Page 23 - Discipleship Ministries Student E-Book

end is worse with them than the beginning.” Then they’ll say, “You see, you can escape the pollutions,
you can have the knowledge of the Lord and Savior, and you can fall and become entangled, and your
latter end is worse than before you believed. You see, you can lose your salvation.”

If you trace it back to 2:1 you’ll see that this verse is talking about false prophets who follow the
doctrines of demons. You cannot use the verse to say that you can lose your salvation, because that is
not its context. In fact, Paul has a word for those who do this. In 2 Corinthians 2:17 he says, “For we are
not as many, who corrupt the word of God.” The Greek word for corrupt is kapelos, which basically had
to do with selling something in the marketplace deceitfully; selling a product that really wasn’t what it
was claimed to be, or falsifying. Paul said that there are some who falsify the Word of God; they corrupt
it to fit their own thoughts.

This is a tremendous temptation to pastors who prepare sermons on a passage. They may accurately
tell the congregation what the verse says, but then try to “bend” the application of the verse to fit a
special need in the church. The commentary on the application of a verse may be three times longer
that the commentary on what the verse is actually saying. Allow the Holy Spirit to guide the application
of Scripture to those who are hearing it!
Also Avoid Superficial interpretations.
As you study the Bible to learn what it says, don’t be superficial. Some people will say, “Well, I think this
verse means—” or, “What does this verse mean to you?” As we said in the introduction to this lesion,
unfortunately, a lot of Bible studies are nothing but a pooling of ignorance; a lot of people sitting around
telling what they don’t know about the verse. Have someone lead the study who has carefully studied
the passage and can explain with great detail its actual meaning. Then let the group discuss the
application of the truth to their lives. But don’t give them the opportunity of sharing ignorance.

Principle #7

Understanding the Original Languages

We speak English, but the Bible was written in Hebrew and Greek, and a few parts in Aramaic (which is
like Hebrew). So, we have a language gap that must be bridged, otherwise, we won’t fully be able to
understand the Scripture. For example, in 1 Corinthians 4:1 the apostle Paul says, “Let a man so account
of us, as of the ministers of Christ.” Now that sounds great, Paul; you’re a minister of Christ. When we
think of the English word minister, we think of a prime minister or the minister of defense. A minister is
an elevated position; it’s a dignified term. But the Greek word is huperetes, which means a third-level
galley slave on a ship. Paul said that when the record goes in for him, let it be said that he was nothing
more than a third-level galley slave for Jesus Christ. You would never get that out of the English term.
Why? Because there’s a language gap.

Another example is in the book of Hebrews. When you look at the word perfection in the book (6:1;
7:11), you can get completely confused on how you comprehend Hebrews unless you understand that
perfection has to do with salvation, not spiritual maturity. That’s what you’ll find out as you study the
words and their relationships in the text. It is very important to do this. And to study the words in the
Bible, particularly in the New Testament, you should get W. E. Vine’s An Expository Dictionary of New
Testament Words (Moody Press, 1985). It’s very helpful for someone who doesn’t know Greek. You can
look up every English word, and it will tell you the Greek meaning. It will be a great help to you as a Bible
student. Also, a good concordance will help you in the study of words.

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