You know, the verses relating to the “adding to” or “taking from” God’s Word.

                                                                                        FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION

Last Wednesday night, during the course of our lesson, we read the passages found in Deut. 4:2 and Rev. 22:18-19.  You know, the verses relating to the “adding to” or “taking from” God’s Word.  I’d like to continue with those passages today using them as a basis for a “Bible word” lesson.  A format that I like to use from time to time.

We’ll get to our “word” in just a moment, but first let’s spend a few minuets towards understanding the gravity of the sin involved with the violation of those verses.  Why it’s so specifically warned against and is so severely punished.  Let me start by asking you: “Do you think that you are wiser than God?”  I’m pretty sure that just about everyone would answer, “No.”  But, that’s exactly what you’re saying when you take it upon yourself to change something God has said.

And that leads us to understanding why the penalty for doing so is so severe.  In essence, the person who “adds to” or “takes away” is doing something else that we’re warned about in Gal. 6:7.  The warning by Paul that “God is not mocked.”

Think about it this way, if you “add to” the Word, it’s like you’re saying that you can improve on it.  If “taking away” you’re finding fault with it and doing either is what brings us to our “word” of study for today.  The sin connected to the changing of God’s Word.  The “mocking” of Him.  It’s the sin of “presumption.”  Of “presuming” that your way is better than God’s.

Now you don’t have to take my word for it as to the seriousness of this sin.  We can look at some examples found in the Bible of some who “presumed” and the results of that “presumption.”  And, with the keeping in mind as we read about them, that if God didn’t approve of their behavior and punished them for it, He’ll certainly do the same with us if we follow in their footsteps.

In the 11th verse of Jude we see the words “woe unto them” who commit this sin and then provides us with our examples.  You’ll notice that the first one given is the “way of Cain.”  Well, what exactly was the “way of Cain.”  To find that out, let’s turn our minds back to the saga of Cain and his brother Abel and see how that applies to our “word”of the day.

Both of them were worshipers of God in that they both sacrificed to Him.  However, Abel’s sacrifice was acceptable and Cain’s wasn’t.  As to their respective sacrifices, we don’t have to guess why one was accepted and one wasn’t.  In Heb. 11:4 we read that Abel’s was accepted because it was offered “by faith.”

Obviously Cain’s wasn’t offered “by faith.”  The apostle Paul tells us that “Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God. “ Cain “presumed” that what he wanted to do, in regards to God’s Word, would be accepted by Him while Abel was obedient to what God had said.

And who can forget good old Nadab and Abihu.  They were the 1st and 2nd sons of Aaron, the High Priest.  They were also priests themselves and as such, had certain duties to perform.  One duty included the use of a specific “fire” and they “presumed” that they could substitute whatever “fire” they thought to be OK.  Seems fitting that they immediately perished by “fire”, doesn’t it?

Also in Jude 11 we find another example.  There it refers to the “gainsaying of Korah.”  And there’s another word we can study in a future lesson - “gainsaying.”  But that word is so appropriate to our lesson today.  Do you know what that word means?  It simply means “to contradict or deny.”  And knowing that gives us more insight into Korah’s sin.

If you open your Bible to the 16th chapter of Numbers you can follow along with my paraphrasing of this “presumptuous” event.  Basically, Korah didn’t like the way God had set up the method of worship for the Israelites. 

The short version of his “gainsaying” is that he disagreed with God having made Aaron and his family the leaders of the worship services.  He felt that he and his followers were just as qualified to be the “leaders” as Aaron and attempted to make themselves priests too.  For being so “presumptuous” as to think they could change God’s way, they were destroyed on the spot by God.

Perhaps Korah had “presumed” that God didn’t really mean what He said in what he told Israel in Deut. 17:12-13.  “And the man that will do presumptuously and will not heaken unto the priest that standeth to minister there before the Lord thy God, or unto the judge, even that man shall die, and thou shalt put away the evil from Israel.  And all the people shall hear and fear, and do no more presumptuously.

In closing, let’s consider these thoughts.  In His Word, God has provided man with everything we need to know as to how to faithfully serve Him.  We know what’s acceptable to Him.  What we need to do in order to be righteous.  For anyone to “presume” they are wiser than God and have the authority to “gainsay” His Word is to be no different than Cain or Korah.

In Peter’s 2nd epistle, in chapter 2, verse 10, he tells us, in no uncertain terms, that those who are “presumptuous” are “self-willed.”  Jesus Himself said in His sermon on the mount (Matt. 7:21) that anyone who doesn’t “do the will of my Father” will not enter into His kingdom.  Isn’t He talking about a “self-willed” person?  Someone who will say “Lord, Lord,” and then follow their own will?  I certainly think so.

I also think that it would be a great thing on our part to echo the prayer of David seen in Psalm 19:13:   “Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me.  Then shall I be upritht and I shall be innocent from the great transgression.”

Respectfully submitted,

Ron Covey