary implication of this present tense infinitive phrase, "I am," is that the spirits of men live after they physically die, so that God can continue to be their God. It is but another short step from this, by the same course, to belief in the resurrection of the dead.
         
   4. We recognize the force of "approved examples," because of the teaching of Christ and His Apostles. 1 Corinthians 10: 1-12 "For I would not, brethren, have you ignorant, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; 2 and were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; 3 and did all eat the same spiritual food; 4 and did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of a spiritual rock that followed them: and the rock was Christ. 5 Howbeit with most of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness. 6 Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted. 7 Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them....8 Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed.... 9 Neither let us make trial of the Lord, as some of them made trial....10 Neither murmur ye, as some of them murmured....11 Now these things happened unto them by way of example; and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages are come. 12 Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall."
      
      1. We are to imitate the obedient faith of the patriarchs. Hebrews 6:12 "Be not sluggish, but imitators of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises."
         
      2. And compare Romans 15:4. "For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that through patience and through comfort of the scriptures we might have hope."
         
         

CONCLUSION--

1. We are indebted to the Protestant reformers of the 16th Century.
   
   1. For their return to Bible authority (though they remained ignorant of many of the basic truths of the Bible).
      
   2. For their rejection of many unscriptural dogmas and practices of the Roman Catholic Church because of their absence from Scripture (though they failed to reject all of the errors that existed at that time).
      
   3. We are also indebted to the many reformers of the Protestant churches, who rejected errors taught in them that contradicted Scripture (such rejections acknowledged, in part, the prohibitive nature of the Silence of Scripture).
      
2. We are indebted to Thomas Campbell for his reiteration of biblical truths regarding the interpretation of Scripture, and his assertion that this was the only means by which to return to the doctrine and practices of the primitive church, and to establish a base for Christian unity (though even he did not relentlessly pursue this course in the matter of church organization).
   
3. Most of all, we are indebted to Christ and the Apostles for revealing not only the truths of God's Word, but also for revealing by precept and example how we are to interpret that Word, so that we can be confident not only of our stance in religious matters, but could also use these interpretive precepts to pursue unity among all believers who will respect the same principles.