"...exhort the young..."

In Deuteronomy 6:4-7, Moses establishes a principle for the Israelites that many modern Christians should take note of and apply in their own lives.  Speaking of the commands of the Lord (commonly called the Ten Commandments), Moses reminds the Israelites of who God is (6:4), instructs them to love God completely (6:5), the commandments of God were to be in their hearts (6:6), and they were to diligently teach their children of these commandments and God through both consistent instruction and example (6:7).  From this passage, we learn that God’s commandments and will was to be the most influential factor in an Israelite’s life.  This wasn’t something that they did once or twice a week, but rather it was a way of life. 

A similar principle is established for us in the New Testament as well; consider Titus 2:1-8 where Paul instructs that the older members of the church, both male and female, are to instruct the younger men and woman as to their character and respective duties as Christians.  Consider also how 1 & 2 Timothy were written to Timothy and Titus was written to Titus, both of whom seem to be young(er) evangelists (1 Timothy 1:1-2; Titus 1:4).  Note especially in Titus that Paul not only instructs the older men and women of the church to instruct the younger, but also instructs THEM in how THEY should live and in what they should teach the younger.  In other words, the older men and women have lived faithfully and shown themselves to be sound in doctrine (Titus 2:1). 

Unfortunately, it seems that in the modern church, the older generation does not teach the younger generation as much as they should.  Please note: there ARE older Christians who strive to do so, but their efforts seem to be greatly outweighed by those who do not.  Another downfall seems to be that many older Christians who have faced spiritual battles (such as the battles over institutionalism in the 1950s and 1960s) may have passed down the truth on those subjects, but have not passed down why it is the truth or how they arrived at the conclusion that they reached.  Now we have a generation (or 2…or 3?) that have been told that things such as “institutionalism” is wrong (this is just an example, by the way), but they are not shown why it is wrong, nor how to properly divide the word of truth so as to ascertain for themselves.   

Younger generations need to learn how to properly question and seek counsel from the older generations; this means that they need to recognize their own shortcomings in Bible authority and seek out older men and women with whom they can study.  Titus 2:1-8 indicates that we, as the younger generation, need to seek out qualified brethren to study with, and not simply someone who presents an argument or reading that we like.  In other words, we need to seek out older Christians that have properly proven themselves to be a worker of God who has no need to be ashamed (2 Timothy 2:14-16).  We should ask ourselves whether the person(s) we are seeking advice from have successfully raised families in Christ (Titus 1:5-9), have they diligently preached, convinced, rebuked, and exhorted (2 Timothy 4:2), and have they fought the good fight (2 Timothy 4:6-8)? We, as younger Christians, have to remember that some have shown themselves worthy of being asked for advice and teaching, while others have shown themselves continually to be “always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth” (2 Timothy 3:1-9) and have made “their folly” apparent or “manifest to all”.  Some who ought to be teachers need to be taught again the first principles of the gospel (Hebrews 5:12-14); are we to seek advice from those who have proven themselves unable to establish Bible authority on multiple occasions?

There ARE well-qualified older Christians in the church today who are able to properly teach through both action and instruction and younger Christians need to seek them out.  Unfortunately, many younger Christians today seek validation for what they already believe or want to do rather than seeking advice and instruction that will help them achieve godliness.  Often, younger Christians feed off of the advice of their peers rather than looking to older Christians, and, as can be seen often in many conversational mediums today, mock older Christians as being “too traditional” or “behind the times” (Reference 1 Kings 12:1-24).  Many younger Christians claim that we need to “think outside the box” and “break away from traditionalism,” but God set the box and God set those traditions.  Thinking outside the box often means thinking outside of God, which is a place that we do not want to be.

As Paul taught Titus, older Christians need to pass on not only their knowledge of the Bible, but also their knowledge of how to study the Bible properly.   While passing on a properly arrived at conclusion concerning a Biblical topic is vastly important, so is showing how one arrived at that conclusion.  We all must be willing to study and we must all be willing to learn.

Hold fast the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me, in faith and love which are in Christ Jesus.

                                                                                                                                ~2 Timothy 1:13

Concerning "Words"

A few thoughts to consider:

The definition of a word can change over time to mean something completely contrary than the original intent. 

For instance, the word "gay" used to have the primary meaning of "full of joy or mirth", "gay, merry" (1178 A.D.), and "brilliant, showy" (1300), with a change in meaning between the late 1800s and early 1900s to mean "homosexual". [1]  Now, the common definition is "of, pertaining to, or exhibiting sexual desire or behavior directed toward a person or persons of one's own sex; homosexual" and the original meaning (in essence) taking on the third or fourth definition in some dictionaries. [2]

This post is not meant to talk about homosexuality, but rather the change that occurred in the definition of the word "gay."  The modern definition is very different than the original definition.

Likewise, other words change over time.  Yesterday, as I was studying 1 Peter 3:15 and Titus 3:1-2, I did a word study on many of the words used to translate "peaceable," "gentle," and "humility" (NKJV).  Each of these words is translated in various ways depending on which version you are using (NKJV, KJV, etc), and what interested me was that 1 Peter 3:15 uses the term “meekness” and Titus 3:2 uses the word “humility” in the NKJV, but the KJV uses “meekness” for both passages. 

Have you examined the modern usage of the word “meek” or “meekness”? One definition for “meek” is “humbly patient or docile, as under provocation from others”, which, in some instances, may be an applicable definition.  However, the secondary definition is “overly submissive or compliant; spiritless; tame.” [3] Does such a definition fit with the Biblical depiction of “meekness”? Additionally, the World English Dictionary has the following secondary definition: “spineless or spiritless; compliant”.[4]

Do these definitions fit with how the Bible depicts those who are meek? Moses (Numbers 12:3), Jesus (Matthew 11:29), and Paul are considered meek (2 Corinthians 10:1) [synonyms of “meek” are used in these passages depending upon translation]; would we consider any of the above to be “spineless,” “spiritless,” or “overly submissive”? In regards to God the Father, yes they were submissive (spineless is a step I’m unwilling to take in regards especially with Jesus).  But in regards to man? Did Jesus depict spinelessness when zeal for His father’s house ate Him up in John 2? Or when He taught the 5000+ in John 6? Was Moses spineless when he faced down Pharaoh? And the list goes on…

In 1200 A.D., “meek” had a common definition or usage of “gentle, courteous, kind”, which changed to having an inherent “sense of ‘submissive’” in the mid-14^th century.[5]  Does “gentle, courteous, kind” fit with the rest of Scripture concerning the attitude with which a Christian should live their life? Absolutely! Does “spineless” or “spiritless” fit? Not when we examine the character of the righteous in the Bible, including Jesus.  Paul, in Titus 3:1-2, and Peter in 1 Peter 3:15, are talking about a common manner in which a Christian is to live their life, or a “general rule,” essentially.   Neither Paul nor Peter are excusing us from having boldness in our faith and zealously defending the faith when it is necessary (the etymology of “bold” is found in the Old English words “beald” and “bald”, meaning “bold, brave, confident, strong”). [6]

In essence, we need to be careful about how we apply modern definitions, particularly if such definitions obviously contradict other required concepts in the Bible. 

For humor sake, if we are not careful about what definitions we seek to apply to Biblical concepts, Paul is telling us by using the word “gentle”  in Titus 3:2 that we are to be of “good birth or family; wellborn”.  That is, of course, absurd, but it does emphasize the point that we need to be careful.

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[1] gay. Dictionary.com. Online Etymology Dictionary. Douglas Harper, Historian. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/gay (accessed: August 12, 2014).

[2] gay. Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random House, Inc. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/gay (accessed: August 12, 2014).

[3] Meek. Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random House, Inc.http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Meek (accessed: August 12, 2014).

[4] Meek. Dictionary.com. Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition. HarperCollins Publishers. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Meek(accessed: August 12, 2014).

[5] Meek. Dictionary.com. Online Etymology Dictionary. Douglas Harper, Historian.http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Meek (accessed: August 12, 2014).

[6] boldness. Dictionary.com. Online Etymology Dictionary. Douglas Harper, Historian.http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/boldness (accessed: August 12, 2014).

The Message, Not the Messenger

In 1 Corinthians 1:12-17 (and revisits the issue in later passages), Paul establishes a principle for the Corinthians and for us; the messenger of the gospel is just the messenger and is not what is important. Many of the Corinthians were dividing up based who they "followed," as though Paul taught something different from Cephas, who taught something different from Apollos, who taught something different from Christ. Paul's overall point is that the messenger may change, but the message itself does not. Therefore, Paul, Apollos, Cephas, and Christ all taught the same thing and there should not have been divisions among the Corinthians based on which evangelist they preferred; Paul notes that Christ is the only one that should be looked to as someone special because He is God and He did sacrifice Himself for us (distinction made in 1:13).

Today, some Christians do a very similar thing; have you ever heard someone say that they were a "fan" of a particular preacher? While the Christians that say such things aren't necessarily intending to express a belief similar to those in Corinth, the result can very well be the same. If we are a "fan" (and there is other terminology that could be used) of a particular preacher, then we can easily become blinded to what message they are trying to convey (whether truth or false).

Some Christians go the other extreme and because a particular preacher or Christian says or writes something, they automatically take a position in opposition to that viewpoint. They may argue with that particular Christian simply because they don't like them, but agree with someone else who says/writes the EXACT same thing just because they DO like that person.

Rather than worrying about the politics of who is saying what and whether or not we like THEM, we need to concentrate on what the message is that is being conveyed. If it is truth, accept it. If it is false, reject the message and explain to them "the way of God more accurately" (Acts 18:26). Remember to "test the spirits, whether they are of God" (1 John 4:1) and remember to examine the context of any passage used because even the Devil can quote Scripture (Matthew 4:1-11).

"Love" According to Paul

Studying through 1 Corinthians can be an eye-opening experience in many ways.  Throughout this text, we learn much concerning doctrinal issues, proper worship of God, self-denial in non-essential issues, dealing with erring brethren, putting aside pride, not being envious of one another, and many other things.  What we find in Corinth is a group of Christians in which pride and an excessive sense of self-worth seems to have taken over; while there were some working hard at getting things correct (the covering, the Lord's supper, etc), the vast majority seems to have been caught up in their own so-called "knowledge" (also evidenced by the misuse of the covering, the Lord's supper, etc).  Most of all, what we learn is that Paul utilized an array of approaches to deal with the issues within the church, from praising them (1 Corinthians 11:2) to not praising them (1 Corinthians 11:17) to using sarcasm to express his point (1 Corinthians 4:7-8).  It seems that in nearly every case in this letter (if not EVERY case), Paul mixes what many people today would consider the positive with the negative (such as in 1 Corinthians 11 where he praises them, yet he still deals with the contentious, or his noting of the brethren seeking to partake of the Lord's supper in a worthy manner while there is essentially chaos surrounding them in 1 Corinthians 11:19).  In other words, Paul does not simply keep the praise separate from the condemnations, nor does he keep the condemnations separate from the praise.  Rather, he uses one to juxtapose the other! 

Many people in modern America, including Christians, absolutely adore Paul's description of "love" in 1 Corinthians 13, and with very good reason.  Paul paints a picture of "love" in its perfect form; Christians caring for one another, suffering with and for one another, etc.  Often, this passage is printed in brilliant calligraphy, but have we considered the context? Yes, Paul absolutely paints a wonderful picture of love, but why does he do so? Why was it necessary in the midst of his discussion concerning spiritual gifts to shift his focus to love? As with the aforementioned examples from 1 Corinthians 11, Paul is mixing the positive (perfect love) with the negative (addressing once again the pride and envy of the Corinthian Christians).  

In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul discusses the necessity of all spiritual gifts to the establishment of the church in the first century.  All spiritual gifts served a purpose, even if they were less desirable by man's standards.  It seems likely that the Corinthians had created an arbitrary hierarchy of spiritual gifts, and that they had placed the gift of tongues at the very top of it.  This should not be surprising to us since we know that pride was a very serious issue among the brethren there and the ability to speak in a tongue would be apparent to all.  However, Paul explains that all gifts were necessary, as were all members of Christ's body who had such gifts.  The Corinthians seemed to have lost sight of the reason the gifts were given because they were so focused on obtaining the best spiritual gifts ("best" in their own opinions).  

Thus, when we get to 1 Corinthians 13, Paul is showing them that they needed to go back and work on their brotherly love.  Note how he ties together many of the previous rebukes into this description of love:

• "...love does not envy..." - the Corinthians were envious of the "best" spiritual gifts

• "...does not behave rudely..." - the Corinthians had made a mockery of the Lord's supper and disrupted those trying to partake appropriately (1 Corinthians 11:17-34)

• "...love does not parade itself, is not puffed up..." - the Corinthians were puffed up in their lack of diligence do put sin away from among them, which they did under the guise of "love" (1 Corinthians 5)

• "...does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in truth..." - the Corinthians were at the very least accepting of sins of a sexual nature, if not condoning of it (1 Corinthians 6:12-13)

• The list goes on...

And so, what we have in 1 Corinthians 13 is Paul explaining that all the things for which the Corinthians were envious of or over which they were prideful would pass away or would cease to be of use.  All the spiritual gifts, whether prophecies, tongues, etc, would fail (cease to be of use), but love would never cease to be of use.  God never meant for those things to remain, but He always meant for brotherly love to remain, which is what Paul means in 13:10-11; childhood is necessary for proper human development, but eventually you have to stop being a child and become an adult.

While we need to strive to fulfill the depiction of love in chapter 13, we must also remember the context and the purposes for which it was written.  This is an instance in which Paul's rebuke is rather subtle, but it is still a rebuke nonetheless, as well as an encouragement to love one another appropriately.  Such love is not "unconditional" as the world sees it, but rather it requires accountability.