Romans 1:16

The tone of this verse is one of making a definitive statement.  In other words, take notice!  I AM NOT ASHAMED OF THE GOSPEL.  And the basis for my unashamed confidence is my conviction that the Gospel in its content and manner and method is how God works His awesome power to effect salvation in everyone who believes.

1 Samuel 15:22-23

The Priority of Obedience

The passage here is taken from when Samuel confronts Saul in his sinful disobedience against God in refusing to exterminate the Amalekites and kill Agag as ordered by God.  A parallel passage is found in Psalm 51:

For You do not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it;
You are not pleased with burnt offering.
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.

Psalm 51:16-17

The idea is the same.  God is not satisfied with surface level obedience or a show of compliance.  Instead, God requires the whole of the heart to move in response to His holy command and direction.  This is very simply state: “to obey is better than sacrifice”.  When obedience is the posture of the heart, the man acts in submission to the will of God.  He does not delay or bargain or seek to otherwise rebellion against nor deny the full direction of God’s will.  Instead his heart is in harmony with the Lord’s and delights in the delight of Lord.  This heart is characterized by brokenness over sin and contriteness over the rebellion of sin against holy God.  Above all, godliness grows up out of a humble heart that sees his sin and hates it because he loves the King.

Psalm 42:11

Reminders of Hope

It is necessary to remind the soul often and urgently to trust and hope in the Lord instead of giving into despair.  A true genuine Christian is never conquered by despair because he has already been set free from the dominating power of sin.  Instead, his new identity in Christ makes it so he never is compelled to sin anymore.  Yet, the Christian can be enticed and lulled into a surrender to sin when he releases the hope that he has in Christ and loses sight of God’s gracious that is the source of his strength.  A true genuine Christian can never be conquered by despair but he can surrender to it.  And thus, this reveals the great necessity for all Christians to regularly refresh and remind themselves of the super-abundant hope that they have in the goodness and strength of God.

The need for these reminders of hope is especially necessary when he detects the trouble in his soul that only expresses dissatisfaction with the will of God.  A disquieted soul must be ministered to by the mind that has been saturated in the Word of God.  There must be no delay, for the consequences of unaddressed sinful thought can only lead to death in unrepentant sin.

2 Timothy 2:22

Two Commands of Purity

Flee youthful lusts and pursue righteousness.  Identify objects that tempt towards lust and objects that incite lusts and avoid them!  Instead focus attentions upon the pursuit of righteousness and all that accompanies that.  Note however, that this is not a command to an individual, but one that is corporate.  It implies the the pursuit of righteousness and fleeing from youthful lusts is to be done in the context of the fellowship.  This means not only is the fellowship to corporately pursue purity, but that the individual leans upon the fellowship of the congregation to aid in these endeavors as well.

Romans 1:15

Eager Attitude of the Gospel

So, for my part, I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.

- outwv – adverb

- in this manner, thus, so

- to – definite article / nominative / singular / neuter

- this, that, these, etc.

- kat – preposition

- down from, through out; according to, toward, along

- eme – personal pronoun / accusative / singular

- I, me, myself

- proqumon – adjective / nominative / singular / neuter

- ready, willing

- kai – adverb

- and, also, even, indeed, but

- umin – personal pronoun / dative / plural

- you

- toiv – definite article / dative / plural / masculine

- this, that, these, etc.

- en – preposition

- in, by, with, etc.

- Rwmh – noun / dative / singular / feminine

- Rome, “strength”

- euaggelisasqai – verb / aorist / middle / infinitive

- to bring good news, to announce glad tidings; in the NT used especially of the glad tidings of the coming kingdom of God, and of the salvation to be obtained in it through Christ, and of what relates to this salvation

- It is almost dismissive to say, “Yes, we know we are to preach the Gospel”.  But this simple verse highlights an attitude of eagerness that is not so common.  Furthermore, the area of Rome to which Paul wanted to preach the Gospel was not particularly receptive to the Gospel but instead was itself a center of idolatry (emperor worship).  Yet Paul is still eager. Well the key to that eagerness is laid out in the following verses describing a firm confidence in the power of the Gospel to save and redeem sinful man.  Paul’s faith in the power of the Gospel led to a heavenly hopefulness that was not deterred or diminished by the outward showings of this earthly world.  Paul had personally experienced the transformative nature of the Gospel and fully expected the same miraculous effects upon other sinners by the Grace of God.

Application: Am I, motivated by a trust in the power of the Gospel, eager to preach the Gospel and hopeful in anticipation for the glory of God to be revealed through the transformative work in sinful man?

Proverbs 3:3-6

Beware the Seductive Temptations of Sexual Sin

Sexual temptation will be very appealing not only in appearance but also in experience.  It will be sweet and delightful (“drip honey” and “smoother than oil”).  So the key to fighting sexual temptation is found in having a perspective that considers the future and weighs the consequences.  It must be sharply remembered that the end of sexual temptation is bitterness and regret.  I must remember that the promises of sexual sin, while possessing fleeting moments of pleasure, will not be fulfilling or ultimately satisfying.  Thus I must make it a practice to consider the future consequences behind each decision regardless the present appeal.  For sexual sin results in bitterness and has the power to hurt and maim bearing the sharpness of a two-edged sword.  There is no safe way to handle a two-edged sword (representing the passion of sexual lust) except by holding it by the handle which created man can not do apart from the help of the Holy Spirit.  And not only does following sexual temptation result in bitterness (unfulfilled longing), but very clearly her destination is death and Sheol (destruction).  And so the key to fighting sexual temptation is reiterated, “ponder the path of life”.  See the future of destruction that awaits fulfilling sexual temptation and shudder.

Romans 1:14

The Indiscriminate Obligation of the Gospel

- I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish.

-Ellhsin – noun / dative / plural / masculine

- a Greek by nationality, whether a native of the main land or of the Greek islands or colonies

- te – conjunction

- not only … but also; both … and; as … so

- kai – conjunction

- and, also, even, indeed, but

- barbarois – adjective / dative / plural / masculine

- one whose speech is rude, rough, and harsh; one who speaks a foreign or strange language which is not understood by another

- sofoiv – adjective / dative / plural / masculine

- wise (skilled in letters, cultivated, learned)

- te – conjunction

- not only … but also; both … and; as … so

- kai – conjunction

- and, also, even, indeed, but

- anohtoiv – adjective / dative / plural / masculine

- not understood, unintelligible; not understanding, unwise, foolish

- ofeilethv – noun / nominative / singular /masculine

- one who owes another, a debtor; one held by some obligation, bound by some duty

- eimi – verb / 1st person / present / active / indicative / singular

- to be, to exist, to happen, to be present

- The obligation that Paul has is to the Greeks and barbarians and wise and foolish.  It is in present tense so it is current and has continuing results.  The terms Greek and barbarian and wise and foolish are intentionally used to depict the broad spectrum of audience to which the Gospel is owed.  There is no restriction in the audience of who should hear the Gospel.  Specifically, even if they seem to be barbarians or foolish (not be sensible) and thereby waste opportunities to hear and understand the Gospel, my obligation is to evangelize to them as well.

It is humbling to consider that the one who has heard the Gospel and understood the Gospel and repented in accordance to the Gospel now has an obligation to the unrepentant.  It reminds me of Luke 12:48b – From everyone who has been given much, much will be required; and to whom they entrusted much, of him they will ask all the more.  And clearly, the gift of the Gospel and the faith to repent in accordance to it are tremendous gifts.  However, the obligation stressed here is one towards unrepentant sinners who still need the Gospel instead of the Lord who has blessed the Christian with genuine faith.

Application: Remember the precious gift of the Gospel and the value of repentance in my own life.  Let that not only result in praise to the Father, but also a heart to evangelize to the lost.

1 Peter 1:7

The Surpassing Value of Proven Faith

The obvious question is why is proven faith so valuable or important?  This verse claims that proven faith is more precious than gold, but so what?  Immediately in the context of the verse we see that the distinguishing mark of proven faith is found in its imperishable worth.  While gold (or the things of the world) may seem beautiful and attractive and enjoyable, their pleasures only last for a little while.  The joys of proven faith, however, do not fade away.  Instead, even greater worth are found in proven faith because this verse connects proven faith with the result of “praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ;”.  So from the Christian perspective, there is the understanding that proven faith is not only imperishable joy, but that it abounds even more and more because of the result of this faith.  When faith becomes sight, this sight exults in the revelation and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.

What are the implications of imperishable value/joy?  This means that once attained, it can not be lost, diminished, or taken away.  At its root, perishable refers to the susceptibility of an object or thing to decay and death.  Thus there is great joy in having proven faith because the concern is shifted towards the nurturing and exercise of faith instead of the maintenance (in terms of quality) and worry.  Worrying about the presence of faith is translated into those who argue that salvation can be lost.  Instead, true, proven faith can not be lost, but instead can grow dull.

What is necessary for provenness in faith?  Proven faith requires testing in order to determine the fruit of that faith.  Because the Spirit is the one that sustains faith in the believer, the fruits of faith are indicative of the worker of faith (the Spirit) as well.  Thus proven faith can be identified by the continued presence of the fruits of the Spirit.  And it is the evidence of these fruits that should lead to joy that trumps even the harshest of afflictions and trials.

Ephesians 5:22-23

Wives, be subject to your own husbands, as to the Lord.

- ai – definite article / vocative / plural / feminine

- this, that, these, etc.

- gunaikev – noun / vocative / plural / feminine

- a woman of any age; a wife (of a betrothed woman)

- toiv – definite article / dative / plural / masculine

- this, that, these, etc.

- idioiv – adjective / dative / plural / masculine

- pertaining to one’s self, one’s own, belonging to one’s self

- andrasin – noun / dative / plural / masculine

- with reference to sex (of a male, husband, betrothed or future husband); any male

- wv – conjunction

- as, like, even as, etc.

- tw – definite article / dative / singular / masculine

- this, that, these, etc.

- kuriw – noun / dative / singular / masculine

- he to whom a person or thing belongs, about which he has power of deciding; master, lord

For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body.

- oti – conjunction

- that, because, since

- anhr – noun / nominative / singular / masculine

- with reference to sex (of a male, of a husband, of a betrothed or future husband); any male

- estin – verb / 3rd person / present / active / indicative / singular

- third person singular of “to be”

- kefalh – noun / nominative / singular / feminine

- the head, both of men of often of animals; anything supreme, chief, prominent (of person, master lord: of a husband in relation to his wife; of Christ: the Lord of the husband and of the Church)

- thv – definite article / genitive / singular / feminine

- this, that, these, etc.

- gunaikov – noun / genitive / singular / feminine

- a woman of any age, whether a virgin, or married, or a widow; a wife (of a betrothed woman)

- wv – conjunction

- as, like, even as, etc.

- kai – adverb

- and, also, even, indeed, but

- o – definite article / nominative / singular / masculine

- this, that, these, etc.

- Xristou – noun / nominative / singular / masculine

- Christ, “anointed”

- kefalh – noun / nominative / singular / feminine

- the head, both of men and often of animals; anything supreme, chief, prominent (of person, master lord: of a husband in relation to his wife; of Christ: the Lord of the husband and of the Church)

- thv – definite article – genitive / singular / feminine

- this, that, these, etc.

- ekklhsias – noun / genitive / singular / feminine

- a gathering of citizens called out from their homes into some public place, an assembly; an assembly of Christians gathered for worship in a religious meeting

- autov – personal pronoun / nominative / singular / masculine

- himself, herself, themselves, itself

- swthr – noun / nominative / singular / masculine

- saviour, deliverer, preserver

- tou – definite article / genitive / singular / neuter

- this, that, these, etc.

- swmatov – noun / genitive / singular / neuter

- the body both of men or animals (a dead body or corpse; the living body <of animals>)

- The call for husbands to be head (in a position of chief responsibility) over their wives is clearly seen in the analogy to the relationship that Christ is Lord over all believers.  The call for wives to be subject to their own husbands (one wife to her husband alone as indicated by the reflexive pronoun) draws upon the submission relationship in the previous verse: “be subject to one another in the fear of Christ”.  The main verb here is:

- upotassomenoi – verb / present / passive / participle / nominative / plural / masculine

- to arrange under, to subordinate; to subject one’s self, obey; to submit to one’s control

- A Greek military term meaning “to arrange [troop divisions] in a military fashion under the command of a leader”.  In non-military use, it was “a voluntary attitude of giving in, cooperating, assuming responsibility, and carrying a burden”.

- The wife is to voluntarily and willing place herself under the direction of her husband.  The husband is to lovingly and sacrificially (as described in the next few verses) serve and rule over/direct his wife.

Ephesians 2:19-22

Unity in Christ

The previous verses in this passage refer to Christ abolishing the dividing wall between Gentile and Jew.  The emphasis here is that fellowship with Christ is based not upon physical circumcision or ethnicity, but solely upon Christ and the faith that He gives us.  And because our faith is a result of His work which is equally received (in substance, not in maturity or quantity) amongst all believers, then all believers are equally children of God.  This stresses the equality of standing in Christ for all believers whether new or old, rich or poor.

Application:  How do I treat and regard in my affections other believers?  Do I personally appreciate the fellowship of Christ being adopted into the household of God?  Do I extend this same grace that I have received from God to other believers as well?  Is my love for the “brethren” truly indicative of a love appropriate to fellow citizens, saints, and members of the same household?