A source says that, “The Apostolic Tradition (or Egyptian Church Order) is an early
Christian treatise which belongs to the genre of the ancient Church Orders. It has been
described as of "incomparable importance as a source of information about church life
and liturgy in the third century"’ (en.wikipedia.org). There are strong indications from the
Bible that it took some time for this tradition to evolve. Christianity in its early days
struggled to extricate itself from Judaism. The early converts were basically Jews whose
fathers practised Judaism. It was a religion steeped in ceremonies, circumcision,
observance of days and months, plus a lot of dietary laws. Little wonder that when some
Gentiles turned to Christ, certain Jews insisted that they must be circumcised after the
custom of Moses before their salvation could be real. This led to the council of
Jerusalem in Acts 15. There it was resolved that the Gentiles who believe should not be
made to observe the rigours of circumcision and other customs.
“Please remember that though we have been set free but we must never abuse our liberty.”
It was in the same spirit that Paul warned the Colossians here not to subject themselves
to the vestiges of Mosaic laws. Issues bothering what we eat and drink, and respect for
special days were all issues of the law, which Christ has graciously saved us from.
What this means is that in our walk with God, we will come across some “free zones”
where the rule is neither “yes” nor “no”. In such situations, we are to be the judge.
Please remember that though we have been set free but we must never abuse our
liberty.