Synonyms: renounce, relinquish, dispense with, forswear, disclaim, disown, disavow, discard, wash one's hands of, give up, stop, cease, drop, forgo, desist from, have done with, abjure, abstain from, discontinue, break off, refrain from, set/lay aside, desert, leave, leave high and dry, turn one's back on, cast aside, break (up) with, vacate, quit, evacuate, withdraw from, surrender, cede, yield, indulge in, give way to, give oneself up to, yield to, lose oneself to/in, uninhibitedness, recklessness, lack of restraint, lack of inhibition, unruliness, wildness, impulsiveness, impetuosity, immoderation, wantonness
Antonyms: keep, claim, continue, stick by, self-control, power through, achieve, defend, bear, hope, acquire, quick visit, adopt, continue along, adhere, remain, pursue, support, take up, keep up, reuse, advocate, stay, persevere, cherish, keep going, carry on
Showing 951 to 975 of 1131 results
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Grant R. Osborne
... area (where a church can grow big). This is the opposite of Jesus’s ministry. The parable form shows that he made his message difficult to understand unless one has a central openness to the new kingdom reality. God demands a complete surrender to the whole gospel and a dependence on him to provide success. Allowing half-hearted “members” to remain only partially dedicated to Christ is never acceptable. 2. Discipleship and commitment are not optional. We live in a time when shallow commitment has ...
952. More Parables of the Kingdom
Mark 4:30-34, Mark 4:26-29, Mark 4:21-25
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Grant R. Osborne
... the group, Edwards, a New York City policeman, is selected. We often think that to be effective in ministry we need to have a scintillating personality, enormous intellectual prowess, an amazing ability to communicate, and so on. What we really need are people who are willing to surrender fully to God and to his Word, and who are willing to allow him to work through them. If you do not feel qualified to be used by God, be encouraged. He is the only one who can use you to produce eternal results in the world ...
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Grant R. Osborne
... is not best (Rom. 8:28) for us at this time. Faith allows us to participate spiritually in the healing process, but it does not control God. David Garland says faith does two things: it “opens the door to the power of God,” for it surrenders the situation to God at work, and it “shows persistence in overcoming any obstacles,” for it responds to serious situations with bold action in responding to Christ’s presence.7 2. The “love hermeneutic” prioritizes compassion. When faced with a need or an ...
954. Mission and Rejection in Galilee
Mark 6:14-29, Mark 6:7-13
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Grant R. Osborne
... kingdom truths. Since we are officially “sent” (the meaning of “apostle” in 3:14) as official representatives of the Triune Godhead, we go out with their authority. Finally, mission involves sacrifice. We must depend entirely on Christ, not ourselves, and we surrender all to him. Teaching the Text 1. Discipleship involves being immersed in Jesus’s teaching and ministry. This is one of the major themes of the book of Acts, where Luke emphasizes that the history of the early church involved reliving ...
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Grant R. Osborne
... ministry as stemming from God and a demand that God send a supernatural sign from heaven that alone would suffice. They expected God to answer to their terms and give in to their requirements. They should have read their Scriptures a little more closely. God never surrenders to our demands; we yield to his. Hebrews 12:3 states that we must run “the race marked out for us.” Human beings cannot tell God how they wish to live their lives. Wisdom (in both Testaments) is living life in God’s world on the ...
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Grant R. Osborne
... have been defeated by Christ and can be overcome by those who truly put their faith in him. (2) The disciples are easily defeated due to their tendency to live and think only for themselves. Like the father of the demon-possessed child, they need to surrender entirely to Christ. (3) Prayer has incredible power to bring the might of God to bear on a situation and produce healing and the subjugation of the cosmic powers. Teaching the Text 1. Unbelief carries great danger. At the heart of all sin is a refusal ...
957. Government and Marriage
Mark 12:18-27, Mark 12:13-17
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Grant R. Osborne
... demands obedience against divine mandates, we must follow the apostles and “obey God rather than human beings” (Acts 5:29; cf. 4:19). This is the one kind of “civil disobedience” that God will allow. Submission to human authority is part of our surrender to the God who superintends every earthly aspect. God must be master over all our secular resources, and in light of eternity every possession and everything in this world has no value except as kingdom resources. We must emulate Peter in Mark 10 ...
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Grant R. Osborne
... the early church was that there be “no needy persons among them” (Acts 4:34), and James 1:27 defines “pure religion” as “looking after orphans and widows in their distress.” 3. Sacrificial love is the heart of true discipleship. When the woman surrendered her family heirloom out of devotion to Jesus, she became an example of true discipleship. Love is central to every aspect of one’s walk with God. The love within the Triune Godhead includes the new love between Christ and his followers, and ...
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Grant R. Osborne
... ] the supremacy.” God is master over creation (Job 37:6–13) and over history (Ps. 22:28; Acts 17:26; Rev. 1:8). He directs the steps of every person, and nothing can be done apart from his knowledge (Prov. 16:9; Jer. 10:23; Acts 17:28). Christ surrendered himself to God’s will (as we will see in 14:36) but at the same time was in control over all that transpired. In his reinterpretation of the Passover meal he is aware of what is about to transpire and interprets its true meaning to his disciples. 2 ...
960. The Roman Trial
Mark 15:16-20, Mark 15:1-15
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Grant R. Osborne
... the crowd. There was room in the Roman legal system for decision by “acclamation” (i.e., by popular demand).5Pilate’s primary directive is to avoid a riot at all costs. Things have gotten to the point where the public peace is threatened, so he surrenders to political expediency. In Matthew 27:24 he signifies this by washing his hands of the matter (a Jewish custom [Deut. 21:1–9]), a further act of disdain for the Jewish demands. There is emphasis on Jewish guilt (cf. Matt. 27:25: “His blood ...
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Grant R. Osborne
... took two days or more, and we must remember that even though the three crucified prisoners had been nailed, the soldiers had to break the legs of the other two before they died (John 19:32). Mark here adds further emphasis to the fact that Jesus surrendered his own life at the time that God, not Pilate or the Jewish officials, chose. Roman law demanded that the victim be dead (evidence of the serious error in the claim that Jesus merely swooned on the cross), so Pilate has to hear from the centurion ...
962. The Cost of Discipleship
Luke 14:25-35, Luke 14:15-24
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R.T. France
... of us throughout our entire lives and then agree to it in advance in order to become true believers. If that were his criterion, no one would ever qualify. Jesus is saying, however, that we must realize the amount that commitment could cost. . . . Surrendering every area means including the touchy areas of our lives that we don’t do well talking about in Christian circles, most notably that famous triad of money, sex, and power. He adds, “The straightforward interpretation of the command to ‘give up ...
963. Getting Ready for the Passover
Luke 22:7-38, Luke 22:1-6
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R.T. France
... of Music, directed by Robert Wise. In this enduring musical (1965) about a family that escapes the Nazi takeover of Austria before WWII, there is a scene in which a young Austrian, Rolf, who has been courting the oldest von Trapp daughter, Liesl, surrenders to the seduction of the Nazi message and, against his better instincts, betrays the family. They have taken refuge on the roof of a convent when the soldiers, including Rolf, come after them. All goes well until Liesl gasps upon seeing him, and Rolf ...
964. The Roman Verdict
Luke 22:66--23:25
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R.T. France
... world. But on the other hand, it underlines Pilate’s personal and/or political weakness: he recognized Jesus’s innocence but was unable or unwilling to stand up to the pressure of the Jewish leaders with their supporting crowd. 23:25  surrendered Jesus to their will. Luke does not actually say that Pilate pronounced the death penalty, but in context that is all that “to their will” can mean. For all his formal authority, Pilate remains a reluctant accomplice in an execution already determined ...
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Preben Vang
... letter is for the Corinthian Christians to recognize what it means to call Christ Lord and to worship the one true God (10:14–15). Christian believers are not free to determine right and wrong from what benefits themselves; rather, they must be shaped by the Christ, who surrendered his own desire in order to accept God’s will on the cross (1:17–18). by the will of God. The structure of the Greek text, where God’s will functions as both the agency and the mode of being for Jesus’s apostle (one sent ...
966. The Priority of Love
1 Corinthians 13:1-13
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Preben Vang
... to hardship that I may boast.[6] Those who would sell not only their things but even themselves into slavery, to give everything to the needy, benefit nothing if they do it for the sake of boasting. Even Paul, who has given up everything and surrendered his life for the Corinthians’ sake (9:17–24), benefits nothing if he has no love. 13:4–7 Most dramatically, Paul expresses the qualities of love with a series of verbs.[7] Accumulating fifteen verbs in just three verses to describe the actions and ...
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J. Scott Duvall
... the history of the Church confirms it. So necessary to the Church is a lofty concept of God that when that concept in any measure declines, the Church with her worship and her moral standards declines along with it. The first step down for any church is taken when it surrenders its high opinion of God.7
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Robert B. Chisholm Jr.
... grieved, the heroine nevertheless does the right thing and leaves Rochester, fleeing temptation. Without resources, she endures more suffering and deprivation, but God honors her obedience as she calls upon him. She reasons with herself: Which is better? To have surrendered to temptation; listened to passion; made no painful effort—no struggle—but to have sunk down in the silken snare; fallen asleep on the flowers covering it; wakened in a southern clime amongst the luxuries of a pleasure villa; to ...
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Robert B. Chisholm Jr.
... of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King. Observe the powerful contrast between Frodo Baggins, who ultimately wins against the seduction of the ring and becomes a hero; and Gollum, who while at times seeing the evil, finally surrenders to obsession and avarice and forfeits all good. God’s word is trustworthy and must be taken seriously; his unconditional decrees are reliable. Quote: The Trivialization of God, by Donald McCullough. The fire of holiness, as it burns against unholiness, first ...
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Daniel J. Estes
... in 2:10. It may be best to view her words as proceeding from her understandable sympathy for her husband, and as expressing her desire that he not have to suffer longer. Nevertheless, even if this is what has prompted what she says, she is then willing to have Job surrender his commitment to do what is right, so that his pain can be relieved. Job refuses to do that. At the time when Job has already lost so much, he now feels that he has lost the support of his wife as well. 2:10  Job did not sin in ...
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Daniel J. Estes
... under the pressure, even when it seems like God is using him for target practice and when his friends hurt him more than they help. Job is humble enough to be willing to be taught where he is wrong, but he is not willing to surrender his integrity just to silence the unfounded criticisms of others when he cannot understand why he is suffering such affliction. He knows where he stands with God, and he does not let his adversity alter that conviction. Nevertheless, his experience calls into serious question ...
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Daniel J. Estes
... understanding of how God rules over his world. It is not as simple and clear-cut as retribution theology teaches. Even though his friends have criticized him severely, alleging that he is a sinner who needs to repent before God, Job does not surrender his integrity when he replies to them. He insists on examining the facts rather than merely extrapolating from abstract theology, as they have done. Job is confident that his wisdom is not inferior to what they have declared. By looking carefully at life ...
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Daniel J. Estes
... Zophar is on solid biblical ground. But we must also remember that Romans 6:23 goes on to say that the gift of God is eternal life. Along with his judgment, God also extends his grace to sinners. Illustrating the Text Punishment is a result of wrongdoing; surrender to evil will destroy the sinner. Film: The Days of Wine and Roses. In this beautifully acted and compelling old movie (1962) starring Jack Lemmon and Lee Remick (remade as When a Man Loves a Woman in 1994), we see the consequences of addiction, a ...
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Daniel J. Estes
... farmer and a simple, good man. He loses everything materially and finally wishes himself dead, except that he is concerned for the fate of his family. At one moment, sitting under the rubble of his house, he says to his family, in what looks like a surrender of his circumstances to God, “‘Well, now, everybody, here we all are, all together, safe and sound. Let’s be thankful for that. Now to keep our spirits up, let’s sing a song. All together now, loud and clear. Ready?’ And with him carrying the ...
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Daniel J. Estes
... Its power and remoteness caused it to be the prize game for royal hunts in ancient Egypt. No doubt, this animal was viewed by many humans as a great potential resource for activities such as plowing and transporting materials. The aurochs, however, would not surrender its freedom for a life of domesticated labor. As much as humans might have wanted to harness its prodigious strength for their own purposes, the aurochs would not be tamed by them. From the human perspective, this is a rich energy source going ...
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