Tag: disobedient

Romans 10:21 – Patient and Merciful God

Posted on by Will

But to Israel he says: "All day long I have stretched out my hands to a disobedient and argumentative people."

Truth to Learn

God continues to reach out to even the most stubborn and rebellious sinner.

 

Behind the Words

The words “stretched out” are translated from ekpetannumi, which is made up of ek, meaning “from” or “out” and petomai, meaning “to fly.” So literally it means “to fly out from.” By analogy it means “to stretch out” or “to stretch forth.”

“Disobedient” is from the Greek word apeithēs, which is made up of a, a negative particle and a form of peithō, meaning “to persuade, to convince, or to make someone believe.” Thus we see that apeithēs means “unwilling to be persuaded, unbelieving, or disobedient.”

The word “argumentative” is translated from antilegō, which is composed of anti, meaning “against” and legō, meaning “to speak.” Hence, antilegō means “to speak against” or “to be argumentative.”

 

Meaning Explained

In the previous verse Paul quoted Isaiah 65:1 to establish the doctrine that God would, in fact, call the Gentiles to salvation. In the current verse Paul now quotes from Isaiah 65:2 in order to establish clearly that not only is God going to call the Gentiles, He is also going to reject the Jews, but only after extreme patience with them.

The most important things that we can learn from this verse, however, are not just that He rejected the Jews and received the Gentiles. There are a couple of things for us to learn about our God in this verse. In Paul’s quotation Isaiah is speaking for God when he says, “I have stretched out My hands all day long to a rebellious people, who walk in a way that is not good, after their own thoughts.” (Isaiah 65:2)

The first thing we can learn about God from this is that He is long suffering. In this verse he says “all day long” which implies that not just for a single day but for an extended length of time God was, and is, willing to put up with our sinfulness and lack of interest in Him. The second thing we can learn about God is that He has an attitude of entreaty and a willingness and desire to receive rebellious sinners into His favor. This is indicated by the notion of His stretching out His hands.

This does not mean that God doesn’t care about our attitude toward Him. Clearly, He wants us to submit ourselves to His authority and rule, and He wants us to commit to a way of life that pleases Him. But it does mean that when we fail in our attempts to be who and what He wants us to be, He is patient and understanding of us, waiting for us to confess our sinfulness so as to restore our fellowship with Him. This is all the more reason why we should be grateful to Him for his grace and His mercy.

 

Application

Just remember what our ultimate destination would be if He wasn’t patient and merciful and He gave us what we truly deserve! Thank you, God, for Your patience, Your mercy, and Your grace!

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2018 Will Krause. All rights reserved

Romans 1:30 – Active Hatred

Posted on by Will

slanderers,  God haters, insolent, arrogant, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,

Truth to Learn

Those who reject God and show an open hatred for Him are fools.

 

Behind the Words

“Slanderers” (katalalos) – One who openly slanderers others.

“God haters” (theostugēs) – (theos) God + (stugeo) to hate or abhore – one who hates God.

“Insolent” (hubristēs, from which we get our English word “hubris”) – Arrogant insulter, insolent persecutor of others, one who shames or humiliates another.

“Arrogant” (huperēphanos) – (huper) above + (phaino) to shine – arrogant and proud.

“Boasters” (aladzōn) – boaster, bragger.

“Inventers of evil things” (epheuretas kakōn) – inventers of bad things or of worthless things.

“Disobedient to parents” (goneusin apeitheis) – to parents – unwilling to be persuaded, unbelieving, disobedient.

 

Meaning Explained

Paul continues his list of characteristics of the mind filled to the brim once God has surrendered those who reject Him to their own sinfulness.

We can see many of the characteristics that we were guilty of ourselves before we were saved and to which we gravitate when we are not under the control of the Holy Spirit. The first one is very similar to the last one in yesterday’s list. The difference between whisperers and backbiters is primarily a matter of volume. By that I mean that whisperers go quietly behind someone else’s back and say gossipy things (it doesn’t matter whether they are true or not). Backbiters, on the other hand, are more brazen and their message is always negative.

The worst of these listed in today’s verse, I suppose, is “God haters.” This word means not just to feel hatred but to show hatred as well. That anyone would openly hate the all powerful Creator of all things and the Judge of all mankind is foolish. It is also the most self-condemning action a person can do. To disbelieve in the existence of God is one thing, but to hate God you have to believe that He exists, otherwise there is no object of your hatred. Remember that Paul began this part of his message back in verse 20 where he said,

For the invisible things of Him are clearly seen since the creation of the world, being understood by the things that are made, both His eternal power and Godness, so that they are without excuse,

According to this, there really is no such thing as an atheist (one who doesn’t believe that there is a God), only those who claim to be atheists. One day at the Great White Throne Judgment they will stand before the very God they claim doesn’t exist (the one they hate) and they will be condemned to eternity in hell for their unbelief!

 

Application

Christians should exhibit the extreme opposite of the people being described here. The most obvious of our actions should be a love for God. Do your actions demonstrate an active love for the one who has given you eternal life?

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2017 Will Krause. All rights reserved

1 Peter 3:20 – The Message Proclaimed

Posted on by Will

who formerly were disobedient, when the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water.

Truth to Learn

Salvation comes through believing the message we proclaim, that Jesus Christ died on the cross to pay for our sins.

 

Behind the Words

The word translated “disobedient” is apeitheō, which is made up of a (called a privative), meaning “not” or “without” and a form of peithō, meaning “to persuade.” Hence, apeitheō means “not persuaded” or “not believing.” This word is expressed as an aorist participle, indicating continuous action occurring at a time before the main verb (“preached” in the previous verse). Hence, Peter is saying that these who were preached to had been previously disbelieving.

The word “ark” comes from the Greek word kibōtos, which means “a box” or “a wooden chest.”

The word translated “saved” near the end of this verse is the Greek word diasōdzō, which is a compound of dia, used here as an intensifier and sōdzō, which means “to save.” Hence, it means “to thoroughly save.”

 

Meaning Explained

Continuing on from the previous verse, you will recall that it said Christ preached to the spirits in prison. These spirits are identified in today’s verse. They are the people who were disbelieving in the days when Noah was building the ark.

There are those who contend that there was no word for boat at the time of Noah so “box” was a reasonable word to describe it. I find that argument lacking in that there were rivers before the flood and likely were boats of some kind. Also, since this book was written by Peter (a fisherman), if he had intended that the vessel was a boat, he would have used the word for boat. Instead, he used the word for a box. A further reason that I believe the ark was a box not a boat, is that marine architects have demonstrated that a boat with curved sides and hull as we see in depictions of Noah’s Ark would not have held together under the stress of the turbulent flood waters. They have also demonstrated that the most stable craft in a turbulent ocean is a box of the approximate proportions of Noah’s Ark.

Not only did Noah accomplish physical salvation for himself and his family by building the ark, but his faith (his belief that God really was going to bring a flood), which was demonstrated by his construction project, was a saving faith. And, it appears that all the time that he was building the ark, Noah was proclaiming that God was about to bring a flood, but no one believed.

Therefore, Peter is saying, the spirit of Christ in Noah was proclaiming a message to unbelieving people all the time he was building the ark to the saving of his soul and those of his family. The spirits who were preached to are now in the prison of Hades awaiting the Great White Throne Judgment of the unsaved, which we read about in Revelation 20:11-15.

 

Application

Things are not much different today than they were in the days of Noah. Many in the world do not believe the message that we proclaim. But, like Noah, we must not give up proclaiming the truth, for Christ is coming back soon!

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2017 Will Krause. All rights reserved

Romans 10:21 – Patient and Merciful God

Posted on by Will

Romans 10:21 – Patient and Merciful God

But to Israel he says: “All day long I have stretched out my hands to a disobedient and contrary people.”

Truth to Learn

God continues to reach out to even the most stubborn and rebellious sinner.

Behind the Words

The words “stretched out” are translated from ekpetannumi, which is made up of ek, meaning “from” or “out” and a form of petomai, meaning “to fly.” So literally it means “to fly out from.” By analogy it means “to stretch out” or “to stretch forth.”

“Disobedient” is from the Greek word apeithēs, which is made up of a, a negative particle and a form of peithō, meaning “to persuade, to convince, or to make someone believe.” Thus we see that apeithēs means “unwilling to be persuaded, unbelieving, or disobedient.”

The word “contrary” is translated from antilegō, which is composed of anti, meaning “against” and legō, meaning “to speak.” Hence, antilegō means “to speak against” or “to be argumentative.”

Meaning Explained

In the previous verse Paul quoted Isaiah 65:1 to establish the doctrine that God would, in fact, call the Gentiles to salvation. In the current verse Paul now quotes from Isaiah 65:2 in order to establish clearly that not only is God going to call the Gentiles, He is also going to reject the Jews, but only after extreme patience with them.

The most important things that we can learn from this verse, however, are not just that He rejected the Jews and received the Gentiles; rather, they are a couple of things for us to know about our God. In Paul’s quotation Isaiah is speaking for God when he says, “I have stretched out My hands all day long to a rebellious people, Who walk in a way that is not good, According to their own thoughts.”

The first thing we can learn about God from this is that He is long suffering. In this verse he says “all day long” which implies that not just for a single day but for an extended length of time God was, and is, willing to put up with our sinfulness and lack of interest in Him. The second thing we can learn about God is that He has an attitude of entreaty and a willingness and desire to receive rebellious sinners into His favor. This is indicated by the notion of His stretching forth His hands.

This does not mean that God doesn’t care about our attitude toward Him. Clearly, He wants us to submit ourselves to His authority and rule, and He wants us to commit to a way of life that pleases Him. But it does mean that when we fail in our attempts to be who and what He wants us to be, He is patient and understanding of us, waiting for us to confess our sinfulness so as to restore our fellowship with Him. This is all the more reason why we should be grateful to Him for his grace and His mercy.

Application

Just remember what our ultimate destination would be if He wasn’t patient and merciful and He gave us what we truly deserve! Thank you, God, for Your patience, Your mercy, and Your grace!

In God’s service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2010 Will Krause. All rights reserved.

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