Approve (4909) suneudokeo by Greek Word Studies

Give hearty approval (4909) (suneudokeo from sun = together with + eu = good + dokéo = think) literally means to "think well with", and so to consent or to give hearty approval to something (cf Lk 11:48). It means to join in approval, agree with, approve of, consent to or sympathize with. Suneudokeo is used 6 times in the NT and is translated -- approve, 1; approving, 1; consents, 2; give hearty approval, 1; hearty agreement, 1 (NAS) as shown in the following verses: Luke 11:48 "Consequently, you are witnesses and approve the deeds of your fathers; because it was they who killed them, and you build their tombs. Acts 8:1 And Saul was in hearty agreement with putting him to death. And on that day a great persecution arose against the church in Jerusalem; and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. Acts 22:20 'And when the blood of Thy witness Stephen was being shed, I also was standing by approving, and watching out for the cloaks of those who were slaying him.' Romans 1:32 and, although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them. 1 Corinthians 7:12 But to the rest I say, not the Lord, that if any brother has a wife who is an unbeliever, and she consents to live with him, let him not send her away. 13 And a woman who has an unbelieving husband, and he consents to live with her, let her not send her husband away. The idea is that these men and women continually (present tense) express a hearty approval of those who continually (present tense) practice these nefarious deeds and even take pleasure with them! Such is the mind given over to depravity & self. Not only is the voice of a reasonable conscience stifled, but the mind has become absolutely hardened & callous regarding the moral degradation and ruin of others, and so naturally takes "wicked" pleasure in their sinfulness. So their sins are not sins of ignorance, but of blatant rebellion. Where does all this violence, immorality, cruelty and degradation come from? Men have abandoned the true knowledge of God, and the state of society is a reflection of God's judgment upon them for this In summary in this section we are confronted with three terrible realities: (1) Men have complete inner knowledge from God that their ways deserve and must have Divine condemnation and judgment; (2) they persist in their practices despite the clear witness of their conscience and (3) they are in a fellowship of evil with other evil-doers! Paul has painted a picture of man in desperate, dire straits morally speaking and only the gospel of Jesus Christ can set men free from the ensnaring bonds of such evil. The premier example of evil men giving hearty approval is found in the betrayal of Jesus where we read that... Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve, went off to the chief priests, in order to betray Him to them. And they were glad when they heard this, and promised to give him money. And he began seeking how to betray Him at an opportune time. Mark 14:10,11 The psalmist has a similar accusation writing that... "When you see a thief, you are pleased with him (you join with him, you help him), and you associate with adulterers." Psalms 50:18 Godet has an interesting comment writing that... The "not only", "but even" (NAS = "but also"), rightly assumes that there is more guilt in approving in cold blood of the evil committed by others, than in committing it oneself under the force and blindness of passion. Such a mode of acting is therefore the last stage in the corruption of the moral sense. (Ibid) John Piper refers to this section as Committing Spiritual Suicide and Taking Others Along... In other words, the end-point of depravity is not just the suicidal love affair with sin, but the desire to bring others with you to destruction. It's not just that people choose death for themselves in the passion of sin, but that they become Dr. Kevorkians (a medical doctor who advocated "euthanasia") at the spiritual level, and assist others in eternal self-destruction by approving their sin."! (Romans 1:28-32 Doing and Endorsing Evil) Pastor Ray Stedman - Knowing that harm is coming from their wickedness, nevertheless they attempt to spread it more fully. They invade the field of education; they dominate the media; they seek legal status for their wickedness and defy all attempts at control. As you can well recognize, this is what is going on today. (Romans 1:24-32 The Deepening Darkness) Newell - What a description of this world of sinners, this race alienated from the life of God, at enmity with Him, and at strife with one another! But all in a hellish unity of evil! (Romans 1) DISASTER AND DEGENERACY GO HAND IN HAND! Barclay - Paul says one last thing about these people who have banished God from life. It usually happens that, even if a man is a sinner, he knows it, and, even if he allows something in himself, he knows that it is to be condemned in others. But in those days men had reached such a level that they sinned themselves and encouraged others to do so. George Bernard Shaw once said (Ed: albeit still an aberration of truth with "little g" gods!), "No nation has ever survived the loss of its gods." Here Paul has given us a terrible picture of what happens when men deliberately banish God from the reckoning, and, in due time, Rome perished. Disaster and degeneracy went hand in hand. (Romans 1 - William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - Commentaries) Haldane explains that their giving "hearty approval"... is added to mark the depth of their corruption. For when men are not entirely abandoned to sin, although they allow of it in their own circumstances and practice, yet they condemn it in their general notions, and in the practice of others, because then it is not connected with their own interest and self–love. But when human corruption has arrived at its height, men not only commit sins, but approve of them in those who commit them. While this was strictly applicable to the whole body of the people, it was chargeable in the highest degree on the leaders and philosophers, who, having more light than the others, treated in their schools some of those things as crimes of which they were not only guilty themselves, but the commission of which they encouraged by their connivance, especially in the abominable rites practiced in the worship of their gods." And so "By these conclusive proofs Paul substantiates his charge, in Romans 1:18, against the whole Gentile world, first of ungodliness, and then of unrighteousness as its consequence, against which the wrath of God is revealed. It is impossible to add anything to the view here given of the reign of corruption among the heathens; even the most celebrated and civilized, which is fully attested by their own historians. Nothing can be more horrible than this representation of their state; and as the picture is drawn by the Spirit of God, who is acquainted not only with the outward actions, but with the secret motives of men, no Christian can suppose that it is exaggerated. The Apostle, then, had good reason to conclude in the sequel, that justification by works is impossible, and that in no other way can it be obtained but by grace. From the whole, we see how terrible to his posterity have been the consequences of the sin of the first man; and, on the other hand, how glorious in the plan of redemption is the grace of God by His Son. (Exposition of the Epistle to the Romans) (Bolding added) In Romans chapter 1 Paul in fact has given us a terrible picture of what happens when men deliberately banish the only true and living God from their reckoning. In due time, Rome perished. Disaster and degeneracy went hand in hand as they always, inevitably do when men or women place God far from their minds and replace Him with so-called "gods" of their own making. John MacArthur presents an interesting illustration of man apart from God writing that... A certain species of ants in Africa builds its nests in deep subterranean tunnels, where its young and its queen live. Although they may be great distances from the nest foraging for food, worker ants of that species are able to sense when the queen is being molested and they become extremely nervous and uncoordinated. If she is killed, they become frantic and rush around aimlessly until they die. What better illustration could there be of fallen man. Even in his sinful rejection and rebellion, he cannot function properly apart from God and is destined only for death. (MacArthur, J. Romans. Chicago: Moody Press) Pastor Ray Pritchard (see his entire sermon entitled When God Gives Up) graphically and poignantly summarizes this section of Paul's introductory statements writing that... "We have now reached the bottom, and it is not a nice place to be. The bottom is where you are when evil becomes good and good becomes evil. (cf Isa 5:20-note) The bottom is where you are when the wrongdoers are publicly praised while defenders of morality are reviled. The bottom is where you are when truth is on the scaffold and wrong is on the throne. The Living Bible has a striking translation of the first part of this verse: "They were fully aware of God’s death penalty for these crimes, yet they went right ahead and did them anyway." That, my friends, is the bottom—when evil is celebrated publicly! At this point you have the total reversal of values in society. I do not think it unfair to say that we have essentially reached this point in America. The wrongdoers have nearly taken control of two key areas of modern society—education and the media. Now they seek legal status for their iniquity. And they defy all attempts at control. When a major magazine argues that homosexuality is "normal" and when a public figure is chastised for speaking out against it, when the churches are ordaining homosexuals and those who object are mercilessly vilified, when Baptist ministers rally in support of a boxing champion convicted of rape, when all those things are true, what you have is the final loss of public morality. No one knows the difference between right and wrong because the values of society have been turned upside down." (5 uses of the phrase "right in his own eyes"! Dt 12:8, Jdg 17:6, Jdg 21:25, Pr 12:15, Pr 21:2) ... Let us understand something at this point. God’s judgment on sin is generally not of the fire and brimstone variety. That rarely happens. When God wants to judge a community or a nation, he simply lets sin take its natural course. If we insist on destroying ourselves, God says, "OK, go ahead and destroy yourselves. I won’t stop you." He simply lets us go our merry way. The true judgment on the human race is that man has turned away from God and does not realize it. What is the judgment of God when men turn away from him? God "gives them up" to their own devices. He lets them follow their own desires. He doesn’t try to stop their meteoric descent into the abyss. God "abandons" the human race by letting men reap what they sow. Nothing more terrible could ever be contemplated. When men "abandon" God in their thinking, God "abandons" them. Why? Because God is a perfect gentleman. He respects the freedom of the human will. If a man or a woman decides to live without Him, he says, "Fine. You can live without me. In the end, you’ll be sorry. But if that’s your decision, I’ll respect it." On the evening news, a commentator’s brief description of Mardi Gras in New Orleans summed up the spirit of our age. Quoting one young person he said: “It is sin and degradation, and we love it!” Hearty approval even though they know God's ordinances! Hughes writes that... "Man reaches the nadir of depravity when he heartily applauds those who give themselves to sin. To delight in those who do evil is a sure way to become even more degraded than the sinners one observes. This, I think, was one of the supreme horrors of the Roman Coliseum. Those committing the mayhem were supremely guilty, but those watching and applauding were perhaps even more wretched." What a telling application this has on our media-captivated society. Millions sit in their living rooms watching debauchery, violence, deceit and many other vices—and applaud what they see! It makes little difference whether the vices are real or portrayed, the effect is much the same—an increasingly depraved mind on the part of the viewer. Approving another’s sin or encouraging another’s sin is a sign that life has reached its lowest dimension. We Christians are not exempt from this. Satan knows that if he can get us to laugh at things we believe we would never do, our defenses will fall. Maybe someday our unwitting approval will give way to action. We need to be careful what we watch and applaud As Thomas Aquinas pointed out, according to Psalm 8 man is made a little lower than the angels. This suggests that man is in a position somewhere between the angels above and the beasts below. Angels are spirits without bodies. (Sometimes they take on bodies, but they are spirit beings.) Animals are bodies without spirits. Man is in between because he is body and spirit. This puts man in a mediating position. It has always been man’s prerogative to move upward toward the spiritual or downward toward the animal, and we become like that upon which we focus. This is why we cannot sin “a little bit.” All sin moves us downhill individually, nationally, and culturally. As our society has moved downward toward the beast, no one seems able to say, “This far and no further.” No one can put a limit on sensuality. Our culture has been unable to draw the line on pornography. Such are the depths and dimensions of depravity. Why does God give a civilization over to this kind of thing? He does it because when darkness prevails, and despair and violence are widespread, men and women are most ready to come to the light. He gives mankind up so that in their despair they might give themselves to his grace. Do you remember Isaiah’s prediction? The people who walk in darkness Will see a great light; Those who live in a dark land, The light will shine on them. (Isaiah 9:2) In the first century mankind was sunk in the darkness of despair. Idolatry had penetrated the whole world. Men had turned from the true God, whom they could have known. In that hour, in the darkness of the night, over the skies of Bethlehem the angels broke through, and a great light of hope shone forth. From that hope all light streams. The angels’ message was the coming of the Lord Jesus, the availability of the gift of “righteousness from God”. Against the growing darkness of our own time we need to make this message as clear as we possibly can—by our testimony, by our lives, by the joy and peace of Heaven in our hearts. God has found a way to break through human weakness, arrogance, despair, and sinfulness to give us peace, joy and gladness. Just as Jesus was born in Bethlehem so long ago, so he can be born in any person’s heart now. This is the good news of the gospel. In this decaying world in which we live, we can see again the glory of this truth as it delivers people from their sins. “You are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). Christ came in the darkest night, and he can meet us even in the midnight of our souls. Ray Stedman writes that... If we were to stop right here, we would say that God's attitude is one ending in wrath and hatred against these people. This is why so many people have the idea that God is just sitting up there as the judge, ready to cut off their heads if they get near him, because of the follies they have perpetrated. But you have read only half the letter in this case, because, as we read on, the amazing revelation in this letter is that these people who have insulted and offended and blasphemed God by their actions, who have refused his grace, and, in utter thanklessness, have wasted their lives that he is giving them -- these very people are the ones whom God loved and whom Christ came to die for. I read recently of a young man -- a modern prodigal son -- who had left home and then came back home after his father died. He was very kindly received by his mother. The day came for the reading of the father's will, and the family gathered, and the lawyer began to read the document. To the surprise of all who were present, the will told in detail all the wayward career of the prodigal son. As the boy sat and listened to the account of his evil, he arose in anger and left the house. Nobody heard from him for about three years. When, eventually, they found him, he was told that the will, after telling of his waywardness, had gone on to bequeath him $15,000. This illustrates the way that men and women read the Bible today. They read this opening chapter of Romans, they read of this terrible condemnation, and they know how true it is. They know the guilt in their own lives -- there isn't one of us who hasn't participated to some degree in some of these things which Romans mentions -- then they stop there. Or, in anger, they get up in a huff and slam their Bibles shut, and say, "I don't want to have anything to do with a God like that!" But, if they read on, they discover that the whole purpose of this is simply to show them the love of God set against the dark background of human rebellion, for it is for this kind of people that Jesus Christ came. It was for them that he gave his life. It was for them that he poured himself out in death, that they might have restoration and harmony and be brought back into fellowship with God. For, of these very selfsame people that Paul describes here, it is written, "while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us," (Romans 5:8b KJV). This is the proof of God's amazing love. (Romans 1:18-32: When Everyone Knows God)

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Approve (4909) suneudokeo

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