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Don’t Add to God’s Commands
by Dr. Paul Chappell
“And it came to pass on the second sabbath after the first, that he went through the corn fields; and his disciples plucked the ears of corn, and did eat, rubbing them in their hands. And certain of the Pharisees said unto them, Why do ye that which is not lawful to do on the sabbath days?”
Luke 6:1–2
The law that God gave to Moses for the observance of the Sabbath day instructed the Israelites very clearly that they were not to work, but to rest on that day. “But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates” (Exodus 20:10). Over the years, various rabbis and teachers added to the rules and regulations for keeping the Sabbath until by the time of Jesus there were are least thirty-nine different categories of activity that had been defined as work and forbidden—going far beyond what God had commanded.
When the Pharisees went to Jesus and condemned the disciples for gathering and eating food as they passed through a field on the Sabbath, they accused them of doing something that was unlawful. But in truth the disciples were not violating the law of Moses, only the regulations that had been added on top of the law.
There is a great danger when we go beyond what God has said. While we must apply the principles of the Bible to situations that are not directly addressed, we should never say that God has forbidden something that He has not in fact forbidden. We are responsible to obey what God has said, and part of that obedience is not adding additional rules and systems beyond what He has given. That path leads to prideful bondage and failure to receive God’s grace.
Luke 6:1–2
The law that God gave to Moses for the observance of the Sabbath day instructed the Israelites very clearly that they were not to work, but to rest on that day. “But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates” (Exodus 20:10). Over the years, various rabbis and teachers added to the rules and regulations for keeping the Sabbath until by the time of Jesus there were are least thirty-nine different categories of activity that had been defined as work and forbidden—going far beyond what God had commanded.
When the Pharisees went to Jesus and condemned the disciples for gathering and eating food as they passed through a field on the Sabbath, they accused them of doing something that was unlawful. But in truth the disciples were not violating the law of Moses, only the regulations that had been added on top of the law.
There is a great danger when we go beyond what God has said. While we must apply the principles of the Bible to situations that are not directly addressed, we should never say that God has forbidden something that He has not in fact forbidden. We are responsible to obey what God has said, and part of that obedience is not adding additional rules and systems beyond what He has given. That path leads to prideful bondage and failure to receive God’s grace.
Today’s Growth Principle:
Take God’s Word at face value, and do not attempt to add anything to it.
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