<\/p>\n
\u201cHold fast the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me, in faith and love which are in Christ Jesus<\/i>\u201d (II Timothy 1:13).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
<\/p>\n
People are able to mishandle truths such that the truths create a falsehood.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Creating Falsehoods from Truth<\/h2>\n
We have spent an entire lesson on the importance of keeping the context of a passage in mind, but it will not hurt to further emphasize the point. In the sermon on the mount, Jesus talks of several traditional beliefs the Jews held, but which had no support in the Scriptures. In Matthew 5:38, Jesus talks about the idea of vengeance. \u201cYou have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’<\/i>\u201d Though Jesus attributes the saying to traditional beliefs, the quote is from the Old Testament. It is found in several places, such as Exodus 21:22-25, Leviticus 24:19-20, and Deuteronomy 19:16-21. If you read the context of each of these passages you will see that the phrase comes from instructions to judges. When a person was found guilty of certain crimes, the punishment measured out by the judge was to be based on the damage done by the person while committing the crime. However, we can see from Jesus\u2019 comments that the Jews had taken this concept and applied it to everyday life. No longer was it just used by an impartial judge to hand down appropriate punishment. Now the idea was that if I thought you did me wrong, I was justified in doing an equal amount of wrong back to you. The Jews had taken a statement that was true in one context and created a falsehood when applying it to a different context. They ended up contradicting God\u2019s law on personal vengeance. \u201cYou shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD<\/i>\u201d (Leviticus 19:18).<\/p>\n
From the same sermon, we can see illustrated another way people create a falsehood from truth. In Matthew 5:21, Jesus again quotes from their traditional beliefs. \u201cYou have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’<\/i>\u201d The quote as a whole is not found in the Old Testament. Instead, it is a conjoining of two separate passages. \u201cYou shall not murder<\/i>\u201d is from the Ten Commandments, recorded in Exodus 20:13 and Deuteronomy 5:17. The second part, though, appears to be a loose summary of Numbers 35:29-31. \u201cAnd these things shall be a statute of judgment to you throughout your generations in all your dwellings. Whoever kills a person, the murderer shall be put to death on the testimony of witnesses; but one witness is not sufficient testimony against a person for the death penalty. Moreover you shall take no ransom for the life of a murderer who is guilty of death, but he shall surely be put to death.<\/i>\u201d Notice that the tradition Jesus quotes warns of the possibility of a trial if someone commits murder. The Old Testament talks in much firmer terms. A murderer will be brought to trial. Even prior to the Old Law, God made a covenant with mankind in the days of Noah and stated, \u201cSurely for your lifeblood I will demand a reckoning; from the hand of every beast I will require it, and from the hand of man. From the hand of every man’s brother I will require the life of man. Whoever sheds man’s blood, By man his blood shall be shed; For in the image of God He made man.<\/i>\u201d (Genesis 9:5-6). By combining a truth with a sort-of-truth, the impact of God\u2019s law was watered down, giving a false impression that if you weren\u2019t careful, you might get caught if you murdered someone.<\/p>\n
In all languages, words can take on a variety of meanings depending on the context in which they are used. For example, in English, the word \u201crow\u201d can mean a series of things, to propel by oars, or to make a lot of noise; which meaning applies depends on how the word is used. Hence, it is not surprising that error is created by applying the wrong definition of a word or phrase in a particular context. I once argued with a man who insisted \u201cChrist’s use of the word ‘whosoever,’ like that of God and Moses, referred only to the Jews of Israel – ‘whosoever’ in Old Testament Israel.\u201d He then used Leviticus 20:2, Exodus 31:15, and Leviticus 19:20-21 as proof that “whosoever” refers to the Jewish nation. Just because \u201cwhosoever\u201d referred to a limited group in one context does not imply that it retains the same limited application in all contexts.<\/p>\n
A similar mistaken argument is made with the Greek word \u201cpsallo\u201d used in Ephesians 5:19 and generally translated as \u201cmaking melody.\u201d Countless people have turned to dictionaries and read that the word means \u201cto play a stringed instrument.\u201d The dictionaries are closed and they proclaim, \u201cSee, the Bible allows the use of musical instruments!\u201d The problem is that was the meaning of psallo in classical Greek. If they had continued to read the dictionary, they would have learned that by the days in which the Septuagint translation was composed, the meaning of psallo had morphed into \u201cto sing with a harp or to sing psalms.\u201d Then just a bit further you find that by the days of the New Testament the word had changed further to mean \u201cto sing a hymn or sing praise.\u201d By applying the classical Greek meaning of a word to its New Testament usage, people have taken two truths to create an erroneous position.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Falsehoods created by taking Truth out of order<\/h2>\n
Just because one idea follows from another, it does not imply you may reverse the order. For example, this is a true statement: \u201cIf Jim was President of the United States, then he was over 35 years old.\u201d It is true because the Constitution of the United States requires Presidents to be over the age of 35. However, the following reversal is not true: \u201cIf Jim was over 35 years old, then he was President of the United States.\u201d A lot of people have passed the age of 35 without becoming President.<\/p>\n
When a statement is expressed in the form of an \u201cif\u201d … \u201cthen\u201d, the part between the \u201cif\u201d and the \u201cthen\u201d is called the premise of the statement. The part that comes after the \u201cthen\u201d is called the conclusion of the statement. Just because the premise of a statement leads to a certain conclusion, it does not imply that the conclusion will lead to the premise.<\/p>\n
A form of this unreasonable reasoning is when a person appeals to the consequence of an action to justify (or reject) the action. \u201cSince good comes from X; therefore, X is true.\u201d Or, \u201csince bad comes from X; therefore, X is false.\u201d The Salvation Army is a religion built on the idea that God expects Christians to aid the less fortunate, which is true. But they then proceed to accomplish that end by a variety of means. To members of this denomination, it doesn\u2019t matter how good is accomplished, so long as the end is reached. The liberal movement within the church has done much the same. In the 1950’s it was argued that orphans needed caring. James 1:27 is proof that God views it as a Christian\u2019s duty. Hence, they concluded that any means may be used to reach that goal because the goal is good.<\/p>\n
The extra difficulty in dealing with these types of issues is that a lot of emotion can be generated by keeping everyone\u2019s attention focused on the outcome. When emotions ride high, few are inclined to reason out whether God would be pleased.<\/p>\n
Nadab and Abihu essentially reasoned in this manner. Incense need to be offered before God, so they wrongly concluded that it didn\u2019t matter how the offering was conducted, so long as the goal was reached. They harshly learned that God wants obedience in all that He commands (Leviticus 10:1-3). God told Moses and Aaron, \u201cBy those who come near Me I must be regarded as holy; and before all the people I must be glorified.<\/i>\u201d When man decides how to accomplish God\u2019s will, it is man who is glorified and not God.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Falsehoods created by shifting quantities<\/h2>\n
A times facts are made to appear as related ideas by subtle shifts in the quantities involved. Perhaps it is best to show with an illustration. \u201cAll whales are mammals. Some fish are not whales. Therefore, some fish are mammals.\u201d The conclusion is false because it was never proven that whales are fish. The two statements are actually independent facts, so they cannot be joined to create another truth.<\/p>\n
These particular mis-reasonings are often difficult to spot because of the shifting quantities. We went from \u201call whales\u201d to \u201csome fish.\u201d The added complication interferes with analyzing the statements.<\/p>\n
Another example is found in the statement, \u201cEveryone loves someone; therefore, there is someone whom everyone loves.\u201d The falsehood is created by assuming that only one person is being loved in the first portion of the statement. Everyone can love someone, but multiple objects of affection can be involved.<\/p>\n
The same error is made in the use of Romans 5:12, \u201cTherefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned.<\/i>\u201d Many read this statement and assume that there is one sin of which everyone is considered guilty. The verse does not state there is only one type of sin involved, yet many assume that Adam\u2019s sin is inherited by his descendants. This is particularly amazing since Paul points out that everyone sins and then a few lines later states, \u201cNevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses,\u00a0even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come<\/i>\u201d (Romans 5:14). Paul is talking about all sins and not a single sin which everyone inherits.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPrior Chapter\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tKeys to Understanding\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNext Chapter\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Misuse of Truth \u201cHold fast the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me, in faith and love which are in Christ Jesus\u201d (II Timothy 1:13). People are able to mishandle truths such that the truths create a falsehood. Creating Falsehoods from Truth We have spent an entire lesson…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":827,"menu_order":10,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-922","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":42884,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/jesus-and-the-pharisees\/the-pharisees-and-personal-retaliation\/","url_meta":{"origin":922,"position":0},"title":"The Pharisees and Personal Retaliation","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 4, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"The Pharisees and Personal Retaliation The Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:38-42) The question has been \"Who actually honors the Law?\" The accusation that Jesus came to destroy the Law was not true. What we are seeing is how Jesus upholds the righteousness of the Law in contrast to the\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":7172,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/the-sermon-on-the-mount\/revenge\/","url_meta":{"origin":922,"position":1},"title":"Revenge (Sermon on the Mount)","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 8, 2003","format":false,"excerpt":"Revenge Reading Assignment: Matthew 5:38-42 Did you understand what you read? The quotation that Jesus gives can be found in the Old Testament. Where can it be found? Look at the context of the verses that you found. What is the meaning of the phrase? Who was supposed to use\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":22994,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/a-study-of-john\/nicodemus-visits-jesus\/","url_meta":{"origin":922,"position":2},"title":"Nicodemus Visits Jesus","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 27, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Nicodemus Visits Jesus Text: John 3:1-21 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Nicodemus came to Jesus one night \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0He was a ruler of the Jews, meaning that he held a seat on the Sanhedrin council, the group which served as Israel\u2019s Supreme court. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Coming by night shows his interest in Jesus, but also his fear of\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":25761,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/learning-to-teach\/persuading-the-student\/","url_meta":{"origin":922,"position":3},"title":"Persuading the Student","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 7, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Persuading the Student \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0How a lesson is presented will impact how it is received. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Paul made himself a slave to men\u2019s expectations - I Corinthians 9:19-23 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a01.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0People have expectations what religious people are like. It is often best not to violate those beliefs while teaching the truth. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0a.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Expectations of\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":16890,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/the-gospel-accounts-a-chronological-harmony\/the-sermon-on-the-mount-revenge\/","url_meta":{"origin":922,"position":4},"title":"The Sermon on the Mount: Revenge","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 18, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"The Sermon on the Mount: Revenge Reading Assignment: Matthew 5:38-42 Did you understand what you read? Where can this quotation be found in the Old Testament? (Hint: It appears several times.) Look at the context of the passages you found. What is the meaning of the phrase as used? Who\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3405,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/the-revelation-given-to-john\/the-message-to-the-church-in-pergamum\/","url_meta":{"origin":922,"position":5},"title":"The Message to the Church in Pergamum","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 16, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"The Message to the Church in Pergamum Revelation 2:12-17 The city of Pergamum was the capital of the Asian province for a short period before the capital was moved to Ephesus. Estimated population about 200,000. It was here that parchment was invented. Being the capital, it was the center of\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"Pergamum","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Pergamum.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Pergamum.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Pergamum.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Pergamum.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/922","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=922"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/922\/revisions"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/827"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=922"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}