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Romans 9:1 – Oath of Certainty

Posted on May 7, 2018 by Will

I speak the truth in Christ, not a lie, my conscience bearing witness with me in the Holy Spirit,

Truth to Learn

Paul’s concern for the welfare of the unsaved Jews is demonstrated by his passionate proclamation.

Behind the Words

The Greek word translated “truth” is alētheia, which is composed of a, meaning “not” and a form of lanthanō, meaning “to be hidden or to be unaware of.” Hence, this word refers to something that is not hidden but out in the open and subject to public scrutiny.

“Lie” is from a form of pseudō, which means “to lie or to speak falsely or deceitfully.”

The word “conscience” is from the noun form of suneidō, which means “to be one's own witness, one's own conscience coming forward as witness.” This word denotes a conscience that bears witness to the morality of one's own conduct.

Meaning Explained

Paul was accused by his own countrymen (the Jews) of being a turncoat and of rejecting all they stood for as the chosen people of God in favor of this “new religion.” In fact, his fellow Jews were openly desirous of having Paul killed as we see from the book of Acts:

And Festus said: "King Agrippa and all the men who are here present with us, you see this man about whom the whole assembly of the Jews petitioned me, both at Jerusalem and here, crying out that he was not fit to live any longer. (Acts 25:24)

In reality Paul had not turned from the Jews. In fact, he was greatly troubled that so many of his countrymen not only denied the true Messiah, but were openly hostile toward the gospel. He opens this chapter declaring that he is deeply committed to his countrymen and, in fact, would rather that all of them be saved. But he will demonstrate later in this ninth chapter that election has been part of God’s dealing with mankind throughout history, including the offspring of the patriarchs, and he will cite several examples.

He starts out this verse with a declaration of an oath, “I speak the truth in Christ, not a lie,” yet he does not swear by heaven, or the temple, or any other thing. In fact in Matthew 5:34-36 Christ told us not to swear by these things. Instead, he declares this oath in the presence of Christ himself. We so easily pass by this term, Christ, but the Jews of Paul’s day understood that he was referring to the Messiah, the Anointed One for whom the Jews were eagerly waiting.

So we see that Paul is invoking the witness of the highest authority possible regarding what he is about to say. He follows this up with the witness of his own conscience in the presence of the Holy Spirit as well. This is an urgent plea to his countrymen to understand that what he is about to say is true and straight from the innermost part of Paul’s being.

Application

When challenged by others regarding the truthfulness of what we have said, we are prone to say, “I swear it’s true.” This is an oath declaring the absolute certainty of what we have said. That is just how passionate Paul was about the eternal welfare of his fellow Jews who have rejected the gospel message.

In God's service, for His glory,

Romans 3:7 – The Truth Judge

Posted on September 18, 2017 by Will

For if in my lie the truth of God has abounded to His glory, why am I still being judged as a sinner?

Truth to Learn

We are sinners and God will judge sinners.

Behind the Words

The word “lie” is translated from the Greek word pseusma, which is based on the verb pseudomai, meaning “to speak an untruth” or “to attempt to deceive by falsehood.” Therefore, pseusma refers to “a lie” or “a falsehood.”

“Abounded” is from the Greek word perisseuō, which is based on the preposition peri, meaning “around, through, or over.” Perisseuō, means “to be in excess,” “to be overly abundant,” or “to have more than enough.”

Meaning Explained

Paul now states another rhetorical question that could be asked by those who argue against his line of reasoning. The argument could be stated like this: “Hey, Paul, if God is shown to be true by judging my sin and He receives glory for it, then my sin really isn’t bad, is it? If it glorifies God, it must be OK!”

The fallacy of that argument is that the act of sin does not glorify God any more than someone committing murder glorifies the court system. It is the fact that God judges the act of sin just as He said He would (God is shown to be true to His word) that glorifies Him. In the same manner, punishing a murderer glorifies the court system because the court has fulfilled its stated purpose and responsibility.

Some might claim that in the current verse Paul is confessing to be a liar, but that is not the case. You will recall back in verse five he said:

God is true but every man a liar.

That is to say, there is no one who tells the truth all the time, except God. Therefore, every man is a liar. And, if every man is a liar, then that includes Paul.

In effect, what Paul was saying back in verse 4 is, “God is true! And every man is a liar. Therefore man cannot nullify the faithfulness of God.” It is the fact that God is true, i.e. He always does just what He said He would do which brings glory to Him, not our sinfulness.

Also, God’s truth is what separates Christians from the rest of mankind. In John’s gospel he related the prayer that Jesus prayed for his disciples after the Last Supper. In that prayer Jesus said:

Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth. (John 17:17)

We have been set apart … from sin and to God (that’s what “sanctify” means). Believing the gospel message is what sets us apart because that message is truth.

Application

Once again, we are brought face to face with how holy our God is and how sinful we are. And, it is absolutely amazing that a Holy God who judges sin manages to find a way for sinners like us to avoid His judgment. He sent His Son to sacrifice His perfect life so that my sins and yours could be forgiven. How great is His love and how marvelous is His grace!

I am as grateful as I am unworthy! And that’s the truth!

In God's service, for His glory,

2 Thessalonians 2:11 – Hardened Hearts

Posted on August 17, 2016 by Will

And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, so they will believe the lie,

Truth to Learn

Hardening one’s heart toward God is never a good idea.

Behind the Words

The expression “for this reason” is translated from the Greek words dia touto, which literally mean “through this.”

“Will send” is from pempō, meaning “to dispatch” or “to send.” It is expressed here in the present tense, indicating current action. However, this may be seen as a “prophetic present tense” in which the action is spoken of as current with regard to the future events (when the antichrist is revealed). For this reason, most translations express this as a future tense.

Energeia is the word translated “strong.” It is composed of en, meaning “in” and ergon, meaning “work.” Thus, energeia refers literally to something that is engaged in work. In other words it means “working” or “energizing.”

“Delusion” is from planē, which means “a wandering out of the right way” or “a straying from what is right.” Objectively, it refers to that which is a fraud, a deception, or a delusion.

The word translated “lie” is pseudos, of which we saw another form in verse nine. It refers to something that is not truthful. Some translations say “a lie” but the definite article is included in the text, so the proper translation is “the lie.”

Meaning Explained

Because this verse starts off with “for this reason,” we have to determine what it is referring to. It is a reference to “…because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved.” It is because the earth dwellers, living at the time when the lawless one is revealed, refuse to believe God’s truth that God will send them an “energized deception.”

This immediately brings to mind what happened to the Pharaoh of Egypt when Moses delivered God’s demand that he let the children of Israel leave Egypt. Reading Exodus chapters seven through ten we see a progression of “Pharaoh’s heart grew hard” (Exodus 7:13, 22; 8:9, 32) to Pharaoh hardened his heart,” (Exodus 8:15; 9:12, 34, 35) to the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart” (Exodus 9:12; 10:1, 20, 27). Initially it was Pharaoh’s own sinful nature that caused his heart to become hardened against God. Then Pharaoh consciously hardened his own heart against God. Finally, in an act of judgment against him, God hardened Pharaoh’s heart.

Even today, many people have a hardened heart toward God and the gospel message. In the last days the earth dwellers will have consciously hardened their own hearts against God, “refusing to receive the love of the truth.” Finally, God will send such energized deception on the part of the antichrist that they will not be able to believe the truth but will believe the lie conveyed to them. Paul vividly describes this progression in his letter to the Christians in Rome (Romans 1:18-32).

So what is this lie? Perhaps it began with Satan’s message to Eve, “and you will be like God.” In today’s secular humanism it is believed that we are our own god. In the final days, there will be one who deceptively “proves” himself to be God.

Application

Refusing to listen to God’s truth can have terrible consequences. Just because you're a Christian doesn't mean it can't happen to you. Remember what happened to Jonah?

In God's service, for His glory,

2 Thessalonians 2:11 – Hardened Hearts

Posted on November 27, 2012 by Will

And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie,

Truth to Learn

Hardening one’s heart toward God is never a good idea.

Behind the Words

The expression “for this reason” is translated from the Greek words dia touto, which literally mean “through this.”

Meaning Explained

Because this verse starts off with “for this reason,” we have to determine what it is referring to. It is a reference to “because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved.” It is because the earth dwellers, living at the time when the lawless one is revealed, refuse to believe God’s truth that God will send them an “energized deception.”

Application

Refusing to listen to God’s truth can have terrible consequences. Just because you're a Christian doesn't mean it can't happen to you. Remember what happened to Jonah?

In God's service, for His glory,

Romans 1:25 – The Truth or The Lie

Posted on August 23, 2009 by admin

Romans 1:25

who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.

Truth to Learn

We all choose to believe either the truth about God or the lie.

Behind the Words

“exchanged” is translated from metallassō, which is made up of meta, denoting “a change of place or condition” and allassō, meaning “to change.” The word, metallassō means “to convert from one state to another.”

The word translated “glory” in verse 23 is “doxan,” the root of which is “doxa.” According to the Complete Word Study Dictionary, “the word primarily means thought or opinion, especially favorable human opinion, and thus in a secondary sense reputation, praise, honor (true and false), splendor, light, perfection, rewards (temporal and eternal).”

In today’s verse, the phrase “truth of God” is a Hebraism (an idiomatic Hebrew phrase) meaning “the true God” or “the truth that He, and He alone, is God.”

Meaning Explained

On first glance it appears that this verse is a restatement of verse 23, but there are a couple of significant differences here. In verse 23 Paul said they “changed the glory of the incorruptible God” and in this verse he says they, “exchanged the truth of God.” Thus verse 23 says that they changed the reputation or splendor of God into an image. So we see that in verse 23 those who deny God and His power use an image for worship, which is a representation of a created thing. In this verse they have progressed to the point where they deny the truth that Jehovah is the one and only God who is to be revered and worshipped. Paul says that these who deny God’s existence convert that truth into a lie (actually, the Greek text says “the lie”).

These non-believers, according to Paul, both worship and serve the created thing more than the creator of all things. Why do they do this? It’s because they don’t want to submit to Almighty God. Instead, they are willing to submit to a false god, knowing all the time that it really is no god at all. In the case of secular humanism of today, they make man the god and worship and serve self rather than the creator. Hence, the lie that is being subtly propagated today is, “since we have evolved from lower life forms and there is no proof of a creator, we are the supreme beings (i.e. we are gods).

Paul now does an interesting thing in this verse. As he finishes this comparison of false gods and the true God, he is so focused on the divinity, majesty, and holiness of God (the doxa glory of God), that he is compelled to proclaim a “doxology” ascribing praise to God. It is almost as if he is once again so struck with the very truth he is proclaiming that he is compelled to give God the glory He is due. And he follows it with a proclamation of amen, meaning “it is so!”

Application

Let me ask you, have you bought into the lie that we are the highest form of evolved creatures? Or, do you find yourself awestricken by the divinity, majesty, power, love, and holiness of God? Or do you find yourself somewhere in between, not accepting the lie but not in awe of our Creator God?

How you answer these says a lot about your relationship with the God who sent His Son to die so that we can know Him personally.

In God’s service, for His glory,

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