Everybody loves Deuteronomy. Okay, maybe not. It's primarily God, through Moses, reminding the people about what was going on before they go into the Promised Land. In Deuteronomy 4 and following, he talks about the 10 Commandments. He says, "For what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as is YHWH our God whenever we call on Him? Or what great nation is there that has statutes and judgments as righteous as this whole law which I am setting before you today?" (Deut 4:7-8). It was good stuff. On the subject of God's statutes and judgments, he says, "You shall not add to the word which I am commanding you, nor take away from it, that you may keep the commandments of YHWH your God which I command you" (Deut 4:2). He's not talking about all of God's Word here. He's talking about God's commands. Don't add, and don't take away. Okay. Sure. Except ... we do this all the time, don't we?
We're good at adding, amazingly enough. The first person to do this was Eve. When Satan asked if God said they couldn't eat from a tree, she replied, "From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, 'You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die'" (Gen 3:2-3). Except ... He didn't. He said nothing about touching it. Eve ... added that. The Pharisees were good at it, adding how many steps constituted "work" on the Sabbath and such. One source said that to the original 613 laws God gave, they added thousands of new ones. The New Testament legalists added "circumcision" to grace. The Roman Catholics were great at this, like praying to Mary and purgatory and indulgences and "the seven deadly sins." In my day it was "No dancing and no drinking and no movies and no playing cards." Not in there. We learned to "bow our heads and close our eyes" to pray. No such command. I'm sure you can think of your own. We're good at adding.
We're equally good at subtracting. We "stand on the Word" and then ignore what we don't like. It says that sex outside of marriage is sin ... unless we want to. It says that women must not teach or exercise authority of men ... except, of course, if we allow it. God hates divorce. Us? Not so much. And, seriously, love your enemies? Who does that? I bet you can find a whole bunch of those ... that others are doing. But ... how many of us love God with all our hearts? How many of us love like Jesus loved? I'd bet that we all suffer from this subtraction. And it's not good. "Don't do it," Moses warned. Don't add. Don't subtract. Apparently we are really bad at math.
13 comments:
It does seem to be very common practice to add to and/or subtract from God’s Word--not only in its content but in its interpretation (particularly the proper emphases). Over the centuries, enough alterations have been made by various groups and/or individuals so as to create entirely different forms of “Christianity”--each one with its own version of “another gospel.” (Some even created their own edition of the Bible and/or added supplemental scriptures or “tradition” in order to support their alternate views.) Even among orthodox Christianity, much legalism (both subtle and blatant) has infused Christian thought and practice--enough to warrant Paul’s rebuke to the Galatians upon them (not to mention Rev. 22:18-19); there is also the overcorrection of legalism, leading to antinomianism. (Both legalism and antinomianism distort the gospel of grace as taught in Scripture, of course, so personally, I reject them when they appear as surely as I do the versions of “another gospel” mentioned above.)
Having said this, I am mindful that it is equally true that our sanctification and conformity to God’s revealed Word to us is a lifelong process. There will be seasons of both spurts of growth and lapses in obedience; instances of both victory over besetting sins and struggles with worldly entanglements; and periods of both Spirit-led devotion and crises of faith. Through all this, I can know that God is faithful and unchanging, and His Word is trustworthy and sure, as the Holy Spirit leads me to all truth. Wherever I got it wrong in my Christian walk--i.e. either adding to and/or subtracting from God’s Word in error--He will make it right at my journey’s end.
Far too often we take good advice and turn it into law. Like the "no dancing", probably was an attempt to dissuade sexual immorality, but got pushed too far. I heard of a man that refused to even play ping pong, simply because he knew it could lead to sinful actions on his part. The difference between good advice and law is application. Is it something you impose on yourself and suggest to others to avoid sin, that's helpful, but once you make it a requirement for "good living", you've added to the law.
You're right, David. Starting with Eve's "Don't touch it," we've set out new rules to help God out. "Don't play cards because it MIGHT appear evil." "Dancing could lead to sexual immorality, so don't even try." My grandmother actually told me, "We don't allow going to movies because someone might see you coming out of Bambi and think you went in to see an R-rated movie and there goes your testimony." They see it as "good advice," but when they make it rules, it becomes sinful in itself because they're violating His command not to add or take away from His laws. Ironic.
It's interesting our two-edged position. We need to read and heed God's laws ... and God is always in control. He accomplishes what He intends. I can't mess that up.
Both of you are correct. Choosing to abstain from something that can lead to sin isn't a problem, trying to convince others to do the same is also not a problem, establishing a rule is where the problem begins.
It strikes me that the theme of “adding to God’s Word” naturally leads to a consideration of legalism in the Christian life. I am sure we can all offer examples we’ve heard of “good advice…turn[ed] into law,” as David words it--i.e. the specifics of what is vs. what isn’t “permissible” for “good Christian people.” Much of this would be a matter of Christian liberty and should be left as such. However, some of these proscriptions reflect an overemphasis on outward appearances as well as a faulty understanding of true holiness, which leads to a false piety with highly legalistic overtones. Personally, I believe that legalistic behavior damages our testimony as much as any “appearance of evil” might do.
In addition to the New Testament passages discussing Christian liberty, the main Bible verse that comes to my mind when thinking about “permissible activities” is 1 Cor. 6:12 (and repeated in 1 Cor. 10:23), where Paul writes, “All things are lawful for me, but all things are not helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.” As mentioned by other commenters, personal application is the proper focus in “questionable areas,” rather than expecting that my convictions are binding upon others.
I have often heard of the biblical admonition to “avoid the appearance of evil,” but I learned this is based on a misunderstanding, as explained in this helpful AI Overview:
The phrase "appearance of evil" comes from the King James Version (KJV) of the Bible, 1 Thessalonians 5:22, which reads, "Abstain from all appearance of evil". While often interpreted as avoiding actions that could look like evil to others, the original Greek indicates the intended meaning is to "abstain from every form of evil" rather than just things that might be mistaken for evil. More modern translations, like the English Standard Version (ESV) and New International Version (NIV), reflect this by translating it as "every form of evil" or "every kind of evil.”
In my personal studies about comparative religion in general and Christian denominations in particular, I have found it interesting to learn about the various proscriptions regarding “questionable activities” among the various groups. Over the decades, I have encountered the gamut--all kinds of rules about dress/hair/cosmetics, leisure-time pursuits, food/drink, male/female relations, political/civic involvement, language/speech, entertainment/music, finances, marriage/parenting, education, health/nutrition, church activities, and more. Some of the “rules” strike me as silly or misguided, while others merit consideration and even adoption. As I see it, this is all part of “work[ing] out [my] own salvation with fear and trembling” (Phil. 2:12).
Lorna, you're absolutely right about "avoid the appearance of evil." It is literally "evil in all its forms." For some reason, the manifest impossibility of "avoid the appearance of evil" never occurred to a whole generation because anything can "appear" evil to someone. "Evil" needs to be defined, and avoiding evil in all its forms leaves "evil" to be defined by God, not its perception by each individual.
Lorna, you also bring up the problem of the failure to understand the text. As an example, "smoking" has been "prohibited" for a long time solely on the basis of "Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?" (1 Cor 6:19). Most who stand here don't take into account context ... sexual sin (1 Cor 6:12-18). None have ever suggested eating Twinkies was an equal sin because it "damages the temple." The text doesn't support the claim. Just an example.
Actually, I have heard 1 Cor. 6:19-20 quoted many times regarding various harmful things we do to our bodies, apart from sexual sin--everything from overeating and being out of shape to substance abuse and sleep deprivation. I do think that considering the ramifications of “your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit” would entail more than just sexual sin, in that all aspects of our behavior would impact the Holy Spirit in us and dishonor His “temple.” “So glorify God in your body” (1 Cor. 6:20) sounds comprehensive. I might be misreading your words, but are you saying the only application of “your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit” is sexual sin and not, say, knowingly ingesting addictive, harmful chemicals, eating junk food, or the like?
Agreed! Hoping to even know what others consider “evil” at any given moment in order to avoid it seems like an impossible pursuit, as it would vary from person to person and from group to group (as I mentioned above) and be forever changing--especially as the culture continues its moral slide and insists on making its own arbitrary standards. I agree that focusing on what God considers evil--rather than fallible and fickle men and women--would lead to living with a clear conscience (although I’ll do my best to comply with Paul’s instructions in 1 Cor. 8 and Romans 14).
Regarding the question I posed to you in my above comment: After a search at your blog, I found several posts where you addressed the phrase, “your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit” (including one on 7/19/09 titled, “Thou Shalt Not Smoke”). I see the points you made in those posts (and you seem to be a fan of Twinkies [personally, I would go with Oreos or Haagen-Dazs] ;). Still, I do think this is an important topic for conscientious believers to consider in a more general way than its immediate context in 1 Cor. 6:19-20.
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