Difference between revisions of "Reprobate"

<p> ‘Reprobate’ is the rendering of the Greek word ἀδόκιμος, which is need in the NT only by St. Paul and only of persons, except in &nbsp;Hebrews 6:8, where it is used of the land. It is the negative form of δόκιμος (from δέχομαι), ‘acceptable,’ ‘tested,’ ‘worthy,’ and means ‘unacceptable,’ ‘unworthy,’ ‘rejected after trial.’ ‘Reprobate silver shall men call them,’ says Jeremiah of God’s degenerate people, ‘because the Lord hath rejected them’ (HEB 6:30 Septuagint). In &nbsp;Romans 1:28 St. Paul uses the word when speaking of the natural condition of the heathen world, alienated from God, abandoned to their lusts and passions and to a reprobate mind (εἰς ἀδόκιμον νοῦν), as if, having failed to avail themselves of the light of nature, they were now left without it altogether and without hope of amendment at all. A ‘reprobate mind’ in the judgment of St. Paul is proof of the deep depravity of the heathen and at the same time its awful punishment. In &nbsp;1 Corinthians 9:27 St. Paul uses the word in a passage where he is comparing the [[Christian]] life in its strenuousness to the contests in the [[Grecian]] games. In them the racer or the boxer must contend strictly according to the rules, for if he is found fouling a rival or transgressing the rules of the contest, he is liable to be cast out of the lists and scourged, and at any rate will be declared disqualified for a prize. It was in this spirit that Ignatius, on the way to martyrdom at Rome, entreated the prayers of his fellow-Christians so as to be found worthy of the lot he had set before him, that in the end he might not be found ‘rejected’ ἀδόκιμος) (Ignatius, ad Trall. xii. 3). See Castaway. [[Elsewhere]] St. Paul urges the necessity of earnest self-examination and the dote following of Christ if his readers would escape this reproach (&nbsp;2 Corinthians 13:5-7); and utters words of solemn warning against men who after having made a Christian profession become depraved in mind and heart, or content themselves with an outward profession, whilst, as regards the faith and every good work, they are discredited, ‘reprobate’ (&nbsp;2 Timothy 3:8, &nbsp;Titus 1:16). </p> <p> The passage in &nbsp;Hebrews 6:8 where ἀδόκιμος is used not of persons but of the land is, taken in connexion with its preceding context, very suggestive. The land which drinks in the rain and brings forth the looked-for crop receives blessing of God, but that which receives the same benign influence and produces only thorns and thistles is ‘rejected’ (ἀδόκιμος), gets no share of that blessing, but is tit only, like [[Sodom]] and Gomorrah, for the fire. It is in these solemn words that the writer sums up his urgent message to the [[Hebrew]] [[Christians]] to press on unto perfection and to be on their guard against spiritual sloth, which may issue in falling away. He speaks as if a fall from grace were possible even on the part of those who have experienced spiritual enlightenment and renewal, as if there were a point even in the spiritual life where backsliding becomes apostasy, and the man who crucifies the Son of God afresh and puts Him to an open shame is beyond repentance rejected, reprobate. St. Paul and the writer of the [[Epistle]] to the Hebrews in these passages are not presenting a reasoned system of predestination and election, but rather dealing with what may happen under the stress and strain of temptation and trial in the ordinary tenor of the Christian life, and emphasizing the need of diligence and watchfulness, if they and their readers would make their calling and election sure. </p> <p> Of ‘reprobation’ as the issue of a [[Divine]] decree there is no direct statement in the NT, St. Paul, indeed, seeming deliberately to avoid any such statement. When asserting the Divine sovereignty under the figure of the potter who makes of the same lump one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour, he asks, ‘What if Cod, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much long-suffering vessels of wrath fitted unto destruction: and that he might make known the riches of his glory upon vessels of mercy, which he afore prepared unto glory?’ (&nbsp;Romans 9:21-23). The distinction drawn by the [[Apostle]] when speaking of ‘the vessels of wrath’ and ‘the vessels of mercy’ in the above passage is significant. Of the former he uses the passive and impersonal form, ‘fitted to destruction’; of the latter he speaks in the active voice, ‘the preparation’ being directly attributed to God. Our Lord similarly distinguishes between the sentence which no will pass in the [[Judgment]] on those on His right hand and that on those on His left. To the former, the address is, ‘Come, ye blessed of my Father’; to the latter, ‘Depart, ye cursed,’ the blessing being all of God, the curse entirely of themselves. In the same connexion ‘the everlasting fire’ is ‘prepared for the devil and his angels,’ but the [[Kingdom]] to which the righteous are summoned is prepared for them ‘before the foundation of the world.’ </p> <p> It is interesting as a matter of NT interpretation to notice that three of the most notable of the [[Reformed]] Confessions-the [[Heidelberg]] Catechism, the Revised Thirty-nine Articles, and the Scots [[Confession]] of 1560-pass the subject of reprobation over in silence. </p> <p> [[Thomas]] Nicol. </p>

<p> <strong> [[Reprobate]] </strong> . The Heb. word so rendered in &nbsp; Jeremiah 6:30 (AV [Note: Authorized Version.]; RV [Note: Revised Version.] ‘refuse’) has its meaning explained by the context. ‘Refuse silver shall men call them, because the Lord hath rejected them.’ Like metal proved to be worthless by the refiner’s fire (&nbsp; Jeremiah 6:29 ), they are thrown away (cf. &nbsp; Isaiah 1:22 ). In the NT, in accordance with the meaning of the Gr. word ( <em> adokimos </em> ), ‘reprobate’ is used of that which cannot abide the proof, which, on being tested, is found to be worthless, had, counterfeit, and is therefore rejected. ‘A reprobate mind’ in &nbsp; Romans 1:28 (with tacit reference to the previous clause, ‘they did not approve to have God in their knowledge’) is, as the context shows, a mind depraved and perverted by vile passions. To such a mind God abandoned those who wilfully exchanged His truth for a lie (&nbsp; Romans 1:25 ). In &nbsp; 1 Corinthians 9:27 , St. Paul declares that he ‘buffets’ his body and ‘brings it into bondage,’ lest, having preached to others, he himself should be rejected (reprobate). The figure is that of an athlete who, through remissness in training, fails in the race or fight (for the opposite figure, cf. &nbsp; 2 Timothy 2:15 ). In &nbsp; 2 Corinthians 13:6-7 , the word (‘reprobates’) occurs three times, in each case as opposed to genuine, true. Christ is in them, except they be reprobates, <em> i.e. </em> false to their profession, hence rejected by God. Let them ‘prove’ themselves by this test (&nbsp; 2 Corinthians 13:5 ). St. Paul trusts that they will know that he abides this test (&nbsp; 2 Corinthians 13:6 ); but let them think of him what they will, if only they themselves do what is honourable (&nbsp; 2 Corinthians 13:7 ). ‘Reprobate’ here is contrasted with what is ‘approved,’ ‘honourable’; it is identified with ‘doing evil.’ In &nbsp; 2 Timothy 3:8 , certain are described as ‘corrupted in mind, reprobate concerning the faith,’ where both moral corruption and false speculation as the result of this corruption seem intended. They fail, brought to the test of ‘sound’ or ‘healthful’ doctrine (&nbsp; 2 Timothy 1:13-14 , &nbsp; 2 Timothy 4:3 ). Similarly &nbsp; Titus 1:16 speaks of those who, denying God by their works, are ‘unto every good work reprobate.’ Their hypocrisy is brought home to them by their wicked lives. ‘Professing that they know God,’ they are proved by their works to be counterfeits, imposters. The word occurs, finally, in &nbsp; Hebrews 6:8 , where those whom it is impossible ‘to renew again to repentance’ are compared to ground which, receiving the rain oft upon it, and being tilled, brings forth only thorns and thistles, and is ‘rejected.’ From all this we may conclude that ‘reprobate,’ generally, denotes a moral state so had that recovery from it is no longer possible; there remains only judgment (cf. &nbsp; Hebrews 6:8 ). It is only to be added that the term has no relation in [[Scripture]] to an eternal decree of reprobation; at least, to none which has not respect to a thoroughly had and irrecoverable condition of its objects. Cf. Predestination. </p> <p> James Orr. </p>

<div> '''1: ἀδόκιμος ''' (Strong'S #96 — Adjective — adokimos — ad-ok'-ee-mos ) </div> <p> signifying "not standing the test, rejected" (a, negative, dokimos, "approved"), was primarily applied to metals (cp. &nbsp;Isaiah 1:22 ); it is used always in the NT in a Passive sense, (a) of things, &nbsp;Hebrews 6:8 , "rejected," of land that bears thorns and thistles; (b) of persons, &nbsp;Romans 1:28 , of a "reprobate mind," a mind of which God cannot approve, and which must be rejected by Him, the effect of refusing "to have God in their knowledge;" in &nbsp;1 Corinthians 9:27 (for which see [[Cast]] , REJECTED); &nbsp;2 Corinthians 13:5,6,7 , where the RV rightly translates the adjective "reprobate" (AV, "reprobates"), here the reference is to the great test as to whether Christ is in a person; in &nbsp;2 Timothy 3:8 of those "reprobate concerning the faith," i.e., men whose moral sense is perverted and whose minds are beclouded with their own speculations; in &nbsp; Titus 1:16 , of the defiled, who are "unto every good work reprobate," i.e., if they are put to the test in regard to any good work (in contrast to their profession), they can only be rejected. In the Sept., &nbsp;Proverbs 25:4; &nbsp;Isaiah 1:22 . </p>

<p> <i> maas. </i> God's ancient people in their condition of moral debasement are compared to 'reprobate silver,' or 'refuse silver' as in the margin, &nbsp;Jeremiah 6:30; or, as is read in &nbsp;Isaiah 1:22 , 'thy silver is become dross,' rejected. </p> <p> In the N.T. the word is ἀδόκιμος, 'disapproved,' and is applied to the wicked, and to those also who having engaged in the race fail to reach the goal. &nbsp;Romans 1:28; &nbsp;2 Corinthians 13:5-7; &nbsp;2 Timothy 3:8; &nbsp;Titus 1:16 . The same word is translated 'rejected,' and is descriptive of such as, in spite of gracious ministry, produce only that which is natural to fallen man. &nbsp;Hebrews 6:8 . It is also translated 'castaway' in &nbsp;1 Corinthians 9:27 , where the apostle Paul represents himself as keeping under his body, and bringing it into subjection, lest having preached to others he himself should be rejected. This appears to indicate the possibility of a man, after having preached the gospel to others, being himself disapproved; failing to reach the goal through lack of self-discipline. </p>

<p> REPROBATE, a. L. reprobatus, reprobo, to disallow re and probo, to prove. </p> 1. Not enduring proof or trial not of standard purity or fineness disallowed rejected. <p> Reprobate silver shall men call them, because the Lord hath rejected them. &nbsp;Jeremiah 6 . </p> 2. Abandoned in sin lost to virtue or grace. <p> They profess that they know God, but in works deny him, being abominable and disobedient, and to every good work reprobate. &nbsp;Titus 1 . </p> 3. Abandoned to error, or in apostasy. &nbsp;2 Timothy 3 .