Gary Ray Branscome
“Do
not add to his words, lest he reprove you,
and you are
found to be a liar.” (Proverbs
30:6)
The formal principle of any
theology has to do with the source of its teachings, and thus the
authority
behind that theology. In keeping with that fact, it should be obvious
that no
theology containing ideas that come from outside of the Bible can
honestly be
called Biblical Theology. To be truly Biblical, a theology must embrace
only
those truths that are clearly and explicitly stated in Scripture, to
the
exclusion of any man-made explanations. As Dr. Francis Pieper put it:
“The first and foremost duty
of the exegete consists in holding the
flighty spirit of man to the simple word of Scripture and, where he has
departed from it, to lead him back to the simple word of Scripture.” //
“The Christian doctrine is not produced by the theologian; all that the
Christian theologian does is compile the doctrinal statements contained
in Scripture
(in the text and context), group them under
their
proper heads, and arrange these doctrines in the order of their
relationship.
(“Christian Dogmatics”, Vol. 1, pg. 360 and 52)
In other
words, a truly Biblical theology consists of nothing more than
what the Bible says. Furthermore, because the Bible tells us everything
we need
to know to be saved, additions only serve to obscure the gospel.
Therefore, if
we want to have the truth we must remain faithful to what the Word
itself says
to the exclusion of everything else; whether it is called reason,
tradition, or
new revelation (John 8:31-32).
Because the Bible was written to
testify of Christ (John
The “spirit” of Error
You
can recognize those who have a “spirit” of error by the fact that they
read
unscriptural ideas and assumptions into what the Bible says, thereby
producing
interpretations that are unwarranted by and at variance with the plain
grammatical
meaning of the words. Then, on the basis of those interpretations, they
draw
conclusions that are not warranted by the text, often contradicting
what the
Bible explicitly says.
Furthermore, when they are told that their
opinions
contradict Scripture, instead of humbly submitting to God by rejecting
their
opinions, they rebel against God by trying to explain away what He has
said. By
trying to replace God’s Word with their own word, they are attempting
to exalt
themselves over God, and that is the sin of self-deification (Isaiah
Although the rule that we
should not add to or take from what the Bible says seems very simple,
because
of the deceitfulness of the human heart it is hard to find a theology
that does
not in some way add to God’s Word. In fact, many who call themselves
Christian
seem almost slipshod in their willingness to mix their own opinions
with the
truth of Scripture. What they fail to realize is that by doing so they
are
rebelling against God. Every time they pass off their own ideas as the
Word of
God, they are trying to make themselves God, by making their Word into
God’s
Word (Isaiah
At this point I am going to
make some people angry by exposing their rebellion against God’s Word.
But,
first let me point out, that those who have
the Spirit
of truth will always be their own worst critics. They will be eager to
find and
eliminate their own errors. In contrast, those who have a “spirit” of
error
will deny that they are wrong, even when they are contradicting what
the Bible
explicitly says. [1Corinthians
Moreover, because the Holy
Spirit has told us that “no prophecy of scripture is of any private
interpretation,” we know that the Holy Spirit will never give anyone
their own
private interpretation of a passage (2Peter
Some people rebel against
God by interpreting the words of Acts
Others rebel against God by
claiming that the judgement spoken of in 2Corinthians
Another way that people make
the Word of God “of no effect” is by denying what the Bible clearly and
explicitly says about creation. The doctrine that God wants taught is
exactly
what He said, namely that in “six days” He made the “heavens and the
earth, the
sea, and all that is in them” (Exodus 20:11). No honest person can deny
that
this is what the Bible says, because if they look up the reference they
find it
there in black and white. It is not my opinion; it is a fact that
anyone can
verify simply by looking up the passage. And, the doctrine God wants
taught is
that doctrine so clearly stated in Scripture that no honest person can
deny
that the Bible says it. I am not saying that everyone will accept it. I
am just
saying that whether they accept it or not, they cannot honestly deny
that the
Bible says it.
Far too many who call themselves
Christian have rebelled against God by
interpreting Scripture to
support “evolution”. Evolution should be rejected because it
contradicts
Scripture (Isaiah
To justify this error, some claim that “God wrote two books, the book of nature and the Bible. But the Bible says no such thing! At most the Bible tells us that God has given us a witness to his existence in nature. However, without Scripture to guide us, that witness tells us little more than that God exists. What they fail to see, is that by explaining away what the Biblical says about creation they make the Word of God “of no effect,” because if God did not create us just like the Bible says, then there is no reason for believing that we are accountable to Him.
Since the Bible plainly tells us that
“the Father
sent the Son to be the Savior of the world,” those who claim that
Christ did
not die for the sins “of the world,” but only for the sins of those He
planned
to save, are contradicting God’s Word. The Bible plainly tells us that
Christ,
“is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for
the sins
of the whole world” (1John 2:2). By explaining away what the Bible
says, those
who teach “limited atonement” are rebelling against God. And by so
doing, they
make the words of 1John 2:2 and
Finally, those who interpret the words, “Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery,” to support the idea that “clergymen” are given some special power at ordination, are adding to Scripture by interpreting that passage in the light of tradition, instead of interpreting it in the light of Scripture, (1Timothy 4:14). The only mention the Bible makes of receiving a gift in connection with the laying on of hands has to do with new converts receiving the Holy Spirit (Acts 8:18). There is no “clergy class” in the Bible! All believers are equal in Christ (Matthew 23:8).
Conclusion
Much of the confusion and controversy that
exists in
modern churches stems from the fact that many believers lack the
ability to
distinguish between what the Bible
explicitly says,
and interpretations. In many cases, entire doctrines are created out of
interpretations, while any statements of Scripture that contradict
those
doctrines or interpretations are explained away. However, the Bible
makes it
clear that those who twist Scripture in that way have a spirit of
error, and
should be shunned as troublemakers (1John 4:6, Isaiah