Truth vs.
Tradition
(The Cults)
The Lord Jesus Christ showed His open rejection of the traditions of men
as He rebukes the Pharisees in Mark 7:5-9:
'Then
the Pharisees and scribes asked Him, Why walk not thy disciples according to
the traditions of the elders, but eat bread with unwashed hands? He answered
and said unto them, Well hath Isaiah prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is
written, this people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.
Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of
men. For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of
men...Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own
tradition.’
Imagine with me walking into the same situation Jesus was confronted
with. The religious leaders of the day are condemning you and those who believe
as you do for eating without washing your hands. These 'Holier than Thou' types
were washing their hands repeatedly in an effort to show their honor to the 'tradition
of the elders' before eating, after coming from the market. They also washed
their various vessels which they must have believed demonstrated their
purity/holiness.
Nevertheless, think of how it must have saddened the Lord's heart to see
how these leaders of Israel were wholly caught up in the traditions made by
men! If this occurred today we would think it was a mistake or a joke, but
traditions of men even though they might not seem quite as ridiculous as these
are still prevalent in the religious groups of this modern day in 2013!
All religious groups are guilty of allowing tradition to over-rule the
truth of the Word of God, but some are founded upon the traditions of men and
therefore are trusting upon men's ideas for the salvation of their soul! These
religious groups which many label as cults are the ones we will be studying in
the upcoming newsletters. It is necessary to reveal their errors by
magnifying the Word of God!
The dictionary definition of a cult is a good place to start:
1.
A
system or community of religious worship and ritual,
2.
A
religion or religious sect generally considered to be extremist or bogus
3.
Obsessive
devotion or veneration for a person, principle, or ideal, especially when
regarded as a fad. [from The American Heritage Dictionary]
These definitions accurately describe the cults we will be covering for
the majority of the cults found in the USA have an obsessive devotion or
veneration for a person, the one who began the cult and established the system
of beliefs held by the adherents/members.
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