“Everything that I command you, you shall be careful to do. You shall not add to it or take from it.” (v32)
There are a few places in scripture we are warned to follow God’s commands/words without adding or removing anything: “You shall not add to the word that I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God that I command you.” (Deu 4:2) “Do not add to his words, lest he rebuke you and you be found a liar.” (Pro 30:6) “I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues which are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his part from the tree of life and from the holy city, which are written in this book.” (Rev 22:18-19)
Why is it important that we do not add or remove anything from God’s commands / words? Is it because God doesn’t want to be misquoted on the internet? No. Is it because God doesn’t want us missing out on important instructions that were given for our benefit? That is part of the truth.
I think the primary reason God’s words should not be altered, is because that is a tool of the enemy since the very beginning: “Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, ‘Did God actually say, “You shall not eat of any tree in the garden”?’ And the woman said to the serpent, ‘We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, “You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.” ‘ But the serpent said to the woman, ‘You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.’ ” (Gen 3:1-5)
The first (recorded) words out of Satan’s mouth are “Did God actually say…?” And then he twists God’s words like a balloon animal, manipulating them into meaning what he wants them to: “You will not surely die…” Since the very beginning, Satan has been twisting and manipulating God’s words, like a cunning politician twists the words of their opponent into meaning the opposite of what they originally intended. That is a form of adding or removing context from God’s words, or misinterpreting the words, which is also sin.
What I’m suggesting is twofold: we don’t revise God’s words / commands by editing the scriptures, and we should also refrain from misinterpreting the scriptures.
Now I’m sure all kinds of questions could come to mind right now about the canonization of scripture, how to properly interpret scripture, or “conflicting” Bible translations, and we don’t have enough time to dive into those in detail at the moment. We’ll simply summarize by saying this: God’s word is God’s word – if any interpretation, translation, or revision is to be done, God must be the one in charge, providing the words and then the discernment to interpret and understand those words. No other principality, power or person has the authority to revise God’s words, for He is the ultimate authority. Period.
My challenge for today is to pray over any sources of theology in your life (eg. teachers, pastors, friends, myself) – pray that the Spirit would provide discernment for the validity of the interpretation, and then the life application of the teaching. I also strongly suggest you match up what the theology is saying with scripture, to see if their doctrine is congruent. For example, this very devotional – please don’t simply take my word for it, compare these words to scripture to see if it’s true, and pray for the Spirit’s discernment to know whether or not you should heed these words and apply any corrections in your life. Jesus who is in your heart must guide the process, for He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Nobody has knowledge of the Father or relationship with God except through Him.
Father God, the source of all wisdom and discernment, we seek Your counsel today. Father please guide us through Your Holy Spirit, that we may know good teaching from bad teaching, the truth from a manipulation of the truth. It’s often easy for us to detect lies, but when it comes to twisted truth, our own worldly wisdom often fails us. Please be our guide and filter for all that we hear and see, that we may know the Truth, and the Truth will set us free. In the name of Jesus (the Truth and the Word) we ask this, amen.
~ Conqueror in Training