How Church Traditions Can Lead to Hypocrisy
When I read the Gospels, I find something that is very familiar—religious leaders more devoted to their traditions than to God’s heart. Make no mistake, these leaders were devoted to following God and their ever-expanding traditions were their roadmap. What they failed to realize was their devotion was corrupted by “tradition-creep,” the ever-increasing reliance on traditions built up around God’s Word that eventually led to conflict between the truth of the Word and the keeping of tradition. This conflict Jesus addressed in Matthew 15:1-9 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2015%3A1-9&version=NIV
Why do I find this familiar? Because church leaders today confidently assert they are following the Scriptures. The church tradition in which I spiritually grew up proclaims they are following in the footsteps of the New Testament church, mainly because they have weekly Communion and baptize by immersion. Other churches of different denominations do the same except with different markers, such as emphasizing the gifts of the Spirit or putting a premium on evangelism or missions. Whatever their focus, they are convinced they are following the Scriptures and rarely, if ever, question their own traditions in light of the Scriptures.
It is that lack of questioning that Jesus addressed and so should today’s church leaders. As religious leaders failed to do in the 1st Century, so today’s church leaders are failing to ask the hard questions about their traditions. Are they truly aligned with the teachings of the Scriptures or do they in reality obstruct the ability to obey the Scriptures?
This brings me back to the practices of discipleship and community. We are commanded to make disciples (Matthew 28:18-20 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2028%3A18-20&version=NIV) and we are commanded to live in community as believers (Hebrews 10:24-25 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Hebrews%2010%3A24-25&version=NIV). Do the church traditions of today foster the obedience to these commands or inhibit them? Is it possible that Jesus would ask a similar question of us: “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition?”
I think the question is legitimate and his conclusion would be similar. We are hypocrites. We talk about the importance of discipleship but then narrow it down into a weekly sermon. We talk about being a community but are satisfied with greeting people at the door and encouraging people to meet in the fellowship hall for coffee and pastries where they typically discuss sports, weather, or their latest activities and plans. Our hypocrisy is not found in promoting these activities but rather believing that they fulfill the teachings of the Scriptures. Okay, we’re good because we do these things.
I believe church leaders need to confront the truth that our traditions need to be seriously evaluated in the light of biblical teaching because tradition creep is real and, as they have developed, are an obstruction to our obedience to its commands.
Here are some questions to ask:
· Do our traditions lead to the making of true disciples, people who know what it means in their daily lives to follow Jesus and indeed do so?
· Do our traditions teach adults how to disciple others, including their own children?
· Do people involved in our church truly feel a part of a community, one that knows their needs and they in turn know the needs of others?
· Do the people in our church have opportunities to grow in true fellowship, sharing the joys and burdens of following Jesus?
· Do people in our church have the opportunity on Sunday mornings to hear what the Lord is doing in the lives of others, to pray together, and to share their questions or insights of what they heard from the pastor in his/her sermon?
· Is the impact on people’s lives greater from cultural influences or from the church community?
In other words, is our church facilitating discipleship and community in a way that the Scriptures have in mind? The New Testament Church is a high bar for discipleship and community; yet today’s churches quickly claim it as their model. We would do well to humble ourselves before the Lord, reexamine our traditions in light of the Scriptures, and make the changes necessary to become more like the church of the New Testament.
Next week I want to focus on that last question about life impact and which has more influence—the local church community or the cultural influences among which we live.
Until then . . .
© Jim Musser 2026
