Reprobation

(Gr. adokimos, “rejection after test”). In the NT it is normally applied to man's sinful condition and implies that judgment will fall on the man thus described (Rom. 1:28; 2 Tim. 3:8; Heb. 6:8). In 1 Corinthians 9:27 it has sometimes been understood to refer rather to disqualification from Christian service, while in 2 Corinthians 13:5ff. Paul's readers are told to test themselves concerning their Christian standing. A study of these passages will reveal that the cause of such rejection by God is represented as man's sin. In none of them is this related to the eternal counsels of God. The idea that it is so related has sometimes been seen in 1 Peter 2:8; Jude 4 (where the actual word adokimos is not in fact used), although what is in view in these passages may simply be the fact that the men referred to were the subject of OT prophecy. Romans 9:1-29 deals with the specific problem of the apparent rejection of Israel by God. Note that although Paul speaks of God as the personal Author of salvation (v.23), he uses an impersonal form of expression when he speaks of damnation (v.22). In chapter 10 he goes on to show that in fact God's rejection of them is due to their rejection of Him.