Tag: menounge

Romans 9:20 – It Is Fair!

Posted on by Will

But indeed, O man, who are you to reply against God? Will the thing formed say to him who formed it, "Why have you made me like this?"

Truth to Learn

We have no right to tell God who should be saved and who shouldn’t.

 

Behind the Words

This verse starts of with an unusual Greek word. It is menounge, which is a compound word made up of men, meaning “indeed,” oun, meaning “but, now, or therefore,” and ge which is an emphatic particle, making this an emphatic exclamation which basically means, “but indeed!” In today’s vernacular we might say, “Now wait just a minute!”

The Greek word translated “reply” is antapokrinomai, which is a compound of anti, meaning “against” and krinomai, meaning “to reply or to answer.” This word means “to make an argumentative reply against someone” or “to dispute a statement just made.”

“The thing formed” is translated from plasma, which is the noun form of the verb plassō, meaning “to shape or form something as with clay or wax.”

 

Meaning Explained

What Paul is saying is, “Now wait a minute! Who are you to argue with God?” Do we have the right to tell our maker that He made a mistake? Do we who are imperfect and sinful have the right to tell the perfect, eternal, sinless, all knowing, all powerful God that He is wrong? I don’t think so.

In this verse Paul is quoting from Isaiah who says,

Surely you have things turned around! Shall the potter be esteemed as the clay; For shall the thing made say of him who made it, "He did not make me"? Or shall the thing formed say of him who formed it, "He has no understanding"? (Isaiah 29:16)

Isaiah is chastening the Jews for making themselves and their actions more important than God. He says, “You turn the order of things upside down, putting yourselves in place of God.” That is the same message that Paul is declaring to the Jewish Christians in Rome. They had made their desires and intentions to be of more importance than God’s; they had accepted a little God, big man theology just as many Christians have today.

Similarly, who are we to tell God who is to be saved and who isn’t? It’s His choice, not ours! He chooses us, we don’t choose Him. Wait just a minute! We have no right to tell God that He can’t decide who is to be forgiven their sins and declared righteous and who should suffer the agony of Hell.

As we discussed a few verses back, God is righteous, which means that He always does what is right, and He is holy, which means that He is without sin. Therefore, He always does the right thing without even a hint of sinfulness in it. If He chose to allow most of humankind to go to Hell because of their sinfulness and chose to save some of mankind from that fate by declaring us righteous, then we have no right to question Him in doing so. He is God!

 

Application

In the final analysis it really is fair for God to allow most of mankind to go to Hell and save a few from that fate. It is fair for Him to make that choice! After all, God did it that way and He is sinless and He is always right!

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2018 Will Krause. All rights reserved

Romans 10:18 – Worldwide Music

Posted on by Will

Romans 10:18 – Worldwide Music

But I say, have they not heard? Yes indeed: “their sound has gone out to all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world.”

Truth to Learn

The Gospel message continues to be proclaimed worldwide.

Behind the Words

“Have they not heard” is from the Greek mē ouk akousan. Both mē and ouk are negative particles. In Greek grammar the double negative amplifies the negative. Akousan is a form of akouō, which Paul has been emphasizing throughout these last few verses. We could paraphrase this as, “have they really not heard?”

The words “Yes indeed” are translated from menounge, an unusual word which we looked at back in Romans 9:20. We could paraphrase this as “Now wait just a minute” or “Of course they have!”

“Sound” is from phthongos, which refers to “a musical sound, whether from a musical instrument or the voice.”

The word “ends” is translated from peras, which refers to “the extreme end or the farthest parts.”

Finally, “world” is translated from oikoumenē, which refers to “the place where people live.”

Meaning Explained

Paul has just declared that faith comes by hearing the Word of God, that is, the good news (Gospel) of the Messiah. He now anticipates the objection from the Jewish Christians in Rome that not everyone has heard God’s message. He responds to this theoretical objection by asking one of his rhetorical questions, “Have they really not heard?” And his response is even more emphatic, “Of course they have!”

Remember how beautiful God considers those who proclaim the gospel message? Paul refers to the sound of that message being like a musical sound and he declares that it has gone out to the very ends of civilization.

Paul’s quotation here is from Psalms 19:4 in the Septuagint version of the Old Testament. Here’s what the first part of that Psalm says:

The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork. Day unto day utters speech, and night unto night reveals knowledge. There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard. (Psalms 19:1-3)

The Gospel message continues to be carried to all inhabited parts of the earth. That is our responsibility as Christians. We are to boldly proclaim it to everyone. And even though there may be some who have not heard the gospel message of Jesus’ death and resurrection, they are not innocent because there is sufficient evidence in God’s creation that proclaims God’s magnificence and man’s sinfulness.

Application

Today when you walk outside, take a good look at God’s handiwork and think about how foolish and ashamed those people who want to believe in evolution rather than creation are going to feel when they appear before their Creator and their Judge! They may ridicule us and call us fools, but we are to love them with God’s love and tell them the glorious gospel message. Life is neither meaningless nor hopeless for those who believe God’s truth, and it is undeniable.

In God’s service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2010 Will Krause. All rights reserved.

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

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Romans 9:20 – It Is Fair!

Posted on by Will

Romans 9:20 – It Is Fair!

But indeed, O man, who are you to reply against God? Will the thing formed say to him who formed it, “Why have you made me like this?”

Truth to Learn

We have no right to tell God who should be saved and who shouldn’t.

Behind the Words

This verse starts of with an unusual Greek word. It is menounge, which is a compound word made up of men, meaning “indeed,” oun, meaning “but, now, or therefore,” and ge which is an emphatic particle, making this an emphatic exclamation which basically means, “but indeed!” In today’s vernacular we might say, “Now wait just a minute!”

The Greek word translated “replies” is antapokrinomai, which is a compound of anti, meaning “against” and krinomai, meaning “to reply or to answer.” This word means “to make an argumentative reply against someone” or “to dispute a statement just made.”

“The thing formed” is translated from plasma, which is the noun form of the verb plassō, meaning “to shape or form something as with clay or wax.”

Meaning Explained

What Paul is saying is, “Now wait a minute! Who are you to argue with God?” Do we have the right to tell our maker that He made a mistake? Do we who are imperfect and sinful have the right to tell the perfect, eternal, sinless, all knowing, all powerful God that He is wrong? I don’t think so.

In this verse Paul is quoting from Isaiah who says,

Surely you have things turned around! Shall the potter be esteemed as the clay; For shall the thing made say of him who made it, “He did not make me”? Or shall the thing formed say of him who formed it, “He has no understanding”? (Isaiah 29:16)

Isaiah is chastening the Jews for making themselves and their actions more important than God. He says, “You turn the order of things upside down, putting yourselves in place of God.” That is the same message that Paul is declaring to the Jewish Christians in Rome. They had made their desires and intentions to be of more importance than God’s; they had accepted a little God, big man theology just as many Christians have today.

Similarly, who are we to tell God who is to be saved and who isn’t? It’s His choice, not ours! He chooses us, we don’t choose Him. Wait just a minute! We have no right to tell God that He can’t decide who is to be forgiven their sins and declared righteous and who should suffer the agony of Hell.

As we discussed a few verses back, God is righteous, which means that He always does what is right, and He is holy, which means that He is without sin. Therefore, He always does the right thing without even a hint of sinfulness in it. If He chose to allow most of humankind to go to Hell because of their sinfulness and chose to save some of mankind from that fate by declaring us righteous, then we have no right to question Him in doing so. He is God!

Application

In the final analysis it really is fair for God to allow most of mankind to go to Hell and save a few from that fate. It is fair for Him to make that choice! After all, God did it that way and He is sinless and He is always right!

In God’s service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2010 Will Krause. All rights reserved.

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

If this message or this link was forwarded to you by a friend and you wish to receive future verses directly to your inbox, send an e-mail to: