Often, Bible teachers and preachers equate things that are different.
For example,
They equate biblical purity to not committing sexual sins. Yet, “purity” does not mean that. It means
"free from the admixture or adhesion of anything that soils, adulterates, corrupts"
"unmixed (without undesirable elements)"
Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament. 2024.
It covers way more than sexual sins. When leaders limit its definition to sexual sins only, the listeners may only consider these sins and not the many others.
Equating repenting with turning away from sins. "Repent"
"is primarily used in the New Testament to denote a profound change of mind and heart, often associated with turning away from sin and turning towards God."
Strong's Lexicon. 2024.
Repentance is associated with turning away from sin. Repentance causes turning away from sin, but it is different. An analogy. Bad manners cause friends to turn away from you. But the two are not the same.
Luke 3:8A KJV
[8] Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance,
Repentance causes fruits. Fruits come after repentance.
These two examples are what came to mind first. There are many more.
Those who equate different things probably do not do it on purpose, most of the time. But they do not read the Bible carefully, to understand it correctly. Instead, their biases affect their understanding, and cause misunderstanding. This leads people to false beliefs. So be careful about this when being taught the Bible.
Comments