When it comes to adding to the word of God, any addition is a bad addition. In Proverbs 30, it states, “Don’t add to His words, or He will rebuke you, and you will be proved a liar” (v. 6 HCSB). In Revelation 22:19, Jesus even says that if you take away from the Word, you will lose your portion of the tree of life. The bottom line is the Word of God is just that—the Word of God.
This means that we accept His Word as Truth and we submit to its original intent. We don’t try to make it mean something else because we like another meaning. Paul states that we should not think beyond what is written (1 Corinthians 4:6). From the very beginning we were adding to God’s words and disillusioning ourselves with lies. When the serpent was speaking with Eve, she added to what God said about the tree of life, stating that it couldn’t be touched.
Be very careful when you read God’s Word, that you treat it as that—God’s Word. Don’t try to make it your word. Don’t try to only see what you think it says to you. Love it. Study it. Embrace it. Live by it. Ask God what He means. The Word is alive and active. Seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit. And if you don’t understand something, seek some wise assistance but never say what you think God meant if you have no basis for it. Too many people think they know what God thinks when the truth is no one knows.
“But God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” – Genesis 3:3 [ESV]
Tania Gutekunst 