Bible critics often site the fact that the Bible uses some so-called off color words. It is in my opinion an excuse for their own words or to escape their responsibility before God.
Some words the Bible uses I would be cautious and prudent in using.
-Luke 12:20 -Mt. 5:22 The use of the word fool is not strictly forbidden, but its use as angry, hateful slander is.
Jesus used the word fool several times.
-the Pharisees (Mt. 23:17,19)
-the disciples when they did not believe His resurrection. (Lk. 24:25)
God called men who act foolishly fools. (Ps. 14:1; 53:1)
We certainly should not use that word “without a cause”.
(And some modern translations leave that phrase out.)
-Hebrews 12:8 Here is a strong word that has been abused in our day. It is a strong warning to those who pretend at Christianity. A true Christian who is disobedient will experience chastisement when they go astray. And it may not be as harsh to some as others. I believe God will use a gentle nudge if that is all that is necessary to get us back into line. Illus. - I remember plainly the last spanking my Daddy gave me. Now, I have not been perfect since then but I can plainly remember thinking that it sure wasn’t worth it to get what I got. (Don’t piddle with spanking, mean business.) After that, a simple admonition was enough to remind me what could happen.
-II Peter 2:1 Damnable is a strong word. Those who would teach a works salvation and thus deny the Lord that bought them are described in such a way.
-Revelation 19:2 This very strong word is used to describe a religious system that had led many astray from Christ. Pity those who turn others from Christ. This is certainly a tender word in our day.
Some words are not so blunt but the situation is very plain.
-II Samuel 13:11-15 The Bible is an honest book. What a grave matter it is to go astray of God’s commands. And yet how tender and unprovocatively and discreetly the Bible speaks of these matters. The trouble is often our corrupted mind and not a corrupted Bible. If you fill your mind with the things you can see on TV, with foul movies, and vile magazines, you will not be able to think purely.
“Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled.” Titus 1:15
The defiled mind can take the most innocent of things and wrest them into raunchy wickedness.
-Genesis 4:19 says that Lamech took 2 wives. That is not off colored nor does it approve his actions. God’s plan was and still is one man and one woman. Read Romans 7:1-3 on that.
However I wish to deal with some other words that can be provocative and offensive. If we would follow Ps. 119:165 “Great peace have they which love thy law, and nothing shall offend them.” then we would either not be offended at these words or else we would simply get right with God.
We see 5 simple but hard-hitting words.
1. Lost
That is a good Bible word.
Some like to think that they cannot be ‘lost’. They feel in control of their own destiny. Jesus gave us John 14:6 and that assures us that He is our only hope of eternal salvation.
II Cor. 4:3 “But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost.”
Lk. 19:10 “For the son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.”
Without Jesus Christ as your Savior, you are lost.
Us men folk are often maligned for not wanting to admit that we are lost. Daniel Boone was asked if he ever got lost. He said that he hadn’t but one time he was bewildered for 3 days.
Being lost without Christ is a much more serious matter.
To me this is a most troubling word.
How can a person pillow their head at night and not know that Jesus Christ is their Savior.
If you are lost and not saved, salvation is a simple matter.
The Bible teaches plainly that we are all sinners. Gal. 3:22; Eccl. 7:20; Is. 64:6; Ps. 130:3
Because we are sinners, our just desserts is death. Rom. 6:23
A holy God cannot accept us sinners.
Jesus Christ shed his righteous blood to make payment for our sin. Heb. 9:22; II Cor. 5:21
If you will today confess that you are a sinner and accept the payment Jesus made, you will no longer be lost, but saved by the grace of God.
Rom. 10:9-10, 13; Acts 16:31; Acts 10:43 “To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sin.”
Jesus sent forth the 12 to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Mt. 10:6
May we who are saved be mindful of the lost about us.
Rom. 10:14 “How shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?”
Let’s all be that ‘preacher’.
1. Lost
2. Depart Mt. 7:21-23
This is a very, very harsh and sad word to me.
Here are folks who have claimed to do miracles and cast out devils but have never known Christ as Savior.
I have no desire to shake your foundations if you are born again, but if you are lost and religious, you need to be shaken and wake up to reality of eternity without Christ.
Salvation is not good works.
How sad it is to declare someone a saint because there is a supposed ‘verifiable miracle’ in their life.
God declares every person who has received Jesus Christ as Savior as a saint.
Phil. 4:22 “All the saints salute you…”
We don’t have to fret and worry about hearing that awful word ‘depart’ if you are saved. The Bible teaches the security of the believer. If salvation only lasted for a little while, it sure wasn’t eternal.
I John 5:12-13 “He that hath the son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life…”
John 5:24 “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.”
People don’t get saved and lost again. I see no example of that in the Bible. But ‘Depart’ will be a shock to some.
-Those who gave expecting that to atone for their sins.
-Those who worked, however hard and incessantly, to help mankind, but without Jesus Christ as their payment.
-Those who were religious all their life but never accepted Jesus.
-Those who cried to God for help in time of need, but did not deal with sin and salvation.
1. Lost Luke 19:10
2. Depart Mt. 7:21-23
3. Hell Mk. 9:43
The world has made this a curse word. It is a Bible truth.
-The leaders of the day can say it is symbolic
-The Jehovah’s witnesses can say it is only for a little while
-The modern thinkers can try to explain it away under a loving God
-The theological minds can declare it is not literal fire
The Bible teaches a literal burning hell that is never quenched. It will be an awful torment that will never let up. It is easy to try to explain why the suffering is only for a little while and satisfy our worries about ourselves and others.
Hell has some terrible words that describe its situation.
-torments Luke 16:23
-gnashing of teeth Luke 13:28
-outer darkness Mt. 8:12
-flame Luke 16:24
- ‘neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence’ Lk. 16:26
I think one of the worst things about Hell is that it is hopeless.
When we are sick, we wait for morning or for some pain reliever. But Hell is forever and ever.
1. Lost Luke 19:10
2. Depart Mt. 7:21-23
3. Hell Mk. 9:43
Now 2 more words that basically deal with the Saved person:
4. Backslidden
We are mighty quick to throw that word toward someone else. If there has ever been a time when you are closer to God than now, you are backslidden.
Prov. 14:14 “The backslidder in heart be filled with his own ways: and a good man shall be satisfied from himself.”
Jer. 3:8 “And I saw, when for all the causes whereby backsliding Israel committed adultery I had put her away, and given her a bill of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah feared not, but went and played the harlot also.”
Not only did Israel backslide, but also discouraged Judah. They should have learned a lesson from the backslidder, but instead followed them.
-You may consider your backsliding as only affecting yourself, but you are wrong. Rom. 14:7 “For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself.” Your life does affect others.
Jer. 3:11 Backslidding Israel justified herself.
Excuses flow freely. Cut through the rhetoric and look at the real issue of backslidding.
You can pass the blame on to the preacher. You can say he isn’t right. You can point at others. You can say your wife isn’t right or your husband is the problem. You can say your Mama didn’t raise you right. You can say the church is to blame. You can say financial pressure has caused it. But what will you say when you face God Almighty?
Jer. 3:8,11,12,14,22
Hosea 11:7 says his people were bent to backsliding.
The psalmist said (139:23-24) said, “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me and know my thoughts: and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”
(Years ago a friend of mine was dealing with a young boy during the invitation at a camp. Tom asked if this boy was saved, and as tender as he could be and through tears the boy said, “I know I am saved, but I backfired.”)
Now, come one, have you backfired?
-You once passed out tracts but little concern is shown now.
-You once taught S.S. but now you are too scarce on Sunday to have a class.
-You once made it a point to read some of your Bible everyday but other things have crowded that out.
-You once gave faithfully to the Lord’s causes but you just don’t have room for that anymore.
-You once made it to church on Sunday night, but now it doesn’t even cross your mind until shortly after 6 and then you have a good excuse of being late and not able to make it.
-You once invited the grocery clerk to church, but now the conversation never goes that way.
-You once thought it important to stay separate from the world but now you let it hang freely on you.
-You once prayed or the preacher but that is no longer important.
-You once enjoyed hearing preaching that stepped on your toes but now the preacher is meddling and too narrow minded.
I know some of those things are tough. Don’t get offended. Don’t say ‘the preacher is picking on me’. Let’s just be Boy Scout honest, have you backfired?
1. Lost Luke 19:10
2. Depart Mt. 7:21-23
3. Hell Mk. 9:43
4. Backslidden Prov. 14:14
Now one more word that basically deals with the Saved person:
5. Hypocrite
Now that is a polarizing word.
The Lord used the word hypocrite of those professing religion.
The comparison is to ‘whited sepulchers’.
Zophar and Elihu both charged Job with being a hypocrite. Their assessment was wrong. If you are doing your dead level best to serve the Lord, someone is probably going to call you a hypocrite. Don’t let it bother you too much. Check to see if your motives are honest, and move on with the Lord.
I am certain the most common use of hypocrite in our day is to say that there are hypocrites in the church. To be honest, I am with Bro. Roloff on this, I have never felt that I have completely gotten rid of my hypocrisy.
Folks will say, “I am not going to church with those hypocrites.” They tell me that as preacher. I have been just ornery enough sometimes to ask them which ones are the hypocrites. They don’t like to name names so I usually consider it a stereotypical answer and not worth much weight. Sometimes I ask them if I am a hypocrite. They say I go to church with them, so I must be guilty. I think generally it is an excuse not to be in church. We go to the grocery store with hypocrites, and to Wal-mart, so we just stay home from church and get out of fellowship with God. Now, go figure.
The idea behind hypocrite is that of an actor behind a mask.
O, may we seek to put away that which does not belong to a Christian.
-a double tongue, craftiness, deceit, flattery, sleight
And let us put on a pure conscience, sincerity, and faith unfeigned.