douleuo – Ministry of Grace Church

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Romans 16:18 – Servants, Not Crusaders

Posted on March 21, 2019 by Will

For those who are such do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly, and by smooth words and flattering speech deceive the hearts of the innocent.

Truth to Learn

Lack of submissiveness can cause harm to the body of Christ.

Behind the Words

The word translated “serve” is douleuō, the verb form of doulos, meaning “a slave, one whose will is totally submitted to his master/owner.”

“Belly” is from the Greek noun koilia, which refers to “a cavity.” This word is often used in reference to “the womb” or “the belly.” Allegorically, it is used as a reference to the sensuality of food, drink, and personal gratification.

“Smooth words” is the translation of the Greek word chrēstologia, which is a compound of chrēstos, meaning “easy, good, or kind” and legō, meaning “to relate something in words, a discourse.” Thus chrēstologia refers to “a polite discussion.” Today, we might refer to a person who does this as a “smooth talker.”

The words “flattering speech” are from eulogia, which is made up of eu, meaning “good or well” and logos, meaning “a word or something said.” So, we see that eulogia is a reference to “an eloquent message.”

“Innocent” is translated from the Greek noun akakos, which is made up of the privative a, meaning “not” and kakos, meaning “bad.” Hence, akakos refers to someone “without guile;” that is, someone who is innocent or unsuspecting.

Meaning Explained

This verse is an extension of the previous one in which Paul warned the Christians in Rome to be on the lookout for people who cause divisions within the body of Christ or who do and say things that cause brothers or sisters in the Lord to stumble in their walk with God.

In today’s verse Paul characterizes such people as selfishly seeking to satisfy their own appetite (usually for power or revenge) instead of the good of the body of Christ. If you have been in any church for a long time, you have probably had encounters with this type of person. He or she talks a good game. These people are often very intelligent and can make a convincing argument as to why a certain thing should or should not be done.

When you encounter such a person, or even suspect that there is such a person in your congregation, ask yourself, Is this person primarily interested in the health of the body of Christ? Are they proposing something that will bring glory to God? Are their reasons and justifications for action based on a humble submission to the Lordship of Jesus Christ? Or, are they more interested in getting their own way rather than submitting to the leadership of the church.

Too often such people are very charismatic and persuasive. And too often a church split is the result of their words and actions. Do you think that’s what God wants?

Application

Whether or not we like the decisions of the leadership of a local congregation, we are to submit ourselves to such leaders. Instead of stirring up dissention in the body, we need to get on our knees and humbly seek God’s guidance. And, we need to act as servants, not crusaders.

In God's service, for His glory,

Romans 14:18 – Becoming God Pleasers

Posted on December 5, 2018 by Will

For he who is serving Christ in these things is well pleasing to God and approved by men.

Truth to Learn

Serving Christ pleases God and gains the respect of others.

Behind the Words

The expression “in these things” is from the Greek en toutois, most likely referring to “righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” Some Greek texts have en toutō (in this), however the meaning is essentially the same (in this three-fold description of kingdom living; righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit).

“Serving” is translated from douleuō, which is the verb form of the noun doulos, meaning “a bond slave whose will is completely submitted to his master/owner.”

The adjective “well pleasing” is translated from euarestos, made up of eu, meaning “good” or “well” and areskō, meaning “to please” or “to be agreeable.” Thus, euarestos literally means “well pleasing.” I prefer this translation over “acceptable” because it shows us that it’s not simply okay with God, but that He really likes it.

“Approved” is from dokimos, which is based on the verb dokimadzō, meaning “to test something to ascertain its worth.”

Meaning Explained

The three characteristics of the kingdom of God spoken of in the previous verse are seen by some as a comprehensive division of true living Christianity. The first, righteousness, is a description of our standing with God (He sees us as having the righteousness of Christ). The second, peace, is a description of our relationship with others (especially other Christians). And joy in the Holy Spirit is a description of how others see us (full of calm delight) when we are completely submitted to God.

In verse thirteen of this chapter Paul told us that serving others is more important than serving ourselves. If you go back to the Ten Commandments given to Moses, you will notice that serving others instead of self, fulfills the second table of the Law (Commandments seven through ten). The point that Paul is making in the current verse is that serving God is more important than serving self. That fulfills the first table of the Law (Commandments one through six). We’re told that limiting our own freedoms based on what might cause a fellow Christian to stumble is an act of serving Christ (being His bond slave) and this is “well pleasing to God.”

Paul then goes on to say that not only does it greatly please God when we sacrifice our own desires in favor of those of our brothers or sisters, but this kind of action is “approved by men.” Those who see your behavior for what it really is will think it a worthy or noble thing that you have done.

We are not supposed to do things just to impress others, but this is one of those cases where if we are applying ourselves to pleasing God, we will also receive recognition from others for our good deeds.

Application

We would all like to be the kind of person who pleases our Heavenly Father and who receives recognition from others for our unselfish lifestyle. Unfortunately, we still have a sin nature which draws us back to our selfish ways. Through prayer and the power of the Holy Spirit, however, we can become the kind of Christian we want to be.

Let’s pray!

In God's service, for His glory,

Romans 6:7 – Freed by Death

Posted on January 12, 2018 by Will

For he who has died has been set free from sin.

Truth to Learn

The death of our sin nature freed us from the bondage of sin.

Behind the Words

The word translated “slaves” in the previous verse is the Greek word douleuō, which is the verb form of doulos, meaning “one who is in a permanent relation of servitude to another, his will being altogether consumed in the will of the other.” It refers to a person who has no rights of his own, one who exists only as the property of someone else. Therefore, douleuō means “to be a slave.”

The word translated here as “set free” is the word dikaioō, which means “to justify” or “to declare righteous.” The word is expressed in the perfect tense. As we pointed out a couple verses back, the perfect tense in Greek refers to completed past action with a resultant state of being, where the emphasis is on the resultant state of being. The word following dikaioō, however, is apo, meaning “from.” When used in this way, the word dikaioo refers to our having been “freed from something” with the emphasis on the resultant state of being (we have been and, therefore, are now free from sin).

Meaning Explained

In the previous verse Paul told us that since our old man (our sin nature) was crucified with Christ, we should not serve sin. He is telling us that previously (before our salvation) we were not willingly serving sin but we were under bondage as a slave to sin. We had no choice but to obey our sinful lusts because of our sin nature. That is, we had no free will when it came to deciding whether we would obey our sinful nature or not, we had to!

Now that we have crucified our sin nature, however, we no longer have to be subject to sin. That’s what Paul is saying in the current verse, “he who died (our old man) has been freed from sin.

So, the point that Paul is making is, since our old man was crucified with Christ and is now dead, we are no longer forced to be a slave to our sin nature or to sin. We are now freed from that slavery. Do you see the point? We no longer have to obey our sinful impulses. We now have a choice. That is, we can choose to obey God or to obey our sin nature. Before we were saved we did not have this choice.

Does that mean that we always choose to obey God? Unfortunately, the answer is no. All too often, we choose to obey our sin nature instead of obeying God. That, as Paul taught us in the previous chapter, is where grace comes in. Even though we follow our own desires instead of God’s moral law, we have been declared righteous and we need not fear the wrath of God. But – we should not continue in our sinful ways. Our sin nature has been crucified so we have a free will to choose good over evil.

Application

This entire chapter of Romans is about recognizing that we are freed from the slavery of sin. We have a choice every day whether or not we will voluntarily submit ourselves to God. If we don’t submit to God then we will be submitted to sin, there is no middle ground.

To whom do you want to be submitted?

In God's service, for His glory,

Ephesians 6:7 – Give Your Best!

Posted on February 17, 2016 by Will

serving with goodwill, as to the Lord, and not to men,

Truth to Learn

God gave us His best, so we should give Him our best.

Behind the Words

“serving” is translated from the Greek verb douleuō, which is derived from doulos (a bond servant or slave). Douleuō means “to be subject to and perform service for a master.” The verb is expressed here as a participle in the present tense, indicating continual action in the present.

The word “with” is from the Greek preposition meta, which indicates accompaniment. It is different than the Greek preposition sun, which implies “union with” or “integrated with.” Meta means “in the midst of, among, or along with.”

Eunoia is the Greek word translated “goodwill.” It is made up of eu, meaning “good” or “well” and a form of nous, referring to “the mind and its thoughts or feelings.” Therefore, we see that eunoia literally means “good thoughts” or “good feelings.” In the New Testament, eunoia refers to the actions which result from good thoughts; that is, benevolence or goodwill.

“Lord” is from kurios. We saw in verse five that this refers to “a person who is in a position of authority over you.” When accompanied by the definite article as it is here, it is a reference to “the Lord,” that is to God, who is our Lord and our Master.

Meaning Explained

Paul is in the middle of teaching us how we are to behave at work. Nearly all of us have a boss, and even those of us who work for ourselves recognize that our customers are like a boss. A fortunate few of us have a boss whom we really like, but many of us have a boss that we don’t like or that is difficult to work for.

Paul makes no distinction between good and bad bosses, and Peter, in 1Peter 2:18, says we are to be submissive no matter what kind of boss he or she is. In yesterday’s verse we were instructed regarding how not to do our jobs. We are not to perform our work just to give the appearance that we are doing well, and we are not to do our job just to please someone (like our boss).

On the surface this seems a bit contradictory; if we aren’t selfishly doing our job just for appearance sake and we aren’t doing our job just to please our boss or someone else, then who are we doing it for? Today’s verse gives us the answer. We are to perform our job as if we were working directly for our Lord God.

In Exodus 35:35, Daniel 1:17, and Daniel 9:22, we see that God is the one who bestows abilities on us. Couple this with James 1:17 and we see that any gift, talent, or ability we have is a gift from God. Therefore, we should use the talents He has given us to the best of our ability as before Him and unto Him. And, Paul specifically tells us here that we are to do our jobs with good thoughts and with a servant’s heart.

Application

As God’s children we are also God’s servants (bond slaves). We have been bought with the blood of Christ; He has purchased us and given us specific gifts and abilities. For these reasons, and in gratitude for all that He has done for us, we should perform whatever task we undertake as if we were doing it directly for Him. We need to give Him the best we have. After all, He gave His best for us, didn’t He?

In God's service, for His glory,

Ephesians 6:7 – Give Your Best!

Posted on March 15, 2012 by Will

with goodwill doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men,

Truth to Learn

God gave us His best, so we should give Him our best.

Behind the Words

“Doing service” is translated from the Greek verb douleuō, which is derived from doulos (a bond servant or slave). Douleuō means “to be subject to and perform service for a master.” The verb is expressed here as a participle in the present tense, indicating continual action in the present.

Meaning Explained

Application

In God's service, for His glory,

Romans 16:18 – Servants, Not Crusaders

Posted on June 28, 2011 by Will

Romans 16:18 – Servants, Not Crusaders

For those who are such do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly, and by smooth words and flattering speech deceive the hearts of the simple.

Truth to Learn

Lack of submissiveness can cause harm to the body of Christ.

Behind the Words

The word translated “serve” is douleuō, the verb form of doulos, meaning “a slave, one whose will is totally submitted to his master/owner.”

“Simple” is translated from the Greek noun akakos, which is made up of the privative a, meaning “not” and kakos, meaning “bad.” Hence, akakos refers to someone “without guile;” that is, someone who is innocent or unsuspecting.

Meaning Explained

Too often such people are very charismatic and persuasive. And too often a church split is the result of their words and actions. Do you think that’s what God wants?

Application

In God’s service, for His glory,

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

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Romans 14:18 – Becoming God Pleasers

Posted on March 31, 2011 by Will

Romans 14:18 – Becoming God Pleasers

For he who serves Christ in these things is acceptable to God and approved by men.

Truth to Learn

Serving Christ pleases God and gains the respect of others.

Behind the Words

“Serves” is translated from douleuō, which is the verb form of the noun doulos, meaning “a bond slave whose will is completely submitted to his master/owner.”

The adjective “acceptable” is translated from euarestos, made up of eu, meaning “good” or “well” and areskō, meaning “to please” or “to be agreeable.” Thus, euarestos literally means “well pleasing.” I prefer this translation over “acceptable” because it shows us that it’s not simply okay with God, but that He really likes it.

“Approved” is from dokimos, which is based on the verb dokimadzō, meaning “to test something to ascertain its worth.”

Meaning Explained

In verse thirteen of this chapter Paul told us that serving others is more important than serving ourselves. If you go back to the Ten Commandments given to Moses, you will notice that serving others instead of self fulfills the second table of the Law (Commandments seven through ten). The point that Paul is making in the current verse is that serving God is more important than serving self. That fulfills the first table of the Law (Commandments one through six). We’re told that limiting our own freedoms based on what might cause a fellow Christian to stumble is an act of serving Christ (being His bond slave) and this is “well pleasing to God.”

Application

In God’s service, for His glory,

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

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Romans 6:7 – Freed by Death

Posted on March 8, 2010 by Will

Romans 6:7

For he who has died has been freed from sin.

Truth to Learn

The death of our sin nature freed us from the bondage of sin.

Behind the Words

The word translated “slaves” in the previous verse is the Greek word douleuō, which is the verb form of doulos, meaning “one who is in a permanent relation of servitude to another, his will being altogether consumed in the will of the other. It refers to a person who has no rights of his own, one who exists only as the property of someone else.” Therefore, douleuō means “to be a slave.”

The word translated here as “freed” is the word dikaioō, which means “to justify” or “to declare righteous.” The word is expressed in the perfect tense. As we pointed out a couple verses back, the perfect tense in Greek refers to completed past action with a resultant state of being, where the emphasis is on the resultant state of being. The word following dikaioō, however, is apo, meaning “from.” When used in this way, the word dikaioo refers to our having been “freed from something” with the emphasis on the resultant state of being (we have been and, therefore, are now free from sin).

Meaning Explained

Now that we have crucified our sin nature, however, we no longer have to be subject to sin. That’s what Paul is saying in the current verse, “he who died (our old man) has been freed from sin.

Does that mean that we always choose to obey God? Unfortunately, the answer is no. All too often, we choose to obey our sin nature instead of obeying God. That, as Paul taught us in the previous chapter, is where grace comes in. Even though we follow our own desires instead of God’s moral law, we have been declared righteous and we need not fear the wrath of God. But … we should not continue in our sinful ways. Our sin nature has been crucified so we have a free will to choose good over evil.

Application

Whom do you want to be submitted to?

In God’s service, for His glory,

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

If this message or this link was forwarded to you by a friend and you wish to receive future verses directly to your inbox, you can call the church phone (618) 614-3070 and leave a message telling us your name and e-mail address or you can send an e-mail to: