"Truth Over Tradition" | Mark 7:1-23 | Matt Carlson

Ever feel like you’re constantly being measured—by others, by yourself, even by the church? The unspoken rules. The scorecards. The pressure to prove you’re “doing it right.” Turns out, this isn’t new. In Mark 7, Jesus goes head-to-head with the religious scorekeepers of His day, exposing the problem with man-made traditions: they look holy but miss the heart. The real issue isn’t what’s on the outside—it’s what’s inside. And no amount of rule-keeping can fix that. But here’s the good news: Jesus didn’t come to hand us another checklist. He came to set us free. Free from the weight of trying to measure up. Free to live from a new heart—one that He gives, not one we earn. So the question is: Are you holding onto tradition…or Truth?