Nigerian Baptist Convention Seek Daily Devotional For September 22, 2022 : Topic – God’s Word Versus Tradition
SEEK DAILY (NBC)
GOD’S WORD VERSUS TRADITION
Date: Thursday, September 22, 2022
Bible Text: Mark 7:1-13
Memory Verse: You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions. Mark 7:8, NIV
Elaborate ceremonies of washing of hands to the elbow, cups, pitchers, kettles, and beds were not actually commanded in the Law of Moses but were a tradition of the Pharisees to maintain purity and holiness. Pharisees regard their oral traditions as equal in authority with the written Law of Moses, and so they expected all Jews to obey. They teach that people get defiled by physical contact with things, and need to wash their hands to maintain cleanliness before eating.
The Pharisees and teachers of the law accused Jesus’ disciples of being ritually unclean because they did not observe the Pharisees’ ritual cleansing. However, the response of Jesus shows the Pharisees were spiritually unclean. Jesus called His critics hypocrites (actors) who followed traditions of men that contradict God’s Word, and whose lip confession does not match the attitude of their hearts, and this makes them offer vain worship. For Jesus, true worship involves drawing near to God with a pure heart, not just with mere words of praise from your lips.
Do you find it easier to ignore and reject God’s Word and embrace the traditions of men? Whenever you bend God’s Word to justify the sinful way you live, it is called hypocrisy.
Insight: God’s Word is the real truth to accept and follow.
Prayer: LORD, I accept your Word as the final authority over my life.
RBT Passage: Micah 1-4