May 20, 2026 -Traditions - It's A Trap

Psalms 140:1-13

Acts 11:1-30

2 Samuel 8:1-18

2 Samuel 9:1-13

Bible in a Year Through Song - Day 140 of 365

Acts 11:1-4 NIV

[1] The apostles and the believers throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. [2] So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him [3] and said, “You went into the house of uncircumcised men and ate with them.” [4] Starting from the beginning, Peter told them the whole story:

What a great example to us that we need to be careful not to get caught up in our own ideas of how things should be done. Or by what we think is proper in God's eyes. God never told the Israelites not to eat with Gentiles. That was one of the man-made laws/traditions of the culture. God also never said that salvation is not for the Gentiles. In fact, all through the bible there is reference to non-Jews being able to achieve salvation. Look all the way back to God's promise to Abraham in Genesis 12.

² “I will make you into a great nation,

    and I will bless you;

I will make your name great,

    and you will be a blessing.

³ I will bless those who bless you,

    and whoever curses you I will curse;

and all peoples on earth

    will be blessed through you.”

All the people on earth. Not just this great nation that I am blessing you with. This great nation is to be a blessing to all the people on the earth. Their faith and testimony should be what Gentiles see as a blessing that draws them toward God. Instead, the Jewish believers were caught up in the "this is how we have always done things" trap. That is what traditions become. It doesn't make the thing that you are doing wrong but it also does not make the things that are different wrong either. The only thing that makes something wrong is if it goes against God's word. If anything, the tradition is closer to being wrong in this case than the change. How can they be a blessing to people they will not associate with? How can they love others that they will not have a meal with?

So how do we do this now? We can easily get caught up in tradition or what is working for now. And when someone says I believe that God may be leading us in a new or different direction those who are trapped in their own ideas and comfort with tradition and or control may criticize the change. We must not get up in the cultures idea of how to do things. Especially in running a church. We must first look to what does the scripture say. Peter gives us a great example of how to respond as the one criticized.

First of all, I do not believe in saying that "God told me..." unless you know for sure it is God and even then, I am not comfortable with it. I can tell you that when He wants me to know for sure that it's Him, He does but that has not been when talking to others that has been when He is talking to me about what I should do. Peter knew that it was God giving him the vision and telling him what he should do. He also had a clear understanding of what it all meant. So, when the criticism came, he did not respond in defensive anger or try to justify what he did. He didn't speak in his position as the rock the church is built on saying "God told me...". He did not try to convince them that he was right. Instead, he just told them what happened. And concluded with his reasoning that gave God the glory.

Acts 11:17-18 NIV

17So if God gave them the same gift he gave us who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to think that I could stand in God’s way?”

18When they heard this, they had no further objections and praised God, saying, “So then, even to Gentiles God has granted repentance that leads to life.”

He was known to be a godly trustworthy man. He was a leader in the church and was placed there by Jesus Himself. So, when he told the people what had happened, pointing them to Jesus, that same Spirit gave them the understanding to know that God's direction that was in opposition to their tradition was the right direction.

So, when we feel led to go against the grain we need to do it with grace and humility. Lovingly sharing how God has shown us that, and trust that He will make things right.