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Romans 11:10 – Blind Disobedience

Posted on August 9, 2018 by Will

Let their eyes be darkened, so that they do not see, and bow down their back always."

Truth to Learn

Whether blinded or obedient, we will all bow before Him.

Behind the Words

“Eyes” is translated from ophthalmos, which refers to the eyes either literally or figuratively. From this Greek word we get our English word ophthalmologist, referring to an eye doctor.

The word “darkened” is from skotidzō, meaning “to darken” or “to deprive of light.”

“See” is from the Greek word blepō, Which can refer either to the physical sense of sight or the mental ability to perceive or understand. We use the word “see” in the same way today.

The words “bow down” are translated from the verb sunkamptō, which is made up of sun, meaning “together” and kamptō, meaning “to bend the back” or “to bow.” Thus, we see that sunkamptō literally means “to bend down together.” It is a picture of captive slaves whose backs are all bent under the weight of burdens.

Meaning Explained

This is the second half of the quotation Paul is making from the Psalm of David, Psalms 69:22, 23. In our discussion of the previous verse, we noted that this is a condemnation by David of the Jews at the time of Christ. They were living in ease and luxury while they crucified Jesus as a common criminal. The second half of this quotation from the Psalms is really covering the point that Paul is making in this part of Romans.

This is an imprecatory declaration by David. That is, he is calling down evil on these proud and ignorant Jews. David was asking God to blind them from the truth as retribution for their lack of faith. In other words, David is saying, “Lord, because they refuse to believe, don’t let them see the truth.” Because they gave Him vinegar to drink while they ate richly from the blessings that were being provided by the very One whom they were torturing, God has responded to David’s request and has blinded them from any future faith. And that is precisely what Paul is saying that God has done to the non-elect today.

While these few verses are specifically talking about the Jews, Paul will make the point that God deals the same way with the Gentiles, which makes this a cautionary warning that we all will be held accountable for our decisions regarding the Savior. Paul will show us that it was primarily because of this blindness of the Jews that the gospel message has come to the Gentiles, but he also warns us not to take this message lightly.

Application

When we look around us and see unsaved people enjoying the riches of this world, we are prone to think they are enjoying the blessings of God in spite of their overt sinfulness. However, because of their blindness to the truth, one day they will bow before their Judge as He condemns them to eternal torment. Likewise, we see many Christians prospering in spite of their unwillingness to submit to God as their Lord and Master. One day they, too, will stand before their Savior and watch as all their deeds go up in smoke, while the faithful few receive rewards for their humble obedient service.

As saved Christians we need to recognize that God is our Lord and Master, so we need to be bowing to Him, submitting our will to His, not the other way around.

In God's service, for His glory,

Romans 1:21 – Fools in Darkness

Posted on July 13, 2017 by Will

because, having known God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were they thankful, but their reasonings became futile, and their foolish hearts were darkened.

Truth to Learn

Those who reject God become fools living in darkness.

Behind the Words

The word translated, “reasonings” is the Greek word, dialogismos, from which we get our English word “dialog.” The Greek word refers to “discussion and reason, or debate.”

The words “became futile” are translated from the Greek word mataioō, which means “to become destitute of real wisdom” or “to become foolish.” The word is expressed in the passive voice indicating that it is something that was done to them. That is, they were made destitute of real wisdom.

Asunetos is the Greek word translated “foolish.” This is a compound word made up of the privative a, meaning “not” and sunetos, which means “to have mental discernment and good judgment.” Thus, asunetos means “not having insight or understanding.”

“Were darkened” is translated from the Greek verb skotidzō, which means, “to be obscured, or darkened.” Again, this word is in the passive voice meaning that it, too, was done to them.

Meaning Explained

In the previous verse Paul said that the invisible things about God (His eternal power and Godness) are clearly seen and understood by the creatures (mankind) so that they are without excuse. He now goes on to give clarification regarding that statement.

He says, “Because, having known God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were they thankful.” Paul makes it very clear that all of mankind has known God, but some have not given Him the glory, that is the worship, that He is due. Neither did they give Him the thanks that He justly deserves. The previous verse makes it clear that those who reject God recognized His power and Godness but willingly reject Him.

The next phrase is very interesting. It says, “but their reasonings became futile.” As discussed in “Behind the Words,” someone else made them void of wisdom after they rejected God. The implication is that God made fools of them because they rejected the real truth. Their very ability to reason with regard to God has been made to be without wisdom. Paul also says, “their foolish hearts were darkened.” In the Apostle John‘s first letter he says,

God is light and in Him is no darkness at all (1 John 1:5)

Those who reject God do not have this spiritual light; instead, they live in darkness. Consider this, the real pain of Hell for those who reject God will not be that of the heat and flame. It will be the darkness created by the total absence of God and the knowledge that He is gone from them for eternity!

Paul’s message is quite clear in this verse. Those who reject God do so of their own will after having comprehended the existence and power of God. As a result of that rejection, God has made them unable to understand Him, and He has removed His light from their hearts. In a very real sense, God has already judged them because they have rejected who and what He really is. In fact, in John’s Gospel he says:

The one believing into Him is not condemned; but the one not believing has already been condemned, for he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. (John 3:18)

Application

Throughout the Old Testament it is proclaimed that God is a jealous God and we are to worship no one or nothing other than Him. Yes, He is a loving God, but He is also a jealous God who expects us to recognize Him for who and what He is. Those who neglect to do so are destined for a torturous and dark eternity!

In God's service, for His glory,

Ephesians 4:18 – Darkened, Alienated, and Ignorant

Posted on December 12, 2011 by Will

having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart;

Truth to Learn

The unsaved are the way they are because of unbelief.

Behind the Words

“Understanding” is translated from the Greek word dianoia, which is derived from dia, meaning “through and a form of noeō, meaning “to exercise the mind,” that is, “to think, to consider, or to understand.” Dianoia refers to a person’s intellect or understanding.

The word “darkened” is from the verb skotidzō, meaning “to deprive of light,” that is, “to darken.” In today’s verse it is used figuratively to mean “deprived of the light of understanding.” It is expressed here in the perfect tense indicating past completed action with an ongoing effect, the emphasis being on the effect. In other words, Paul is saying that at some time in the past they were deprived of the light of understanding and as a result they are now in a condition of not understanding.

“Alienated” is from the verb apallotrioō, which is made up of apo, meaning “from or away from” and allotrioō, meaning “to make a stranger,” “to separate from,” or “to make a non-participant.” This word is also expressed in the perfect tense.

The word “ignorance” is translated from agnoeō, which literally means “lacking knowledge.”

The word “blindness” is from pōrōsis, a form of pōroō, meaning “to harden, to petrify, or to make insensitive.”

Meaning Explained

In the previous verse Paul instructed us not to live our lives like unbelievers do. He said that they live their lives intellectually instead of spiritually. He also said that their intellect is worthless. Now he explains why their thinking is so bad. He tells us that the intellectual understanding of the unsaved has been darkened, deprived of the light of understanding. As we discussed in Behind the Words, the tense of this verb indicates that the darkening occurred at some point in time in the past. That point in time referred to is when Adam and Eve sinned by eating the forbidden fruit. From that time onward mankind has been alienated from God with a mind that is deprived of the light of knowledge, the knowledge of God.

That enlightenment can be regained, however. It is given by God through His Holy Spirit. It can be gained by learning the teaching of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, as Paul will tell us later. Here we are told that one of the results of the intellectual darkening is separation from the life (spiritual life) that is in God. We are also told here that one of the reasons that the unsaved don’t have spiritual life is because they lack knowledge (the knowledge of what Christ did for them on the cross). And finally, Paul tells us that they lack knowledge of the work of salvation because of the hardness of their hearts.

So, we can summarize this by saying that sin leads to a hardening of the heart, which prevents the acknowledgement of God’s gift of salvation, which produces alienation from the spiritual life that God offers us all.

Application

If you believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross to save you from your sins, your heart is not hardened, you are not ignorant of God’s truth, and you have eternal life. Hallelujah!

In God's service, for His glory,

Romans 11:10 – Blind Disobedience

Posted on November 3, 2010 by Will

Romans 11:10 – Blind Disobedience

Let their eyes be darkened, so that they do not see, and bow down their back always.”

Truth to Learn

Whether blinded or obedient, we will all bow before Him.

Behind the Words

“Eyes” is translated from ophthalmos, which refers to the eyes either literally or figuratively. From this Greek word we get our English word ophthalmologist, referring to an eye doctor.

The word “darkened” is from skotidzō, meaning “to darken” or “to deprive of light.”

“See” is from the Greek word blepō, Which can refer either to the physical sense of sight or the mental ability to perceive or understand. We use the word “see” in the same way today.

Meaning Explained

Application

As saved Christians we need to recognize that God is our Lord and Master, so we need to be bowing to Him, submitting our will to His, not the other way around.

In God’s service, for His glory,

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

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Romans 1:21 – Fools in Darkness

Posted on August 17, 2009 by admin

Romans 1:21

because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.

Truth to Learn

Those who reject God become fools living in darkness.

Behind the Words

The word translated, “thoughts” is the Greek word, dialogismos, from which we get our English word “dialog.” The Greek word refers to “discussion and reason, or debate.”

“Were darkened” is translated from the Greek word skotidzō, which means, “to be obscured, or darkened.” Again, this word is in the passive voice meaning that it, too, was done to them.

Meaning Explained

He says, “Because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were they thankful.” Paul makes it very clear that all of mankind has known God, but some have not given Him the glory, that is, the worship that He is due. Neither did they give Him the thanks that He justly deserves. The previous verse makes it clear that those who reject God recognized His power and Godness but willingly reject Him.

The next phrase is very interesting. It says, “but became futile in their thoughts.” As discussed in “Behind the Words,” someone else made them void of wisdom after they rejected God. The implication is that God made fools of them because they rejected the real truth. Their very ability to reason with regard to God has been made to be without wisdom. Paul also says, “their foolish hearts were darkened.” In the Apostle John‘s first letter he says,

God is light and in Him is no darkness at all (1 John 1:5)

Those who reject God do not have this spiritual light; instead, they live in darkness. And, the real pain of Hell for those who reject God will not be that of the heat and flame. It will be the darkness created by the total absence of God and the knowledge that He is gone from them for eternity!

Application

In God’s service, for His glory,

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

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