Tag: diligence

Romans 12:11 – Diligent Spiritual Service

Posted on by Will

in diligence, not slothful, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord;

Truth to Learn

A Christian’s life should be characterized by diligent service.

 

Behind the Words

“Slothful” is from oknēros, from the  verb okneō, meaning “to be slow, to be lazy, or to delay.”

The word translated “diligence” is spoudē, which literally means “speed,” but by implication it refers to eagerness, earnestness, diligence, or zeal.

The word “fervent” is translated from the Greek word dzeontes, which literally means “to be hot.” However, it means more than just being overly warm. In reference to liquids, this word means “to boil” and with reference to metal objects it means “to glow.”

The word translated “serving” is douleuontes, which comes from the noun “doulos” meaning “a slave who has been purchased by, and therefore completely subservient to the will of, his or her master.”

 

Meaning Explained

Paul continues his admonition of how we ought to behave in this Christian life. In this verse there are three declarations. Literally he says, “in speed not slow, in the spirit being fervent, in the Lord being a slave.” In the first of these, Paul is telling us that whatever we choose to do, it should be done earnestly, not lazily. In other words, whatever you apply yourself to, you should do it the best you can. It should be done diligently and faithfully, as if Christ were there observing you.

In the second part of this verse, Paul tells us that we should be fervent in spirit. Whereas the first part of this verse deals with the physical part of our being, this expression refers to the spiritual part of our being. In other words, Paul is telling us that our spiritual life and effort should be fervent. That is, we should be “on fire” for the Lord.

In his evaluation of the church of Laodicea, in the 3rd chapter of the book of the Revelation, our Lord says this:

"I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth.” (Revelation 3:15-16)

Clearly He was not pleased with the church that was merely lukewarm, and I believe that is a warning to all Christians today. We should not simply be going through the motions in our Christian walk. God wants hot, on-fire followers, not average, lukewarm followers.

The third part of this verse is actually a continuance of the second part. Not only are we to be hot in our spiritual life, it is to be manifested in our service to the Lord. We have been bought with the precious blood of Christ and are no longer free. We are the purchased slaves of God. Therefore, we should be serving Him, not ourselves.

 

Application

Let me ask you a real soul-searching question. Who are you really living your life for? Are you your own master, or are you completely submitted to the one who bought you with the precious blood of Christ?

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2018 Will Krause. All rights reserved

2 Peter 1:5 – Diligent Growth

Posted on by Will

And for this very reason, make all diligence in your faith to add goodness; and to goodness, knowledge;

Truth to Learn

No matter where we are in our Christian experience today, we need to be growing and maturing in our relationship to God.

 

Behind the Words

“All” is translated from pas which means “all” or “every,” but it includes the idea of oneness, a totality or the whole. Hence Peter is telling us to use all of our effort. Today we might say “every ounce of effort.”

The word “diligence” is from the Greek word spoudē, which refers to “speed, earnestness, diligence, or zeal.”

The word translated “add” is from the Greek word epichorēgeō, which means “to abundantly furnish.” It is not a mere adding a little more of what you already have, rather it is an intensive and abundant addition. It is expressed in the imperative mood, indicating a command, not a suggestion.

“Goodness” is a translation of the word aretē, which means “manliness” or “valor.” It denotes that which is good or worthy in a moral sense.

 

Meaning Explained

“And for this very reason” is a connective phrase so we need to see what it is referring to. In this case, the reference is to the preceding two verses. Because He has given us all things that pertain to life and godliness, because of His exceedingly great and precious promises, because one day we will be partakers of His divine nature … we need to do the following:

We need to be using all of our effort to grow in goodness and knowledge. In other words, don’t take these promises and the saving faith that you have for granted, and don’t just meander through life knowing you now have your “ticket” into heaven. Rather, apply yourself with earnestness and diligence to add some things to your faith.

Peter uses words of force here to communicate to the Christians of his day, and to us today, the need to work long and hard at growing as a Christian. Simply being a committed Christian by itself is a difficult assignment for anyone, but Peter is saying that we need to work hard at developing our Christianity. We need to be growing!

He says that there are several areas where we need to apply that effort. The first is improving our faith and developing goodness. In other words, Peter is telling us in addition to growing our faith, we need to grow in our morality (something that is rapidly slipping away in the world today). And along with this, Peter tells us that we need to be diligent in growing our knowledge of God and His promises. That doesn’t simply mean listening to a sermon once a week. We need to be doing a lot more! We need to be reading the Bible regularly, attending Bible studies or studying on our own, and applying the things we learn to our relationship with God.

 

Application

I heard a preacher once say that in out Christian life we are never standing still, we’re either moving ahead or we’re sliding back. Which direction is your Christian life going today?

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2017 Will Krause. All rights reserved

Romans 12:11 – Diligent Spiritual Service

Posted on by Will

Romans 12:11 –  Diligent Spiritual Service

not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord;

Truth to Learn

A Christian’s life should be characterized by diligent service.

Behind the Words

“Lagging” is from oknēros, from the  verb okneō, meaning “to be slow, to be lazy, or to delay.”

The word translated “diligence” is spoudē, which literally means “speed,” but by implication it refers to eagerness, earnestness, diligence, or zeal.

The word “fervent” is translated from the Greek word dzeontes, which literally means “to be hot.” However, it means more than just being overly warm. In reference to liquids, this word means “to boil” and with reference to metal objects it means “to glow.”

The word translated “serving” is douleuontes, which comes from the noun “doulos” meaning “a slave who has been purchased by, and therefore completely subservient to the will of, his or her master.”

Meaning Explained

Paul continues his admonition of how we ought to behave in this Christian life. In this verse there are three declarations. Literally he says, “in speed not slow, in the spirit being fervent, in the Lord being a slave.” In the first of these, Paul is telling us that whatever we choose to do, it should be done earnestly, not lazily. In other words, whatever you apply yourself to, you should do it the best you can. It should be done diligently and faithfully, as if Christ were there observing you.

In the second part of this verse, Paul tells us that we should be fervent in spirit. Whereas the first part of this verse deals with the physical part of our being, this expression refers to the spiritual part of our being. In other words, Paul is telling us that our spiritual life and effort should be fervent. That is, we should be “on fire” for the Lord.

In his evaluation of the church of Laodicea, in the 3rd chapter of the book of the Revelation, our Lord says this:

“I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth.” (Revelation 3:15-16)

Clearly He was not pleased with the church that was merely lukewarm, and I believe that is a warning to all Christians today. We should not simply be going through the motions in our Christian walk. God wants hot, on-fire followers, not average, lukewarm followers.

The third part of this verse is actually a continuance of the second part. Not only are we to be hot in our spiritual life, it is to be manifested in our service to the Lord. We have been bought with the precious blood of Christ and are no longer free. We are the purchased slaves of God. Therefore, we should be serving Him, not ourselves.

Application

Let me ask you a real soul-searching question. Who are you really living your life for? Are you your own master, or are you completely submitted to the one who bought you with the precious blood of Christ?

In God’s service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2011 Will Krause. All rights reserved.

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