Word Information
Word: Astēriktos (Gk)
English: Unstable
Source: Thayer’s Greek Lexicon of the New Testament
Author: Joseph H. Thayer
Speaking of these things in all his letters. Some things in these letters are hard to understand, things the ignorant and unstable (astēriktos) twist to their own destruction, as they also do to the rest of the scriptures. 2 Peter 3:16-18
Definition
unstable, unsteadfast
Instability is typically the result of doubt, fear, immaturity, and/or greed.
Ephesians 4:14-15
… that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head-Christ.
James 1:6-8
But he must ask in faith without doubting, for one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed around by the wind.
For the person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord, since he is a double-minded individual, unstable in all his ways.
(See also 2 Peter 2:1-3 & 1 Timothy 6:3-6)
To Overcome Instability
To overcome instability, we need to ‘grow up’. (1 Cor 13:11, 1 Cor 14:20, 1 Pet 2:2, Jam 1:4)
The Road to Maturity
The Scripture shows us the road to maturity:
Ephesians 4:11-16
So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ…
Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ.
From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.
Sizzling Sunday: 19th March 2023
Sizzling Sunday 031
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