“Christian-speak” An Uncomfortable Language

‘Sin”

So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin. (James 4:17)

‘Satan’

And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. (2 Corinthians 11:14)

‘Devil’

Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. (1 Peter 5:8)

‘Sin’, ‘Satan’, and ‘Devil’ are words used by Christians among other believers because we understand what they mean. But we should try to avoid these words in non-believer settings because people will, not only scoff at them, but will not fully comprehend what we are trying to explain.

What words can we use that are ‘non-Christian speak’ in place of these words that are less likely to be misunderstood and/or shut off the ears of those we are speaking to? Do we, ourselves, fully understand these words enough to use other phrases?

Sin

The original sense of New Testament Greek ἁμαρτία hamartia "sin", is failure, being in error, missing the mark, ... (Sin - Wikipedia)

Hebrew has several other words for sin beyond hata, each with its own specific meaning. The word pesha, or "trespass", means a sin done out of rebelliousness. The word aveira means "transgression". And the word avone, or "iniquity", means a sin done out of moral failing. (Jewish views on sin - Wikipedia)

‘Failure to do God’s will’, ‘Missing the mark of what God requires of us’, “Doing something wrong in the eyes of God’, ‘Rebellion towards God’, and ‘Moral Failing’ take longer to say than ‘sin’ but explain in greater detail what sin is to God who is perfect.

A non-believer may listen more closely to what we are saying about Christianity if we use these phrases rather than the word ‘sin’ and God’s view of sin will make more sense in today’s world. The important information is that ‘eternal death’ (eternity without God) is still the result of unbelief and living in rebellion toward God.

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:23)

Satan

The Hebrew word Satan means "an adversary, one who resists." While the activity of Satan is carried out in "the world" (i.e., among those who do not acknowledge Christ as Lord), he also works against the followers of Christ. (Biblestudytools.com by Walter M. Dunnett)

Devil

In the New Testament the "devil" becomes "an evil principle or being standing against God."(Biblestudytools.com by Walter M. Dunnett)

‘An Adversary of God and humankind’ and ‘An Evil being that is against God’ are two good phrases we can use instead of ‘Satan’ and ‘Devil’. An evil being who is constantly trying to draw humankind away from the Father, God to our death by causing us to do rebellious acts and refusing to do God’s will should be something anyone can understand.

Though we want to talk mostly about God’s love and mercy, everyone needs to be aware of the consequences of their actions. God has provided a way to escape these consequences, by sending His son. Believing that Jesus died and rose again to remove those consequences from us, and by asking Jesus to forgive our sins will make us ‘new creations’ (a new person, a way to start over).

Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. (1 John 3:8)

As Christians, we forget that religion has its own language and we throw it out there thinking that everyone will understand what we are talking about. We must be careful, especially of those who were not raised in a church, which is becoming more and more likely today.

This language barrier may even be one of the Devil’s means of deception. How can we reach people if they don’t know what we are talking about? Nice try Satan! God always reveals to us what we need to reach those He loves and wants to ‘save’ (bring into a close relationship with Him).

Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. (James 4:7)

And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. (Revelation 12:9)

Prayer: Lord, we want to follow your instructions to reach out to those who don’t know you. When we share your word and your plan of salvation, we want them to understand. Help us to speak in plain language that makes sense to them and show them your love and mercy. Protect others from the mistakes we make when trying to show who You are and how they can come to know You and Your great love. Amen.