Rusted Scripture: Phrases I hope I Never Hear Again

Transcript

rested scriptures missed quotes Pat x Fraser's stock Pulpit speech statements x without a scriptural basis and this is x all from x say within this is not about things we x hear from Outsiders this is about our x stuff x and a lot of it has to do with x as you might guess by this phrase here x stock Pulpit speech Brothers x giving exhortations talks presiding in x prayers a lot of it comes from that not x exclusively so hope the sisters are x paying attention too but if you're x involved in those things that x okay now x here are the three uh topics and three x ways I'm going to handle each one one is x what's wrong with that particular saying x well what's what's the objection x uh number two what's at stake why is it x important why why am I fetching about x this and number three is well what's a x better way to say it is how can we x improve this or or get it there so x here's the menu x oh I've gotten to say if we'll get x through all five x uh the first one is the phrase wise unto x salvation x in the appointed way often said by x often said by presiders uh the breaking x bread x the phrase referring to our walk is x straight and narrow x defining Grace is underserved or x unmerited favor x and probably thinking what's the matter x with that one I said well you'll see not x much but there is something there that x we can turn our attention to and the x last one with that time is when uh x particularly say teaching the brothers x use go into Hebrew and with well the x Hebrew word really means this x got a problem with that so here we go x the first one x and before I go further uh does any x what's the matter with that one it comes x right out of the Bible x anybody know why that's uh why we x shouldn't say that x you often say that in prayers we thank x God for giving us the scriptures that x make us wise to Salvation x anybody off the up have an idea there x if you don't turn to Second Timothy x chapter 3. x you've all heard this right x uh x the problem is it's it's an incomplete x statement x if this is a classic rested scripture x in second Timothy 3 uh Paul talks about x the he talks about the scriptures and at x this point I'm not sure if he's x referring just to the Old Testament or x to any such parts of the New Testament x that had been written at that point x and he says starting at verse 15 from a x childhood you have been acquainted with x the sacred writings which are able to x make you wise for salvation through x faith x which is in Christ Jesus x what's wrong is x that it leaves out x the complete statement x salvation is through faith it's not x through wisdom x but we often hear I've often heard say x over my many decades dozens of times x people referring to the scriptures which x are able to make us wise unto salvation x so what's at stake why is this a big x deal well it's of course it's partial x statement x but the implication x is x that salvation becomes a matter of x knowing x the Bible x per se it's it's a matter of Bible x knowledge why this it's you know you x know the Bible you study the Bible you x learn about the Bible and then God likes x you and you're good for the kingdom x something like that and there's x obviously uh x so certain people would agree with me x here depending on you know maybe what x circles you've been in over the years of x uh an over emphasis on x just Bible teaching Bible classes Bible x knowledge without getting to the purpose x of it which is to help develop our faith x and our character x so that statement I find is not only a x classic rest of scripture because it's x taking literally uh x A short segment out of a bigger x statement x but it has a noxious effect of placing x the matter of Bible knowledge Bible x knowledge is for the purpose of this uh x what's a better way to say it x quote the entire verse or paraphrase x scripture teaches us that true wisdom x leads to faith in Christ Jesus true x wisdom is the wisdom that leads to Faith x wisdom itself does not make us fit for x salvation it's our faith that makes us x fit for salvation x before I move on to next one any x comments uh on that one x and I can only see my screen I can't see x anybody so if anybody's waving their x hand uh Steve are you seeing x Hey Brother David this is uh Chris sales x um x reminds me of x um the other one that we don't finish x quite often we say seek ye first the x kingdom of God x and his righteousness you mean and we x forget to say that last bit so yeah that x was cool good good point thanks yeah I x might add it to the add that to my list x yeah that's a good one by the way my x people have contributed to my list when x I mentioned this thing I've been working x on and they say oh you have this one I x said no a good one I'll put that on x there x okay let's move on to the next one uh x uh the phrase often used by uh x say presiders I think pretty much x exclusively this is presider talk x and usually it's about x uh partaking of the bread and the wine x sometimes it's mentioned in closing x prayers where people say things like you x know we've kept the service in the x appointed way x uh what's what's the problem with that x again before I start does anybody have x any I'm not going to wait a long time x does anybody have something oh yeah I x know what you're getting to x well what's wrong with it is there is no x appointed way to start off with x uh the instructions about x keeping the memorial table is about x attitude it's not about procedure x and the phrase the appointed way x has a distinct legalistic uh smack to it x and x really grates me to that end that it x to what's at stake x it it turns turns it around the memorial x service is God's uh something that God x has given to us for our benefit it's not x something we do x as an obligation to keep every first day x of the week x and then okay we did that we remembered x Christ we partook it so now we've done x that uh then it can become as if a work x that we count for our righteousness x because we're faithful because we showed x up in memorial service every week and we x kept the service in the appointed manner x that's uh x where this is coming from x and even the FAFSA you've said this or x as a presider you you know that that's x really not what not what it's getting at x people are hearing that x young people are hearing that and the x other people who may not be that x familiar with or the whole ethic and it x creates this culture of we're doing the x right things because that's what God x told us to do he appointed the service x and we do it every first day of the week x and you better be there and you better x be sitting right and get it right x because that's the appointed way and x that's what God wants from us x and they say that's not only legalistic x but it's uh reverses the the whole point x of this it's not something we do for God x it's something God is something Jesus x have done for us x to give us this way x in remembrance of him means bringing x Jesus to mind x it's not we're doing it as a like a x memorial day is okay I remember Jesus no x it's bringing his life and his work x into our minds it's our it's something x for our benefit x so if you are presiding or you hear this x or you have occasion to think about this x uh x I would suggest a better way of phrasing x this would be just thanking God for x allowing us to be here and participate x in Remembering and contemplating the x meaning of Jesus life and death the x emphasize the fact x that this is for our benefit and we x thanking God that we have this not that x we're fulfilling a duty x comments x David this is Steve Steve it reminds me x of that other passage in First x Corinthians about uh doing things x decently in in order x and uh I think similarly that is x sometimes viewed or described as a way x of x you know as a as a reason for creating x detailed rules and regulations you know x uh as opposed to I think what Paul meant x by behaving in a certain way x around the Lord's table uh thank you for x mentioning that I actually wrote an x article on that for I think it was for x the testimony of the christadelphia x magazine about that uh is one of their x special issues about our service and x they asked me to write this on decently x and ordered yes that's a good one x because you're right that is one that is x taken to uh impose uh say an unnecessary x layers of formality in order when it was x really talking about dealing with the uh x Holy Spirit gifts okay x oh wait x yeah I can't see anybody so go ahead and x speak and I'll just stop okay this is x Brian Lloyd um you you referenced uh x First Corinthians 11 is there a x particular phrase out of First x Corinthians 11 that that this x gets taken from or is it just a as just x a stock phrase that's on not even in the x scripture in the appointed way that's a x good question uh I if it comes from x First Corinthians 11 I say I don't know x what version or or how it's getting x there to me uh I think you're probably x right it's just one of those stock x phrases that uh people start saying and x they get repeated and x people grow up in our culture and they x get things get repeated x yeah I don't know uh x uh any scriptural basis or that even x comes close to this uh certainly in x First Corinthians 11 there was an issue x with procedure but there was a very x different situation talking about people x speaking in tongues and prophesying and x things like that and the order in the x appointments that Paul was talking about x was Claudia get get your head right your x mind right about what this service is x all about x foreign x might have in mind when they they quite x that x when they say that x could be x I would suggest that but the writer was x getting at there was certainly about uh x failing or not wanting it in the times x of persecution they were having right x then right there's all the meaning to x you know stay together x okay could have been from there x any other comments x it's not we will move on x to the third item on the menu x which is the phrase straight and narrow x certainly you've heard this one of x people talking about uh keeping in the x straight narrow or even praying to God x to help us stay in the straight narrow x or referring to the straight narrow way x so what's the problem with this it's x right out of this Sermon on the Mount is x it not x the wrong straight wrong thank you who x was that Jane hewittson Jane thank you x yeah first of all it's the wrong x straight yeah uh and we're not talking x about the Bering Straits versus The x Straits and Magellan but that is the x right straight yeah uh x yeah okay so what's wrong with it okay x first everything uh x the word is x in the uh x is straight x s-t-r-a-i-t which means difficult or x confined uh not straight As in linear x uh second problem with it is that in the x King James x uh x it talks about I don't have the King x James in front of me it says x straight is the way in x Narrows the gate is that correct Matthew x it's in Matthew 7. I'm looking x who has that in the KJV x straight is the gate and narrows the way x straight is the gate and narrow is the x way right x in the Greek text uh the adjectives and x the are actually switched x uh and I don't know how when the king in x the authorized version they ended up by x straight straight As the gate and not x narrow as the gate x and straight Strait is the way x in most modern versions uh the ones that x have listed here ESV new King James nib x I think the NSB x the x they get it in the in the right order I x I can't ex I don't know why that ended x up that way x um x but that's another uh issue with it x thirdly x the idea of straight and narrow x is uh exactly the opposite of what Jesus x was teaching in The Sermon on the Mount x which was unless your righteousness x exceeds that of the Pharisees x you have no place the kingdom of God he x wasn't looking for legalistic x righteousness the Pharisees would have x been happy to say we keep the straight x and narrow We Don't Stray to the right x or the left we just you know keep our x shoes clean We Walk This Way that's bad x this bad that's bad we're just staying x right there x so that's a very legalistic uh pharisafe x way of doing things which would be x completely against what Jesus was just x talking about this comes in towards the x end of certain amount x straight x uh x is x a word that means x uh x difficult x and narrow means constricted x or confined so what Jesus is uh get to x it here okay gotta go ahead of myself x it's another legalistic formulation x implies we are to be like Pharisees x achieving righteousness by avoiding x contamination x there's no question he was getting at x something here that had to do with x difficulty and choice he said few there x be that find it x the gate x is x a difficult x gauge the road is difficult Road the x gate is the gate is narrower constricted x the road is is uh x uh x well x full of difficulties rather than saying x it's x the word straight it's probably if we x understood this I mean straight is like x somebody says we're you know we're in x tight straights we're a difficult time x but kind of plain old planar languages x to to start on the path itself you it's x a difficult Choice it's a hard Choice x it's an it's it's constricted a tight x spot and you it's a hard choice x to enter the gate and after you enter x the gate it doesn't get any easier x because that road is going to be filled x with difficulties x and because of that Jesus says most x people won't take them x their course x so rather than being a statement about x you know keeping your nose clean and uh x you know avoiding this avoiding that x it's really about making a commitment x and Jesus telling us that to choose the x weight of the kingdom of God is a noble x and honorable this is the right thing x but it's not going to be easy x David Bill link here again oh no I'm x done verse verse verse 12 of Matthew 7 x which leads right up to that is about uh x you know whatever you would that men x should do to use do ye even so unto them x and so it might even be that he's x pointing specifically to that frame of x mind to that that obeys the Golden Rule x ah x good uh survey interesting yeah x just just to say following that much of x you know not taking Vengeance and seeing x people no matter how they treat you or x or valuing them x that in itself is typically you know x that's a hard choice of discipleship x right there yeah thanks x anything else x okay let's x move on what time we got here x about halfway through the next two are x going to distinctly longer but this x one here x is x uh clearly a different sort uh it's not x you know plain just wrong or x unscriptural uh but x the standard definition if you'd ask x just about anybody you know that our x body you know what's Grace they'll say x grace is undeserved or unmerited favor x I'm going to use undeserved I'm going to x treat these as equal I'm not going to x say it's really undeserved not no x they're just take take take your pick x but to be simple I'm going to say uh use x undeserved and I think most of the time x I actually have it spelled right on x these slides you might find one that x says underserved or something like x um so what's wrong with that x well I hope nobody says something x because there's nothing wrong with that x in fact x not much grace is in fact undeserved x favor but there is a of x something lurking here and I I hope I x can get this it x uh I've been thinking about this x literally for years and I hope I can x kind of crystallize how I see this uh in x a 10 or 15 minutes x but what I find wrong with it is x defining Grace as the negation of x something that is x it's something that's not merited or not x deserved x so if a phrase an expression unmerited x or undies undeserved has some meaning x there must be something that is merited x or deserved favor x you can't say Well it's undeserved x uh say okay then what is deserved x favorite x it's not that but we have to have a that x for it to not be that hope I'm clear on x that it's a it's a something to find as x a negation so therefore we have to say x well what what is the the positive thing x that it isn't and then okay that's that x would least be a start in figuring out x uh how this uh definition works x and what I uh x I don't want to say concluded I'm not x going to say I've you know end of the x thinking on this matter I've included x this but what what what at this point x what I find a little bit Troublesome x about this x is that x there's no need to even introduce the x idea of deservedness or Merit into this x because that refers to something about x us even if it's something that we x clearly don't have or don't deserve it's x still about us whereas Grace is totally x about God x and that's that's where we're headed so x there's two things we want to get out uh x look into this definition is is it x necessary at all or what's what's the x benefit of even putting in a word in x front of favor modifying why don't we x say grace is God's favor x uh but we want to make sure that that x favor has nothing to do with us but yet x to say it has nothing to do with us we x have to introduce ourselves into the x formula and that is like saying don't x think about you know pink elephants x that's like uh to me when x Balaam says well even if they likely x give me all the gold in half his kingdom x and all I wouldn't be oh okay you know x we know what you're getting out there x you don't bring up stuff like that if x it's really not in in your mind x so I'm not going to get to the third x part what's the better way of saying x that until we look uh more carefully at x what is this idea of undeserved how can x we give some meaning to deserve favor or x Meredith favor x so what what could that possibly be to x say if there's such a thing as to x deserve favor then we say okay it's not x bad it's it's the opposite of that so x what could be deserved favor x well in my mind there are two different x ways or two different categories of of x how we say somebody deserves something x or uh either scripturally or just x conventional uh thought it's about x something we do or something about Who x We Are x those are the two categories to say in x general x to to if it's if it's about us in any x way is either we did something to get x something or something about us creates x a uh position of deservedness and that's x what we're trying to negate no it's not x that x but if it turns out that neither one of x these has any real meaning x then the negation is in trouble x so let's look at first x if deserve favor comes from something we x do or you do then it's deserved doesn't x apply because that's what's called x earned x it's a contractual agreement x if you hire somebody to do a job that x you're at your house and they do the x work they put in the four or the x fix the toilet whatever they're up to x and they give you the bill and say well x you know you deserve to get paid I'll x I'll pay you that's not how it works x they they earned it you had a contract x this is what the job is going to cost x this is what you're going to pay I'm x done job is done pay me my money and x that's the standard uh understanding x that's how it's used in scripture about x the the legalistic concept you do a work x therefore you've earned it and then God x can't give you anything because you've x earned it Paul makes us abundantly clear x in in Romans and in Ephesians x so we have to rule out undeserved favor x as being the opposite of something we x earn x even though the scripture does use that x term but that's not that can't be a x meaning of desert that that's earning x that's something else x so then is it x is it something about us would deserve x favor x when Paul says or we say it's not it's x undeserved so that means would the x deserve thing mean that something just x not okay it's not our works but there's x something about us x there's something about us and that's x why God gives us Grace and then he's x going to negate that says no it's really x not about you x there's a two problems with this uh one x is finding the logical connection and x you'll see that next slide x there is a logic what I mean by Logic I x mean in the case of burning x like if there were a set of works we are x supposed to do to earn salvation and we x do them x and the contract is if you do ABCD x down x then I will give you salvation x that's a contract x and there's a logical connection between x the salvation and what we did because x it's enough then statement if you do x these works then I will do you this x that's what I mean by a logical x connection x but let's look x at this other set the ones that aren't x about works that are in fact about x characteristics of Who We Are x so could deserve favor mean x that we deserve Grace because x we've had somebody you know gave us a x bad time in life uh conventionally of x course we hear this frequently uh x somebody deserves x they deserve uh you know a break because x they just they've been treated terribly x and now that they're you know with our x group we're going to treat them nicely x they deserve x well that's you know an emotional that's x a nice thing but what I x but now you understand what I mean by x Logic there's no if then thinking about x this nor is there any logical reason why x just because somebody uh had a that bad x time earlier that I am obligated now to x give them something nice that's a nice x thing to do it's emotional but it's not x a logical x a few more of the same category people x have had bad luck or calamities uh and x we think yeah they deserve you know have x something good happen to them x uh this one here x the painter or the guy who did your x flooring let's say they x they earned their contract but they went x above that they did something beyond x that do they deserve more pay x it would be nice but there's no logical x necessity it doesn't follow x as a matter of course that because they x did that then you owe them something or x or you're obligated to give them x anything x how about this one uh x they're all you can see they're all the x same you know General kind of uh x a vein you work hard or long but you x really don't get any place you you guys x you know been in the minor leagues for x 10 years and he finally someone says yo x he deserves the shot at the majors she's x been working so hard at this and he's x never quite gotten there he deserves x that it's an emotional thing there's no x logical reason you might say he's been x 10 years without success why should we x think he'll do any better in this x situation x so that doesn't seem to be a meaning a x possible meaning of deserved favor x how about just being a nice guy x a decent person a really nice person yes x not like me you know somebody who's just x you probably do know somebody like that x so you know that that person deserves to x to to get someplace in life he deserves x he's just a really nice guy x again it's a it's a it's a nice thought x it's an emotional thing but there's no x logical connection x towards giving any favor let alone the x grace of salvation x just because any of these things x happened to you x so when we looked at x this group it's a x it's not deserved x it's that means we're taking out x anything about earning x these could be ways of deserve but but x there's no they don't logically connect x so that's not a way of understanding x deserved favor x so now we've got a problem is x there's really no meaning to the concept x of deserve favor x you know there's no meaning to the x concept of deserve favor x there can't be any meaning to the x concept of undeserved favor x even though in a general sense we all x kind of know what it is x so let's see where we're going with this x I want to highlight the middle one here x before we go on x does anybody recognize any place where x you could raise your hand and say wait a x minute David x in scripture we have this exact thing x and this is deserved favor x does anybody know where that would be x David x yes Chris brother Chris how are you yeah x well so as you're going through this and x uh I I I'm open I'm on the right track x and following your thoughts but we had x quoted earlier from the sermon on Mount x siki first the kingdom of God and his x righteousness and all else will be added x unto you after he had just you know uh x told him not to be seeking and worry x about things as the Gentiles do for x clothing and shelter and money but he x says x you know by faith come unto me seek ye x first the kingdom of God and his x righteousness and these things will then x be added on to you okay that you but but x you come to me by faith first versus x Grace being yet while we were sinners x Christ died for us okay well he did that x not for anything that we did okay grace x but he is entered into Covenant x relationship with us okay and say now x follow me and there are blessings that x will come to you if you follow me so I I x don't know if that's the distinction x that you're looking for but well that is x a point I was about to make it's not the x distinction but but you are where I'm x you got a little bit of actually yeah x you're where I'm about to go because I x did want to mention that difference x between what comes before and what comes x after God's grace what I was getting x about with this one uh you might be x thinking about the parable of the x talents where the God made five made x five more and as well done you know as x you did above and beyond uh anything x reasonable you doubled doubled your x your investment x the rois that right Steve x you can't do that with your clients x hey without taking big risks anyway uh x you say well what about that does that x seems to be that that man was welcomed x into so you know welcome into the the x kingdom of your lord uh x because he did something x he went above of x two things about this one is he says x well done good and faithful servant it's x still about his faith it was about the x servant's trust in his master the second x thing is x all of these people had already received x the grace if I think if I understand how x this Parable is unfolding it's you're x given these things they've already been x given x great grace and what are you going to do x now that you've become part of a x master's household x uh so it's not about getting favored x because they did something special it's x about responding with uh their x appreciation and their work because of x what the master has already shown them x okay x so my by by the middle caval about this x is that there's uh two capitals one is x it's it's really hard to figure out what x deserved or merited favor might be see x it can't be earned favor because that's x not even in the category it's not x something you do so that means it might x be something about us but you look x through all those say well those that's x that's all emotional reaction it's not a x logical thing so I have trouble x understanding how undeserved can have x any real uh meaning that helps us out x here in understanding Grace x and the second point one here is uh x it we are now defining race x as an interaction let's say between God x and us it's we didn't deserve it but God x gave us to us anyway x there's no need to even insert us into x the equation x Grace itself already takes us out of the x equation x uh as I wrote here the word itself x already implies there's no contingencies x it's nothing about it so there's no need x to mention whether we deserve it or x don't deserve it x and by putting us in it it causes us to x even so you know thinly but it puts us x into I have to do something to deserve x God's grace he can't just give it to me x for nothing it's undeserved I know that x but it puts that it's still it's it's x like as I said about you know don't it's x a negation don't think about the pink x elephants uh kind of thing you can't not x so by thinking about undeserved Grace x we we end up thinking about ourselves x and how we don't deserve it x but yet there must be something there x it's like trying to figure how do I not x deserve it well I'm good but no that x doesn't make it x so that that's what I'm getting at is x this just leave that part out Grace is x God's gift of love and forgiveness x period if there's two things this is I x think what Chris Clark was just getting x at uh x he said one the word grace is most often x associated with two other words one is x gift and one is uh sinner x while our Sinners God gave us Grace x it's x our response you know what we do with x God's grace that develops our character x and all the positive things but that's x not anything to do with our deserving x the grace x Grace is for whatever reason x God chose he he said you you you you x you're my people x okay x what about why me uh don't ask that x question it's just I've shown you Grace x you know the gospel you know God you x know Jesus x that's just the gift x God gave it to you x carte blanche Point black whatever the x right phrase is x and leave it at that x so I would prefer we would x if someone says what is Grace Just say x it's God's gift x end of story x okay uh see that was a little bit uh I x think deep and I say I've been thinking x about this and trying to work it out for x for literally years writing making all x kinds of paradigms and stuff uh so yeah x it seems a little fuzzy or weird okay x you uh I get that too uh does anybody x have anything still have any comments x they'll link again no it's a great x comment don't link again with a quick x comment I I think Grace is actually x bigger than favor x um too because Grace isn't only what God x gives to us but it's our response to God x as well x so the whole concept of unmerited does x not make any sense at all it's we should x be gracious people x um and I I think that that's you know in x all of Paul's Epistles he begins by x saying God's grace be with you and then x or to you and then he ends with with you x and I I think that's x something about our response as well x there's a there's a lot about our x response of Grace x um you know Jesus growing in stature x knowledge and favor with God man nothing x undeserved about it x yeah uh thanks for bringing that up x uh I my original slide I had Grace is x one aspect or no one aspect of Grace is x God's gift because I was remembering x because I know I've heard you talk about x this and I agree that Jesus grew in x Grace x what's that got to do he has a lot of uh x breadth to that term thanks Bill for uh x bringing that up x hey David it's Jason I I like the tie in x there you know Grace is God's gift and x It ultimately leads us uh to Romans x there in chapter 6 verse 23 for the x wages of sin is death but the gift of x God is eternal life through Jesus Christ x Our Lord and if we follow that idea of x Grace We're Gonna x measure our lives in a certain way which x will lead us to the gift of God as x eternal life x thanks good yeah the gift of God he x doesn't say the undeserved gift now he x does say it in Ephesians yeah uh two the x gift of uh not to give the uh x he he he he does omit the uh x not of works but of Grace he does x address the worst part of it but the x other part is you know who we are that's x something that doesn't come up in x scripture but I'm afraid that's what's x left for us to think about if we say x okay I know it's not works x so then we're kind of left thinking x there must be something about me that x God wants well after he gives you your x grace yes he does x Chris Clock Again David x you know if this helps I mean my mind x goes to John 15 when Jesus says that I x am the vine and my father is the x husbandman and so uh x certainly there's a response that is x required of us but no matter what uh we x bring forth in the way of bearing fruit x you know we have to see that it all x originated by the grace of God that he x was killing the soil and cultivating us x okay and that we can really take credit x for nothing other than perhaps a proper x response to his grace x so exactly x yeah it all starts with God and yes it x is our response to that x to it not to get it but once we got it x very good well you have about uh x 12 minutes left x so I'm going to tackle the next one x are you ready for this x oh you teaching brothers who like to x quote for Hebrew okay uh this is not x obviously scriptural phrase but it's one x we hear a lot the big sorters of people x giving classes well the Hebrew word x really means and uh x then they give some other definition x uh several problems with this one x what's wrong with it uh x first of all you're probably going to be x wrong x okay x that means you're thinking I know better x than the translators uh with what Hebrew x words meant now that doesn't mean that x there's not a place to study Hebrew the x one exception here is updating the King x James version x um in my earlier on I seem to remember x many more instances of this earlier than x more recently x uh x but certainly dozens of times I would x hear speakers carrying on about a word x and what it really means is this and x what they were talking about was a word x from the King James that was already x translated otherwise in the RSV which I x was used for extensively earlier x and a lot of people I do we're all x sitting here looking at our rsvs we're x wondering why the speaker is getting so x excited about making this correction x when just look at another version you x can see it's x more likely just updating a term so x there's that x uh x but there's a big problem I have with x people who know nothing or about Hebrew x than how to read a concordance or x something like that uh x basing opinions about what Hebrew words x really mean uh based on their uh what x they wrote about the root or the stem of x the word or something like that x what's at stake x is really understanding uh two things x one how Hebrew works as a language and x secondly just how language works x uh I get the the oppression that comes x across is that people treat Hebrew as x some kind of a code x in our job is to you find a word and you x find the corresponding number in strongs x and you look it up and you find some x cinnamon sentences x synonyms and then you look and see well x how is it used in other places oh it's x translated like this here so it probably x means that over here x and not only is that not how Hebrew x works that's not how any language works x at all x the languages aren't codes they are part x of our human psyche there's much much x deeper layers of language x and then you take an ancient language in x a book that's written over a period of a x thousand years or whatever from the x beginning to the end of the actual x writing and how much language changes x then how a root can be transformed from x something to something else there's just x so many variables in how language works x and how a human mind expresses itself x with sounds language is primarily by the x way at Oral activity there's very few I x think I've got the number it's only like x six or ten percent of all the languages x in the world's history have ever been x actually written languages languages x primarily about sound x and grammatical structures in conveying x meaning through sounds x so there's a real problem with treating x Hebrew is just some kind of a puzzle or x a code to decipher x well there are some things that are x valuable uh and one of them is use equal x concordance to x see where a certain word shows up x and it is fair to say that out of 50 x occurrences this word is translated this x 48 times and these two times it's not x there might be a reason for that and x there probably is but it doesn't mean x that in those two places that the the x word was translated incorrectly x you also have to account for uh x in Hebrew things called the verb stems x or constructions is about uh her voice x something about voices or moods there's x something the imperative sense or the x Joseph sense or the causative or the x Intensive you think it's the same word x but it's conjugated slightly differently x and therefore takes on a different x meanings and if you don't know that x stuff you're going to make a lot of x problems for yourself and there's x absolutely no need to try to pronounce x Hebrew words if you can't or it's x Strong's number 6217 that just gives the x impression that this is just a kind of a x code you're cracking rather than x understanding a living part of let's say x human psyche which is what language is x now I want you to look at this x uh x this example came up just a few days ago x this is uh from actually from first x Samuel chapter one x now first of all x uh you can see it's written in Hebrew x this is for my englishman's Hebrew x concordance which lists the entries by x the forms of Hebrew words x anybody other than Brian x want to pronounce that word for me x it's even transliterated x I don't think we give Brian a pass on x this okay Brian go for it x uh us I mean it's it's a guttural EIN x that's kind of hard to x to say I wouldn't use a g to translate x it I don't know how you translate it you x can't really you can't thank you right x the point is if you see it in English x your temp would say it's kagas Cog ass x or you see the little end up there it's x Kangas yeah and I I purge of course x speakers make such statements like this x and no it's class x into this girl sound that is actually x the same sound that is the first x syllable in Gaza which we say Gaza the x city the the territory of Gaza it's x there's no g in it it's Gosling it's a x it's a deep guttural sound x that starts with this middle letter x right there x now there's about 21 entries for this x war this is the the uh the mass the m x means masculine it's a this is the noun x form there's a related verb form x but just look in these I think there's x 21 entries I counted seven different x translations x provoking Wrath x provoked or soar grief provocation x provocation provocation margin angers x grief spite grief anger wrath grief x angry angry wrath grief grief x anger x anger oops okay so see this is kind of x broad but that's the nature of a lot of x Hebrew words Hebrew tends to have a x vocabulary that is highly context x dependent x and award can easily mean something like x anger here provocation there x uh but the last thing you'd ever want to x do is say well in this it must mean x grief here because it said it was grief x there he x can't get back there okay x us x a Fool's wrath is presently known to x foolish Sun there's a grief to his x father he wouldn't say a fool of science x a wrath to his father or at anger x so this this is again the nature of a x lot of Hebrew uh words x um perhaps even more so with verbs than x with nouns x but the ones I want to focus on uh was x were these here x uh as I was reading this a few days ago x in first Samuel 1 about Hannah and the x other wife of elkena it says in verse x six or adversary also x provoked her sorely or provoke to the x vexation it's actually this case where x you sometimes see it I'll just say x doubled a Hebrew verb to to intensify it x it's it's really not like that but the x verb occurs twice x like provoking her provocation x and then when actually Eli accuses her x of being drunk and Hannah replies no I'm x not drunk I'm just pouring out my heart x this is just 10 verses later the x abundance of my complaint and my grief x well it's the same word that shows up x here what it talks about uh x um x was it penina penina x uh provocation and here she says my x complaint and my grief x some there's I think I found two x translations that are consistent and say x provocation here most of the time you x wouldn't know that these are translated x from the same word so the neat thing x about Hebrew is it has these thematic x words that show up like this in many x many narratives but with different x slight different variations of meaning x and it gives the narration a Tizer x together like a theme or a ribbon that x the cohesiveness you want to say well x because it's translated this way it's it x really means this so it doesn't really x mean that at all it's a has a variety of x meanings x now the English word provocation it x makes a perfectly good illustration of x what I'm talking about in English x forward x uh so if this doesn't provoke you if I x haven't provoked you yet this will okay x let's think of the word provocation x it's ultimately some from Latin uh Pro x plus volkari vocal vocal voice all the x same root of calling forth okay so what x could that mean x uh it's related to words like provoke x and provocative x and say we're talking about some really x different things now x provoke nowadays usually has a negative x not exclusively in fact Hebrew says you x know provoking uh us to Good Works x uh but it was it was actually a neutral x or a positive term to provoke somebody x meant to encourage them to challenge to x call them forth to it to incite good x behavior uh today we say you know he x really provoked me it's it's it doesn't x have that new one again this is how how x language works x provocative has nothing to do with x provoking uh in that sense than it x usually again has picked up uh now x actually this is pretty old as I x remember uh the sexual implication of x somebody here with provocative language x a provocative dress or something like x that even though it's from the same root x say it's going to very different places x so you don't want to ever say well the x Hebrew root means this therefore it x means that that's not how language works x it's not how English works not how x Hebrew works if somebody I'll just throw x this one in does anybody know about the x word sincere if you say somebody's x sincere x and if you went by the root x you know what you'd be telling x you know x right they don't have any wax x sincere means son's serum uh we use the x word serumen to talk about earwax uh and x it came from uh this I think this is x valid the ancient Greek Potters who had x fixed defects in their pots with waxed x and if a pot was not was perfect it was x sincere it had no wax in it so you don't x want to go by Roots but again I've heard x far too many people say well the root x really means this Hebrew roots are are x very unreliable for uh bringing forth x hundreds of years into the writing of x that time and say well really needs this x not a good idea x it can be interesting and helpful but x uh you don't want to go there x one time uh oh yeah provocative was x anemic x you took a provocative to to get evil x stuff out of you x so x just looking at this range of meanings x and where it originally came from you x can see oh this one too a provocation x was appealing to a higher ecclesiastial x Court I got all this uh out of the OED x well x I can't go back okay so the point is x that if you're using Hebrew x it's and you're not really really x familiar with how Hebrew works as a x language x and how languages work and the whole x idea of translation uh really stay away x from x ever saying the Hebrew word really means x this either based on how it might be x used in one other sentence or x what uh you say the root actually refers x to this uh you're really likely to get x yourself in big trouble phrase you can x do without x leave it to say it occurs here here here x and here and we can see a connection