The Lord Jesus Christ showed His open rejection of the traditions of men to the Pharisees in Mark 7:5-9: 'Then the Pharisees and scribes asked Him, Why walk not thy disciples according to the traditions of the elders, but eat bread with unwashen hands? He answered and said unto them, Well hath Isaiah prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, this people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men... Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.
Imagine with me, walking into the same situation Jesus was confronted with. The religious leaders of the day are condemning you, and those who believe as you do, for eating without washing your hands. These 'Holier than Thou' types washed their hands often in an effort to show their honor to the 'tradition of the elders' before eating, after coming from the market, and washing their various vessels which they must have believed demonstrated their purity/holiness. Nevertheless, think of how it must have saddened the Lord's heart to see how these leaders of Israel were wholly caught up in the traditions made by men! If this occurred today we would think it was a mistake or a joke, but traditions of men even though they might not seem quite as ridiculous as these are still prevalent in the religious groups of this modern day!
All religious groups are guilty of allowing tradition to overrule the truth
of the Word of God, but some are founded upon the traditions of men and
therefore are trusting upon men's ideas for the salvation of their soul! These
religious groups which many label as cults are the ones we will be looking at in
upcoming newsletters for it is necessary to reveal their errors by magnifying
the Word of God! The dictionary definition of cult is a good place to start:
1. A system or community of religious worship and ritual,
2. A religion
or religious sect generally considered to be extremist or bogus,
3. Obsessive
devotion or veneration for a person, principle, or ideal, especially when
regarded as a fad.
(Taken from The American Heritage Dictionary.)
These definitions accurately describe the cults we will be covering especially definition number 2. for the majority of the cults found in the USA have an obsessive devotion or veneration for a person, usually the one who began the cult and established the system of beliefs held by the adherents/members.