Defining words and taking God seriously

“Whoever controls the definitions controls the argument.” 

Don’t know who said it, but this often applies in many situations. In a difference of opinion with someone last month, I realize that we were not talking about the same thing because we held different definitions of one key word. No one came out the ‘winner’ of the debate because we were discussing two different things!

This easily happens in theological conversations. For instance, at least one phrase in this passage could be translated two ways giving two variations in how to view what it says and how to apply it.

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever. (1 John 2:15–17)

Here the phrase is “pride of life” with the ‘pride’ part being easy. It means “a false pride, a self-exalting, self-absorbed conceit of one’s own superiority; especially one that believes that all achievements are of their own doing.”

The more difficult term is that little word “life” which can be taken two ways. It literally means “livelihood or the financial means whereby one lives. However, in this context it can also mean the state of existence where I am proud and patting myself on the back about anything, not just how I make my living, but how I cook, or look, or do anything, even Bible study. Thus it could have the narrow meaning or the broader one. Most translations and theologians look at the context and conclude it is not just being proud of my job.

Christians think of loving the world as ‘worldliness’ and include in that problem the desires of the flesh and the eyes. This isn’t too hard to figure out. My flesh is that old sinful nature that ‘wants what I want when I want it’ and know that this sinfulness eventually will pass away, giving in to wanting the will of God instead. I usually interpret this as a desire for comfort that can keep me from obedience. If God wants me to do something that takes me out of my ‘comfort zone’ then this desire in my flesh will resist doing His will.

The desire of the eyes is craving what I can see, a greedy, I-want-it-all attitude that puts me in bondage to stuff. I’m already convicted about this one. I just checked my email and there was a notice of a fabric sale from an online supplier that I’ve used in the past. I have enough fabric to last the rest of my life but was immediately taken with some of the sale items. This bit of Scripture has me thinking twice about buying more stuff that I don’t need.

Back to that ‘pride of life’ thing. Is it all kinds of pride, or limited to pride in the way I make my living? I cannot narrow my interpretation just because of the word for ‘life’ that it uses because the rest of the Bible will not let me. Two examples come to mind:

Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin. (James 4:13–17)

Making plans without considering the will of God is a boast in myself, an arrogance. This passage uses the same word for false pride that is in the one from 1 John 2. This is bad enough, but another that uses this concept is this strong warning . . .

But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people. (2 Timothy 3:1–5)

Here the idea of false pride and arrogance describe those who have no use for God at all. These are worldly people through and through. This and other passages tell me that I cannot limit this command about loving the world. It goes beyond pride in how anyone is making a living and includes pride in anything, thinking that all that I have and do is my doing and leaving the grace of God out of it.

^^^^^^^^^^^^

Lord Jesus, I know that being comfortable, having possessions, and making a good living are not evil. The evil is in making those things more important than loving You and doing Your will. Sometimes the choices are obvious but more often they are subtle, distracting. I need the Holy Spirit to keep me focused on what lasts forever rather than the stuff that will pass away. Grant me a strong perception today of Your will and of the temptations from the world and my fleshy pride.

Today’s thankful list . . .

- God exposes the subtle sins.

- this life and this world will pass away — there is more to come.

- the answered prayer record of our little group of prayer warriors.

- yesterday and today felt like spring not November.

- the gift of Christian sisters.

- the gifts of music and of laughter.

Sainthood

The term ‘saint’ is used in many ways. The Canadian Oxford Dictionary defines a saint first as “a person who is acknowledged as holy or virtuous and regarded in Christian faith as being in heaven after death.”

It also says a saint is “a person of exalted virtue who is canonized by the Church after death and who may be the object of veneration and prayers for intercession,” or “a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, a Mormon.” The word is also used informal for a very virtuous person. However, I’m more interested in how the Bible uses it.

In Scripture, a saint is anyone who by salvation has been sanctified or set apart from sin through faith in Jesus Christ. In the mind of God, a saint is declared holy (which means set apart), not because of their own virtue, but by the imputed righteousness of Christ.

No one has to die to become a saint. Unfortunately, some Bible translators make it look like it because they did not directly translate Paul’s words. For instance, Romans 8:27 says, “Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.”

Paul actually wrote, “called saints” or “saints by calling” but it was replaced by “called to be saints” as if this happens when Christians step into eternity and are transformed and forever without sin.

Many passages indicate that no one has to physically die to become a saint, but they do have to be “dead to sin” and “alive to God.” Believers are called “saints” (Romans 1:7) and “saints in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:1) because they belong to the One who provided their sanctification. It is a status term that does involve progress, but refers to who I am, not what I do.

Perhaps translators could not bring themselves to call the ordinary, struggling-with-sin believer a saint. Because of this, “saint” became a term used for specific individuals who were considered extreme examples of the faith. These people were venerated as an inspiration to other Christians, initially by martyrdom. Ironically, this tradition is held by the very church that Paul wrote to saying that all are called saints!

The Mormons use this title a bit closer to the ‘all’ part of the definition in that they apply it to all members of their ‘church.’ However, the doctrines of the Mormons (Latter-day Saints) fall short from more important biblical foundations about God and the nature of salvation. For instance, any Mormon that I have talked to does not understand what it means to be saved by grace through faith.

It is biblical to link “saint” and “holy,” but the common understanding of holy has also drifted. “Holy” when applied to God does mean sinless perfection, but could never mean that when applied to human beings. We are not totally holy in this life, which is likely why “saints” seems appropriate only for dead people.

However, God says those who believe are holy, even while still alive! We are saints ‘by calling’ not by virtue. This is like serving in the military. When a recruit is sworn in and given the designation of ‘private,’ he or she is every much a soldier as a five-star general. The latter has more experience and knows far more about soldiering, but both are in the army and both are soldiers.

I am called a saint now, not called to be a saint. His Word tells me to recognize all His people as saints. We do not appoint a group of people to examine our lives years after we die to see if we performed a miracle or not. Instead we must recognize the status given to us by Jesus Christ and redemption.

Also, I think of how a newly sworn-in soldier must feel. He is declared “in the army” and must want to perform in a way that is worthy of that calling. He holds his head high and as he is told who he is, he makes every effort to live up to his calling.

I find this practical. When I feel less than saintly because I’ve messed up, or am tempted, or just not doing much for God’s kingdom, He reminds me of who I am. This isn’t about performance but status. Boot camp or decorated, as His soldier, I belong to Him and am a saint.