‘I Delivered to You What I Also Received’: Tradition and the Gospel

The Greek word for “tradition,” along with its verbal form that means “to hand over,” occurs often in the New Testament. Many of those uses are positive. What is “handed over” is also received: Luke says that the true events of Jesus were “delivered” to him, and he wrote them down (Luke 1:2–3). Jesus received the entire divine truth from the Father: “All things have been handed over to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him” (Matt. 11:27, emphasis added).

Some uses of the term, however, are negative. Jesus complained to the Pharisees about traditions that were false and replaced the true teaching of the Gospel, “making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down” (Mark 7:13). It’s bad news when traditions contradict the Word of God! “You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men” (Mark 7:8).

St. Paul regarded all Christian teaching as “tradition” (1 Cor. 11:2; 2 Thess. 2:15). Consider the magnificent passage in 1 Corinthians 15 that obviously gave birth to the Apostles’ Creed:

Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you — unless you believed in vain. For I delivered [verb form of “tradition”] to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then He appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, He appeared also to me. For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed. (1 Cor. 15:1–11, emphasis added)

Consider also Paul’s description of handing over of the tradition that he received from Christ regarding the Lord’s Supper: “I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when He was betrayed took bread” (1 Cor. 11:23). Paul demands these traditions be kept by the faithful.

Some might think Jesus’ rejection of certain traditions contradicts Paul’s strong support of traditions. Not so. They are two sides of the same coin. False, works righteous traditions are rejected by Jesus. True traditions — the Gospel and all its teaching — are demanded by St. Paul. Both are opposed to subversion of the Word of God via false traditions.

Our Augsburg Confession has much to say about traditions and ceremonies. Human traditions and ceremonies are not required for unity:

Our churches teach that one holy Church is to remain forever. The Church is the congregation of saints in which the Gospel is purely taught and the Sacraments are correctly administered. For the true unity of the church it is enough to agree about the doctrine of the Gospel and the administration of the Sacraments. It is not necessary that human traditions, that is, rites or ceremonies instituted by men, should be the same everywhere. As Paul says, ‘One Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all.’” (AC VII)

On the other hand, the Lutheran church retains human traditions and ceremonies that can be retained without sin. These specifically include, according to our Confessions, the lectionary (Sunday readings), vestments, the form of the service of the Sacrament and others:

Our churches teach that ceremonies ought to be observed that may be observed without sin. Also, ceremonies and other practices that are profitable for tranquility and good order in the Church (in particular, holy days, festivals, and the like) ought to be observed.

Yet, the people are taught that consciences are not to be burdened as though observing such things was necessary for salvation. They are also taught that human traditions instituted to make atonement with God, to merit grace, and to make satisfaction for sins are opposed to the Gospel and the doctrine of faith. So vows and traditions concerning meats and days, and so forth, instituted to merit grace and to make satisfaction for sins, are useless and contrary to the Gospel. (AC XV)

Two points are to be noted. Firstly, the Lutheran Reformation was a conservative reformation. Longstanding church customs and traditions that served good ends were purified from abuses and retained. Thus the LCMS strongly urges all its congregations to retain the order of the Divine Service, as well as confession and absolution, psalms, lessons, clear Gospel preaching, the creeds, the Lord’s Prayer, the order of the Lord’s Supper and especially the Lord’s own words, reverent reception, Aaronic blessing. We are not the church of what’s happening now. We are the catholic church of all ages gone right. I often note that, no matter where I travel in the world, I find all these elements in a Lutheran service. No matter the language, I’m never lost in a Lutheran service. That’s certainly the way it should be among us.

Secondly, the ethic of Luther’s Christian freedom came to dominate the Lutheran church’s outlook on traditions in worship. Under the Gospel, said Luther, the Christian is free, lord of all, subject to none. Under the law of love, the Christian is the dutiful bondservant of all, subject to all in love. My freedom is curbed by love for the good of all. Tradition is a good thing, provided it does not contradict the Gospel and the Word of God, which is, after all, itself divine tradition.

–Pastor Matthew C. Harrison

Photo Credit: A crucifix at First Lutheran Church in Boston. LCMS Communications/Erik M. Lunsford