Far too many in our day have bound themselves with the heavy yoke of church tradition, exalting the decrees and customs of men above the glorious liberty of grace and the leading of the Holy Spirit. These rituals and ordinances are clung to as though they had descended from Mount Sinai, etched by the very finger of God, when in reality they are nothing more than the inventions of men. Our Lord condemned this very thing when He said to the Pharisees,

“Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye.” (Mark 7:13 KJV)

Think about that for a moment. How often have you sat in a service and watched the same order of worship, the same “ordinances,” the same appeals to “come to the altar,” repeated week after week, as if these things were the very heartbeat of Christianity? Yet Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles and the minister of the mystery for this dispensation, never once instructed the Body of Christ to follow such patterns.

What does Paul actually say about traditions?

He does speak of traditions—but not the kind handed down by religious institutions:

“Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the tradition which he received of us.” (2 Thessalonians 3:6 KJV)

“Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle.” (2 Thessalonians 2:15 KJV)

Notice carefully: Paul’s traditions are the truths he delivered by revelation—truths about the mystery, the one Body, our position in Christ, liberty from the law, and walking as new creatures. These are not rituals. They are doctrinal instructions for grace believers.

The danger of mixing traditions

Religion loves to blend Old Testament shadows, kingdom gospel practices, and man-made additions into the simplicity that is in Christ. Water baptism becomes an “ordinance” for today (even though Paul said Christ sent him not to baptize, 1 Corinthians 1:17). The Lord’s Supper is turned into a repeated means of grace instead of a simple memorial received directly from the Lord (1 Corinthians 11:23). Altars, priesthoods, tithing, special clothing, holy buildings—the list goes on. All of it sounds spiritual. All of it feels familiar. But none of it is “after Christ” as revealed to Paul.

Paul warned:

“Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.” (Colossians 2:8 KJV)

“Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.” (Colossians 2:16-17 KJV)

Those things were shadows. Christ is the substance. Why go back to the shadow when you have the reality?

Liberty vs. the Yoke

To the Galatians who were being lured back under law and religious performance, Paul wrote with fire:

“Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.” (Galatians 5:1 KJV)

What is this liberty? It is the freedom of the new creature in Christ—dead to sin, alive unto God, indwelt by Christ, complete in Him, forgiven of all trespasses, and sealed by the Holy Spirit. No ritual can add to that. No tradition can improve it. No “church ordinance” can maintain it.

“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” (2 Corinthians 5:17 KJV)

“For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature.” (Galatians 6:15 KJV)

Thought-provoking questions for believers today:

Are you attending “church” out of habit and tradition, or are you functioning as a member of the Body of Christ according to the pattern delivered by Paul?

When you read Paul’s epistles, do the practices of your fellowship line up with the liberty and simplicity he describes, or do they look more like the “rudiments of the world”?

Have you ever felt the weight of “you must do this to be right with God” creeping in? That is the yoke Paul told us to reject.

A clear call

Reject the counterfeit authority of man-made religion. Lay aside every tradition that contradicts or obscures the truth of the gospel committed to Paul for us today. Cling instead to Christ alone, who is our life, our righteousness, and our all. Let no one move you from the simplicity that is in Him.

“For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.” (1 Corinthians 2:2 KJV)

This is not a call to lawlessness, but to true spiritual liberty—walking in the Spirit, being led by the Spirit, and manifesting the fruit of the Spirit instead of the works of religious flesh. The same Paul who warned against traditions also said:

“All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.” (1 Corinthians 6:12 KJV)

May we have the courage to examine every practice in the light of Paul’s epistles and hold fast only to that which is “after Christ.” The glorious liberty of the children of God is too precious to trade for the heavy chains of tradition. Stand fast in it, brethren.

© 2023 Edward R. Cross Revised April 29, 2026