Caution...

"Whatever I command you, you shall be careful to do; you shall not add to nor take away from it."--Deuteronomy 12:32.  Moses stated a similar command all the way back in Deuteronomy 4:2.  I dealt with Deuteronomy 4:2 in my blog called "Adding or Subtracting."  It is here in Deuteronomy 12:32 that we see that we are not only to not add or subtract from what God has commanded but we also see here that doing this requires caution.  

Caution.  I am sure we have all seen caution tape similar to that in the image above.  This tape is usually put up to keep us from stepping into a dangerous area.  This morning I want to break this verse up into three parts.  First, "Whatever I command you to do."  Second, the focus of this verse, "You shall be careful to do," and third "You shall not add to nor take away from it."  Then we will tie them all back together in the end. 

Whatever I command you to do.  These areas where God has "put the caution tape" up are areas where God has stated specifically what He wants from His people.  Just last night I was doing my personal reading back in Exodus.  I was reading about the construction of the tabernacle and about the priests that were to preside over the tabernacle.  One thing I noticed as I was reading was that God was VERY specific as to what He wanted.  This is not the only time.  God was also very specific even earlier when He was giving Noah the instructions as to how to build the ark and as to what kind of how many animals were to go on the ark with him.  These are examples we will look more closely at along with New Testament examples as we move in to the second part.

You shall be careful to do.  In today's world, almost everywhere you go there is some sort of protocol or instructions has to follow.  Problems arise when any one person deviates from that protocol in any way, shape, or form.  This of course means when one is doing any given assignment, one must exercise great CAUTION to do the assignment according to the given protocol.  The same is true when it comes to following God.  God gave very specific protocol to His people in the past.  There are countless examples of what happened to those who deviated from the God given protocol in the Scriptures, they were disciplined, if not destroyed altogether.  Many times these people were trying to please God but they did not do so according to what God had commanded so in this way they "broke protocol." This can lead us to ask what would have happened if Noah had decided to use oak instead of gopher wood for the ark?  Or what if Moses had chosen to make the table of the tabernacle 3 cubits long as opposed to 2 cubits long as given in Exodus 25:23?  (1 cubit is approximately 18 inches).  There are areas where God has also gotten VERY specific in the New Testament.  For example, we see that bread and fruit of the vine was used for communion.  What would happen if we decided to use milk and cookies?  In Mark 16:15-16, Jesus tells us we must believe AND be baptized to be saved.  Shouldn't this logically mean that we must do both and not just one or the other in order to be saved?   Again, God has put the caution tape up in these areas and others because God has spoken or commanded us as to what He wants in these areas.  As I mentioned before, caution tape also functions to keep us from stepping into dangerous areas.  This brings me to my third point. 

You shall not add to nor take away from it.  This part of the verse is one that has generated controversy.  The question rises, what is addition and subtraction?  The question is harder than the answer.  Addition and subtraction deals with adding to or subtracting from areas where God has given very specific commands and/or examples in Scripture.  For example, what if Noah used gopher wood but decided to add some oak in there for good measure, God would not have been pleased.  Or what if with communion, we just thought partaking of the bread or the fruit of the vine by itself was enough, God would not be pleased.  Another example that has been the center of a lot of arguments is that in Ephesians 5:19, God has commanded us to sing.  Given that singing has been specified, shouldn't that logically show us that God wants singing and singing ONLY without the use of instruments?  All through the Scriptures, we see that people are careful or CAUTIOUS to do everything that God commanded according to HIS specifications.  

Caution.  There are areas where God has not spoken one way or the other.  However, there are countless others where God has been very specific as to what He wants.  It is in these areas where God has put up the caution tape.  Just like it's dangerous for us to cross the caution tape at something like a construction site, it is also dangerous to cross the caution tape that God has put up when it comes to His specific commands.  So this morning I encourage you to study God's commands to determine where we have wiggle room and where there is caution tape that we cannot cross without putting ourselves in danger.  

PRAY ABOUT IT! DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT! LOVE Y'ALL! GOD BLESS!