{"id":1240,"date":"2009-09-28T20:39:45","date_gmt":"2009-09-29T02:39:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ministryofgrace.org\/blog\/?p=1240"},"modified":"2009-09-28T20:39:45","modified_gmt":"2009-09-29T02:39:45","slug":"romans-218-biblical-indoctrination","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ministryofgrace.org\/test\/romans-218-biblical-indoctrination\/","title":{"rendered":"Romans 2:18 – Biblical Indoctrination"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

Romans 2:18<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

and know<\/span> His<\/span><\/em> will, and approve the things that are excellent, being instructed out of the law,<\/span><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

Truth to Learn<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Every Christian needs to study the Bible to learn its truths.<\/p>\n

Behind the Words<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cWill<\/span>\u201d is translated from thel\u0113ma<\/span><\/em>, which denotes \u201cthat which has been determined.\u201d The word \u201cHis\u201d is not in the Greek text, although it can properly be inferred since \u201cthat which has been determined\u201d certainly refers to what God has determined.<\/span><\/p>\n

The word translated \u201capprove<\/span>\u201d is the Greek word dokimadz\u014d<\/span><\/em>, which means \u201cto test something with the intent of finding good.\u201d It is the word used with regard to a precious metal like gold when it is tested in fire to determine its value. In this sense it could be translated as \u201cdetermine.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThings that are excellent<\/span>\u201d is translated from the Greek word diapheronta<\/span><\/em>, which means \u201cthose things which are different.\u201d Since the intent of the verb dokimadz\u014d<\/span><\/em> is to find goodness or excellence, it is clear that Paul means that those who have been instructed from the Law are able to discern the things which are good or excellent as opposed to those which are not.<\/span><\/p>\n

The word translated \u201cinstructed<\/span>\u201d is kat\u0113che\u014d<\/span><\/em> (from which we get our English word catechism). It refers to \u201cformalized instruction in religious doctrine\u201d or indoctrination.<\/span><\/p>\n

Meaning Explained<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

In the previous verse Paul began a message condemning pride. The early Christians, who were primarily converted Jews, were still hung-up by pride, believing that they were the chosen people of God. He has just said that the Jews \u201crest in the Law, and boast in God.<\/span>\u201d He now implies that the Jews know the will of God. By this, what he means is that they have the ability to know what God has determined through the Jewish scriptures (the Old Testament).<\/span><\/p>\n

As we just saw in Behind the Words, Paul is saying that the Jews (because they have the Old Testament) have been able to test or to distinguish those things which are different. That is, they are able to discern which things are good or spiritual from those things which are evil or carnal. Why are they able to make this distinction? Because they have been instructed from the Law of Moses and the Prophets. They have had the Holy Scriptures to teach them doctrinal truths.<\/span><\/p>\n

This verse and those that follow are ones that we as Christians need to give special heed to. Just as the Jews became arrogant because they had the Holy Scriptures, the Law and the Prophets, we need to be careful that we don\u2019t get just as arrogant because we have an even more complete form of God\u2019s word in the Bible. Remember what Paul said back in verse 13? \u201cIt\u2019s not the hearers of the Law who will be justified, but the doers of the Law.\u201d But in order to be a doer of what is taught in the Bible, you first have to know what the Bible teaches, don\u2019t you? That means reading and studying. We need to be instructed in the doctrinal truths from the Scriptures!<\/span><\/p>\n

Application<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

There are many Christians who claim that they don\u2019t like doctrine and they don\u2019t like studying the Bible. However, if we haven\u2019t learned the doctrinal truths of the Bible, we won\u2019t know God very well, and we won\u2019t understand His will for us. <\/span><\/p>\n

How much do you study God\u2019s Word?<\/span><\/p>\n

In God\u2019s service, for His glory,<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"signature\"<\/p>\n

Copyright \u00a9 2009 Will Krause. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –<\/p>\n

<\/span>If this message or this link was forwarded to you by a friend and you wish to receive future verses directly to your inbox, you can call the church phone \"\"(618) 614-3070<\/span><\/span><\/span> and leave a message telling us your name and e-mail address or you can send an e-mail to:\"e-mail<\/p>\n

\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Romans 2:18 and know His will, and approve the things that are excellent, being instructed out of the law, Truth to Learn Every Christian needs to study the Bible to learn its truths. Behind the Words \u201cWill\u201d is translated from thel\u0113ma, which denotes \u201cthat which has been determined.\u201d The word \u201cHis\u201d is not in the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[520,521,522,523,524,525],"class_list":["post-1240","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-approve","tag-catechism","tag-doctrine","tag-excellent","tag-instruction","tag-will"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pd5geA-k0","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ministryofgrace.org\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1240","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ministryofgrace.org\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ministryofgrace.org\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ministryofgrace.org\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ministryofgrace.org\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1240"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ministryofgrace.org\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1240\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ministryofgrace.org\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1240"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ministryofgrace.org\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1240"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ministryofgrace.org\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1240"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}