Custom is a tyrant...

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JM

Puritan Board Doctor
"Custom is a tyrant, and ought to be rebelled against, and its yoke thrown off." - John Gill
 
Was not the context of the quote related to pretentious appeals to custom and tradition?

“Nor are the customs of men a rule of judgment, or a direction which way men should take in matters of religion; for the customs of the people are for the most part vain (Jer. 20:3), and such as are not lawful for us, being Christians, to receive or observe (Acts 16:21); and concerning which we should say, We have no such custom, neither the churches of God (1 Cor. 11:16). Custom is a tyrant, and ought to be rebelled against, and its yoke thrown off.


Nor are the traditions of men to be regarded; the Pharisees were very tenacious of the traditions of the elders, by which they transgressed the commandments of God, and made his word of no effect; and the apostle Paul, in his state of unregeneracy, was zealous of the same; but neither of them are to be imitated by us: it is right to observe the exhortation which the apostle gives, when a Christian (Col. 2:8); beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the traditions of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. Take care you are not imposed upon, under the notion and pretense of an apostolical tradition; unwritten traditions are not the rule, only the word of God is the rule of our faith and practice.”

[Extract from Sermon titled, The Scriptures: the only guide in matters of faith. text Jer. 6.16. preached on Nov. 2, 1750]



AMR
 
..as I hoped, the quote caused discussion...
Rather than quote dropping and running, how about sharing your view on the quote? Did you post it knowing its full context?

AMR

It's a quote forum so I posted a quote and of course, I understood the context... :D

AMR, do you see traditionalism in the Reformed churches you have attended?
 
Custom and tradition are not bad, so long as they do not violate Scripture. They become bad when they are viewed as equal to, or superior to, Scripture, and/or when they lead a person into ungodliness or false doctrine.

The study of church history has been very illuminating on this matter. Many of the practices that turned into full-blown sins in the medieval Church began as innocent customs that, over time, turned into gross distortions of their initial implementation.
 
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