Sometimes men make a mistake when they come to the Bible and expect God to expressly prohibit actions which displease Him. The Mormons, who used water in the Lord’s Supper, say, “Where does the Bible say you cannot use water?” This approach to the Bible totally ignores the truth that when God expressly commands actions it disallows all other actions.
Consider the death of Nadab and Abihu, the two sons of Aaron. God had expressly told the priests to burn incense by taking “coals of fire from the altar before the Lord” (Lev. 16:12). These two sons of Aaron brought fire from another source, and God immediately sent fire from above and killed them. They failed to see that, when God expressly commands actions, the command prohibits all actions other than what He commanded.
Look at the words of Leviticus 10. These sons of Aaron “… each took his censor and put fire in it, and put incense on it and offered profane fire before the Lord, which He had not commanded them.” Take special note that the Spirit does not say that they offered fire which He had said not to offer. God had not said, “You shall not use fire from other sources.” Yet, they were not at liberty to do anything which God had not expressly forbidden. They were limited to doing what God had expressly commanded. Explicit commands forbid other actions.
Now, put this event in the context of the book of Leviticus. The tabernacle had been erected, but priests had not been consecrated to serve in it. In the first part of chapter eight, Aaron and his sons are consecrated to serve before God. Read chapters eight and nine, and see the emphasis placed on the commands of God. The text says, “Moses did as the Lord commanded him…what the Lord commanded to be done…as the Lord commanded Moses…as the Lord had commanded Moses…as the Lord had commanded Moses…as the Lord had commanded Moses…as the Lord had commanded Moses…as I commanded…as the Lord has commanded to do…for so I have been commanded…all the things that the Lord had commanded by the hand of Moses…what Moses commanded…the thing which the Lord commanded…as the Lord commanded…as the Lord had commanded Moses” (Lev. 8:4, 5, 9, 13, 17, 21, 29, 31, 34, 35, 36; 9:5, 6, 7, 10). Do you see the emphasis? What a contrast with the actions obeyed expressly as the Lord commanded, and the sin of disobedience, thinking God had to expressly forbid actions.
Take this principle and apply it. God does not have to say, “Do not use water” or “Do not use musical instruments,” when He expressly tells us what to do!