DEUTERONOMY 4:2 : You shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take anything from it,
that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which i command you.
In August 1997, Hudson Foods issued the biggest recall of meat—an estimated 2.5 million pounds—
in United States history. It was discovered that millions of pounds of meat processed in one of the
company’s factories were contaminated with the E. coli bacteria, which causes severe diarrhea,
cramps and dehydration. In some cases, it can even cause death.
Contaminating God’s Word can create an equally serious disaster when it comes to a person’s
spiritual life. Moses knew that when the Israelites settled down in the land God promised them, they
would be surrounded by nations who worshiped other gods.
Often these false religions involved human sacrifices and sexual immorality. Therefore, he warned
the people against polluting the pure Word of God by adding any of those pagan beliefs or altering in
any way the truths God had spoken to them.
Spiritual contamination is still a very real threat—and the consequences can be as catastrophic as E.
coli. The Jonestown massacre, the Branch Davidian deaths and the Heaven’s Gate suicides all
demonstrate the deadliness of mixing error with God’s truth.
The apostle Paul warned the elders of the Ephesus church, “After my departure savage wolves will
come in among you, not sparing the flock” (Acts 20:29), while the apostle John wrote, “Many
deceivers have gone out into the world” (2 John 1:7). From the beginning of the church right up to
today, some people have sought to taint the pure milk of the Word with their own poisonous additives.
When confronted by those who want to add or subtract from God’s Word, when someone tells you
that you need to buy their book in addition to God’s Book, the safest response is to reject whatever
they might have to offer. You can be sure that their contamination will make you ill and might even be
fatal. God’s Word is pure truth; let’s keep it that way.
TAINTED TRUTH CAN BE TOXIC.