useless – Ministry of Grace Church

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Romans 4:14 – Precious Promise

Posted on November 10, 2017 by Will

For if those who are of the law are heirs, faith has been made of no effect and the promise been made useless,

Truth to Learn

Righteousness comes either by faith or by works, not both.

Behind the Words

The word translated “of no effect” is kenoō, which means “to make empty, to neutralize, or to make false.” It is expressed here in the passive voice indicating what is done to faith.

“Made useless” is translated from the Greek word katargeō. This is made up of kata, used as an intensifier and argeō, meaning “to be idle.” Hence it means “to render totally inactive, to be completely idle, or to become absolutely useless.” It is expressed here in the passive voice indicating what is done to the promise.

Meaning Explained

Paul now argues the other side of the fence. Having shown that it is through faith that God reckons righteousness, he now makes a counter statement regarding righteousness through obedience.

He says that if righteousness, being an heir of the world (which was promised to Abraham), is achieved by obedience (obeying the law or any other set of rules), then nothing is accomplished by faith, and God’s promise is useless. After all, what value is there in a promised gift to someone if someone else can attain the same thing by working for it?

Do you understand? What value is there in a promise regarding any unearned future gift if that same thing can be earned? Paul says it makes faith “of no effect.” That is, faith would become void of any meaning, hollow, and empty if righteousness can be earned by works. Not only that, but Paul says that the promise that God made to Abraham would be “made useless.” It would become absolutely useless and serve no purpose at all.

What Paul is demonstrating is how righteousness by faith and righteousness by obedience are complete opposites. You can’t have both and you can’t have a combination of the two, it has to be one or the other. Either a person is made righteous by obedience or he is made righteous by faith. This is particularly significant when you consider what Paul told us previously:

As it is written: “There is none righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands; there is no one seeking God. They all turned away; they have together become unprofitable; there is none who does good, not even one." (Romans 3:10-12)

Faith is a matter of believing, while obedience to the law is a matter of doing. Since none of us is righteous based on our doing (works), our only hope for righteousness (and salvation) is through faith. This renders that righteousness very precious because it can’t be earned; it can only be given to us:

For by grace you are saved through faith, and this not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, (Ephesians 2:8)

Let’s thank God for this precious righteousness by faith!

Application

If you believe that Christ’s death on the cross paid for your sins, then God has declared you to be righteous; you are saved from your sins. How precious does that salvation feel now?

In God's service, for His glory,

James 2:20 – A Fool Without Works

Posted on April 2, 2015 by Will

But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is useless?

Truth to Learn

God calls all true believers to do good works.

Behind the Words

“Want” (“will” in some translations) is translated from thelō, which refers to the will of man (the determined will). It is a different word than boulomai (also translated “will”), which refers to the desirous will of man. Thelō includes active volition and purpose instead of just a simple desire. It is sometimes translated as “determine.”

The word “foolish” is translated from kenos, which simply means “empty.” James is most likely referring to a person who is empty of knowledge on this subject. In the New Testament a fool is someone who rejects God’s teachings. Here, James is simply saying that the person is lacking knowledge.

“Without” is the same word we saw back in verse eighteen, chōris, which means “separately, by itself, or apart from.” In other words, saving faith simply does not exist separated from good works.

“Useless” is translated from the Greek word argos, although some manuscripts have the word nekros, meaning “dead.” Argos is made up of the privative a, meaning “not” or “without” and a form of ergon, meaning work. Hence, it refers to something that is not working, or that is idle and has no effect. It is useless.

Meaning Explained

Back in verse eighteen, James started this path of reasoning by using a hypothetical argument against a saving faith which is not accompanied by works.

But someone will say, "You have faith, and I have works." Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.

James is politely saying to anyone who doubts his assertion, that they are uninformed; they are empty and void of understanding. He simply states once again that faith without the evidence of works is not saving faith (it does not produce new life in Christ). It is useless faith, a faith that doesn’t work!

As pointed out earlier, the Greek word translated “without” really means “separate from.” James is emphatically declaring that true faith does not exist separate from good deeds. A genuine saving faith in the blood of Jesus Christ will always be accompanied by good works. The good works accompany salvation and are the evidence of salvation.

In the next few verses James is going to give a couple of examples of people who proved their faith through their works. In these verses, notice that neither Abram nor Rahab chose the works that became the evidence of their faith. The works were chosen by God for them to do.

Application

Do you ever feel the Spirit of God prompting you to do a good deed? It may be as simple as helping an elderly person who has a physical need, or it may be an opportunity to witness to someone about salvation through Jesus Christ. Whatever it is, your obedience is evidence of your salvation.

In God's service, for His glory,

James 1:26 – Tongue Control

Posted on March 4, 2015 by Will

If anyone among you thinks himself to be religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one's religion is useless.

Truth to Learn

Controlling what we say and how we say it is a clear indication of the degree to which we are submitted to the lordship of Jesus Christ.

Behind the Words

The word translated “thinks” is dokeō. According to The Complete Word Study Dictionary, this word, “expresses the subjective mental estimate or opinion formed by man concerning a matter.” So, this could be translated as “think, imagine, or consider.”

“Religious” is translated from thrēskos, which refers to the ceremonial service of religion. It expresses the external actions of religion whereas the Greek word eusebeia refers to the inward piety of the soul.

The word translated “bridle” is the Greek word chalinagōgeō, which is a compound word made up of chalinos, meaning “a bridle” and agō, which is a verb meaning “to lead or direct.” Hence, this word refers to restraining or controlling something (the tongue).

Finally, “useless” is translated from the Greek word mataios, which means “something which has no purpose” like chasing one’s own shadow.

Meaning Explained

Many of us have heard the saying “religion is man doing what he can to try to earn God’s pleasure.” Christianity, on the other hand, is believing that God loves us enough to have sent His own Son to die on the cross as payment for our sins. Religious activities without faith in Christ are worthless. But, religious activities that spring from faith can be evidence that we have a relationship with our Heavenly Father.

Each of us does things that are religious: we go to church, we read our Bible, we pray, and we do good things for others. As a result, we believe ourselves to be fairly religious. James is cautioning us, however, that if we think of ourselves as being religious and don’t have control of our tongue, then we are deluding ourselves and our religion is worthless and meaningless.

But what does he mean to “bridle the tongue?” Literally, it means to have restraining control of our language, the things that we say. The image here is of a man putting a bridle in his own mouth to have control over his tongue. A person’s ability to bridle his tongue is a reference back to verse 19 where James said:

Know this, my beloved brothers, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger

If we cannot control our tongue then we are not slow to speak and our witness for Christ as demonstrated through our actions of faith are without purpose or effect.

Application

The things we say and the way we say them are clear evidence of our own submission to and obedience to Christ. If we can control our speech, we are well on our way to being Christ-like.

How is your tongue, is it under control, or do you need to fit yourself with a tongue bridle?

In God's service, for His glory,