LANGUAGE OF ASHDOD

by Dave Brown

There is nothing inherently sinful about the use of decent words, and we must be quite careful not to become sick (doting) "about questionings and disputes about words” (1 Tim. 6:4). On the other hand, Nehemiah was greatly distressed when he saw that "their children spoke half in the speech of Ashdod, and could not speak in the Jews’ language" (Nehemiah 13:24).

There were spiritual words and terms within the Jews’ language that had no counterpart in Ashdod. Without knowing the Jew's language, there were certain spiritual concepts about the true and living God that just could not be communicated. In fact, an attempt to substitute pagan religious terms might communicate the very opposite of that intended.

Language is the means by which we communicate thought. It is also the way that God has chosen to communicate His will to us today. If we arbitrarily change the meaning of bible words, we cannot expect that we will be able to understand what the Holy Spirit intended when He inspired the writers (2 Pet. 1: 20-21).

The world has so twisted the use of many bible words that we are often at a loss to communicate spiritual thoughts with them. For examples, we hear of fellowship dinners, fellowship halls, fellowship parties; Christian colleges, Christian student centers, Christian old-folks homes; youth ministries, bus ministries, and music ministries.

Is it wrong to use these words in this way? Not inherently. However, if there is intent to imply biblical authority for unscriptural things, this is deception. But, if there is no such intent, we wonder why these words are used in this way?

The word fellowship is never used to refer to a common meal, a recreation hall or any type of party in the bible. The word Christian is never used as an adjective in the bible. The word ministry is never found in the bible with an adjective restricting its type.

But there is a much more subtle demon at work here. For, if we are in the habit of misusing these words, we cannot begin to understand the depth of their true biblical meanings: fellowship (the same Greek word as communion), Christian (a name that should not be used frivolously), and ministry (spiritual service).

This article is not about the misuse of just these three words. We could talk about many others; for example, rapture, church, praise, faith, grace, work, and baptism. Rarely are these (and many other) bible words used by the denominational religious world with their most common biblical meanings. The net result is that our ability to communicate using these words is greatly hindered, if not made impossible.

"Use bible words in bible ways" is not just a gimmick; it is essential to avoiding the language of Ashdod, and it is essential to our understanding God's will. It requires us to study the use of words and terms in the bible, and then to do our best to use them consistently with their bible usage.