What Is Tradition?
Tradition is the revelation of God the Father, which He, through His Only Begotten Son, handed down to the apostles, and they handed down to the rest of the Church, which hands it down from generation to generation by word (spoken and written) and by deed:
“For I have given to them the words which You have given Me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came forth from You; and they have believed that You sent Me” (John. 17:8)
“Now I praise you, brethren, that you remember me in all things and keep the traditions just as I delivered them to you” (1 Cor. 11:2)
Tradition Is Not Only Texts but Also Spoken Words That Hand Down the Faith
“For this reason we also thank God without ceasing, because when you received the word of God which you heard(!) from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe” (1 Thess. 2:13)
“Hold fast the pattern of sound words which you have heard(!) from me, in faith and love which are in Christ Jesus” (2 Tim. 1:13)
“And the things that you have heard(!) from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also” (2 Tim. 2:2)
“Therefore, brethren, stand fast and hold the traditions which you were taught, whether by word(!) or our epistle” (2 Thess. 2:15)
“Therefore let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard(!) from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father” (1 John. 2:24)
“Now I praise you, brethren, that you remember(!) me in all things and keep the traditions just as I delivered them to you” (1 Cor. 11:2)
“Remember therefore how you have received and heard(!); hold fast and repent. Therefore if you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief, and you will not know what hour I will come upon you” (Rev. 3:3)
The Apostles Made Use of Tradition
The apostle names two Egyptian sorcerers whose names are absent from Scripture:
“Now as Jannes and Jambres resisted Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, disapproved concerning the faith” (2 Tim. 3:8)
The apostle Jude tells of a dispute absent from Scripture:
“Yet Michael the archangel, in contending with the devil, when he disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a reviling accusation, but said, ‘The Lord rebuke you!’” (Jude. 1:9)
About the words of Enoch, absent from Scripture:
“Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men also, saying, ‘Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints’” (Jude. 1:14)
The Apostle Paul speaks of the prophet Isaiah, who was sawn in two after hiding in the hollow of a tree:
“They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented” (Heb. 11:37)
The evangelist Luke writes down the Gospel on the basis of words heard from eyewitnesses, that is, he writes down tradition:
“Inasmuch as many have taken in hand to set in order a narrative of those things which have been fulfilled among us, just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word delivered them to us, it seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write to you an orderly account, most excellent Theophilus” (Luke. 1:1-3)
They Report Information Absent from the Gospel
The Apostle Paul, in his talk with the Ephesian pastors, points to a teaching of Christ the Savior that is absent from the Gospel:
“I have shown you in every way, by laboring like this, that you must support the weak. And remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive’” (Act. 20:35)
He reports the appearance of the risen Christ to a great number of people, which is also not written in the Gospel:
“After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles” (1 Cor. 15:6-7)
The Importance of Tradition
A wrong teaching does not lead to God:
“Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God. He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son” (2 John. 1:9)
Heresies (false teachings) do not inherit the Kingdom of God:
“heresies <...> of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God” (Gal. 5:20-21)
The Necessity of Tradition
Holy Scripture is not the source of all information about Jesus Christ:
“And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name” (John. 20:30-31)
“And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. Amen” (John. 21:25)
In not a single epistle is there a teaching on how to baptize rightly, how to ordain deacons, presbyters, bishops:
“not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, of the doctrine of baptisms, of laying on of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment” (Heb. 6:1-2)
Some information, as already shown above, the apostles wished to hand down orally:
“Having many things to write to you, I did not wish to do so with paper and ink; but I hope to come to you and speak face to face, that our joy may be full” (2 John. 1:12)
“I had many things to write, but I do not wish to write to you with pen and ink; but I hope to see you shortly, and we shall speak face to face” (3 John. 1:13-14)
The Apostle Paul asks to keep Tradition (the instruction of the apostles), received not only in the epistles, but also from words:
“Therefore, brethren, stand fast and hold the traditions which you were taught, whether by word or our epistle” (2 Thess. 2:15)
“And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also” (2 Tim. 2:2)
The Length of the Spoken Preaching of the Apostles
The Apostle Paul taught the presbyters of Asia for three years, night and day:
“Therefore watch, and remember that for three years I did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears” (Act. 20:31)
For a year and a half he taught the community in Corinth:
“After these things Paul departed from Athens and went to Corinth. <...> And he continued there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them” (Act. 18:1,11)
He preached in Ephesus: first for three months in the synagogue, and then for two years with the disciples in a school:
“And he went into the synagogue and spoke boldly for three months, reasoning and persuading concerning the things of the kingdom of God. But when some were hardened and did not believe, but spoke evil of the Way before the multitude, he departed from them and withdrew the disciples, reasoning daily in the school of Tyrannus. And this continued for two years, so that all who dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks” (Act. 19:8-10)
Altogether, the Apostle Paul alone preached for at least 30 years: from his conversion in 33-34 AD until his death in 64-67 AD.
The Command to Keep Tradition and to Teach in Accordance with It
“As I urged you when I went into Macedonia — remain in Ephesus that you may charge some that they teach no other doctrine, nor give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which cause disputes rather than godly edification which is in faith” (1 Tim. 1:3-4)
“And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also” (2 Tim. 2:2)
“Therefore, brethren, stand fast and hold the traditions which you were taught, whether by word or our epistle” (2 Thess. 2:15)
“Now I praise you, brethren, that you remember me in all things and keep the traditions just as I delivered them to you” (1 Cor. 11:2)
“Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you — unless you believed in vain” (1 Cor. 15:1-2)
“Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude. 1:3)
“Finally then, brethren, we urge and exhort in the Lord Jesus that you should abound more and more, just as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God” (1 Thess. 4:1)
“holding fast the faithful word as he has been taught, that he may be able, by sound doctrine, both to exhort and convict those who contradict. For there are many insubordinate, both idle talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision, whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole households, teaching things which they ought not, for the sake of dishonest gain” (Titus. 1:9-11)
“But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. For if he who comes preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or if you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted — you may well put up with it! <...> For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works” (2 Cor. 11:3-4,13-15)
Withdraw from Those Who Bring In a New Teaching
“Reject a divisive man (Greek: αἱρετικὸν ἄνθρωπον — “a heretic”) after the first and second admonition” (Titus. 3:10)
“If anyone teaches otherwise and does not consent to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which accords with godliness, he is proud, knowing nothing, but is obsessed with disputes and arguments over words, from which come envy, strife, reviling, evil suspicions <...> From such withdraw yourself” (1 Tim. 6:3-5)
“O Timothy! Guard what was committed to your trust, avoiding the profane and idle babblings and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge — by professing it some have strayed concerning the faith. Grace be with you. Amen” (1 Tim. 6:20-21)
“But we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you withdraw from every brother who walks disorderly and not according to the tradition which he received from us” (2 Thess. 3:6)
“Now I urge you, brethren, note those who cause divisions and offenses, contrary to the doctrine which you learned, and avoid them. For those who are such do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly, and by smooth words and flattering speech deceive the hearts of the simple” (Rom. 16:17-18)
“If anyone comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him into your house nor greet him; for he who greets him shares in his evil deeds” (2 John. 1:10-11)
“But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed (Greek: ἀνάθεμα — “anathema”). As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed” (Gal. 1:8-9)
Anathema (Greek ἀνάθεμα) — excommunication from the Church.
The Need to Honor and Follow the Saints
“Remember those who rule over you, who have spoken the word of God to you, whose faith follow, considering the outcome of their conduct” (Heb. 13:7)
“Therefore I urge you, imitate me” (1 Cor. 4:16)
“Brethren, join in following my example, and note those who so walk, as you have us for a pattern” (Phil. 3:17)
More about the veneration of the saints: https://bibleox.com/ru/ru/w/почитание-святых-в-Библии
Expose Distortions of Tradition (Heresy)
“Fight to the death for truth, and the Lord God will fight for you” (Sir. 4:28)
“Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude. 1:3)
“And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them” (Eph. 5:11)