Makes Known His Design
We respond to God’s word by trusting its’ truth. However, even though God’s word is trustworthy; we question it. We see this through Genesis 3:1-2 (NLT). “Now the serpent was the shrewdest of all the creatures the Lord God had made. ‘Really?’ he asked the woman. ‘Did God really say you must not eat any of the fruit in the garden?’ ‘Of course we may eat it,’ the woman told him. ‘It’s only the fruit from the tree at the center of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God says we must not eat it or even touch it, or we will die.’
What the serpent was doing at this point was sowing the seeds of mistrust. The serpent is suggesting that we should question God’s trustworthiness through his word.
Some people question God’s word because they do not believe it to be God’s word. They do not trust God’s word. They see no authority behind it.
Some people diminish God’s word by subtracting from it. They look at God’s word and the parts they don’t like or agree with they ignore or remove. They do not trust God’s word. They see no authority behind it.
Some people don’t trust God’s word so they try to add to it. They refer to other religious sources and try to make those teachings as authoritative as the Bible. Sometimes people, such as Joseph Smith, claim that they have received direct revelation from God, such as the Book of Mormon and they want to make that supposed revelation a part of God’s word. They cannot trust God’s word as it is. They want to add to God’s word.
