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Romans 8:33 – Chosen to be Sinless

Posted on July 7, 2010 by Will

Romans 8:33 – Chosen to be Sinless

**Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies.**

Truth to Learn

God declares His chosen ones to be completely righteous.

Behind the Words

“Bring a charge” is from engkaleō, which is a compound word made up of en, meaning “in” and kaleō, meaning “to call.” So, literally this word means “to call in.” Originally it was used with regard to a debt that was “called-in” when it was due. In general usage it has come to mean “to bring a charge against or to accuse someone.”

The word translated “elect.” It is the Greek word eklektos, from the verb eklegō, which is made up of ek, meaning “out” and legō, meaning “to select or choose through thoughtful deliberation.” Hence, eklektos refers to someone or something that has been chosen or selected out of a larger group.

Meaning Explained

Paul now continues with his volcanic eruption regarding the benefits of being God’s children. The first thing we learned is that God is Almighty and will do all to protect us and bless us because we are His adopted children. In other words, we are safe from any evil force. But, if our enemy can’t get to us by force, he will try to get to us by subtlety. He will accuse us of unrighteousness, which makes us feel unworthy to be God’s children. That’s what Paul is addressing in the current verse. Notice Paul’s play on words here. He says “Who shall bring a charge (engkaleō – call in) against God’s elect (eklektos – chosen out ones)?”

Now here is where those who don’t believe in God’s election have a problem. Paul is asking, “Who shall make an accusation against those whom God has chosen?” Now if you don’t believe in election (which says you have believed the gospel message and are saved because God chose you, not because you chose to believe) then this verse doesn’t make sense.

Paul, on the other hand, very much believes in election and teaches it throughout his letters. In fact, the first few chapters of this letter to the Roman Christians were spent explaining how justification comes by grace through faith, not as the result of anything that we have done. And, because God is the one who has declared us righteous (nowhere in the Bible does it teach that God ever removes that righteousness from our account) then it doesn’t matter who brings a charge against us. God’s response is that we are righteous according to His records; therefore the charge will not stand because, “God declares us righteous.”

Thus we see that according to this verse, it doesn’t matter how bad a sin we commit, it has already been paid for by Christ’s blood, and in God’s eyes we are free from sin because we have been given the righteousness of Christ. We don’t deserve this righteousness, we deserve eternity in Hell, but we are righteous because God has chosen us and declared us righteous.

Application

Now, just because we have been declared righteous doesn’t mean we are free to sin all we want. The One who declared us righteous also tells us that if we love Him, we will obey Him. And we should love Him gratefully because of what He has done for us. Thank you God, for the gift that I don’t deserve!

In God’s service, for His glory,

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

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1 Peter 5:13 – Embracing the Faithful

Posted on March 22, 2009 by admin

1 Peter 5:13

She who is in Babylon, elect together with you, greets you; and so does Mark my son.

Truth to Learn

A greeting may come in many forms. The early church used a hug.

Behind the Words

The word translated “elect together with” is suneklektē, which is a feminine noun. It is made up of sun, meaning “together” and a feminine form of eklektos, meaning “selected one” or “chosen one.” The case of this noun indicates that it is the subject of the sentence.

“Greets” is from the Greek word aspadzomai, which is made up of the particle a, implying “union” and a presumed form of spaō, meaning “to draw” or “to pull.” Hence, it literally means “to pull into an embrace.” This “hug” was used as a common salutation either in greeting or bidding farewell to guests.

Meaning Explained

Today’s verse is one of those that looks innocuous enough but which has been discussed and argued over almost since the day it was written. None of these issues concern any particular doctrinal view, so they become nothing but a tempest in a teapot. Nonetheless, here’s some of the discussion.

The verse literally reads (with the word order of the original Greek): “greets you the in Babylon together-elect one and Mark the son my.”

The first thing you will notice is that there is no mention of “the church” at all in the original (some translations say “the church in Babylon …”). Hence, we get, “The together-elect one in Babylon greets you.” Some have argued that Peter is referring to his own wife who is one of the elect, as are the people to whom Peter is writing this letter. Others, however, argue that it makes no sense for Peter to single out a particular woman and, since “church” is a feminine noun in Greek, he must be referring to the church which is in Babylon. We leave it to you to decide for yourself. Either way, she offers you a greeting in the form of a warm embrace.

The second point of contention is whether Peter is referring to the literal Babylon on the Euphrates River (in modern day Iraq) or whether he is using this as a code word for Rome itself. There was a fairly large population of converted Jews in Babylon at that time and Peter, as the apostle to the Jews, could certainly have been there. Given that there is no obvious reason that he would have been trying to conceal his presence in Rome from other Christians (if he were there), it doesn’t make a lot of sense for him to use a code word. The vast majority of Biblical scholars believe that Peter was actually writing from Babylon on the Euphrates.

The final discussion point in this verse is over who Peter is referring to as “Mark my son.” Most scholars are in agreement that this is John Mark, the author of the second Gospel. It is believed that Mark wrote his Gospel account based on what was told to him by Peter. He is referred to as a son, perhaps because Peter had a significant part in Mark’s conversion.

Application

Regardless of what you believe about the contentious portions of this verse, it is clear that the early church considered hugging a proper way to greet and to say good-by? Hugs to you!

In God’s service, for His glory,

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

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