Matthew 15:9
New Living Translation
9 Their worship is a farce,
for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God.’[a]”
Isaiah 29:13
New Living Translation
13 And so the Lord says,
“These people say they are mine.
They honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
And their worship of me
is nothing but man-made rules learned by rote.[a]
Mark 7:7
New Living Translation
7 Their worship is a farce,
for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God.’[a]
1 Timothy 1:4
New Living Translation
4 Don’t let them waste their time in endless discussion of myths and spiritual pedigrees. These things only lead to meaningless speculations,[a] which don’t help people live a life of faith in God.[b]
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Titus 1:14
New Living Translation
14 They must stop listening to Jewish myths and the commands of people who have turned away from the truth.
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Colossians 2:18-22
New Living Translation
18 Don’t let anyone condemn you by insisting on pious self-denial or the worship of angels,[a] saying they have had visions about these things. Their sinful minds have made them proud, 19 and they are not connected to Christ, the head of the body. For he holds the whole body together with its joints and ligaments, and it grows as God nourishes it.
20 You have died with Christ, and he has set you free from the spiritual powers of this world. So why do you keep on following the rules of the world, such as, 21 “Don’t handle! Don’t taste! Don’t touch!”? 22 Such rules are mere human teachings about things that deteriorate as we use them.
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- 2:18 Or or worshiping with angels.
1 Timothy 4:6-7
New Living Translation
A Good Servant of Christ Jesus
6 If you explain these things to the brothers and sisters,[a] Timothy, you will be a worthy servant of Christ Jesus, one who is nourished by the message of faith and the good teaching you have followed. 7 Do not waste time arguing over godless ideas and old wives’ tales. Instead, train yourself to be godly.
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- 4:6 Greek brothers.
Hebrews 13:9
New Living Translation
9 So do not be attracted by strange, new ideas. Your strength comes from God’s grace, not from rules about food, which don’t help those who follow them.
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James 2:20
New Living Translation
20 How foolish! Can’t you see that faith without good deeds is useless?
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Isaiah 58:1-3
New Living Translation
True and False Worship
58 “Shout with the voice of a trumpet blast.
Shout aloud! Don’t be timid.
Tell my people Israel[a] of their sins!
2 Yet they act so pious!
They come to the Temple every day
and seem delighted to learn all about me.
They act like a righteous nation
that would never abandon the laws of its God.
They ask me to take action on their behalf,
pretending they want to be near me.
3 ‘We have fasted before you!’ they say.
‘Why aren’t you impressed?
We have been very hard on ourselves,
and you don’t even notice it!’
“I will tell you why!” I respond.
“It’s because you are fasting to please yourselves.
Even while you fast,
you keep oppressing your workers.
1 Samuel 25:21
New Living Translation
21 David had just been saying, “A lot of good it did to help this fellow. We protected his flocks in the wilderness, and nothing he owned was lost or stolen. But he has repaid me evil for good.
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Deuteronomy 12:32
New Living Translation
32 [a]“So be careful to obey all the commands I give you. You must not add anything to them or subtract anything from them.
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- 12:32 Verse 12:32 is numbered 13:1 in Hebrew text.
Exodus 20:7
New Living Translation
7 “You must not misuse the name of the Lord your God. The Lord will not let you go unpunished if you misuse his name.
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Isaiah 1:13-15
New Living Translation
13 Stop bringing me your meaningless gifts;
the incense of your offerings disgusts me!
As for your celebrations of the new moon and the Sabbath
and your special days for fasting—
they are all sinful and false.
I want no more of your pious meetings.
14 I hate your new moon celebrations and your annual festivals.
They are a burden to me. I cannot stand them!
15 When you lift up your hands in prayer, I will not look.
Though you offer many prayers, I will not listen,
for your hands are covered with the blood of innocent victims.
Ecclesiastes 5:2-7
New Living Translation
2 [a]Don’t make rash promises, and don’t be hasty in bringing matters before God. After all, God is in heaven, and you are here on earth. So let your words be few.
3 Too much activity gives you restless dreams; too many words make you a fool.
4 When you make a promise to God, don’t delay in following through, for God takes no pleasure in fools. Keep all the promises you make to him. 5 It is better to say nothing than to make a promise and not keep it. 6 Don’t let your mouth make you sin. And don’t defend yourself by telling the Temple messenger that the promise you made was a mistake. That would make God angry, and he might wipe out everything you have achieved.
7 Talk is cheap, like daydreams and other useless activities. Fear God instead.
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- 5:2 Verses 5:2-20 are numbered 5:1-19 in Hebrew text.
Proverbs 30:5-6
New Living Translation
5 Every word of God proves true.
He is a shield to all who come to him for protection.
6 Do not add to his words,
or he may rebuke you and expose you as a liar.
Psalm 73:13
New Living Translation
13 Did I keep my heart pure for nothing?
Did I keep myself innocent for no reason?
Psalm 39:6
New Living Translation
6 We are merely moving shadows,
and all our busy rushing ends in nothing.
We heap up wealth,
not knowing who will spend it.
Leviticus 26:20
New Living Translation
20 All your work will be for nothing, for your land will yield no crops, and your trees will bear no fruit.
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Leviticus 26:16
New Living Translation
16 I will punish you. I will bring sudden terrors upon you—wasting diseases and burning fevers that will cause your eyes to fail and your life to ebb away. You will plant your crops in vain because your enemies will eat them.
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Revelation 22:18
New Living Translation
18 And I solemnly declare to everyone who hears the words of prophecy written in this book: If anyone adds anything to what is written here, God will add to that person the plagues described in this book.
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1 Timothy 4:1-3
New Living Translation
Warnings against False Teachers
4 Now the Holy Spirit tells us clearly that in the last times some will turn away from the true faith; they will follow deceptive spirits and teachings that come from demons. 2 These people are hypocrites and liars, and their consciences are dead.[a]
3 They will say it is wrong to be married and wrong to eat certain foods. But God created those foods to be eaten with thanks by faithful people who know the truth.
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- 4:2 Greek are seared.
Malachi 3:14
New Living Translation
14 “You have said, ‘What’s the use of serving God? What have we gained by obeying his commands or by trying to show the Lord of Heaven’s Armies that we are sorry for our sins?
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1 Corinthians 15:2
New Living Translation
2 It is this Good News that saves you if you continue to believe the message I told you—unless, of course, you believed something that was never true in the first place.[a]
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- 15:2 Or unless you never believed it in the first place.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
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