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Romans 11:24 – Comfort or Zeal?

Posted on September 4, 2018 by Will

For if you were cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and contrary to nature were grafted into a good olive tree, how much more will these, who are natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree?

Truth to Learn

Time is running out to show the fervency of our faith.

Behind the Words

The words “nature” and “natural” are from the Greek word phusis, which is derived from the verb phuō, meaning “to bring forth,” that is, “to give birth.” Phusis refers to the order of things which God has put in place in the natural world.

Meaning Explained

This verse is a summary statement of what Paul has been saying for the past seven verses. I don’t think I could express the meaning of this verse any better than Albert Barnes has in his Notes on the New Testament. Here’s what he said:

The meaning of this whole verse may be thus expressed; “If God had mercy on the Gentiles, who were outcasts from his favor, shall he not much rather on those who were so long his people, to whom had been given the promises, and the covenants, and the Law, whose ancestors had been so many of them his friends, and among whom the Messiah was born?” In some respects, there are facilities among the Jews for their conversion, which had not existed among the Gentiles. They worship one God; they admit the authority of revelation; they have the Scriptures of the Old Testament; they expect a Messiah; and they have a habit of professed reverence for the will of God.

There was a time when the fervency and passion for God among the Christian Church was as great as that of the Jewish people. However, in the past century the Christian Church has become comfortable, satisfied, and complacent. I think God’s message to the church in Laodicea written in the 3^rd chapter of the book of The Revelation can be applied to many of our churches today. Here’s what He says:

And to the angel of the church of Laodicea write, “These things says the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God: ‘I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. Because you say, “I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing”'—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked’” (Revelation 3:14-17)

The day is coming, and now is, in which those who profess to be God’s people will be more concerned with earthly pleasures than with a close personal relationship with the God of all creation. We are more focused on exercising our own will than on seeking and submitting to God’s will for our lives.

Application

Are you comfortable in your Christian faith today? Are you satisfied with where you are in your walk with God? If so, I urge you to pray that God would light a fire of fervency in your spirit and create in you a searing zeal for serving Him in whatever manner He desires! Submit to Him and serve Him with all your heart. Please, I beg of you!

In God's service, for His glory,

Romans 2:14 – Moses’ Law vs. Natural Law

Posted on August 17, 2017 by Will

for when Gentiles, not having the law, by nature do the things in the law, these, although not having the law, are a law unto themselves,

Truth to Learn

Even those who don’t know the Law can do some good.

Behind the Words

“Gentiles” is translated from the Greek word ethnos, which generally refers to “a tribe” or “a nation.” In Jewish writing it nearly always refers to “non-Jewish people” or “Gentiles,” though it is sometimes translated as “nations.”

The word translated “by nature” is the Greek word phusis, derived from the verb phuō, meaning “to produce from seed.” Phusis refers specifically to “natural birth” and has come to mean “that which is part of a person’s nature.”

Meaning Explained

Paul is now showing the Jewish Christians in Rome that having the Law and living by it is not sufficient reason to feel confident. As he said in the previous verse, simply hearing the Law is not good enough to demonstrate a person’s righteousness; instead one must be a doer of the Law.

Lest we get confused here, Paul is not claiming that any of us can be justified by obeying the Law of Moses or the Ten Commandments. As he will point out later, there is no one who keeps the whole Law, and if we break one of the commandments, then we are guilty of all of them. The only one to keep the whole Law is Jesus Christ. For that reason, he is righteous. In the next chapter of this letter Paul will quote from Psalms 14 as he informs his readers:

As it is written: "There is none righteous, no, not one;” (Romans 3:10)

Yet, somehow the Jews believed that it was possible to keep the Law. This is precisely the notion that Paul is in the process of systematically proving false. To the Jew, and therefore to most of the early Christians, the Law was supreme and keeping the letter of the Law was paramount. That’s how they gauged how good they were.

What Paul is saying in today’s verse is, even though the Gentiles do not have the Law (the Old Testament), they still do some good things. And by doing so they demonstrate that there is a natural law that governs man independent of the revealed Law in the Old Testament. In the next couple of verses Paul will proclaim that the Great Judge will judge the Gentiles according to that natural law, and their consciences.

But salvation (being righteous) can only come by faith. Man is capable of doing good things, but not enough to satisfy a perfect, righteous, holy God. Whether it is the Law of Moses or the natural law, man is incapable of satisfying it completely. And Christians today sometimes develop a mindset that we are good Christians if we keep all the rules of the church. That really is no different from the early Christians believing that they could be saved by keeping the Law.

Application

Obeying God is good. It’s what He wants us to do. It’s what we ought to do, but it won’t save us because we can never be good enough. That’s why we need the grace of God, and that’s why salvation can only come through faith. As Paul will tell us later in this letter, God does not look favorably on the Christian who lives by all the rules; He looks favorably on the Christian who lives by faith.

In God's service, for His glory,

Ephesians 2:3 – Wrath Avoidance

Posted on August 18, 2015 by Will

among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, doing the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.

Truth to Learn

Before we were saved we were destined for God’s wrath.

Behind the Words

The word “among” is translated from the Greek preposition en, meaning “in” or “among.”

“Conducted” is from the verb anastrephō. This is made up of ana, meaning “again” and strephō, meaning “to turn.” So, literally it means “to turn again.” When used of a person it is a metaphor meaning “to live one’s life.”

Epithumia is the Greek word translated “lusts.” It is made up of epi, meaning “over” or “above” and a form of thumos, which refers to “a passion or desire of the mind.” Thus, epithumia refers to “overly strong desires.”

The word “doing” is from the Greek verb poieō, meaning “to make” or “to do.” It is expressed here as a present participle, so it means “doing.”

“Desires” is translated from thelēma which refers to “an act of determination.” So, it really means more than “desires.” It means “those things which we decided to do.”

“Flesh” is from sarx, which literally refers to “the meat or flesh of a living creature.” This word is commonly used to refer to the physical part of our existence as opposed to the spiritual part.

The word “mind” is translated from dianoia which refers to “deep thought” or “imagination.”

“Nature” is from the Greek word phusis, which is derived from the noun phuō, meaning “to bring forth in birth.” It is used here as a metonym in reference to our natural inclination.

The word “wrath” is translated from orgē, which means “desire, strong emotion, anger, or wrath.”

“Others” is from the Greek word loipos, which is from the verb leipō, meaning “to lack” or “to leave something where it is.” In other words, it refers to “that which is left.” So, it could be translated as “the remainder” or “the others.”

Meaning Explained

In the previous verse Paul told us that before we became Christians we lived according to the ways of the world system in which we live. Our behavior was influenced by Satan who controls those who don’t believe in Christ.

What he tells us in today’s verse is that we used to live our lives controlled by the lusts of our flesh. Another way of saying this is that we used to be controlled by our sin nature. In the book of Romans, Paul calls it our “old man,” and he tells us that we used to be the slaves of sin:

knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be nullified, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. (Romans 6:6)

Because we were controlled by our fleshly desires and our imagination, Paul says we were children of wrath just like the rest of unsaved humanity. What he means is that before we were saved, we were God’s enemies and subject to his wrath. Some Christians think of God as a vengeful God, waiting for us to slip up so He can punish us. Other Christians don’t like to think of God as vengeful and exhibiting wrath; they like to think of God as a God of love. He is both. Those who receive Jesus Christ will one day experience God’s love completely, whereas those who reject Jesus Christ will one day experience the full fury of God’s wrath.

… And He treads the winepress of the wine of the anger and wrath of Almighty God. (Revelation 19:15c)

Application

As a Christian you still have a sin nature, but you don’t have to be controlled by it. Instead, you can submit your will to God and allow the Holy Spirit to control your life.

In God's service, for His glory,

Romans 11:24 – Comfort or Zeal?

Posted on November 30, 2010 by Will

Romans 11:24 – Comfort or Zeal?

For if you were cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and were grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, who are natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree?

Truth to Learn

Time is running out to show the fervency of our faith.

Behind the Words

Meaning Explained

And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write, “These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God: ‘I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. Because you say, “I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing”’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked’” (Revelation 3:14-17)

Application

In God’s service, for His glory,

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

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Romans 2:14 – Moses’ Law vs. Natural Law

Posted on September 22, 2009 by admin

Romans 2:14

for when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do the things in the law, these, although not having the law, are a law to themselves,

Truth to Learn

Even those who don’t know the Law can do some good.

Behind the Words

Meaning Explained

Lest we get confused here, Paul is not claiming that any of us can be justified by obeying the Law. As he will point out later, there is no one who keeps the whole Law, and if we break one of the commandments, then we are guilty of all of them. The only one to keep the whole Law is Jesus Christ. For that reason, he is righteous. In the next chapter of this letter Paul will quote from Psalms 14 as he informs his readers:

As it is written: “There is none righteous, no, not one;” (Romans 3:10)

Application

In God’s service, for His glory,

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

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