Basic Biblical Principles 8

   Words are important. We use words to communicate with each other. That communication can be faulty if we do not understand the meaning of the words that we use. Today, many biblical words are used improperly or are used so routinely that we forget what the real meaning is. I want to mention some of them and discuss their proper usage.

  church

   The word church comes from a Greek word meaning “the called out”. It refers to a group of people, a congregation. Many people use the word to refer to the building where a church meets. While this may not do any real harm, it is still not correct. We need to make sure that we understand what the church is and teach that to our children.

   We also need to remember whose church it is. Matthew 16:18 tells us that the church belongs to Jesus.

   When studying the bible it is important to understand that the word church is used both in a local sense (a congregation) and in a global sense (the church as a whole). We can tell which sense is being used by examining the context of the usage.

  pastor

   This word is severely misused in the denominational world. The Greek word translated “pastor” actually means “shepherd”. The words “shepherd”, “pastor”, “bishop”, and “presbyter” all refer to the office of “overseer” as described in 1Timothy 3 and as “elder” in Titus 1. Many denominations combine the roles of evangelist and elder into one office that they call “pastor”. While these may be good, dedicated men (and in some cases: women), they often do not meet the biblical requirements of the office. Also, they often serve as a the sole leader of their congregation. The bible clearly indicates that there must be two or more elders for a congregation.

  minister

   This word comes from the Greek word for a public servant. A minister is a worker for the church. We should all be serving in the role of minister.

  evangelist

   An evangelist is someone who preaches the gospel, either in a public way, through sermons, or privately, through personal bible study.

  saint

   The word “saint” has come to mean someone who has reached a superior level of righteousness. In fact all, who have put on their Lord Jesus Christ in baptism and are living true to His word, are saints.

  Sabbath

   The Sabbath is the sixth day of the week, on which God rested from His creation. It is Saturday, not Sunday.

  clergy/laity

   In many denominations there are of two levels of Christianity: the clergy, who are ordained and the laity, who are non-ordained. This is an invention of man, there is no such division described in the bible.

  priest/priesthood

   In some denominations there is a separate priesthood to act as a go-between man and God. This was the way of the Old Law. When Christ established His church, He made us all priests. See 1 Peter 2:5 and 9. We now have direct access to God, through prayer. Jesus is, of course, our High Priest.

  Reverend, Father, etc.

   Most denominations use titles to honor their “clergy”. Titles such as “Reverend” and “Father”. The bible clearly warns us about the use of titles in Matthew 23:8-10. Titles feed the ego, but humility is what God wants of us.

  amen

   Why do we say “amen” at the end of a prayer? The word means “may it be so” or “so be it”. When we say “amen” at the end of a prayer, we are affirming the thoughts of the prayer, whether it was our personal prayer or one led by someone else.

   There are probably many other words that could be included in this column, but these are the ones that came to my mind. If you have others that you would like discussed, let me know.

Steve Truman