“Do not add to his words, or he will rebuke you and prove you a liar.”
This is an incredibly important verse. John goes even further when he says essentially the same thing toward the end of the book of Revelation. He goes on to describe a very bad outcome for those who do. Over 100 times, Scripture reminds us not to add to God’s Word. That shows us it must be important to Him as well. I’m always amazed when someone, especially a preacher, plays loose with God’s Word, adding what they believe makes their point more emphatically. Often, they actually distort His truth when they do that. Even Paul, in his writings, was clear to state when he was sharing his opinion and not necessarily God’s. It could very well become manipulation and untruth with just a subtle change. In the end, everyone who tries to twist God’s Word is proven to be a liar. Google has had an amazing impact on truth-telling. It is very easy to disprove or verify someone’s comments using a search engine. Even Biblical truth is as close as our technology, simply by searching for anything someone might claim as true. The minute they are discovered adding to God’s clear truths, they lose trust—and that trust is hard to recover. For some, it’s impossible. Nothing destroys another’s trust in our teaching, leadership, and priorities like having the listener discover we were lying. Today, speak only truth. #BeTheEdge
“Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it, but keep the commands of the Lord your God that I give you.” Deuteronomy 4:2 NIV
