Remember when you were young and you were sent to the store for a particular item? When you got home with that item and some other goodies, you were challenged as to why you bought more than that one item. You answered; “You didn’t say not to”. This was met with a strong reprimand (and usually some physical reinforcement) and you soon learned that when you were given a specific command or task, you were to obey that one and only command.<\/p>\n
Can you imagine the pharmacists adding some ingredients to your medicine and saying that your doctor did not say “not to” add this? Can you picture the response a soldier would get from his sergeant if he did something and replied that the sergeant did not say “not to”? What if you order a cake with red frosting from the bakery, and it arrives with red, white, and blue frosting? Would you accept an answer from the baker that you didn’t say “not to” add the blue and white frosting?<\/p>\n
Such explanations are not likely to be tolerated anywhere in most any circumstance. But why do people do things religiously and use this same excuse? They do something and when questioned, they reply something like: “Well, the Bible doesn’t say NOT to do this” This lame excuse is not tolerated in our world, so why should we expect God to tolerate such a lame excuse? God has told us what to do and how to do it in the words of the Bible. Doing something that is not authorized or written in the Bible is the same as adding to the word, and the addition of God’s word is a sin that deserves punishment. Sometimes God has spoken and we just neglect to do it or we determine for ourselves that it is not necessary. Deuteronomy 4:2 reads: “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<\/em>“<\/p>\nWhy not just follow the Bible and stop using lame excuses in your spiritual You must believe that Jesus is the Son of God and died on the cross for your sins. (Acts 8:37). You must repent of your sins (Luke 13:3) you must confess Jesus as Lord (Matthew 10:32) and you must be baptized for the remission of your sins (Acts 2:38; 22:16). Then you must remain faithful and continue learning (II Peter 3:18). Let us help you on your spiritual journey. May God bless you in your study of His word.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Carey Scott Remember when you were young and you were sent to the store for a particular item? When you got home with that item and some other goodies, you were challenged as to why you bought more than that one item. You answered; “You didn’t say not to”. This was met with a…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[78,912],"class_list":["post-61232","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-authority","tag-silence"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":51687,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-is-the-hardest-command\/","url_meta":{"origin":61232,"position":0},"title":"What Is the Hardest Command?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 6, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jefferson David Tant From time to time, we see articles written about love. We remember a lawyer asking Jesus a question, \"trying him: Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law? And he said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/KirklandMemorial-300x225.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":24647,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-didnt-jesus-let-the-unclean-spirits-say-who-he-was\/","url_meta":{"origin":61232,"position":1},"title":"Why didn’t Jesus let the unclean spirits say who he was?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 25, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: There are some parts in the Bible, where it says \"Jesus cast out demons, but did not let them talk, because they knew who He was.\" Why would He do that? I mean, if people heard demons saying that Jesus is Lord, they'd believe, and it'd be good, wouldn't\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":38540,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/are-examples-authoritative\/","url_meta":{"origin":61232,"position":2},"title":"Are Examples Authoritative?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 7, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jefferson David Tant There is a school of thought among us that Biblical examples are good and instructive, but that an example is not authoritative, i.e., that we cannot bind examples today. I have seen that argument made concerning the Lord's Supper. While one writer, a young preacher I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":67321,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/where-does-the-bible-say-the-people-of-babel-defied-god\/","url_meta":{"origin":61232,"position":3},"title":"Where does the Bible say the people of Babel defied God?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 5, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Good day, I'm slightly confused about Scripture and interpretation here. The story of Babel is always propped up as a story of man's defiance of God's will, but nowhere do I see the Bible actually state that they defied God. Yes, they did go against God's command. God wanted\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":88044,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/naaman-was-healed-by-grace-through-faith\/","url_meta":{"origin":61232,"position":4},"title":"Naaman Was Healed by Grace Through Faith","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 23, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry Wane Benton At first, Naaman did not appreciate the simple instructions to dip in the Jordan seven times (II Kings 5:1-14). He wanted to be healed of leprosy, but he wanted it to be on his terms. He imagined that God would heal him some other way. He\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":53437,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-words-in-red\/","url_meta":{"origin":61232,"position":5},"title":"The Words in Red","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 9, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry Wayne Benton Some have the impression that if we believe the words in red (in red letter editions of the Bible) are more sacred and binding than the other words delivered by the other apostles of Jesus. This reasoning is terribly wrong. 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