Tradition's Tangled Tales Intro As Galileo once said while battling long entrenched tradition, “All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered; the point is to discover them.” What do Galileo and Bible prophecy all have in common? I’ll be back in a moment with the prophetic perspective on Tradition’s Tangled Tales. Message Hello, this is Cody Francis with Prophetic Perspectives. Galileo was, of course, battling the long standing theological tradition that the earth was the center of the universe and that everything revolved around it. This battle resulted in disastrous consequences. Facing two church trials, forced to abjure the beliefs he strongly held and supported and then finally confined under a type of “in-house-arrest.” Battling tradition is a long hard battle indeed. Are there still traditions today that are handed down as fact, but in reality are based on as thin as evidence as the geocentric theories of Galileo’s time? As Galileo is attributed to have said, to understand discovered truth is not hard, and we might add, but to unbury truth from the mound of tradition and preconceived ideas is no easy task. But a task that needs to be mounted none-the-less. Are there ideas held tenaciously to today that are no more than mere tradition? Are there traditions that are masking the real truth that the Lord is seeking to reveal to us? Let us turn our attention to one subject that has been sacredly guarded, yet rests in no more authority than did the geocentric theories of the Dark Ages. As we turn to the Bible to study our subject of “Tradition’s Tangled Tales, let us pray. Outline I. The Sabbath was never changed. A. God didn’t change the Sabbath – Mal. 3:6 B. Jesus didn’t change the Sabbath 1. Doesn’t change – Heb. 13:8 2. Kept Sabbath throughout His ministry – Luke 4:16 3. He kept Father’s commandments – John 15:10 4. Expecting disciples to keep commandments & Sabbath – John 15:14; Matt. 24:20 C. Disciples didn’t change the Sabbath 1. Disciples kept the Sabbath after cross – Acts 16:13 2. John, last disciple, kept Sabbath – Rev. 1:10 a. Jesus said Sabbath was His day – Mark 2:27, 28 b. Sabbath of LORD your God – Ex. 20:10 3. Not one single Sunday disciples kept a. John 20:19 – for fear of Jews b. 1 Cor. 16:1, 2 – no gatherings c. Acts 20:7 1) Breaking bread everyday – Acts 2:46 2) Jesus had Thursday evening meeting 3) Actually Saturday night a) Biblical reckoning – Gen. 1:5; Mark 1:32 b) NEB – Saturday night 4) Sunday morning departed & walked to catch ship (35 miles) 4. Even if had changed, Sunday 3days too late a. Under new covenant now – Matt. 26:28 b. Covenant/testament ratified at death – Heb. 9:17 c. Cannot change once ratified – Gal. 3:15 d. Cannot alter a will once someone deceased e. Ordinances of new covenant before Jesus’ death – baptism, communion f. Sunday nowhere found in Bible, especially before Jesus’ death g. Even if disciples had tried change – three days too late! II. The Sabbath was not nailed to the cross. A. Nailed to cross – Col. 2:14-17 1. Ordinances against us 2. Law not against us – Deut. 6:24, 25; Deut. 31:24-26 3. Shadow what to come – yearly Sabbath festivals – Lev. 23:32, 38 4. Sabbath not typical of anything! – before sin – Gen. 2:2, 3 B. Sabbath does matter because judged by – Rom. 14:5 1. Issuing not judging – 3, 4, 10, 13 2. Doubtful things – vs. 1 3. Food offered to idols & yearly Jewish celebrations 4. Don’t judge – Rom. 14:10 5. Judged by Law – James 2:12, 10 III. The Sabbath still stands as an eternal memorial. A. Jesus still calling to remembrance of His Sabbath day 1. Gift to man in beginning – Gen. 2:2, 3 2. Kept in eternity – Is. 66:22, 23 3. Jesus commanded us to keep in Law – Ex. 20:8-11 4. Jesus still calling His people to keep – Heb. 4:9 B. Sunday is simply a hoary tradition of man 1. Tradition goes back many years 2. World rejecting commandment by tradition – Mark 7:9 3. Worship in vain – Mark 7:7
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