Don't Touch That Word!

Reading from the Book of Jude 1:3-7, 2 Timothy 3:16, Revelation 22:18,19

^Jude1:3 Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. ⁴ For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁵ I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not.   ⁶ And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.  ⁷ Even as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.

The book of Jude tells Bible-believing Christians to hold on to God’s Word and not seek to change or “breathe new life” into it: This is a grave spiritual error to do so. It warns believers against false teaching and provides a helpful list of characteristics of false teachers and false teaching.

False teachers are ungodly, they want to use God's grace as an opportunity for disobedience, and they deny Jesus Christ as Lord and Master. They reject authority and look down on what they do not understand. They are like clouds without water and trees without fruit. Futhermore they grumble and complain, allow their emotions and passions to control them, brag about themselves, and flatter people in manipulative ways so they can get what they want and cause division.

But Jude knows that false teachers will not succeed and he urges believers to "contend for the faith" to fight for what we know is true. To do that, we are instructed to build ourselves up on our most holy faith, to make progress, to rise higher and higher, praying in the Holy Spirit, and to guard and keep ourselves in the love of God. Expect and patiently wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, which will bring us unto life eternal.
We must do our part, and then trust God to keep us from stumbling or slipping as He enables us to continue walking in truth.

^{2 Timothy 3:16} All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

The Bible is God’s Word, not humanity’s. All scripture is given by inspiration of God. The word “inspiration”, theopneustos in Greek, literally means “God breathed.” It is God that breathes His Spirit into the Bible, not any person. Through written by men, all of scripture is divinly inspired and it is our authority and rule for faith and life. The Lord Jesus Christ made it clear that changing the words of the Bible was a sin that would not be taken lightly. This is made clear in the stark warning given at the end of the Book of Revelation.

^{Revelation 22:18} For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:
¹⁹ And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.

Every person, with no exceptions, will one day stand before God and give an account of his life. Jesus will come for us when we least expect it. I want to encourage you to contend for the faith, and "don't touch that Word!"