"The Right Dictionary"

“The Right Dictionary”

One of the leaders of our church’s men’s group regularly sends out updates with information about coming events, the discussion topic for the next meeting and prayer needs. He usually includes a brief thought and nugget from Scripture as well. Recently he wrote, “We’re all entitled to our own opinion but not our own facts.” I don’t remember the context of these words but as I’ve thought about them I realized they can fit into many areas of life including politics, economics and even faith.

In an episode of “Hogan’s Heroes”, one of my all-time favorite TV shows, a German propaganda officer was planning a radio program when a colleague asked how much time would be needed for the military report. The answer: “It can be as long or as short as we want. We’re making it up anyway!” We may find this amusing in a sitcom but the twisting of real life facts to fit a particular agenda is misleading and dangerous. So before buying into what we read or hear we’d best make sure the sources are accurate, reliable and unbiased. (For other thoughts on this theme see “Check It Out” and “Coronavirus”.)

A major problem for the first century church was false teaching which arose in opposition to the truth surrounding Christ and His work. The New Testament epistles addressed these distortions and cautioned the believers, “Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings.” (Hebrews 13:9). This and similar warnings are as relevant today as they were when they were written. In his helpful analysis of 2 Peter, 2 and 3 John and Jude in his “Be” series entitled Be Alert Pastor and Author Warren Wiersbe states, “False teachers use our vocabulary, but they do not use our dictionary.” Some today redefine biblical terms to mean something God never intended. So before accepting what anyone says follow the example of the believers in Berea who “…received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.” (Acts 17:11, emphasis added).

The Bible consists of 66 books written over about 1500 years by some 40 authors moved by the Holy Spirit (see 2 Peter 1:20-21) conveying one consistent message. It’s been maligned, belittled and threatened with destruction but it’s stood the test and remains the all-time best-selling Book. Surprising? Not really (“Your word, O Lord, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens.”—Psalm 119:89; “…the word of the Lord stands forever.”—1 Peter 1:25). Let’s let it be its own (and right) dictionary for what we believe and how we live.

Grace and Blessings!

Jim McMillan