Tag: proslambano

Romans 15:7 – Filthy Righteousness

Posted on by Will

Therefore accept one another, just as Christ also accepted you, to the glory of God.

Truth to Learn

God freely receives all who come in humble faith.

Behind the Words

“Accept” is translated from proslambanō, which is made up of pros, meaning “to or toward” and lambanō, meaning “to take.” Thus, proslambanō literally means “to take to oneself.”

Meaning Explained

In the opening verse of chapter fourteen, Paul began a new subject. He began this treatise with:

Receive one who is weak in the faith, but not to disputes over opinions. (Romans 14:1)

The disputes over opinions that Paul warned about had to do specifically with the fact that some church members believed that Christians had to adhere to the dietary restrictions of the Mosaic Law. Others disputed over whether or not we should regard one day of the week as more holy than the rest. Even though Paul has gone to great lengths to show that we should not judge each other based on how we are individually convicted about such minor spiritual matters, it is not until the current verse that he completes the point he began back in Romans 14:1.

God doesn’t receive any one of us based on what we have done or what rules we have established for our lives. He accepts or rejects based on righteousness. He has already taught the Roman Christians that none of us are righteous apart from the cleansing blood of Jesus Christ. In fact, God’s description of our own righteousness is captured by the prophet Isaiah:

But we are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6a)  [NKJV]

Isaiah compares our righteousness to “filthy rags.” That doesn’t seem too bad to us until we look at what he means by “filthy,” which is translated from the Hebrew word ‛iddāh. It refers to the uncleanness of a woman’s menstrual period.

I know that’s kind of a disgusting description to some of us, but it graphically portrays how God views our own personal righteousness. All of our efforts put into obeying the rules, all the good deeds that we do for others, all the sacrifices that we make for God, and all that we give to Him end up looking to Him like stinking, filthy menstrual rags.

And yet, God receives all of us who come to Him in humble faith when we confess our sinfulness and need of salvation. At that point God credits us with the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ. He turns away no one who comes to Him in humility because He sees Jesus’ righteousness in us. He accepts us immediately and completely with open arms. That, according to Paul in the current verse, is how we are to receive other Christians into our fellowship. We need to be convinced that a new member is genuinely saved, but once we are convinced of that, we are to welcome him or her just as Christ accepted us, to the glory of God!

Application

God doesn’t want your goodness or your gifts. He wants your humble spirit and the recognition that you don’t deserve what He freely offers. Once we recognize how utterly worthless we are to Him and that we bring nothing of worth, then He can use us to bring glory and praise to Himself, and He is worthy!

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2018 Will Krause. All rights reserved

Romans 14:3 – Food or Service?

Posted on by Will

Let not him who eats despise him who does not eat, and let not him who does not eat condemn him who eats; for God has received him.

Truth to Learn

Don’t despise or judge fellow Christians, serve God!

 

Behind the Words

The word translated “despise” is the Greek word exoutheneō, a variation of exoudenoō. This is made up of ex, meaning “out” or “out of,” and oudeis, which means “not even one” or “nothing.” Thus, exoutheneō literally means “to throw out as nothing, to treat as insignificant, or to despise.”

“Condemn” is from the Greek verb krinō, which literally means “to separate” or “to distinguish between good and evil,” that is, “to make a judgment.” As it is used in this verse, it means “to make a condemning judgment about someone else.”

“Received” is from proslambanō, which we looked at a couple of verses ago. In its purest form it means, “to take to oneself.” It is expressed here in the middle voice, indicating action done by the subject (God) to Himself. That is, He was not given the one in question, but has taken him to Himself.

 

Meaning Explained

In Paul’s admonition to the Roman Christians, he has pointed out that some of them believe that there are restrictions on eating certain foods based on the Law of Moses. These are primarily Christians who have been converted from Judaism. Others, Paul says, believe that all foods are permissible to be eaten. He has advised the church that it is good to admit to the fellowship those Christians who are weak in the faith but it is not good to get into arguments about minor issues like which kinds of foods are permissible.

He now goes on to admonish those who are on opposite sides of this issue to be very careful about their attitudes towards each other. He tells the ones who feel no prohibitions about what foods they eat not to “despise” those who think that only certain foods are acceptable. Paul also tells those who follow the Mosaic dietary restrictions not to “judge” those who feel free to eat all kinds of food. These two words are aptly chosen by Paul as Gentiles have a tendency to treat Jews as insignificant or unimportant (to despise them), and Jews have a tendency to judge others because they themselves have for so many years been judged by the Law.

So what we see here is Paul’s discernment, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, that we all have tendencies which we have learned and which are not born out of love but out of prejudice. We Christians are not to pre-judge anyone out of our selfish prejudices, rather we are to treat all people with love. (Remember the end of the previous chapter?) Instead of condemning other Christians because they practice their Christianity in ways different from our own, we should join together to learn what the Spirit of God teaches us all through His Word of Truth.

 

Application

Regarding what kinds of foods Christians can eat, it doesn’t matter who’s “right.” That’s missing the whole point. Remember that the night is almost over and He is coming soon. Forget about what food is proper or what color the sanctuary carpet should be. Proclaim the gospel and build up the body of Christ. Serve God and serve your fellow Christians!

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2018 Will Krause. All rights reserved

Romans 14:1- Needless Arguing

Posted on by Will

Receive one who is weak in the faith, but not to disputes over opinions.

Truth to Learn

Infighting should not be a characteristic of a Christian church.

 

Behind the Words

The word “Receive” is from the Greek word proslambanō, which is made up of pros, meaning “to or toward” and lambanō, meaning “to take.” This we see that this word means “to take to oneself” or “to receive.”

“Weak” is from astheneō, made up of the negative particle a and sthenos, meaning “strength.” The root meaning of astheneō, therefore, is “to be without strength.”

The word “disputes” is from diakrisis. This is made up of dia, meaning “through” or indicating separation and krinō, meaning “to distinguish” or “to judge.” Hence, diakrisis refers to distinguishing or judging through something. By application it means to scrutinize thoughts or beliefs by thorough discussion.

“Opinions” is translated from dialogismos, from the verb dialogidzomai, which is made up of dia, meaning “through” and logidzomai, meaning “to reckon or reason.” Thus we see that dialogismos refers to a “thorough reasoning” or a belief that has been established by such reasoning.

 

Meaning Explained

You will recall that the Christian church at Rome was made up largely of converted Jews. Under the Jewish laws, they were forbidden from eating certain foods, and they were forbidden to work on Saturday (the Jewish Sabbath). As a Christian, however, these legal restrictions had been lifted. But just as Peter had a difficult time accepting Gentiles into the faith before receiving direct revelation from God indicating that it was OK (see Acts chapter 10), so these former Jews found it difficult to accept that Christians did not have to observe the same restrictions that they formerly were bound by.

The issue of what can and can’t be eaten is the issue that Paul is about to address. He starts off by telling the fellowship in Rome that it is good to receive Christians who are weak in the faith. These are people who are genuine converts but who are either new converts or they have not had the privilege of sitting under the teaching of a mature Christian like the apostle Paul. We need to welcome people like this so that they can grow in faith and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Therefore, Paul tells the church to accept these people into the congregation but not to do so just to have a theological discussion about what is proper to eat and what is not. Let me point out that Paul is NOT saying that it is improper to have theological discussions, for this is right and even necessary. What he is saying is that it is not right to have arguments about items of minor importance or opinions. Disputing has become a significant issue within the body of Christ. So much so, that church splits are more the rule than the exception. Some disputes may be necessary, but most are frivolous and detrimental.

 

Application

I remember being in a church that spent considerable time in a business meeting arguing about whether or not there should be carpeting in the sanctuary. It became a heated discussion and caused hard feelings among everyone in attendance; it was not edifying and did not serve to build-up the body of Christ. Instead of such trivial arguing, let’s all keep our focus on Him!

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2018 Will Krause. All rights reserved

Romans 15:7 – Filthy Righteousness

Posted on by Will

Romans 15:7 – Filthy Righteousness

Therefore receive one another, just as Christ also received us, to the glory of God.

Truth to Learn

God freely receives all who come in humble faith.

Behind the Words

“Received” is translated from proslambanō, which is made up of pros, meaning “to or toward” and lambanō, meaning “to take.” Thus, proslambanō literally means “to take to oneself.”

Meaning Explained

In the opening verse of chapter fourteen, Paul began a new subject. He began this treatise with:

Receive one who is weak in the faith, but not to disputes over doubtful things. (Romans 14:1)

The disputes over doubtful things that Paul warned about had to do specifically with the fact that some church members believed that Christians had to adhere to the dietary restrictions of the Mosaic Law. Others disputed over whether or not we should regard one day of the week as more holy than the rest. Even though Paul has gone to great lengths to show that we should not judge each other based on how we are individually convicted about such minor spiritual matters, it is not until the current verse that he completes the point he began back in Romans 14:1.

God doesn’t receive any one of us based on what we have done or what rules we have established for our lives. He accepts or rejects based on righteousness. He has already taught the Roman Christians that none of us are righteous apart from the cleansing blood of Jesus Christ. In fact, God’s description of our own righteousness is captured by the prophet Isaiah:

But we are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6a)

Isaiah compares our righteousness to “filthy rags.” That doesn’t seem too bad to us until we look at what he means by “filthy,” which is translated from the Hebrew word ‛iddāh. It refers to the uncleanness of a woman’s menstrual period.

I know that’s kind of a disgusting description to some of us, but it graphically portrays how God views our own personal righteousness. All of our efforts put into obeying the rules, all the good deeds that we do for others, all the sacrifices that we make for God, and all that we give to Him end up looking to Him like stinking, filthy menstrual rags.

And yet, Christ receives all of us who come to Him in humble faith when we confess our sinfulness and need of salvation. At that point God credits us with the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ. He turns away no one who comes to Him in humility because He sees Jesus’ righteousness in us. He accepts us immediately and completely with open arms. That, according to Paul in the current verse, is how we are to receive other Christians into our fellowship. We need to be convinced that a new member is genuinely saved, but once we are convinced of that, we are to welcome him or her just as Christ accepted us, to the glory of God!

Application

God doesn’t want your goodness or your gifts. He wants your humble spirit and the recognition that you don’t deserve what He freely offers. Once we recognize how utterly worthless we are to Him and that we bring nothing of worth, then He can use us to bring glory and praise to Himself, and He is worthy!

In God’s service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2011 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:

Romans 14:3 – Food or Service?

Posted on by Will

Romans 14:3 – Food or Service?

Let not him who eats despise him who does not eat, and let not him who does not eat judge him who eats; for God has received him.

Truth to Learn

Don’t despise or judge fellow Christians, serve God!

Behind the Words

The word translated “despise” is the Greek word exoutheneō, a variation of exoudenoō. This is made up of ex, meaning “out” or “out of,” and oudeis, which means “not even one” or “nothing.” Thus, exoutheneō literally means “to throw out as nothing, to treat as insignificant, or to despise.”

“Judge” is from the Greek verb krinō, which literally means “to separate” or “to distinguish between good and evil,” that is, “to make a judgment.” As it is used in this verse, it means “to make a condemning judgment about someone else.”

“Received” is from proslambanō, which we looked at a couple of verses ago. In its purest form it means, “to take to oneself.” It is expressed here in the middle voice, indicating action done by the subject (God) to Himself. That is, He was not given the one in question, but has taken him to Himself.

Meaning Explained

In Paul’s admonition to the Roman Christians, he has pointed out that some of them believe that there are restrictions on eating certain foods based on the Law of Moses. These are primarily Christians who have been converted from Judaism. Others, Paul says, believe that all foods are permissible to be eaten. He has advised the church that it is good to admit to the fellowship those Christians who are weak in the faith but it is not good to get into arguments about minor issues like which kinds of foods are permissible.

He now goes on to admonish those who are on opposite sides of this issue to be very careful about their attitudes towards each other. He tells the ones who feel no prohibitions about what foods they eat not to “despise” those who think that only certain foods are acceptable. Paul also tells those who follow the Mosaic dietary restrictions not to “judge” those who feel free to eat all kinds of food. These two words are aptly chosen by Paul as Gentiles have a tendency to treat Jews as insignificant or unimportant (to despise them), and Jews have a tendency to judge others because they themselves have for so many years been judged by the Law.

So what we see here is Paul’s discernment, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, that we all have tendencies which we have learned, which are not born out of love but out of prejudice. We Christians are not to pre-judge anyone out of our selfish prejudices, rather we are to treat all people with love. (Remember the end of the previous chapter?) Instead of condemning other Christians because they practice their Christianity in ways different from our own, we should join together to learn what the Spirit of God teaches us all through His Word of Truth.

Application

Regarding what kinds of foods Christians can eat, it doesn’t matter who’s “right.” That’s missing the whole point. Remember that the night is almost over and He is coming soon. Forget about what food is proper or what color the sanctuary carpet should be. Proclaim the gospel and build up the body of Christ. Serve God and serve your fellow Christians!

In God’s service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2011 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:

Romans 14:1 – Needless Arguing

Posted on by Will

Romans 14:1 – Needless Arguing

Receive one who is weak in the faith, but not to disputes over doubtful things.

Truth to Learn

Infighting should not be a characteristic of a Christian church.

Behind the Words

The word “Receive” is from the Greek word proslambanō, which is made up of pros, meaning “to or toward” and lambanō, meaning “to take.” This we see that this word means “to take to oneself” or “to receive.”

“Weak” is from astheneō, made up of the negative particle a and sthenos, meaning “strength.” The root meaning of astheneō, therefore, is “to be without strength.”

The word “disputes” is from diakrisis. This is made up of dia, meaning “through” or indicating separation and krinō, meaning “to distinguish” or “to judge.” Hence, diakrisis refers to distinguishing or judging through something. By application it means to scrutinize thoughts or beliefs by thorough discussion.

“Doubtful things” is translated from dialogismos, from the verb dialogidzomai, which is made up of dia, meaning “through” and logidzomai, meaning “to reckon or reason.” Thus we see that dialogismos refers to a “thorough reasoning” or a belief that has been established by such reasoning.

Meaning Explained

You will recall that the Christian church at Rome was made up largely of converted Jews. Under the Jewish laws, they were forbidden from eating certain foods, and they were forbidden to work on Saturday (the Jewish Sabbath). As a Christian, however, these legal restrictions had been lifted. But just as Peter had a difficult time accepting Gentiles into the faith before receiving direct revelation from God indicating that it was OK (see Acts chapter 10), so these former Jews found it difficult to accept that Christians did not have to observe the same restrictions that they formerly were bound by.

The issue of what can and can’t be eaten is the issue that Paul is about to address. He starts off by telling the fellowship in Rome that it is good to receive Christians who are weak in the faith. These are people who are genuine converts but who are either new converts or they have not had the privilege of sitting under the teaching of a mature Christian like the apostle Paul. We need to welcome people like this so that they can grow in faith and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Therefore, Paul tells the church to accept these people into the congregation but not to do so just to have a theological discussion about what is proper to eat and what is not. Let me point out that Paul is NOT saying that it is improper to have theological discussions, for this is right and even necessary. What he is saying is that it is not right to have arguments about items of minor importance. Disputing has become a significant issue within the body of Christ. So much so, that church splits are more the rule than the exception. Some disputes may be necessary, but most are frivolous and detrimental.

Application

I remember being in a church that spent considerable time in a business meeting arguing about whether or not there should be carpeting in the sanctuary. It became a heated discussion and caused hard feelings among everyone in attendance; it was not edifying and did not serve to build-up the body of Christ. Instead of such trivial arguing, let’s all keep our focus on Him!

In God’s service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2011 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: