From God Alone
Now, Israel, listen to the statutes and ordinances I am teaching you to follow, so that you may live, enter, and take possession of the land the Lord, the God of our ancestors, is giving you. You must not add anything to what I commanded you or take away from it, so that you may keep the commands of the Lord your God I am giving you.
Deuteronomy 4:1-2 (CSB)
God alone is the author of Scripture. As we noticed yesterday, the human authors were carried along by the Holy Spirit, so we can trust Scripture as the true and trustworthy Word of God. In Deuteronomy, Moses declared that God alone provided Scripture, so we must never add to or subtract from It. Throughout generations, we have found this warning unfortunate because there has been neglect and rebellion against the inspiration of Scripture.
During the Old Testament times, many Jewish leaders added to the expectations and requirements in the Old Covenant. These additions to the given Word of God occurred because of a fear of missing the mark of God’s requirements. The regulations formed a series of legalistic traditions that exist to guard the truth. Unfortunately, these attempts did nothing but attempt to add to the given Word of God. Adding to the Word is an act that declares that Scripture is limited, incomplete, and not ultimately enough. The addition to the Word often occurs when we fall prey to a God complex and somehow believe that God needs us to fill in the blanks. This opposes the very nature of God and His Word.
Likewise, many people throughout history have subtracted from the Word of God to create a religion they can believe in. Some have sought to isolate Jesus's words from the rest of Scripture and state that only His Words must be taken as authoritative. Others have attempted to copy and paste verses to manufacture a belief system that supports their opinions and positions while ignoring the portions that confront their sinful nature.
Since Scripture is God-breathed, carried along by the Holy Spirit, and comes from God alone, we must understand that the inspired Word of God has complete authority and is inerrant and infallible. We must hold to its inspiration and guard against the threats of heresy concerning Scripture driven by human nature.
QUESTIONS
How do people add to or subtract from Scripture?
Why is it important for people to submit to the truth of Scripture?
