Romans Chapter One Lesson 24
Review:
Next
group begins with: "full of" mesto,j pl. goes with each of the next 5;
#5 "full of envy"
fqo,noj;
bitter
feeling that rises from the heart, mind under sin nature rule that is directed
toward one who is perceived to be above us, who is what we are not; or who
possess what we do not have but want desperately;
#6 "full of murder" fo,noj;
[assonance,
one letter difference] shows the link
between envy and murder; how many times
has an intense envy motivated one to murder someone?
#7 "full of strife" e;rij basic idea is that of
discord, contention, beating down of others through arguments;
#8 "full of deceit" do,loj
basic
= a bait for fish; to catch with bait; Greeks observed that some men and women
were continually putting out an attractive lure, bait, that had a hook in it.
#9 "full of malice" kakohqei,aj
idea
is to see evil and put a negative spin on everything.
** Next 12 are all in accusative
case; list of sins in random order; no
apparent connection between them;
#10 "gossips" yiquristh,j
[onomatopoeic] properly pronounced = hissing sound
- sound matches its
meaning, hissing; came to be used of whispering especially in secret slander of
another;
#11 "slanderers"
kata,laloj to speak evil;
this one speaks evil openly,
publicly; no whispering, nothing secret, here.
#12 "haters of God" qeostugh,j qeoj + stugew
(to
hate)
-
it means to have both an attitude of hate but to show
it.
#13 "insolent" u`bristh,j one who takes pleasure
in insulting others; it has a thread of
violence/cruelty/contempt along with pride in it;
#14 "arrogant" u`perh,fanoj u`per + fainomai
to
shine over/above; to show oneself above
others;
- the self-sufficient
person who sets himself on a pedestal above everyone; in context even above God;
#15 "boastful" avlazw,n braggart; one who
makes empty boasts and false promises often for the purpose of personal gain.
#16 "inventors of evil" evfeureth,j
kako,j
- this term is illustrated for us in Jer 19:4-6; Israel was so involved in rejection of God at
the time that they had become completely involved in pagan worship,
lifestyle;
#17 "disobedient to parents" goneu,j [parents]
avpeiqh,j,
- not able to be persuaded by
parents [have families precisely to
provide protection and direction, training and instruction of children in the
right direction]
#18 "without understanding" avsu,netoj without moral understanding and discernment; no moral
sense; once you suppress the truth have no basis for moral common sense; never used of intellectual
understanding; having knowledge
#19 "untrustworthy" avsu,nqetoj
one who is faithless to any agreement; their word is not their bond!
#20 "unloving" a;storgoj without natural
affection and tenderness; without normal
family feeling
- this is the term that describes
the mother or father who would kill their child(s); the father who abandons his
family; also children who neglect their
aged parents.
#21 "unmerciful" avneleh,mwn draws the picture of the hardness of peoples
heart to the suffering of others; to not show pity speaks of man's inhumanity to man;
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The
Climax of human depravity:
When
you see the term used, the depravity of man, used theologically, what does it
mean? What is its significance?
- To say that mankind is totally depraved, the concept of
total depravity does not mean 4 things:
#1 that every person has exhibited his depravity as
thoroughly as he or she could; murder, rape, etc.
#2 that sinners do not have a
conscience or understanding of God. [that's
clear from this context, they do but
reject it]
#3 that sinners will indulge in
every form of sin.
#4 that because one is totally
depraved they do not perform actions that are considered good in the sight of
others.
#5 that the unbeliever is incapable of believing the Gospel
as the Calvinist holds
- What it does refer to is this:
#1 that corruption extends to every
facet of man's nature and faculties. (sin
nature)
- reason for the necessity of the convicting ministry of the
Holy Spirit.
#2 that there is nothing in anyone that can commend him to a righteous God.
With
vs:32 Paul
presents 3 pertinent realities revealed in this climax!
#1 Those in view, referred to by
the context have full knowledge that their ways not only deserve but must
receive divine judgment.
#2 They persist in practicing these
things; even in the face of this knowledge; indicates they are going against
their conscience.
#3 They not only practice these
things, but have fellowship with and encourage others in their pursuit of these
sins.
Ø
Closing
Observations:
1. The visible
revelation of the wrath of God is seen in the human situation; Paul finds proof
of that in the moral degradation and the moral perversions and inversions of
the created order; both individually and of society as a whole.
2. These
perversions are the direct consequence of their exchanging the worship of the
Creator for the creation.
3. They are under
the judgment of God and without excuse since God has made the basic rudimentary
knowledge of Himself continuously available to men.