{"id":1778,"date":"2020-03-09T03:14:02","date_gmt":"2020-03-09T08:14:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ebcsv.com\/pa\/?p=1778"},"modified":"2020-03-09T03:16:22","modified_gmt":"2020-03-09T08:16:22","slug":"the-obligation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ebcsv.com\/pa\/the-obligation\/","title":{"rendered":"The Obligation"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"AnThe Obligation<\/h3>\n

\u201cI am under obligation both to Greek and to Barbarian\u201d Romans 1:14
\nWhen we hear the word \u201cbarbarian\u201d we immediately think of someone who is crude, rude and probably violent. When the ancients used the word barbarian it did not immediately have that connotation.
\nIt is true that by the time of the fall of the Roman Empire there was extreme violence by the barbarian hordes, however, this was not the violence of terrorist mobs- rather it was outright invasion by neighboring states that were sick and tired of Roman expansion and were set on ending it.<\/p>\n

The word \u201cbarbarian\u201d comes from the Greek word \u201cbarbarous\u201d. Barbarous is what we call an onomatopoeia- a word that sounds like what it means. Another onomatopoeia would be the word \u201cbuzz\u201d- it sounds like what it means. Essentially the word means \u201cto babel\u201d. Thus the concept behind barbarous is someone who speaks a language I can\u2019t understand.
\nThis is evident by Paul\u2019s use of the word in I Corinthians. In 1 Corinthians 14:11 Paul says: \u201cbut if I do not know the meaning of the language, I will be a foreigner (barbarous) to the speaker and the speaker will be a foreigner to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

The entire Roman Empire was united by its use of the Koine (common) Greek language as the trade language of the empire. Every people group maintained its ethnic dialects for interaction in everyday life. However, everyone learned Greek from childhood.
\nFrom the gospels, it is clear that Jesus, and most of his contemporaries, were fluent in Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek. This was common practice all over the empire.<\/p>\n

Paul\u2019s statement in Romans 1:14 implies that it is right and proper for Christians to translate Scripture into various languages so that each people group can read Scripture for themselves. It also implies that as language evolves and changes it is proper to contemporize its message into language that is understandable by that generation.<\/p>\n

In the last decades there has been a lot of well-meaning push back by conservative Christians against new translations of Scripture. They argue for the use of the old KJV as a matter of conviction fearing that God\u2019s Word is being changed in these new translations.
\nNow, to be sure, there are many new translations that are sloppy at the least and downright deceptive at the worst. These need to be rejected by serious Bible believers. However, translations produced by solid Biblical Scholarship that upholds a belief in inerrancy are not to be feared, rather they should be embraced as helpful to the growth of God\u2019s kingdom.<\/p>\n

We have an obligation to make God\u2019s Word understandable to all- Greek and barbarian.
\nBecause of grace,
\nTim<\/p>\n

Listen to the related message below.<\/em><\/p>\n