BiblicalInsights.net

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.

Aubrey Johnson states, “It is no small matter, therefore, to modify a divinely established institution or practice” (Music Matters in the Lord’s Church, p. 58).  Johnson was addressing the attitude that some have towards the Word of God that they can modify it in order to suit them.  Consequently, they add to it or take away from it in order to support their views.
However, we cannot change what God has said and still be pleasing to God.  Mankind does not have the authority to alter God’s Word, yet, this is attempted almost daily.  There are false claims made by individuals who say that God spoke to them and gave them additional information different from God’s Word.  There are false teachers who alter the meaning of the words of the Bible and the grammatical context in order to make the Scriptures say what they want them to say rather than understanding what God meant by what God said.  Then, there are false Bibles that alter the very words of God in order to convey the doctrines that support a particular religious viewpoint.
God Has Protected His Word
God protects His word by expressing the severest penalties for altering it in any way.  The severest penalty is to be eternally damned.  Consider the following passages:
1.  Deut. 4:2, “Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you.”
2.  Deut. 12:32, “What things soever I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it.”
3.  Prov. 30:6, “Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.”
4.  Rev. 22:18-19, “For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things that are written in this book.”
God Empowers His Word
If we alter God’s Word, we render it powerless.  Unbelief results in condemnation, “He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”  The unbeliever is lost.  If we do not believe the truth, then we believe a lie and will be damned (II Thess. 2:10-12).  Altering God’s Word produces “lies” that cannot save.  God’s Word imparts life (John 6:63; James 1:18; I Pet. 1:21-23).  God’s Word saves (James 1:21).  If we alter God’s Word we change it and negate its spiritual power.
God Will Vindicate His Word
Paul states, “Let God be true and every man a liar” (Rom. 3:4).  God cannot lie (Titus 1:2; Heb. 6:18).  His Word is infallible.  To alter God’s Word is to call God a liar.  Satan did this in Gen. 3:4 when he contradicted what God had plainly stated in Gen. 2:17.  Satan added one word–the word “not.”  The statement Satan made was a lie.  Eve believed the lie, while rejecting the truth, and sinned against God.  When we call God a liar, we blaspheme.
God vindicates His Word in life.  Paul writes, “Be not deceived, God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth that shall he also reap” (Gal. 6:7).  When we choose to disobey God in this life, we will suffer the consequences of our sin.  When we obey God, we shall receive a just reward.
God vindicates His Word in judgment.  Jesus taught in John 12:48, “He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.”  This means that we must know the truth and not alter it in any way lest we be found to contradict God and fall under His condemnation.

Consider two important facts.  First, no liars will be in heaven (Rev. 21:8).  Second, no one who believes a lie to the exclusion of the truth will be in heaven (II Thess. 2:11-12).  Being deceived is not an excuse for disobeying God.  Herein lies the danger of deception.
The Deception Perpetrated By The Gibeonites.
The Gibeonites were among the Hivites who feared Israel at the beginning of the conquest of the land of Canaan by Joshua.  They disguised themselves in an elaborate way and pretended to be from a far country when, in fact, they lived in Canaan.  In Joshua 9:4-5, their elaborate disguise is recorded, “They did work wilily, and went and made as if they had been ambassadors, and took old sacks upon their asses, and wine bottles, old, and rent, and bound up; And old shoes and clouted upon their feet, and old garments upon them; and all the bread of their provision was dry and mouldy.”  They were able to deceive Israel because of this disguise.  The disguise obscured the truth about their identity and so helped with the deception.  The men of Gibeon sought a treaty of peace with Israel in order to spare the lives of their people.  God commanded Moses to utterly destroy them (Deut. 7:1-3).  Joshua was supposed to carry out this command which was the result of the justice of God against these people due to their iniquity (Gen. 15:16).
The Deception’s Success
In Joshua 9:14, we are told why the deception succeeded.  “And the men took of their victuals and asked not counsel at the mouth of the LORD.”  You cannot discern a lie without knowing the truth. You cannot know the truth without consulting the word of God.  This neglect on the part of Joshua and Israel makes them culpable for believing the lie.  They are not innocent in this matter.
The Deception’s Danger
We are vulnerable to lies when we fail to consult God’s word.  If we believe a lie, we will transgress the commandment of God.  Joshua and Israel transgressed the commandment of the LORD and failed to carry out the justice God required against the Hivites.  The result is that they entered into a covenant with the Gibeonites that God forbade and this permitted them to live among the Israelites and influence them (Num. 33:55).  “But if ye will not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you; then it shall come to pass, that those which ye let remain of them shall be pricks in your eyes, and thorns in your sides, and shall vex you in the land wherein ye dwell.  Moreover it shall come to pass, that I shall do unto you, as I thought to do unto them.”  Israel’s disobedience led to their own eventual destruction.
A sure defense against believing a lie and being damned (II Thess. 2:11-12) is to love the truth and cleave unto it.  “And ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32).