The War of Words: How Satan Warps and Weakens Christians by Redefining Words
We shouldn’t be surprised when the Devil distorts something good into something perverted. It’s what he does best. He did it in the Garden of Eden. He has done it through flooding the market with every kind of Bible translation imaginable to cater to the ever-growing preferences of people. But there’s an even more subtle way he seeks to deceive.
My pastor, Dr. Jim Schettler, made this statement when I was in Bible college. “The redefining of Bible words is the highest form of spiritual warfare.” In today’s era of intense spiritual deception and warfare, we commonly see the redefining and misapplying of words used in the Bible. If the powers of darkness are unsuccessful at causing you to doubt the word of God, or change to more watered down Bible translation, then they employ an even more subtle approach. They surgically redefine key words in the Bible. We must obey Paul’s admonition to Timothy to “hold fast the form of sound words” (2 Timothy 1:13). As our society grows increasingly illiterate of the Bible, it becomes all the more important for true followers of Christ to use accurate words and definitions supported by context of Scripture. Here’s a short list of words society often redefines from their biblical meanings.
1) Grace
Grace is one of many wonderful Bible terms found in Scripture, but some use grace as a synonym of permissive, unholy living, free of any rules. “…turning the grace of God into
lasciviousness” (Jude 4), people expect church leaders to forebear preaching on their pet sins and overlook sin in the flock of God. If they are convicted or confronted about specific sin, their feelings are hurt and they pull the “grace card” to justify their actions. In an effort to be welcoming, churches have become sanctuaries for sin when grace is redefined into an unbiblical license to sin.
2) Judging
For fear of being labeled judgmental, the average church goer prides themselves for not being a judgmental person. It’s common for spiritual discernment toward sinful living to be frowned upon. Yet Scripture says, “he that is spiritual judgeth all things” (1 Corinthians 2:15). The book
of Proverbs overwhelmingly presents one who exercises judgment as an admirable quality. Selfrighteous judgment is absolutely forbidden in the Bible. That is, judging anyone or anything by our own standard of measurement. But righteous judgment is commanded. Proper judgement which examines everything through the lens of Scripture is good and greatly lacking among Christians today.
3) Compassion
As culture continues moving away from God’s standards, a new meaning of compassion has emerged. Compassion today means to show empathy to anyone for any reason often making victims out of the villain. This redefining of compassion excuses personal responsibility and accountability. The heinous sin of abortion is often promoted in the name of compassion for women and their health without any regard for the baby’s life. By simply expressing compassion as their motive, all kinds of wickedness can be justified before people. True compassion towards others is motivated by supreme love for Christ and His gospel, and not by the fluid feelings and opinions of others.
4) Love
What is often called love today, isn’t love at all. Today’s redefining of love means you must accept, approve, and even applaud someone’s lifestyle and choices. True, Christ-like love does forgive, and put others before self, but it never minimizes the truth. Jesus, the most loving person to ever walk the earth, condemned the hypocrisy of the Pharisees, drove the corrupted merchants from the Temple, and rebuked His disciples. In the name of love, Christians excuse themselves from witnessing to a lost person about their need for Christ because it might offend them. In the name of love the eternal torment of the Lake of Fire is minimized. Real love is rooted in truth and speaks when the Spirit of God and the Word of God prompts you to speak. Love is not a feeling; it is a deliberate choice to obey Christ.
5) Humility
People who have conviction and boldly stand for Bible truths are often criticized for not being humble. Faithful pastors are often accused and labeled as egotistical and a narcissist because they courageously preach the Word of God. True humility does not mean you are a people pleaser; it means pleasing God is your goal and honoring Him is the priority. Yes, humility listens and learns from others, but the ultimate quality of humility is personal obedience to Christ regardless of what others think of you.
6) Pride
The Bible never uses this word in a positive light. Over time, pride has crept into the Christian’s vocabulary as a positive thing. We say, “I’m proud of my family…my country” A better way to express our feelings would be, “I’m thankful for…I’m honored by…or it’s a privilege to…” Our culture has flown the flag of pride, but “God resisteth the proud” (James 4:6). May we resist the urge to use it as if pride is ever a good thing; because it’s not.
7) Marriage
Just because society recognizes perverse relationships such as homosexuality and a host of other sexual perversions as legitimate marriages, doesn’t mean God does. Nor should anyone who identifies themself as a follower of Jesus accept the twisted views of marriage no matter how popular they may be. God’s Word defines marriage as the union of one naturally born male and one naturally born female for life. Biblical marriage is the bedrock of society and that will never change.
8) Holiness
Many equate holiness with haughtiness. The devil has so twisted this Bible word to make holiness distasteful, arrogant, and undesirable. True holiness, as taught in the Bible, models humility before God. Snubbing others because of their education, wealth, personality, or family is anything but holy. All real disciples of Christ are called to be holy because God is holy (1 Peter 1:15).
9) Worship
The word worship is used excessively when people attend religious services or listen to their favorite music artist. Much of what is called worship today is the glorification of self and the idolizing of performers. Merely attending a worship service does not necessarily mean you have worshipped the Lord. Real worship needs no help from colorful, strobing lights, fleshly beats of the drum, or sensual performers. True worship exalts Christ in the heart of the worshipper, and the humbles the heart before the greatness of Almighty God.
10) Christian
This word in the New Testament was attributed to people who unashamedly professed faith in Jesus Christ by their unwavering commitment to follow Christ at any price (Acts 11:26). Today, it has become a watered down adjective used to describe almost everything and means almost nothing. Let us return unto the same level of surrender to Christ as the early Christians were in the midst of a pagan culture. Their distinctive conduct and character made their identity with Christ unmistakable.
The Apostle Paul admonished Timothy to “hold fast the form of sound words” (2 Timothy 1:13). Since the Garden of Eden, humanity has been in a war of words which continues to this day. The redefining of biblical words is nothing more than Satan’s strategy to manipulate and sabotage people by convincing them they are wholly following the Bible when they are not. As Bible believers, let us be careful not to fall prey to Satan’s subtle attempts to distort and dismantle the clear teachings of the infallible Word of God through hijacking biblical words. When Scripture’s words are redefined, they inevitably warp and conform the mind to the erroneous thinking of the world. How can we win the war of words? Only by faithfully and humbly studying and applying the Scriptures can we fortify our minds from the destructive redefining of God’s precious Word.