Adding To the Word of God Part II

# 9 Today's Prime Time Devo comes from: 1Ti 1:3 As I urged you when I went into Macedonia--remain in Ephesus that you may charge some that they teach no other doctrine, 4 nor give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which cause disputes rather than godly edification which is in faith. I want to spend one more day on this matter of adding to the doctrine of the Apostles. We have mentioned the warning given to us in Re 22:18, “For I (Jesus) testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book;” If that's not a stern enough warning for you, there are others: Pr 30:5,6 says, “Every word of God is pure; He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him. 6 Do not add to His words, Lest He rebuke you, and you be found a liar. Adding to the word of God sets you up to be a liar, and here's the thing about lying, once you start you need to fabricate more and more stories to cover your tracks. These stories become the main thing rather than the Word of God! In De 4:2, we read, "You shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you. Adding to, or taking away from the words of God are hindrances to “keeping” or treasuring the Word of God, because these extra teachings send you off on bunny trails that become more important than the Word itself. In this case listed in Deuteronomy, the people were led away to worship Baal and were destroyed, while those who held fast to the Lord were spared! These additions to, and subtractions from, the Word of God are with us in churches today. I urge you to stop and consider the teachings of your church. How do they line up with the Word of God? Are some teachings being ignored or denied? Are there superfluous practices and teachings that are presented as Gospel truth? Heed the words of the prophet Isaiah who said, in Isa 8:20, “ To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.”. Light, darkness, or shades of gray, what will it be for you?