BiblicalInsights.net

What direction are you taking in the New Year?  Where are you headed?  Who are you going to follow to get there?  Who has the ability to give your life ultimate meaning and purpose?  Jesus asked His disciples a question that was answered with a question.  Jesus asked, “Will ye also go away?”  Jesus asks three hundred and seven questions in the New Testament books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.  There are approximately nine hundred eighty questions asked in the Greek New Testament.  Jesus uses questions extensively when teaching others.  Questions provoke thought, are sometimes very personal and generally require an answer.  Our own priorities and pursuits are revealed in an exploration of the context of these questions.
The Question
Jesus asked, “Will ye also go away?”  The “ye” in this question refers to the apostles.  The question probes the level of their commitment to the Lord.  Others, primarily unbelievers, had abandoned following Jesus.  Jesus said some difficult things and they could not or did not accept them.  Jesus told them that they had to “eat His flesh and drink His blood.”  They misunderstood Jesus words.  Jesus did not mean this literally.  He was speaking metaphorically.  He was speaking of fully embracing His true identity and accepting His teaching for their lives.  In John 6:35, Jesus stated that He was the bread of life.  How do we “partake” of this bread?  By believing on Jesus and relying upon Him for spiritual life based upon His word.  In John 6:63, Jesus states, “It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.”  Those who forsook Jesus, failed to meet the test of discipleship.  They would not follow Jesus all the way.  Now, Jesus wants to know if His disciples are fully committed to following Him all the way.  So, He asked this probing and very personal question.  Each of us should consider this question personally.  Will we follow Jesus anywhere and everywhere He leads us?
The Answer
Peter (speaking, no doubt, for the rest of the apostles) said, “Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life. And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God.”   If we are not following Jesus, then, who?  There were other options for the disciples.  They could follow Moses in which they would surrender the efficacy of the atoning power of the blood of Christ which was secured when He died on the cross.  Or, they could follow one of the prophets.  Except, the Old Testament prophets pointed to Christ (Deuteronomy 18:18; Isa. 7:14, 9:6, 53).  They could follow their own lusts, or some of the philosophers of their day (Paul encountered Epicureans and Stoics in Acts 17 on Mars Hill), or perhaps the Roman Emperor.  All of these are rejected by Peter.  Peter declares, ONLY YOU.  “Thou hast the words of eternal life.  Only the words of Jesus have the power to produce spiritual life and eternal life.  A person becomes a Christian by being begotten by the word of truth (I Peter 1:21-25).  Peter writes, “Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently.  Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible seed, by the word of God which liveth and abideth for ever.”  The word of God is the gospel of Christ.  Jesus wanted to know the level of their commitment to Him.  Unbelievers forsook Jesus.  Did the apostles believe?  Peter responds, “…we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God.” Faith based upon truth produces conviction.  These convictions are a solid foundation upon which to build a meaningful life.  We can live by these convictions and we can die by them.  Thou art the Christ (the Messiah and so the savior of the world) and the Son of God (deity, the Second Person of the godhead).  The apostles’ faith was deeply grounded in two immutable truths that secured their redemption and hope.
The Resolution
Any question Jesus asked must be resolved.  Truth leads to absolute knowledge and removes all doubt.  It produces resolve.  Only you–resolves who we will listen to and who we will follow.  Follow indicates relationship and resolves meaning and purpose.  Faith resolves identity.  We believe and are sure.  Believers live by faith.  Eternal life resolves the future.  Christians know where they are headed and how to get there.  At the brink of a New Year, we would be wise to consider Jesus’ question for ourselves.  Resolving to follow Jesus gives us meaning, purpose, identity and destiny.

Is everyone awake?  The apostle Paul used the word awake in a metaphorical sense in I Cor. 15:33-34.  “Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.  Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame.”  Paul used the Greek word eknēphō which refers to a return to soberness of mind from the stupor consequent upon the influence of false doctrine.  The context shows that the false doctrine being taught at Corinth was that there was no resurrection from the dead (I Cor. 15:12).  Paul thoroughly answers this false doctrine in I Corinthians 15 showing the disastrous spiritual consequences of such a doctrine.
Stop Being Seduced
In I Cor. 15:33, Paul issues a negative imperative.  The KJV translates this phrase, “be not deceived.”  Paul commands that they cease to err, no longer be led astray, or stop being seduced. False doctrine seduces and deceives.  Evil communications is a direct reference to the associations, intercourse, or company that is kept with false teachers with whom they have become closely bound.  The warning is against allowing false teachers to influence their thought and their actions.  False doctrine corrupts godly character.  When truth is corrupted, character is corrupted (sin abounds).  The doctrine of the resurrection affirms life after death.  At death, the soul is separated from the body (James 2:26). When Jesus died, His body was placed in a tomb and His spirit/soul went to paradise (Luke 23:43; 23:53).  When He was resurrected, His soul and body were reunited (a miracle).  The doctrine of the resurrection implies the intermediate state of the soul.  This also indicates that human beings are a duality–body and soul.  Consequently, the doctrine of the resurrection proves that we have a soul.  The soul of man never dies.  To deny the resurrection, is to affirm a materialistic view of human anthropology.  It is the view of the atheist who affirms, “Let us eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we die.”  An atheist does not believe that there is any life beyond the grave and so advances a philosophy of hedonism.  This belief produces a spiritual stupor from which we must awake if we are going to be right with God.
Awake to Righteousness
Awake is a positive imperative.  The Greek word translated awake is found only here in the New Testament.  The word means to become sober.  It is used metaphorically in this context.  False doctrine inebriates the mind and causes a spiritual stupor or intoxication that puts us to sleep (unaware, ignorant, vulnerable).  The knowledge of God enlightens the mind and arouses us out of this stupor.  Awaking to righteousness is accomplished by turning to God and the truth.  Righteousness is truth lived out in godly conduct.  Righteous conduct is defined by God through the moral and religious precepts given in His Word.  Truth produces moral power and godly character.  Paul rebukes the brethren at Corinth because some did not have the knowledge of God.  This reminds us of a similar rebuke that Jesus gave to the Sadducees because they denied the resurrection from the dead (Matt. 22:29).  Jesus told them that they erred not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God.  Ignorance of God and His truth contributes to spiritual stupor.  The knowledge of God is essential to awaken us to righteousness.  Paul states, “I speak this to your shame.”  They permitted false teachers to deceive them.  All false teachers and those who follow them are ignorant.  They rejected the doctrine of the resurrection thus denying the fact that they had a soul and their own salvation.  They corrupted themselves in ungodly living.
Awake to righteousness is a positive imperative that powerfully leads to overcoming false doctrine by adhering to the truth of God’s Word.  False doctrine seduces the soul and corrupts the whole person.  The knowledge of God is essential to righteousness living.  This is a message that all people need to hear and heed.

A contemporary commercial from Spectrum uses a variety of descriptive terms to indicate words that are vain, empty and meaningless.  Words like:  hooey, balderdash, flimflam, flapdoodle, jibber-jabber, hemming and hawing, and hogwash.  Hooey is nonsense.  Balderdash is senseless talk or writing.  Flimflam is “deceptive nonsense.” Flapdoodle is nonsense, silly or stupid.  Jibber-jabber is senseless talk.  Hemming and hawing is to speak in an evasive, vague way to avoid the truth.  Hogwash is nonsense.  The terms are colorful and make a distinctive point.
In the New Testament, there are a variety of descriptive terms and phrases that indicate false doctrine.  Since all false doctrine is untrue, it is meaningless and vain.  What follows is a survey of some of these terms.
The traditions and commandments of men.  “But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition?” And, “But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men” (Matt. 15:3,9.  See also, Col. 2:8 and 22).  In religious conduct and action, it is vain to follow the traditions and commandments of men.  Vain worship is the result of such blindness.
Vain jangling.  “Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned: From which some having swerved have turned aside unto vain jangling” (I Tim. 1:5-6).  Vain jangling is foolish talking.  When a person attempts to teach another person what they themselves do not understand, the result is vain jangling.
Blasphemy.  Paul speaks of Hymenaeus and Alexander whom he delivered to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme (I Tim. 1:20).  To blaspheme is to speak against God or that which is holy.  Paul, before his conversion, describes himself as a blasphemer (I Tim. 1:13).  At the time, Paul did not believe that Jesus Christ was the Son of God.  He spoke against Christianity and persecuted the Lord’s church.
Seducing spirits and doctrines of devils.  “Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils” (I Tim. 4:1).  Seducing spirits are working through men who are filled with hypocrisy and speak lies.  Lies are pure vanity or hogwash.  Lies cannot save.  Only the truth saves!  Doctrines of devils describes the source and content of the lies delivered by men.  Satan himself is the father of lies (John 8:44).  When men lie, they do the work of the devil and his cohorts.
Lies.  “Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron” (I Tim. 4:2).  Some examples of lies:  (1) the first lie in the Bible, Satan said to Eve, “Ye shall not surely die” (Gen. 3:4); (2)  Hymenaeus and Philetus taught that the resurrection is past already and overthrew the faith of some (II Tim. 2:17-18); (3) Some Jewish Christians were teaching that Gentiles had to be circumcised and keep the Law of Moses which was not true (Acts 15:1, 24).  The apostles and elders wrote a letter to be distributed among the Gentile churches which, in part, said, “Forasmuch as we have heard, that certain which went out from us have troubled you with words, subverting your souls, saying, Ye must be circumcised, and keep the law: to whom we gave no such commandment” (Acts 15:24).  Yet, there are still religious teachers today who affirm that Gentiles have to keep the law of Moses (the Ten Commandments are part of the Law of Moses).  The Mosaical Law was fulfilled by Jesus Christ and, upon His death on the cross, a new law or testament went into force (Col. 2:14; Heb. 9:15-17).  Today, we are living under the law of Christ, not the law of Moses. All men are amenable to the law of Christ (Matt. 28:18-20).
Profane and old wives’ fables.  “But refuse profane and old wives’ fables, and exercise thyself rather unto godliness” (I Tim. 4:7).  The word “fable” is translated from the Greek word muthos.  A fable or myth is an account that does not align with the facts.  It is not grounded in historical reality. Hence, it is the opposite of the truth. These fables are profane, i.e. without sacred merit.  Superstitious stories such as are told by old women to children.  Timothy was to avoid these and reject them.
Profane and vain babblings.  “O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and opposition of science falsely so called: which some professing have erred concerning the faith. Grace be with thee. Amen” (I Tim. 6:20).  Profane babblings are worldly chatter or godless speaking.  Timothy is to hold to the gospel of Christ and not forsake it for such flapdoodle.
Oppositions from science falsely so-called.  This phrase does not refer to modern science as we know it.  The word “science” in this sense is not found in the New Testament.  Rather, this phrase refers to those who claimed a knowledge inaccessible to others (proto-Gnostics). This type of knowledge was a “falsely named” ideology.  It was not knowledge at all.  If you do not know the truth, you do not know anything. All false doctrine is classified as ignorance and is part of the darkness of this world.  Only the knowledge of God will dispel this darkness (I Cor. 15:33-34).
Folly.  In a list of nineteen sins which would characterize the last days (Christian Age), Paul names folly or senselessness.  These men were without understanding.  Consequently, they opposed the truth as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses.  The content of their teaching was flimflam.
Fables and Jewish fables.  Paul warns Timothy of Christians who would be turned away from the truth unto fables (II Tim. 4:4).  In Titus 1:14, he warns against Jewish fables.  As we have already seen, a fable is a myth and does not comport with the truth.  Jewish fables were likely stories based upon perversions of the Old Testament incidents. A current illustration of a myth would be Darwin’s theory of the origin of humanity or organic evolution.
Philosophy, vain deceit, rudiments of this world.  “Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ” (Col. 2:8).  Worldly systems of philosophy must be rejected.  Acts 17:18 mentions Epicureans and Stoics at Athens.  These men were materialistic deists and pantheists.  Epicureans sought happiness through serene detachment.  Stoics sought salvation by aligning the will with the inherent Reason of the universe.  Happiness results when one does not want things to be anything but what they are.  Both forms of philosophy missed the truth of the gospel of Christ.  Paul called them to repentance in Acts 17:30.
Vain deceit is another way of describing lies.  The rudiments of the world were delusive speculations of Gentile cults and Jewish theories treated as elemental principles.  Both were devoid of truth.  A modern illustration of worldly rudiments would be the belief that the arrangment of constellations at the time of one’s birth makes you behave in a certain way or display certain characteristics.  This is a form of determinism and superstition.  It is pure hooey!
All of these words and phrases denote information that is contrary to the truth.  None of these things can save a person’s soul from eternal damnation.  Only the blood of Christ saves from the wrath of God (Rom. 5:8-9).  Jesus is the truth (John 14:6).  The doctrine of Christ frees the soul from the servitude of sin (John 8:32).  True freedom is found only in Christ and His truth.