Reprobate Mind? (Gospels, Epistles, hell, doctrine)

[AnywhereElse]

This article represents what I have been trying to understand: Reprobate Mind! but no matter how much I have read, I don't understand it. I follow the laws of God to the best of my ability but I am not a Christian but they are all around me. I have seen an attitude that people that have been "reborn" and/or "saved" are good to go. I am more an "eye for an eye" versus "Turn the other cheek" believer. This reprobate mind thing just has me stumped since for 50 years, I had missed that and did not know about it. I am thinking that perhaps at this time, more than a couple people have a reprobate mind. Sincerely, does someone have a simple explanation of this and what happens? I have always had a deep interest in all facets of religious belief. Thank you.

[hiker45]

I bet the divine GOOGLE will answer all of your questions.

[stillkit]

Originally Posted by AnywhereElse

This article represents what I have been trying to understand: Reprobate Mind! but no matter how much I have read, I don't understand it. I follow the laws of God to the best of my ability but I am not a Christian but they are all around me. I have seen an attitude that people that have been "reborn" and/or "saved" are good to go. I am more an "eye for an eye" versus "Turn the other cheek" believer. This reprobate mind thing just has me stumped since for 50 years, I had missed that and did not know about it. I am thinking that perhaps at this time, more than a couple people have a reprobate mind. Sincerely, does someone have a simple explanation of this and what happens? I have always had a deep interest in all facets of religious belief. Thank you.

Well, in the first place, that author's definition of "reprobate" isn't quite right because it's the English definition of an English word translated from the Greek.

In the Greek, the word means an unproven mind (capacity for understanding), a mind which has failed the test. It's related to the idea of "proving" metal, in which precious metal is heated to determine how much of it is flux, or cheaper metals.

In other words, for the believer, a "reprobate mind" means one which does not stand the test of time or scripture. It could be inferred that such a mind might belong to someone who, as Paul put it, did not finish the race before slipping back into what he was in the past. In other words, those who can talk the talk, but cannot, or will not, walk the talk.

Secondly, and on a personal level, you cannot please God without Christ, no matter how hard you try. What you're attempting to do is to follow the law to the best of your ability and the law was not given to us with the expectation that we could do it and become righteous. It was given to force us to confront our own inability to follow God's rules and make the necessity of an antonement for our sin obvious.

[allenk893]

I think when God gives you over to a reprobate mind, he releases you to all your innermost vile desires and fantasies. He no longer binds you with the holy spirit. It is then that you no longer have any discernment on your actions and do whatever and with whoever pleases your flesh.

[AnywhereElse]

What I had come up with reading several articles was what allenk893 has said. I guess where the confusion comes in is that I had never heard of it and Christians always speak of being "saved" without the possibility that there is a point of no return which is what "reprobate" seems to represent. I had someone tell me once that they could sin, everyone does it, but since they were baptized, they would not go to hell and now, that is the person for which my research on a reprobate mind began. So, there is a point of no return the best I can tell and that actually gives me a great peace of mind. What ever happened to go and sin no more?

[TheWordIsOne]

A Reprobate Mind. Greek words- (ad-ok-ee-koce) & the word, (nooce)Mind .
Reject, Worthless, Reprobate mind, Castaway,Condemn strongly.
Foreordain to damnation.
Hebrews 6:8But that which beareth thorns and briers is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing; whose end is to be burned.
Greek Translation word- Strong #3860 & Strong # 3563
Par-ad-id-o-mee & nooce, Translation- Reprobate mind. Meaning of word is, To deliver over to another to keep, Give Up, Give over, Commit, Bring, forth, Cast, hazard, Put in, Prison, Recommend.
Romans 6:17; Romans 8:32; Romans 4:26; Mark 9:31; Galatians 2:20; Ephesians 5:2,25; Mark 4:29; Acts 28:16; Matthew 4:12; Timothy 1:20; Matthew 17:22; 26:16James; 6:64 I Corinthians 11:23; Mark 4:29; Romans 1:18-32
Romans 6:23For the Wages of Sin is Death. This is the second death.
Revelation 2:11He that over cometh shall not be hurt of the second death.
In Rom. 1:18;God’s wrath is in view.
In Rom. 1:19-20; Man can sees the power of God in the world.
In Rom. 1:21-22;Man refuses to give God glory and honor, and man’s manifestation, total spiritual deadness, and total depravity, beginning with our first parents, Adam and Eve.
In Romans 1:24, 26, 28;God give them up to a Reprobate mind,
And Romans 1:29-31; There are 24 Sins, God speak about in these verses.
In Romans 1:32; Man knows he deserves to be damned and that he persists in his sins, and that he even enjoys and delights to see others to sin against God, because of his depravity.

Let look at another Greek word; Strong #3563,
GREEK WORD - nooce - translation - Mind. Meaning of word,
divine or human; in thought, feeling or will, understanding, intellect.

We read In I Corinthians 2:12-13 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. Which things also we speak, not in yhe words which man,s wisdom thecheth, but which the Holy Ghost teaches; comparing spiritaul things with spiritaul.

Romans 2: 16 In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.

Romans 1:28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;

Romans 3: 18 There is no fear of God before their eyes. Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.

II Timothy 3:8 Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth; men of corrupt minds reprobate concerning the faith.
Jan-nes and Jam-bres, These are the magicians of Pharoah and a picture of the people of today. That their mind and conscience are defiled is conveyed of spiritual pollution in their mind, do to sin.

Exodus 7: 9 When Pharaoh shall speak unto you saying, Shew a miracle for you; then thou shalt say unto Aaron, Take thy rod and cast it before Pharoah, and it shall become a serpent.

Look in strong #436,Greek word, The word anth-is-tay-mee, the meaning of the word is to stand against, oppose. Also in strong #2704, Kat-af-thi-ro, to destroy or (fig) to deprave; corrupt, utterly perish. Men who are reprobate concerning the faith, “corrupt in mind”. Also in strong #96, ad-ok-ee-mos, meaning of the word, unapproved, rejected, worthless, reprobate, castaway.

Hebrews 6:9 But beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak.

Titus 1:15-16 Unto the pure all things are pure; but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled. They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient and unto every good work reprobate.

[hljc]

The so called reprobate mind is a mind that is influenced by a kingdom of this world authority of the dark spirits. who are not of God ......... See the demons and evil spirit and fallen angels hide in the spirit and will manipulate man who do not have the Lord Jesus protection on his side....... It is the nature of these evil spirit who have this reprobate mind, and make it comfortable or familiar for man to imitate or mimic this spirit who do rule over man....... Were in a person who gives his life to Lord Jesus and becomes born again , then Jesus will have the authority to rule over this person life and bring in HIS spirit of Christ who in beneficial to the nature of the creation that the Lord God planned from the beginning , that man would have HIS Spirit and God would be man`s God in the spirit........when people become born again it is more than just a attitude as you say but an authority for God to remove this alien evil spirit which has substance and is a thinking celestial beings and rip it out of their mind and gave the Spirit of God who will live in people, who invite God in by this, turning away from sin and becoming Born again...... See the Spirit of God does not have a reprobate mind, but a mind which enhances the good true fruit of the spirit...

[antredd]

The King James Version of the Bible (KJV) shows three verses in the New Testament which use the word reprobate:

"And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient" (Romans 1:28)

"Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith." (2Timothy 3:8)

"They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate." (Titus 1:16)

We can see from the context clues that reprobate doesn't mean anything of a complimentary nature. Someone didn't like to retain God in their knowledge, so they became reprobate; men of corrupt minds are reprobate concerning the faith; someone denies God and is reprobate regarding good works. It sounds as if these people are not living the right way. They don't seem to have a desire to please God. The result of their approach to life is this state of being reprobate.

Let's compare some other Bible translations and the way that they render the same word. Notice the same verses taken from translations other than the KJV:

"Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done." (Romans 1:28, NIV)

"Now as Jannes and Jambres resisted Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, disapproved concerning the faith;" (2Timothy 3:8, NKJV)

"They profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him, being detestable and disobedient and worthless for any good deed." (Titus 1:16, NASB)

The same Greek word translated reprobate in the KJV Bible (Greek: ἀδόκιμος or adokimos, Strong's Concordance Number #G96) is translated as depraved in the NIV version of Romans 1:28, disapproved in the NKJV version of 2Timothy 3:8 and worthless in the NASB version of Titus 1:16.

What do we know about someone who has a reprobate mind? We know from Romans 1:28 that the people under discussion did not like to retain God in their knowledge. As a result, God gave them over to this reprobate, depraved, disapproved and virtually worthless state of mind.

The people Paul is discussing in Romans chapter one are godless and wicked men who suppress the truth by their wickedness (Romans 1:18). Paul states regarding these men:

"For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.

"Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man — and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things." (Romans 1:20-23, NKJV)

Paul is warning against some vile people who crept into the early church and began to teach other things, other doctrines, other gospels, and were successful at leading many astray. It was a problem right from the start, and it has continued to be a problem down to this very day. I can think of several churches and religions that are teaching outright false doctrine in the name of Jesus, and calling their religious organization God's true organization.
In Colossians, Paul discussed early heresies of the first century church. Among the leading heresies was Gnosticism, from "gnosis" (knowledge). These liars taught a special kind of "inside knowledge" that led many away from the truth they had recently learned from the apostles.

Many of the epistles are written as a direct defense of "the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints." (Jude 3, NKJV) against the onslaught of Gnosticism and other heresies. Paul wasn't pulling any punches when he spoke against these false teachers, whether you're reading about it in Romans or any of his other epistles. Paul was very concerned about the danger these snakes could do to the church members. He rightly called them depraved, debased, and ultimately, rejected!

So here's some new questions to ponder. What about you and me? Might we be reprobates? The good news is, truly converted followers of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ don't have to worry that they will be found reprobate – disapproved and disqualified – as long as they remain on the narrow, difficult path leading to the narrow gate of salvation (Matthew 7:13-14).

[Ironmaw1776]

Originally Posted by AnywhereElse

This article represents what I have been trying to understand: Reprobate Mind! but no matter how much I have read, I don't understand it. I follow the laws of God to the best of my ability but I am not a Christian but they are all around me. I have seen an attitude that people that have been "reborn" and/or "saved" are good to go. I am more an "eye for an eye" versus "Turn the other cheek" believer. This reprobate mind thing just has me stumped since for 50 years, I had missed that and did not know about it. I am thinking that perhaps at this time, more than a couple people have a reprobate mind. Sincerely, does someone have a simple explanation of this and what happens? I have always had a deep interest in all facets of religious belief. Thank you.

Just first wanted to say that it makes sense that you are not a Christian seeing that you are an eye for and eye kinda guy ... The funny thing is most Christians are eye for an eye people themselves. As you can see based on many of the responses you have had to your OP.



To answer your question, the word translated as "reprobate" in the new testament is the Greek word "adokimon", which actually literally means "untested" or in a sense "impure".

The idea of "being unable to be corrected" which is communicated by the word reprobate is not a part of the definition of the word "adokimon", it is a bad translation.

These people are in denial of the truth that God has revealed to them and remain in this state until they are tested by fire and purified in the flames of judgment.

The word "adokimon" actually is/was a term used in reference to impure metals and coins.