As a very young man I once called on a Norwegian guest speaker at his hotel in Copenhagen one Saturday morning.  He was having ministry in the small assembly I went to in those days and I shared with him my concern for a spiritual revival.  He listened to me with loving sympathy and then made this strange statement:

“You know, Jørn, it´s so easy to become subjected to the spirit of the assembly.”  And he continued:  “How do you think your and my life would be like if we uncompromisingly followed the Bible?”  This is now many years ago, but I never forgot his honesty as humiliating however it was.

His point was, I believe, the danger of being a traditional adherent instead of a Bible-follower which is always a new battle in each new generation.  Most churches and their church goers know nothing of that battle being just passively conformed to religious traditions.

H.A. Ironside, the late excellent American Bible expositor contends that much tradition belongs to what he calls “the ecclesiastical wastebasket”, and he challenges us instead to read  daily the Bible with that simple intention of letting the word of God regulate our thinking and our walk with the courage to discard dogmas and human traditions which can´t stand the test in the light of God´s word.  He gave that challenge ages ago, but it´s still relevant today.

In fact that was the challenge Jesus, above all, gave us, didn´t He?  Comp. Matth. 15:3.

-jn-