Adding to God’s Holy Word
Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in Him. Add thou not unto His Words, lest He reprove thee, and thou be found a liar (Proverbs 30.5-6).
It is a profoundly serious thing to add to what God has said. God gives us many warnings in His Word about adding to or taking away from his Word. Ye shall not add unto the Word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you (Deuteronomy 4.2).
It is so easy for us to point the finger at the Mormons, Jehovah Witnesses and other groups that either add or take away from what God has said. However, have you ever considered that we may at times do the same thing when we misinterpret what God has said or when we speak of something being in the Bible that is not. We would think that only unsaved people would do this but look at a few of the things that even some Christians have stated are in the Word of God. Have you ever said any of these?
- God helps those who help themselves. Some believe that this phrase was first used by Benjamin Franklin. The truth is simply that God helps those who turn to Him in their hour of need (Hebrews 4.16; 1 Peter 5.7). It does reflect human values, but the statement is not recorded in the Bible.
- God will never give you more than you are able to bear. The trials that come to us are common to all mankind according to 1 Corinthians 10.13. No, the text is not stating that we will not have trials, and it does not really depend on our capability, but what God will do in the midst of them as we trust Him. The text reveals that God will make a way of escape, that ye may be able to bear it. It is all about Him, not us.
- Love the sinner, hate the sin. It certainly is something we should do, but it is not a phrase that will be found in the Bible. It is attributed to Saint Augustine. A similar idea is found in Jude 1.22-23. We certainly should be merciful to those who are lost, and we should indeed have a healthy hatred of their sin and its effects in their lives. This attitude should assist us in sharing our faith with the lost.
- A fool and his money are soon parted. Many believe this is taken directly from Proverbs. The truth is, it is taken from a poem titled “Five Hundred Points of Good Husbandry,” written by Thomas Tusser (1524-1580).
- To thine own self be true. This was stated by Polonius to his son, Laertes in the Shakespearean tragedy, Hamlet. While the phrase is not in the Bible, it really has become a motto in modern culture. You cannot miss the fact that Americans are in love with themselves. The advertisements illustrate this well.
Oh, there are so many more that could be mentioned.
- Charity begins at home.
- This too shall pass.
- Good things come to those who wait.
- When praises go up blessings come down.
- A penny saved is a penny earned.
For us, we need to be careful to be true to the Word of God. The best way to avoid making this crucial mistake is to KNOW THE WORD. God said in Deuteronomy 12.32: Whatever I command you, be careful to observe it: you shall not add to it nor take away from it.
Taking it out of context can be just as bad. The psalmist reminds us: Thy Word is true from the beginning: and every one of Thy righteous judgments endureth forever (Psalm 119.160). Jesus said, “Thy Word is truth” (John 17.17).
The late George Stiekes served in several churches through his ministry. In his later years, he published a daily newsletter he called Reverent Reflections. We draw from his stock of devotions for occasional articles here on Proclaim & Defend.
Image from University of Glasgow photostream under license by Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic