Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.
Truth to Learn
Don’t believe everything you hear being taught about the Bible.
Behind the Words
The Greek word translated “deceive” is apataō, which means “to deceive” or “to seduce into error.” This word and a compound of it (exapataō) are used in the description of the trickery that Satan used on Adam and Eve in 1Timothy 2:14 and 2Corinthians 11:3. The word is expressed here in the imperative mood, indicating a command. Again, note that the word “let” does not refer to permitting something to happen, it is a command of what not to do.
“Empty” is from kenos, meaning “empty” or “hollow.” Metaphorically, it refers to that in which there is no truth.
“Wrath” is from the word orgē, which we saw back in Ephesians 4:26, where it was translated “angry.” The Greek word refers to “excitement of the mind” and generally refers to the inner emotion, although it is also sometimes used of the outward display of that emotion as in Revelation 19:15.
Apeitheia is the Greek word translated “disobedience.” It is a compound word made up of the negative particle a and a form of peithō, meaning “to persuade” or “to convince.” This word here refers to those people who have not been persuaded or convinced of the truth of the Gospel, they do not believe. Because of their lack of belief, they do not obey (or even recognize) God’s authority over them. Therefore, they are called “sons of disobedience.” This could just as well be translated as “sons of disbelief.”
Meaning Explained
During the early years of the church, just as today, Satan was actively at work trying to deceive true believers. In Paul’s day there were those in the church who taught that since we are saved by grace and our salvation is secured by the seal of the Holy Spirit, we can sin all we want. In fact, they said, by indulging in sinful pleasures we make God’s grace even greater. Paul was responding to this philosophy when he wrote,
What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? May it not be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it? (Romans 6:1-2)
These philosophers were not outside the church, openly attacking the flock, they were false teachers within the church in positions of authority, delivering great sounding messages cleverly designed to deceive. As I’ve said before, don’t blindly believe everything you hear from a preacher. Whether he’s in the pulpit of your own church, on television, on the radio, on the internet, or on the street corner, check what is being proclaimed against what the Bible actually says. If something doesn’t sound quite right, it probably isn’t. Check it out, do your own study, and dig for the truth like gold.
We all like to think of our Heavenly Father as a God of love, which He is, but He is also described as a God of wrath. Here we see one such example. It is true that He is not willing (desirous) that any should perish (2Peter 3:9), but those people who reject His offer of salvation will experience His wrath firsthand. For those of us who are saved, God has forgiven all of our sins (past, present and future), but each one we commit adds just a little more torture to Jesus’ experience on the cross.
Application
If you are truly saved then you will want to resist sinning and you will be sorry when you do sin. So – if you can sin without guilt, then you had better check, because you may not have God’s seal of ownership. Are you truly sealed?
In God's service, for His glory,
Copyright © 2015 Will Krause. All rights reserved