Tag: anupokritos

Romans 12:9 – Sacrificial Evidence

Posted on by Will

Let love be sincere. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good.

Truth to Learn

Here is the evidence of a living sacrifice.

 

Behind the Words

The word translated “sincere” is the Greek word anupokritos, which is a compound word made up of a, meaning “without” and a form of hupokrinomai (from which we get our English word, hypocrite), meaning “to pretend” or “to put on a false front.” This word originally referred to the art of acting on a stage. An actor portrays someone other than who he or she truly is and that is the salient meaning of the word hypocrite.

The Greek word translated “abhor” is apostugeō. This is another compound word made up of apo, meaning “from” but often used as an intensifier, and stugeō, which means “to hate, abhor, or detest with horror.” It expresses an extremely strong hatred for something.

“Evil” is from ponēros, which refers to “that which is bad or evil in effect or influence.” There is a similar Greek word, kakos, which refers to “that which is bad or evil in character.”

“Cling” is from kollaō, meaning “to be glued to something.” And the word translated “good” is agathos, meaning “that which is good or beneficial.”

 

Meaning Explained

Paul started out this chapter telling us that we need to completely surrender ourselves to God as living sacrifices to be used in His service as He chooses. He then told us that we should have a humble opinion of ourselves because we are all members of the body of Christ (the church) and that we each have gifts which we are to be using as members of that body. Having talked about some of the gifts, he now goes on to tell us what a living sacrifice should look like to others.

He says, “Let love be sincere.” Our love should be sincere and not done as an act to try to convince people that we are different than we really are.

Paul also says that we should “abhor what is evil.” In other words, we should hate that which has an evil effect or that which produces evil with as much emotion and force as that with which we love God.

This is a verse that all Christians would do well to follow. It seems that we have become soft and we tend to tolerate evil without saying much about it. When we see someone do something evil, we should not turn around and forget about it, we should be filled with indignation and absolutely hate the evil act. Incidentally, even though we should hate the sin, we need to love the sinner.

Finally, Paul says that we should be “glued to that which is good.”  When two things are glued together, they are inseparable. That’s how we should be – inseparable from things which are good.

 

Application

These are three key characteristics of Christians who are committed to God, who have placed themselves on the altar as living sacrifices. Their love is genuine, they absolutely hate that which is evil, and they are good through and through.

Is that how others see you?

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2018 Will Krause. All rights reserved

1 Peter 1:22 – Purified Evidence

Posted on by Will

having purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly with a pure heart,

Truth to Learn

There should be evidence of our salvation if it is real.

 

Behind the Words

“Purified” is the translation of a form of hagnidzō, which means “to make clean” or “to purify.” Figuratively, it means “to set apart” or “to sanctify.” In this context it is a reference to our having cleansed our souls from sin. It is expressed here in the perfect tense indicating past completed action with an ongoing effect; we have been cleansed, therefore we are forever pure.

The word translated “obeying” is hupakoē, which is made up of hupo, meaning “under” and a form of akouō, meaning “to hear.” It refers to someone who not only hears instruction, but also submits to it and obeys it.

“Brotherly love” is from the Greek philadelphia, which is made up of a form of philos, meaning “a friend” and adelphos, meaning “a brother.” Hence, this word literally refers to brotherly friendship or brotherly love.

The word translated “sincere” is the Greek anupokritos, which literally means “without acting” or “without hypocrisy.”

The word “love” in the latter half of this verse is translated from the Greek, agapaō, which refers to Godly, self-sacrificing love. It is expressed here in the imperative mood, indicating that it is a command, not a suggestion.

 

 

Meaning Explained

A more literal translation of this verse might be, “Having purified your souls in obedience to the truth through the Spirit, resulting in sincere brotherly love, fervently love one another out of a pure heart.”

What Peter is saying is that one of the evidences of obedience to God’s truth is a purification of our souls. That is, when we submit to the knowledge that we are sinners, that God demands purity, and we accept the blood of Christ as payment for our sins, we are saved and we are spiritually purified. The evidence of that salvation is displayed by our brotherly love for others. Now that we have attained that level of purity, Peter commands us to take the next step by fervently loving other Christians self-sacrificingly, and to do so sincerely, out of a pure heart.

When asked which is the greatest commandment, Jesus responded to the questioning lawyer,

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. (Matthew 22:37-39)

This is the same message Peter is trying to get across to us in today’s verse.

 

Application

Is your salvation evident by the way you treat others? Do your unsaved friends now see you as different? Kinder? Do you place the welfare of your brothers and sisters in Christ above your own?

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2016 Will Krause. All rights reserved

James 3:17 – Heavenly Wisdom

Posted on by Will

But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, compliant, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and unpretentious.

Truth to Learn

Heavenly wisdom is “others” focused, not “self” focused.

Behind the Words

“First” is from the Greek word proton, meaning “first in importance, order, or time.”

The word translated “pure” is hagnos, which has the same root as hagios (holy). It means “freedom from defilements or impurities.” Therefore, it is often translated as innocent, clean, or pure.

Epeita is the word translated “then.” When combined with proton (mentioned above) it implies that everything else in this list comes after hagnos in importance, order, and time.

“Peaceable” is the Greek word, eirēnikos which means “pacific” or “relating to peace.”

The word translated “gentle” is epieikēs, which is made up of epi, meaning “over” and eikos, meaning “reasonable or fair.” Hence, this word means overly reasonable or overly fair. There really is no English word that fully expresses the meaning of this word, but the overriding idea is that of showing clemency mercy even when it is clearly undeserved.

“Compliant” is translated from eupaithēs, which is made up of eu, meaning “good” or “easy” and a form of peithō, meaning “to persuade.” So, literally this word means “easily persuaded.” Thus, it is translated “compliant.”

The word “impartial” is translated from adiakritos, which is made up of a, meaning “without” and a form of diakrinō, meaning “to distinguish or to judge.” Therefore, we see that this heavenly wisdom is not selfishly judgmental, but remains impartial.

The word “unpretentious” comes from the Greek word, anupokritos. This is made up of a or an, meaning “not or without” and hupokritos from which we get our English word “hypocrisy.” Hence this word means “without false pretense, unpretentious, or genuine.”

Meaning Explained

In contrast to the worldly wisdom that was spoken of in the previous few verses (with bitter envying and self-serving motives, causing confusion), James now describes what godly wisdom looks like. He tells us first of all, it is “first pure.” As explained above, this word means first essentially, that is, first in importance, order, and time. The other qualities of heavenly wisdom are secondary and necessarily follow from the quality of purity. Heavenly wisdom engenders peace, not strife. It is gentle and exceedingly reasonable. It is compliant, not argumentative. It is merciful, not vengeful. It produces good fruit, not rottenness. It is impartial, and it is sincere, without even a hint of pretense.

We can see from this list that heavenly wisdom is not focused on self, but on the good of others. This is essentially what Paul said in his letter to the Philippians:

Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. (Philippians 2:3)

Application

Let’s remember this when we share the gospel with others. We should be sharing the Word with godly wisdom, not worldly wisdom, and godly wisdom is first pure, then peaceable, overly reasonable, and compliant, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. In other words, it acts the same way that Jesus did.

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2015 Will Krause. All rights reserved

Romans 12:9 – Sacrificial Evidence

Posted on by Will

Romans 12:9 – Sacrificial Evidence

Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good.

Truth to Learn

Here is the evidence of a living sacrifice.

Behind the Words

The word translated “without hypocrisy” is the Greek word anupokritos, which is a compound word made up of a, meaning “without” and a form of hupokrinomai (from which we get our English word, hypocrite), meaning “to pretend” or “to put on a false front.” This word originally referred to the art of acting on a stage. An actor portrays someone other than who he or she truly is and that is the salient meaning of the word hypocrite.

The Greek word translated “abhor” is apostugeō. This is another compound word made up of apo, meaning “from” but often used as an intensifier, and stugeō, which means “to hate, abhor, or detest with horror.” It expresses an extremely strong hatred for something.

“Evil” is from ponēros, which refers to “that which is bad or evil in effect or influence.” There is a similar Greek word, kakos, which refers to “that which is bad or evil in character.”

“Cling” is from kollaō, meaning “to be glued to something.” And the word translated “good” is agathos, meaning “that which is good or beneficial.”

Meaning Explained

Paul started out this chapter telling us that we need to completely surrender ourselves to God as living sacrifices to be used in His service as He chooses. He then told us that we should have a humble opinion of ourselves because we are all members of the body of Christ (the church) and that we each have gifts which we are to be using as members of that body. Having talked about some of the gifts, he now goes on to tell us what a living sacrifice should look like to others.

He says, “Let love be without hypocrisy.” Our love should be sincere and not done as an act to try to convince people that we are different than we really are.

Paul also says that we should “abhor what is evil.” In other words, we should hate that which has an evil effect or that which produces evil with as much emotion and force as that with which we love God.

This is a verse that all Christians would do well to follow. It seems that we have become soft and we tend to tolerate evil without saying much about it. When we see someone do something evil, we should not turn around and forget about it, we should be filled with indignation and absolutely hate the evil act. Incidentally, even though we should hate the sin, we need to love the sinner.

Finally, Paul says that we should be “glued to that which is good.”  When two things are glued together, they are inseparable. That’s how we should be – inseparable from things which are good.

Application

These are three key characteristics of Christians who are committed to God, who have placed themselves on the altar as living sacrifices. Their love is genuine, they absolutely hate that which is evil, and they are good through and through.

Is that how others see you?

In God’s service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2011 Will Krause. All rights reserved.

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