In A Word: Beware!
In A Word: Beware!
CAUTION. In this era of amazing advances in technology, there are sometimes unexpected consequences that turn out to be harmful to our Christian faith. One of these harmful improvements is the flood of believers who read scripture online, on the smart phone, on the computer screen. I’m convinced there should be a warning label on every one of the online Bibles… CAUTION: SKIM AT YOUR OWN RISK. So many of us now read the Word like we would read our emails or social media or the daily news. We skim the material hurriedly, superficially, carelessly. We skim the Scripture. Skim-reading the Bible doesn’t really bury the seed very deeply, of course. And in our skimming, we would be more likely to just skip over an important word or phrase without thinking, a word that could be vital to the whole passage. The fact is, the Bible is full of single words or short phrases that are too important to simply gloss over as if it wasn’t there. There are times in the Word when single words are intended to feed us, nourish our faith, stimulate us to think at a deeper level about the biblical text.
There are single words in Scripture that are like stop signs asking us to stop and consider carefully, to pause before moving forward in the reading. This series on my blog will try to unpack some of these power-packed words or phrases in Scripture… Words like: Behold; Rejoice; Truly; Woe; Blessed; Beware; Come; If. And I will attempt to also explore the meanings of some short phrases that are single words in the original biblical language, such as “Himeni” (Here I am); “Shema” (Listen and Do’); “Splagchnizonai” (deeply moved with compassion); “pistence” (Believe); “prosechete” (Beware!); and “kal-v’chomer” (How much more). If it is poetically possible to “see a world in a grain of sand, and a heaven in a wildflower, and hold infinity in the palm of your hand, and eternity in an hour,” as William Blake once imagined, then certainly we readers of Scripture can find a world of meaning in a single word, we can grasp something profound in a simple phrase.
Beware! Watch Out! Take Heed! Jesus wasn’t afraid to give fair warning to His disciples. He openly declared to His listeners to Watch out! Be careful! Beware! Be on your guard! Take Heed! Keep alert! Pay attention to this! Be careful! Jesus would warn his disciples about various dangers in the world, important things that would be dangerous to their faith in Him. He said to “Watch Out and Beware” at least as much as He said to “Fear Not.” In fact, there are three different Greek words used by Jesus in the gospels to say the same thing… Beware! (Proschete); Take Heed! (Blepete); and Watch Out! (Horate). As John Newton said in his hymn of Amazing Grace, there are “many dangers, toils and snares” in the Christian life, and Jesus taught about their importance as we continue to follow Him.
Religious Pride and Self-Righteousness. “Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees’… Then they understood that He did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” (Matthew 16:6, 12).
Adulation and Esteem. “Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.” (Matthew 6:1-2).
False Prophets and Deceptive Teachers. “Watch out for false prophets! They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. By their fruit you will recognize them.” (Matthew 7:15).
Irresponsible Lifestyle and Worry. “Be careful! Watch out! Don’t let your hearts be dulled by carousing and drunkenness, and by the worries of this life. Don’t let that Day catch you unawares, like a trap. For that Day will come upon everyone living on the earth. Keep alert at all times.” (Luke 21:34-35).
Careless Listening and Closed Minds. “Take heed! Be careful! Pay close attention to what you hear! Be diligent to understand the meaning behind everything you listen to. For the closer you listen, the more understanding you will be given. The measure of thought and study you give to the truth you hear will be the measure of virtue and knowledge that come back to you. And according to the depth of your longing to understand, much more will be added to you. For, those who listen with open hearts will receive more revelation. Those who are not listening, even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them. Those who don’t listen with open hearts will lose what little they think they have!” (Mark 4:23-25).
Greed and Materialism. “Beware! Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own; it does not consist in the abundance of possessions.” (Luke 12:15-21).
Unawareness and Poorly Prepared. “Be on your guard! Beware! You will be handed over to the local councils and be flogged in the synagogues. On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles. But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say.” (Matthew 10:17-19).
Arrogance regarding Children. “Watch out! ,Be on your guard that you do not despise, disdain, or look down arrogantly upon one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven.” (Matthew 18:10).
Intellectual Snobbery. “Beware of those scribes, and watch out for the teachers of the law! They like to walk around in flowing robes and be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets.” (Mark 12:38-39, Luke 20:46).
Hypocrisy and Dishonesty. “Beware! Be[a] on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs.” (Luke 12:1-3).
Easily Misled and Fooled. “Take heed! Watch out that you are not deceived. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and, ‘The time is near.’ Do not follow them.” (Luke 21:8).
Correct and Forgive. “Take heed! Be on the alert! If you see your Christian friend going the wrong way, warn him, correct him, take him to task. If he responds and repents, forgive him. Even if it’s personal against you and repeated seven times through the day, and seven times he says, ‘I’m sorry, I won’t do it again,’ forgive him.” (Luke 17:3).
Severe Judgment of Others and Unteachable Hearts. “Take heed and weigh this carefully: Pay attention to what you hear! The same rules you use to judge others will be used by God to judge you—but with even greater severity. The measures you use for others will be the measures you get from God! (And here’s another way of thinking about it). By your own standard of measurement, that is, to the extent that you study spiritual truth and apply godly wisdom, it will be measured to you, and you will be given even greater ability to respond. And more will be given to you besides. For whoever has a teachable heart, to him more understanding will be given; and whoever does not have a yearning for truth, even what he has will be taken away from him.” (Mark 4:24-26).