Tag: reasonings

Romans 1:21 – Fools in Darkness

Posted on by Will

because, having known God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were they thankful, but their reasonings became futile, and their foolish hearts were darkened.

Truth to Learn

Those who reject God become fools living in darkness.

 

Behind the Words

The word translated, “reasonings” is the Greek word, dialogismos, from which we get our English word “dialog.” The Greek word refers to “discussion and reason, or debate.”

The words “became futile” are translated from the Greek word mataioō, which means “to become destitute of real wisdom” or “to become foolish.” The word is expressed in the passive voice indicating that it is something that was done to them. That is, they were made destitute of real wisdom.

Asunetos is the Greek word translated “foolish.” This is a compound word made up of the privative a, meaning “not” and sunetos, which means “to have mental discernment and good judgment.” Thus, asunetos means “not having insight or understanding.”

“Were darkened” is translated from the Greek verb skotidzō, which means, “to be obscured, or darkened.” Again, this word is in the passive voice meaning that it, too, was done to them.

 

Meaning Explained

In the previous verse Paul said that the invisible things about God (His eternal power and Godness) are clearly seen and understood by the creatures (mankind) so that they are without excuse. He now goes on to give clarification regarding that statement.

He says, “Because, having known God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were they thankful.” Paul makes it very clear that all of mankind has known God, but some have not given Him the glory, that is the worship, that He is due. Neither did they give Him the thanks that He justly deserves. The previous verse makes it clear that those who reject God recognized His power and Godness but willingly reject Him.

The next phrase is very interesting. It says, “but their reasonings became futile.” As discussed in “Behind the Words,” someone else made them void of wisdom after they rejected God. The implication is that God made fools of them because they rejected the real truth. Their very ability to reason with regard to God has been made to be without wisdom. Paul also says, “their foolish hearts were darkened.” In the Apostle John‘s first letter he says,

God is light and in Him is no darkness at all (1 John 1:5)

Those who reject God do not have this spiritual light; instead, they live in darkness. Consider this, the real pain of Hell for those who reject God will not be that of the heat and flame. It will be the darkness created by the total absence of God and the knowledge that He is gone from them for eternity!

Paul’s message is quite clear in this verse. Those who reject God do so of their own will after having comprehended the existence and power of God. As a result of that rejection, God has made them unable to understand Him, and He has removed His light from their hearts. In a very real sense, God has already judged them because they have rejected who and what He really is. In fact, in John’s Gospel he says:

The one believing into Him is not condemned; but the one not believing has already been condemned, for he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. (John 3:18)

 

Application

Throughout the Old Testament it is proclaimed that God is a jealous God and we are to worship no one or nothing other than Him. Yes, He is a loving God, but He is also a jealous God who expects us to recognize Him for who and what He is. Those who neglect to do so are destined for a torturous and dark eternity!

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2017 Will Krause. All rights reserved

James 2:4 – No Discrimination

Posted on by Will

have you not shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil reasonings?

Truth to Learn

Judging a person by how they dress and how wealthy they are is selfish and evil. We need to learn to not judge people by their outward appearance.

Behind the Words

The phrase, “have you not shown partiality” is translated from the Greek words ou diekrithē. Ou expresses the absolute negative and diekrithē is a compound word made up of dia, meaning “through,” implying separation, and a form of krinō, meaning “to distinguish, to decide, or to judge.” Hence, this word means “to thoroughly distinguish between two things” or “to make a judgment between two things.” In older translations this is the word “discriminate.”

“Judges” is translated from kritēs, the noun form of krinō, which we just saw means “to judge.” James is using a play on words here showing that when we discriminate we are making judgments about people and, therefore, have placed ourselves in the position of being judges.

The words “evil reasonings” are from the Greek words dialogismōn ponērōn. Ponērōn refers to “that which is wicked or evil in a moral or spiritual sense.” The word dialogismōn is made up of dia, meaning “through,” implying separation, and logismōn, a form of logidzomai, meaning “to count or conclude.” Thus dialogismon means “debating or reasoning” and, therefore, dialogismōn ponērōn refers to the evil thoughts that go into such reasoning.

Meaning Explained

Discriminate is an interesting English word. In the early and middle part of the 20th century it was considered good to be discriminating. This meant that a person recognized the difference between good things and bad things. Since the latter part of the twentieth century, however, to discriminate has taken on a negative connotation as it does in this verse. To discriminate between good and bad or between right and wrong is good. But, discriminating against anyone based on outward appearance is not good according to James.

As a nation we have learned over the past 50 years that it is not right to discriminate against someone simply based on their racial or ethnic origin. But we still discriminate based on a person’s apparent wealth. We get excited about seeing a person who is rich and famous, in the flesh, up close and personal. But we avoid the poor people of our society and don’t want to be near them. Why is this? Perhaps, so that we can brag about the fact that we have shaken hands with, or have actually spoken with, someone who is rich and famous. But even that is selfish and sinful.

So to sum up verses 2, 3, and 4, James is saying that we should not discriminate against anyone coming into our church simply based on outward appearances. If we do, we have become judgmental with evil intentions. Christ accepts all who freely come to Him and as His ambassadors, we need to likewise accept all who come to hear the Words of life.

Application

The next time you are asked to be a greeter in your church, go out of your way to make everyone feel welcome and important. Look past their outward appearance. That’s what God does. He sees their heart (and He sees yours as well).