In her recent reflection, “The Bible Is Clear: Stay Woke,” Jennifer T. Kaalund enters one of the most charged linguistic debates of our moment with an unexpected move: she turns to the New Testament. Rather than arguing first about politics, she asks what Scripture means when it commands believers to remain awake. Her conclusion is intentionally provocative:
Kaalund starts with something simple but important: words change. Just like the phrase “politically correct” shifted from meaning basic fairness to becoming an insult in some circles, the word “woke” has gone through a similar transformation. It once described being aware of injustice. Now, depending on who’s using it, it can function as a political jab. Her question isn’t really about party politics. It’s about whether Christians should walk away from a word if the idea behind it—moral alertness—actually reflects something deeply biblical.
To explore that, she turns to the New Testament. She looks at two Greek verbs that get translated as “awake” or “wake up.” The first is grēgoreō, which means to stay awake, stay alert, keep watch. Jesus uses it when he tells his disciples to be ready for his return. Paul uses it when he urges believers not to drift into spiritual laziness but to live faithfully and soberly. The second word is egeirō, which means to wake up or rise. It’s the word used for resurrection, Jesus being raised from the dead, people being healed, believers being called out of spiritual death into new life.
Her point is pretty clear: in the New Testament, sleep often represents spiritual dullness, vulnerability, even death. Being awake represents life, alignment with Christ, and attentiveness to what God is doing. So when Scripture tells believers to stay awake, it’s calling them out of indifference and into active, faithful living.
At the same time, good interpretation means slowing down. We have to ask what those “stay awake” passages meant in their original setting. In places like Matthew 24 and Luke 21, Jesus is talking about being ready for his coming and staying faithful in uncertain times. Paul, in 1 Thessalonians, contrasts wakefulness with moral compromise and spiritual carelessness. In Ephesians, “wake up” is tied to conversion and resurrection life in Christ. In their first-century context, these commands were about faithfulness, holiness, and hope in Christ’s return.
Many Christians, especially those in more progressive traditions, hear Kaalund’s argument and think, “Of course.” The Bible doesn’t treat justice as a side issue. The prophets constantly call out exploitation and abuse. Jesus doesn’t ignore suffering; he confronts hypocrisy and stands with those pushed to the margins. So when the New Testament tells believers to “stay awake,” it’s hard to imagine that wakefulness would exclude paying attention to injustice. If being awake means living in the light of Christ, then surely that includes refusing to look away when people are harmed. From this perspective, connecting biblical vigilance with moral awareness today isn’t forcing politics into the text, it’s taking seriously the ethical implications of following Jesus in the real world.
Both approaches share a common conviction: spiritual sleep is dangerous. Both affirm that indifference to sin, whether personal or systemic, is incompatible with faithfulness. The debate turns on how directly and confidently the New Testament’s language of awakening should be mapped onto contemporary vocabulary, which is vital for every Pastor to master.
This is precisely why rigorous theological education matters. It’s easy to jump straight from an English word on the page to a modern headline. But good interpretation takes a little more patience. We have to slow down and ask what the text meant in its own time before deciding what it means for ours. That includes paying attention to the original language, the historical setting, and the larger story of Scripture. Only then can we thoughtfully connect what the Bible says to the world we’re living in now, and that's exactly what our students are taught.
Our school is committed to forming readers who neither sleep through cultural upheaval nor rush to baptize every new slogan. We want our students to read the Bible carefully and honestly. That means taking the text seriously, listening to different Christian traditions with respect, and thinking hard about how Scripture actually shapes the way we live. Some students may feel called to focus on justice in the public square. Others may lean into evangelism or personal holiness. What matters most is that they’re grounding their convictions in faithful interpretation and keeping Christ at the center.
Whether someone is comfortable with the word “woke” or not, the Bible’s call is still the same: stay alert, turn from spiritual drift, and live in the light of Christ. The church’s job isn’t to chase cultural language or automatically reject it. It’s to make sure that, whatever words we use, we are actually listening to God and responding faithfully.
¹ Jennifer T. Kaalund, “The Bible Is Clear: Stay Woke,” The Christian Century. https://www.christiancentury.org/online-columnists/bible-clear-stay-woke