Category Archives: Powerless

Bible, Power, Powerless, Scripture, Sin, Victors

DONE AWAY WITH

ROMANS 6:6

“knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin;”

When I was growing up, my dad had an old step-side Chevrolet pickup with three-on-the-tree. Do you know what that is? That’s a 3 speed manual transmission that you shift on the side of the steering column. I loved that old truck. I learned to drive in that truck. The only thing wrong with that truck was occasionally the second gear would hang up when we tried to shift from first to second. When that happened, the truck would be in neutral or in between gears which made it powerless.  We would have to coast to the side of the road, raise the hood and jiggle the shifter loose. Those were the good old days, lol.

Paul uses a word in today’s verse that gives that same picture. The phrase “done away with” is the Greek word katargéō, and it  means “to make completely inoperative or to put out of use.” (TDNT) Paul is telling us here that because we have been crucified with Christ sin no longer has power over us. Our old sinful body is essentially thrown into neutral. We are freed from the bonds of sin.

APPLICATION

This word is used 27 times in the New Testament, all but two by Paul. In Hebrews 2:14, the writer says that Christ through His death “might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil.” Christ threw the devil into neutral regarding his power over us in regard to sin. Because of Christ’s victory over death, the devil is powerless to exercise his control over us. Hallelujah!

The other time this word is used other than by Paul is in Luke 13:7 when Jesus was telling the parable about the unproductive fig tree. He said, “‘Why does it even use up the ground?’” The tree was making the soil unproductive or powerless. I want us to zero in on this thought. We have been given the promise of power over sin, but just like I did when I jumped out of my dad’s truck to throw that truck back into gear, we have the choice to throw sin back into our lives, giving it power over us. This robs the good soil from producing fruit in our lives.

I’ve known many people who came to Christ and gained victory over sin and then turned back to it. Drug addicts have a tendency to do that. They get clean, get saved and then make the terrible choice to sin again. Those drugs have no power over them unless they choose to give it. You need to choose today what you will do when you face that temptation. Will you throw sin back into gear and give it power over you or will you refuse to yield to it, making it powerless? The choice is yours. Choose wisely.

Lord God, I only want Your power in my life, not the ugly power of sin.

If the Lord should lead you to support our ministry, check out our ministry page at Trans World Radio (www.twr.org/carl-willis). 

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Bible, Empty, Power, Powerless, Righteousness, Scripture, Useless

EMPTIED

ROMANS 4:14

“For if those who are of the Law are heirs, then faith is made void and the promise is nullified;”

As I read this verse today, a picture came into my mind of a car. I just got back yesterday from a day of driving to and from another city. It was about a two hour drive each way. Did you know that the speed of my truck had nothing to do with how hard I pressed the gas pedal? That’s right. How fast I went was determined by the fuel that was in the tank. If my truck did not have any fuel, I could press that pedal through the floorboard and it would not go anywhere. But when the source of the power is present, the engine fires, the transmission kicks in and the tires turn. Fuel is the key, not the pedal.

That is a very rough analogy for today’s verse. Our justification goes nowhere without faith in Jesus. All the works we accomplish (pressing the pedal) will get us nowhere. But when the power source (faith in Jesus) is present, we have the righteousness of God upon us. We reach our destination (heaven) because of the source that is in us.

APPLICATION

“Paul warns that reliance on Torah observance would kekenotai (“render empty”) both faith and promise. The term stresses how human works cannot coexist as instrumental causes of justification; introducing law-keeping would drain the gospel of its power and make God’s covenantal word ineffective. This verse undergirds the Reformation emphasis on sola fide, demonstrating that grace and law-merit are mutually exclusive avenues to inheritance.” (Topical Lexicon) Pretty clear explanation of the word “void” in today’s verse.

This word for “void” is found in four other locations in the New Testament (all by Paul). In 1 Corinthians 1:17 we read, “For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with cleverness of speech, so that the cross of Christ would not be made of no effect.” There’s the word again, this time translated as “no effect.”

My favorite use of the word, however, is found in Philippians 2:7. Look at the verse in context in verses 5-7. “5 Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, as He already existed in the form of God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but emptied Himself by taking the form of a bond-servant and being born in the likeness of men.”  He “emptied” Himself. He gave up His glory to become man for us. Wow! What can you empty yourself of today?

More of You and less of me, dear Lord. Help me empty myself of my own power and allow Your power to flow through me.

If the Lord should lead you to support our ministry, check out our ministry page at Trans World Radio (www.twr.org/carl-willis). 

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Bible, Faith, Law, Powerless, Scripture

NULLIFY?

ROMANS 3:31

“Do we then nullify the Law through faith? Far from it! On the contrary, we establish the Law.”

I’ve told this story before, but it fits today’s verse so well. I had a little 4×4 pickup that I really loved. One afternoon as I was going into the woods to hunt, it died. One second it was running, and the next it was not. My truck got “nullified.” It was completely inoperative. I had to call a tow truck to haul it out of the woods and I wound up getting rid of the truck due to the expense of the repair which was more than the value of the truck.

Nullify is not a word we throw around a lot. The English word means to make void or cancel, but the Greek word translated in today’s verse as “nullify” has a much deeper meaning. The Greek word is katargéō “(from katá, ‘down to a point,’ intensifying argéō, ‘inactive, idle’) – properly, idle down, rendering something inert (“completely inoperative”); i.e. being of no effect (totally without force, completely brought down); done away with, cause to cease and therefore abolish; make invalid, abrogate (bring to nought); ‘to make idle or inactive’” (HELPS Word Studies). The Holy Spirit inspired Paul to use this specific word here, remember that.

APPLICATION

In 25 of the 27 times katargéō is used in the New Testament, Paul used it. He understood the power of this word. So, what is Paul saying to us today? He is telling us that even though we are justified by faith alone, the moral law given to us by God still guides our daily behaviors. We are not free to do as we want. We are free to do as we should.

In 1 Corinthians 13:11 Paul uses katargéō. “When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things.” The phrase “did away with” is our word. We had to turn from the childish things in order to mature. In Christ, we have matured in our faith to the point that we no longer rely on the law to guide us completely. We now have the Holy Spirit guiding us in faith.

Paul uses the word again in Galatians 5:4 where it is translated “have been severed.” “You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by the Law; you have fallen from grace.” Paul is telling us here that if we persist in seeking our justification in what we can do, we have made our relationship with Christ powerless. That is not the way it works.

As followers of Christ, we still need to obey His commands to us which are based on the moral law. We are not required to keep the Mosaic law because Christ fulfilled that law when He died on the cross. Our job today is to obey Christ which goes far and above any requirements of the law. I’ll say it again – we are not free to do as we want, but we are free to do as we should.

O Lord, You have given me freedom through Christ and I will seek to honor You in all I do. 

If the Lord should lead you to support our ministry, check out our ministry page at Trans World Radio (www.twr.org/carl-willis). 

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