JOG YOUR RACE. Welp. I’m no longer a runner. Turns out I’m a jogger. We were on a “run” the other day and my husband and were discussing what the difference was between a “run” and a “jog” if any. I got home and googled it of course.
A run is defined as having a pace under a 10 min mile. Anything over 10 minutes is considered a jog. I used to run a nine minute mile, but over the last few years and after having an Achilles’ tendon injury, I’ve slowed down. My average run is around 10’ 15” per mile. The other day I ran a 9’ 40” mile and I felt great. But alas, this is not my normal. Why do I tell you this? Does it really matter if you run or jog, or even walk? No, as long as you finish your race. But here’s what matters: words matter. Definitions matter.
The apostle Peter spends a large portion of his letters writing about false teachers. Here’s just a small bit of what Peter tells the church:
“Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless; and consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation—as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you, as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures.” II Peter 3:14-16
Peter confirms Paul’s epistles to the churches and warns us to beware of false teachers who “wrestle with” or “twist” Scripture, thus perverting God’s holy Writ. Paul tells the young Timothy, “O Timothy! Guard what was committed to your trust, avoiding the profane and idle babblings and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge—” I Timothy 6:20
Paul tells the young pastor to avoid profane and vain babblings. Not just concerning the law, and circumcision, which the false teachers insisted on and amused their hearers with. This was vain, empty, useless, and unprofitable talk. So the Vulgate Latin version reads, “profane newnesses of words”; or “new words”, which is lawless to introduce into God’s holy Word, for “new words” not only change the Scriptures but bring in new doctrines.
What’s interesting to me is how false teachers always make themselves appear more knowledgeable (this is Gnosticism) by appealing to the Greek and Hebrew telling us it’s been wrongly interpreted. To that I say, you can twist and warp any language, including the Greek and the Hebrew language. For your consideration: the following Greek word and it’s usage in the following Scriptures:
“Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor SODOMITES, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.” 1 Cor 6:9-10
“knowing this: that the law is not made for a righteous person, but for the lawless and insubordinate, for the ungodly and for sinners, for the unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, for fornicators, for SODOMITES, for kidnappers, for liars, for perjurers, and if there is any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine,” 1 Timothy 1:9-10
Let’s look at this word “SODOMITE” in the Greek language.
arsenokoites: a male engaging in same-gender sexual activity
Original Word: ἀρσενοκοίτης, ου, ὁ
Part of Speech: Noun, Masculine
Transliteration: arsenokoites
Phonetic Spelling: (ar-sen-ok-oy’-tace)
Short Definition: a male engaging in same-gender sexual activity
Definition: a male engaging in same-gender sexual activity; a sodomite, pederast.
arsenokoítēs (from 730 /árrhēn, “a male” and 2845 /koítē, “a mat, bed”) – properly, a man in bed with another man; a homosexual
STRONGS NT 733: ἀρσενοκοίτης
ἀρσενοκοίτης, ἀρσενοκοιτου, ὁ (ἄρσην a male; κοίτη a bed), one who lies with a male as with a female, a sodomite.
According to Scripture, sodomites will not inherit the kingdom of God. But introduce a new word, with a new and modern definition and it brings in new doctrine. Enter stage left: the false love gospel, licentious grace gospel, the social justice gospel and CRT, white privilege, tolerance of wicked practices, redefining hate, redefining love and such.
Does this not define this generation: redefining words and definitions as to distort Jesus and Scripture and making hard Biblical words and laws more kinder and gentler as to not offend people and hurt their feelings? I will always apologize if I hurt your feelings, but I will never apologize for the Word of God hurting your feelings. False teachers twist and wrestle with the original language as to confuse it and create new doctrine, that’s not really new as there is nothing new under the sun; but old demons resurfacing to destroy God’s holy Writ. And the original lie comes full circle, “Did God really say?” It is sorcery, a doctrine of demons.
“Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons,” I Timothy 4:1
Am I saying homosexuals cannot be redeemed? No, I am not. I know many that have come out of that lifestyle by the power and blood of the Lamb. I’m merely using this as an example of the heresy infiltrating the church and through this false doctrine of licentious grace, many are apostatizing. All men, regardless of their sin can be redeemed.
My past includes gross sexual immorality, lying, stealing, cheating, murdering with my thoughts and polluting my temple with alcohol and drugs and I could go on and on and on. I was a chief sinner. And such WERE some of you. There’s a word people don’t like, it is past tense, it means I was something and now I am not: were. I was lost but now I’m found. I was blind but now I see. And such were some of you.
But if we tell people they are good in their sin, and we celebrate immorality and call evil good and call good evil; we are deceived and in turn deceive others and lead them into hell, all the while paving the path. Here is the message being left out of most pulpits in America: If you continue to live in sin, you are still dead in your trespasses and the wrath of God abides on you.
We do not tolerate, teach, or God forbid celebrate what God has said is sin. There is still sin as defined by God and sin needs to be called what it is: sin. Scripture defines what is immoral. Apparently, Paul had to tell the Galatian church multiple times, “as I have told you I in the past, I tell you again that those who continue to do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.” Either there was someone in that church teaching they could continue to live in sin or they were not listening to Paul concerning the works of the flesh, not unlike many today. See Galatians 5.
Belief in Jesus translates into a new life in Christ, born again of the Holy Spirit. We are set free from our bondage to sin, therefore free from the power of sin, not free to sin. Such were some of you. But be warned. You should fear God when you seek to redefine and twist His Word. This is no light offense. He will appoint your portion with the hypocrites.
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