God Vs Tradition of Men Over Scripture. Christ: Lord of our Politics and other Scriptures.

The argument is really against traditions of men that are not supported by the written word of God.

Political parties generally do not regard scripture because they are pushing so hard on the point of a party tradition that they attempt to prove their traditions by traditions, or extra-biblical writings, rather than what scripture truthfully said. 

The circle generally is nothing more than a dizzying spiral that leads to nowhere fast. 
The apostle Peter had learned this and his words recorded in the bible's book of The Acts of The Apostles 5:29 Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.

The Bible and tradition both teach that our convictions are not to be based upon human wisdom but upon the power of God and His spirit which He gives to those who obey Him! The problem is not that human (carnal) wisdom is always wrong but that human wisdom is clearly fallible and is not a sufficient foundation for believing anything about God. Hence our doctrinal convictions should not be based upon human wisdom. The apostle Paul warned against such and we see that he knew this because of the written word of God.

1Corinthians 2:5 That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. ... 1Co 3:18 ¶ Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise. 19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness.

Your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. We will endeavor to build 'line upon line' to show the truth of the matter, to build you up in the Word, and to strengthen you in Christ.

The scriptures hold warnings against any traditions, customs, precepts, or laws that are in opposition to, contradictory to, that nullify (or do away with) God's commands as written in the scriptural record. These customs, rituals, practices are inventions and traditions of men -- alone, apart from God. We must be cautious of the emptiness of the traditions of men passed down through time ... even those from our own forefathers or elders.  

1 Peter 1:18-19, "Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:"

Colossians 2:8 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.

Matthew 15:2 Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread.3 But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition? 4 For God commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother: and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death. 5 But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; 6 And honour not his father or his mother, he shall be free. Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition. 7 Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying, 8 This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. 9 But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.

Scripture therefore determines whether tradition is acceptable.

Mark 7:8 For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do. 9 And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.

We see that Jesus and His early disciples warned strongly against any tradition or law that caused any transgression or nullification of God's laws.

This truth is further supported in the scripture and we can see in 2Thessalonians 3:6 ¶ 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 [paradosis i.e. law or ordinance] which he received of us. 7 For yourselves know how ye ought to follow us: for we behaved not ourselves disorderly among you; Now the "traditions" of the apostles was what? Why the same tradition they learned from both the scriptures and the Lord Jesus Christ [Y'shua Messiah], of course! 

Are the ways of God outlined in the Old Testament? Are they not adhered to, and even expounded upon, by Jesus in the New Testament? Yes, of course they are.
We show you that the apostles taught these precepts both verbally and written, as any good preacher would do today, speaking of a scripture(s) (or a precept outlined in scripture) and then expounding upon it. The scripture is what gave credence to the speaker. The spoken words had to be in accord with the scripture or the person was not to be listened to. We see that Paul taught these precepts verbally and by written letters of faith (epistle). 

We also take note that both forms of transmission carried the same data!

2Thessalonians 2:13 ¶ But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of 

the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth: 14 Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 15 Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions [paradosis i.e. law or ordinance]which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle.

There weren't scriptural rules and then also different rules transmitted orally. These were the same precepts taught by either method to some individuals - and both to others. One did not supercede or contradict the other. One did not contain information that the other didn't. Paul wrote that they should obey the 'paradosis' whether you heard it, or read it, or heard it read. God's word is true whether spoken or written. Thanks be to Him that the spoken words of God that we needed to know, along with the spoken words of the prophets, were written down into the scrolls that would later comprise the Old Testament.  Thanks also to Him for the spoken words of Jesus and the apostles that also were preserved in written form.

1Corinthians 11:1 ¶ Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ. 2 Now I praise you, brethren, that ye remember me in all things, and keep theordinances [paradosis i.e. tradition], as I delivered them to you. 3 But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.

Jesus EXPOUNDED on Scriptures - as did the apostles. This was not ADDING to the word that which is not already there but only a clearer detailed amplification of the authority already recorded in the scriptures. The promulgaters of extra-biblical traditions are ADDING some things that are not found in the scriptures at all. It is THEY that need to heed the warnings of tampering- be it adding or subtracting - with the indelible word of God.

Paul said more than once "what saith the scripture?" when proving his doctrinal points.

We have seen that any traditions that cannot be clearly proven out of the bible are suspect 

and should not be brought into your worship of God in spirit and in truth. 

Where one was adhering to non-biblical doctrines they must start today by rejecting them

 and continue growing in the faith and in God's truth. 

We as a unified nation must begin to re-see the importance behind scripture 

has God's own authority as it is His word. 

We must recognize that the bible is all that is needed to prepare a man or woman to receive the living Word, that is Christ, and then to continue on to perfect him or her. 

It is clear that the bible, in the hands of someone with God's holy spirit, 

is the only reliable source to prove a doctrine. 

We are straightly admonished to not go beyond what is written in the scriptural record. 

People whose lives are otherwise in submission to Christ have a tendency to forget about His lordship when the subject turns to politics. They haven’t thought through what the Bible says about politics and our involvement in that area. But if Christ is Lord of all of life and if the Bible speaks about political matters, then we must allow Him to be Lord of our political views.

1. The nature of civil governments: God-ordained and accountable to God.

The Scriptures teach that government is ordained of God and thus accountable to God.

A. CIVIL GOVERNMENTS ARE ORDAINED OF GOD.

We see this in Romans 13:1b, “For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God.” When Paul wrote this, the godless Nero was the emperor. Since he obviously fell far short of the ideal ruler, we must conclude that there are no exceptions to the principle laid down here, namely, that God has ordained government authority as a part of His plan for this earth. God’s purposes for government can be boiled down to two broad areas:

(1). GOD ORDAINS GOVERNMENT TO PROMOTE JUSTICE FOR ALL.

God does this by protecting law-abiding citizens and punishing law-breakers (1 Pet. 2:14). Romans 13:4 talks about the government being a minister of God for good to those who do good, but it bears the sword as “an avenger who brings wrath upon the one who practices evil.” That points to the power of the state to use both capital punishment and (by implication) lesser punishments to promote justice for all.

We also must see  that the government does this (in part) by legislating morality. Laws against murder, theft, rape, assault, and many other crimes are moral issues commanded in the Bible. Laws should protect citizens from destructive sins (e.g. prostitution, drugs, etc.). The fact that something is illegal will restrain many who otherwise may be tempted to engage in that activity. The real debate is, which moral standards should we legislate? (I’ll say more on that in a moment.)

(2). GOD ORDAINS GOVERNMENT TO PROMOTE PEACE AND ORDER IN SOCIETY.

Paul says (1 Tim. 2:1-2) that we should pray for kings and those in authority “in order that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity.” This means that the government must maintain adequate national defense so that we are not overrun by a foreign power that would rob us of peace and liberty. On the local level, there must be adequate law enforcement to maintain peace and order. There should be adequate regulation of commerce, medicine, and other areas to protect citizens. Since the government has been ordained of God to promote justice and peace, it follows that…

B. CIVIL GOVERNMENTS ARE ACCOUNTABLE TO GOD.

As seen, Daniel’s testimony to both Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar was consistent and clear: “The Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind and bestows it on whomever He wishes” (Dan. 4:17, 25, 32; 5:21). And, Jesus told Pilate (John 19:11), “You would have no authority over me, unless it had been given you from above.” Neither of these rulers were believers in God or part of the covenant nation. And yet Daniel and the Lord Jesus reminded these pagan rulers that their authority was not autonomous. God gave it to them and the implication is, they would have to give an account to Him someday. Part of our role as believers, as we have opportunity, is to remind even pagan government authorities that they rule under God and are accountable to Him.

We need to remember several things here in this regard:

TO BE KNOWN as the  CONTINUOUS nation PRIMARILY focused FOR THE GOSPEL AND RIGHTEOUSNESS, NOT FOR A PARTISAN POLITICAL STANCE.

We need to be careful not to become overly enamored with a particular political party or candidate. Neither party is thoroughly biblical. There is a mixture of good and evil in both parties.  All candidates (even if they are Christians) are fallen sinners who are susceptible to the lust for power and prestige. We must also realize that candidates of both parties posture themselves to appeal to large blocks of voters. We should not be duped or become overly optimistic about any candidate who says that he holds to “ family values” will actually promote those values once is in office.

The gospel is our main focus, electing officials who will enact laws or appoint judges in line with Christian values is important. The gospel is essential for lasting change, but God has also ordained that righteous laws protect our society. Thus the relationship between church and state is not one of total separation nor one of total identification. Rather, it is:

EDUCATION AND CONFRONTATION: THE CHURCH MUST EDUCATE AND CONFRONT THE STATE ON MATTERS OF MORALITY AND JUSTICE.

In the Old Testament the prophets called the kings to account on these matters. In the New Testament, John the Baptist and Jesus confronted the religious and political leaders. The Apostle Paul confronted Felix, the governor, concerning righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come (Acts 24:25).

REQUIRED OF EVERY CHRISTIAN:

(1). TO BE SUBJECT TO THE GOVERNMENT UNLESS IT ASKS US TO DISOBEY GOD (ROM. 13:1; 1 PET. 2:13-14; ACTS 4:19-20; 5:29; DANIEL 1, 3, 6).

(2). TO GRANT PROPER HONOR TO THOSE IN AUTHORITY (ROM. 13:7; 1 PET. 2:17).

(3). TO DO RIGHT AND COOPERATE WITH GOVERNMENT AUTHORITIES WHENEVER POSSIBLE (TITUS 3:1-2; 1 PET. 2:15).

(4). TO PAY TAXES (ROM. 13:6, 7; MATT. 22:17-21).

(5). TO PRAY FOR GOVERNMENT AUTHORITIES (1 TIM. 2:1-2).

(6). TO EVANGELIZE AND DISCIPLE GOVERNMENT LEADERS WHEN POSSIBLE (1 TIM. 2:3-4; MATT.28:19; PAUL’S EXAMPLE WITH FELIX, FESTUS, AGRIPPA, AND OTHERS).

(7). TO BE INFORMED AND VOTE FOR CANDIDATES AND ISSUES WHICH WILL, TO THE BEST DEGREE POSSIBLE, UPHOLD GOD’S PURPOSES FOR GOVERNMENT (MATT. 5:13-16; TITUS 3:1).

The Bible does not address voting directly because democracy was not practiced then. 

Some Christians argue that we are citizens of heaven and thus should not get involved at all in politics. But we are also citizens of this earth. Since we are given a say in who rules over us, not to vote is to allow the ungodly to win.

B. OPTIONAL FOR CHRISTIANS ACCORDING TO GIFTS AND CALLING:

(1). TO HELP INFORM THE CHURCH REGARDING CANDIDATES OR IMPORTANT LEGISLATION THAT RELATES TO BIBLICAL ISSUES.

Not all of us have the time to stay informed. If you are so gifted and led, help Christ's church out. 

Let God's Saints know about the important petitions that Faith can sign to endorse moral legislation(S).

(2). TO WORK AS VOLUNTEERS OR SUPPORTING STAFF FOR POLITICIANS WHO UPHOLD JUSTICE AND MORALITY.

This is not required of every believer, but it may be the legitimate calling of some.

(3). TO RUN FOR POLITICAL OFFICE.

This must be a Spiritual matter of personal calling before God. It may be on a local level (school board, city council, etc.) or on a state or national level. Faiths church ought to be supplying the government with men and women of integrity who fear God. Government is a difficult place to maintain a strong testimony for Christ. But there are two notable examples in the Bible of men who served well in pagan governments: Joseph in Egypt, and Daniel in Babylon.