The word for manslayer (androphonos) is used once in the New Testament. That place is 1 Tim. 1:9, where the apostle Paul is describing one of the uses of the law. In this sense, the law is not for a righteous man, but rather to restrain the lawless and disobedient. Among a list of other …
When Normal is Odd
A word for excess (anachusis) is used once in the New Testament (1 Peter 4:4). The apostle Peter refers to the lives of unbelieving Gentiles, given over to lust, drunkenness, revelings, parties, and living this way in “excess of riot,” they believe that living moderately is just plain strange. Living reasonably is the most unreasonable …
False Doctrine Digs Tunnels
The word anatrepo is used in the New Testament twice. It is translated once as “overthrow” (2 Tim. 2:18), and another time as “subvert” (Tit.1:11). In the first instance, the canker from Hymenaeus and Philetus said that resurrection was already past, and this was sufficient to overthrow the faith of some. In the second instance, …
Once for All
A word that literally means “to recrucify” is anastauroo, and is only used once in the New Testament. There the apostle Paul says that those Christians who return to the sacrificial system in Jerusalem are those who “crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh.” So “crucify afresh” is the unusual rendering — because in …
Real Trouble
St. Paul wishes, in a moment of ferocity, that the false teachers at Galatia, who were so zealous for circumcision, would stop messing around with half-measures and cut the whole thing off (Gal. 5:12). The reason he had for desiring this is that they were troubling (anastatoo) the church there. Judging from the two other …
Protecting the Defenseless
“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16: 11) Growing Dominion, Part 144 “Remove not the old landmark; and enter not into the fields of the fatherless: for their redeemer is mighty; he shall plead their cause with thee” (Prov. 23:10-11). The world of property, fields, and assets is a world which …
The Sin of Soul Subversion
We now come to the sin of subversion. The edict from the Jerusalem council, seeking to reassure the Gentile Christians, said that certain men who claimed to be representing the thought of the church leaders were actually just troubling people and subverting (anaskeuadzo) souls (Acts 15:24). The way they were doing this was through insisting …
Trying to Make Natural Revelation Convenient
If something is inexcusable, we mean that it is really bad. The Greek word for this is anapologetos, and the apostle Paul uses it twice — once in Romans 1 and another time in Romans 2. In the first instance, he says that those who live lives of moral defiance, in the light of what …
Trying to Spin the Curse
The word anathema means cursed or damned. And of course, because God is just, this condemnation does not occur apart from sin — it is the natural and necessary condition that results from sin. Those who plotted against Paul’s life wickedly placed themselves under a great curse (Acts 23:14), vowing that they would eat nothing …
The Problem is in the Other Guy
The word impenitent refers to a sinner who has the bit in his teeth. The word (amentanoetos) occurs once (Rom. 2:5), and refers to a heart that is both hard and impenient, as seen best in someone who condemns in others what he himself does. In this context, this is a high form of impenitence …