“You shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you.” (Deuteronomy 4:2)
It seems to be a common thing these days to hear about councils of men making changes to the doctrine of their respective “churches” (of course, there’s nothing new under the sun – Ecclesiastes 1:9). God, in His word, on several occasions, warns against the practice of adding to, subtracting from, and dividing up His revealed will as we see fit.
Adding
It doesn’t say not to, so that means we can, right? Can you imagine how many additional volumes we would have from the mind of God if He had directed the writers of Scripture to include all the things He doesn’t want us to do? The truth of the matter is that God didn’t have to do that. He has specified what He does want. When God specifies, all other options are ruled out.
“Then Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it, put incense on it, and offered profane fire before the Lord, which He had not commanded them. So fire went out from the Lord and devoured them, and they died before the Lord.” (Leviticus 10:1-2)
“But the person who does anything presumptuously, whether he is native-born or a stranger, that one brings reproach on the Lord, and he shall be cut off from among his people. Because he has despised the word of the Lord, and has broken His commandment, that person shall be completely cut off; his guilt shall be upon him.” (Numbers 15:30-31)
Subtraction
If you have a recipe for chocolate chip cookies and do not follow it, what will be the result? Say, for example, that you leave out the sugar? Or, what if we bake the cookies for only 2 minutes instead of the appropriate time given in the instructions? Why do men often show more respect for a chocolate chip cookie recipe than they do for the inspired Word of God?
“Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Son of man, speak to the children of your people, and say to them: ‘When I bring the sword upon a land, and the people of the land take a man from their territory and make him their watchman, when he sees the sword coming upon the land, if he blows the trumpet and warns the people, then whoever hears the sound of the trumpet and does not take warning, if the sword comes and takes him away, his blood shall be on his own head. He heard the sound of the trumpet, but did not take warning; his blood shall be upon himself. But he who takes warning will save his life. But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, and the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at the watchman’s hand.’” (Ezekiel 33:1-6)
Who Do We Think We Are?
In the United States, we are blessed to be able to vote and have a say in what our nation’s laws will be. God, however, has not established a democracy. He, through His Son, has established His kingdom. (Colossians 1:13-14) A kingdom is ruled by a king. Christ makes the laws. We are expected to follow them.
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’” (Matthew 7:21-23)
God has provided us with everything that we need. He has given us “all things that pertain to life and godliness through the knowledge of Him who called us.” (2 Peter 1:3) If, in order to justify your beliefs and/or practices, you have to go to a creed book, church manual, or some other work of man, you might want to pause and think about what you are doing. Likewise, if you have to ignore this passage or that one in order to legitimize your behavior, there is a serious problem.
It is my hope that these thoughts will help us all to think more soberly about our responsibility to honor God at His word. Remember, “narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.” (Matthew 7:14)
“For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.” (1 Corinthians 2:11-12)
“But indeed, O man, who are you to reply against God?” (Romans 9:20)