If you tell me something frequently enough, I will eventually believe it. Do you believe that? How about this.... I will believe bad things about anyone and anything because doing so makes life more interesting. Or this... yes Santa Claus is real, so is the Easter Bunny, and the Tooth Fairy. What... you don’t believe me? Ask your kids to tell you how they know that Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy are real... they will tell you... you told them so! Or, how about Evolution? Man was not created by God... he crawled out of primordial ooze and evolved over millions of years through various stages ending in present day humans. What an incredible lie, replete with all the science to support its theories and academia to teach them as truth and fact. Evolution is believed as truth by millions of gullible people!
If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it often enough, people will eventually come to believe it. William James, the father of modern Psychology, once said... "There's nothing so absurd that if you repeat it often enough, people will believe it." If we package up the right words, repeat them often enough with passion and zeal, people will believe almost anything.
Since the fall of man in the Garden, Satan’s primary target has been the Word of God. He knows very well that the Word of God is composed of the words of God, so the Devil has been assaulting language in order to distort, confuse, misdirect and cripple the communication lines between God and man. Satan is especially fond of using words, our own language, to cause discord, divisions and divisiveness and among men.
Accurate and precise usage of words and language keeps our thinking sharp and preserves our freedom in Christ. What we believe... the critical difference between truth and error, something vital to every aspect of our existence, often boils down to a question of the definition of words, and whether or not we are using the words accurately.
God, the Creator invented words as the vehicle by which He communicates His heart to man, and also the link between any two or more human beings. In His Word, God set the standard for the meticulous precise usage of words, those incredibly versatile combinations of letters that have throughout history inspired death-defying acts of heroism, won the love of fair maidens, inflamed the hearts of patriots, given hope to the hopeless, and evoked the full range of human emotion, from boundless and unrestrained joy to unmitigated misery.
When it comes to the usage of words, nothing could be more important than using words the way God does in His Word. Psalms 12:6 emphasizes how precisely the Author of all authors uses man’s words to communicate “all things that pertain to life and godliness.” It is vital that as Christians, we do all we can to recognize, utilize, and preserve the distinctions found in the biblical usage of words. This is part of what it means to be a “workman” of God’s Word... and to handle “it” rightly.
Satan influences popular culture to move the meanings of key words away from their biblical usage. Usually, the meanings of very important words degenerate or become watered down as time goes by into something completely different in meaning. As an illustration, “terrible” once meant “awesome,” but it now means “very bad.” When you are looking up a word, it is often profitable to look at the archaic definition to understand it’s original meaning.
For example, Christians today often speak of an “accusation” as if it were always pertaining to something very bad. In fact, an accusation can be either godly or ungodly. In John 5:45, Jesus said that the Pharisees would one day be “accused” by the words of Moses, which at that time they did not believe. In 1 Timothy 5:19, Paul does not say never to bring an accusation against an elder. Rather, he sets forth the standard by which to do so: before two or three witnesses. The word “accusation” simply means “a calling to account,” which is the godly course of action whenever one recognizes a wrong. Thus we see that a distinction must be made between an “accusation” and a “false accusation” or ungodly judgment.
When we as Christians do not use words the way God uses them, the consequences can be spiritually, mentally and emotionally debilitating. Again, not properly defining the word “accusation” could shut down iron-sharpening-iron dialogue that is indispensable for building strong fellowship among believers.
In Christendom, the vast empire of 35 thousand so-called Christian denominations, it seems that every day another voice is added to the popular chorus that Christians should work to get along with each other at all costs, and that debating about “right doctrine” is either an exercise in futility or downright demonic.
The subtle difference between true teaching and false teaching is perhaps nowhere clearer than in Romans 4:19a. Since 1611, the KJV has read, “and being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead.” From this statement, many have concluded that to not consider one’s negative circumstances is evidence of strong faith. It seems clear now that this teaching breeds denial, inaction and wishful thinking, rather than real faith. Later Bible versions corrected this error, acknowledging that the little word “not” is not in the text. The text reads, “he considered his own body now dead.” Abraham did not stick his head in the sand and foolishly deny reality. He chose to believe the promise of God rather than what his senses told him.
This “nit-picking” little word “not” completely negated the true meaning of the verse, not to mention one aspect of what the Bible teaches about the process of having faith. Accurately translated, the verse supports the true teaching that to consider the possibilities of one’s negative circumstances generates true faith. Real faith is generated within the crucible of evidence contrary to the senses. This is the difference between piety and godliness. Piety looks and sounds good, but it is dead wrong.
If Jesus was concerned about “every jot and tittle” of the Word, then it is not “nit-picking” for Christians today to be concerned about the words of Scripture and what they mean to our lives. Yes, it is at times tedious and time consuming, but rigorous examination is often necessary to “rightly divide the Word of truth,” and only the truth will set us free from the powers promoting unbelief.
Uncovering these false assumptions requires a diligent search and study of the Scriptures. False teachings do great harm to gullible believers. The effects of wrong beliefs arrived at via wrong teachings can do incredible harm to people’s lives, and if left unchecked, will cause the eternal loss... of your salvation. How is it that some Christians believe that it was Almighty God who created all things through the process of Evolution over millions of years? Because that “lie” found its way into the Church, into the pulpit and into weak minded Christians. The currently popular belief that Christians ought not to be too minutely concerned about the accuracy of the Scriptures is satanically inspired.
How many times have you heard devoted Christians say... “I just need to give it to the Lord.” Many Christians have adopted a passive attitude toward their spiritual and emotional growth, especially if they struggle with emotional pain, character weaknesses, and life situations that need changing. Such Christians often have a “let go and let God” view of their healing and growth process.
Attention... listen up: There has always been a reciprocal relationship between the believer and God. God will not do “our part” for us, but He will help and guide us if we are moving forward in obedience as best we know how, guided by His Word. In a very real way, we are responsible to steward our salvation and our sanctification until we see the fruit of the Spirit being manifested in our lives. To teach otherwise, and believe that somehow “it’s all up to the Lord,” or some other equally pious platitude, is to keep God’s people in bondage to their circumstances. Satan loves it when we don’t make the effort required to care for our spiritual health!
Do you ever feel like a pawn in a great chess match played by masters you can’t see, but they can reach out and move you at will? It’s not a game, it’s a war. The combatants are the Creator God and his arch enemy Satan the Devil. Victory has already been decided, God wins, but we are still at the mercy of a wicked evil empire controlled by Satan bent on causing our destruction. The war of words is a war for our hearts and souls. A war between the Word made flesh, (John 1:14) and the enemy Satan, whose primary tools are words of distortion, deception, and destruction. It sounds like a battle we can't hope to win. On our own we can't, but listening to TRUTH and living our lives in obedience to the precision of God's Word, we can and we will. Pay attention to yourselves and all those around you and follow this advice...
READ the sign that marks the journey ahead: Rough road, deep pot holes, wild animals, roaring lions seeking to devour stragglers. STAY in the middle of the road where it’s safest. Be on guard... be watchful at all times. TEST every word spoken to you by fellow travelers, verify everything said to you with your guidebook. Choose your Words very carefully. USE only the guidebook given to you at the beginning of your journey... the one called “Bible”. SPEAK only the right words: words of truth (Eph. 4:14-15), words of love (1 Cor. 13:4-7), words of restraint (Eph. 4:25-27), words of grace (Eph. 4:29-30), and words of forgiveness (Eph. 4:32-5:2). As you journey forward, you will find others just like you... hang together, trust one another, rely on one another. You’ll make it safely to the end!
