What is the meaning of debauchery?
Debauchery is the habitual and unrestrained indulgence of lust and sensuality. There are several places in Scripture where the word debauchery is used to indicate what we would today call “partying.” It encompasses several aspects of unholy living, including but not limited to sexual immorality, drunkenness, crude talk, and generally out-of-control behavior. Examples of the…
What is the difference between envy and jealousy, biblically speaking?
Both envy and jealousy are listed in the Bible as sins to avoid along with greed, slander, and anger (2 Corinthians 12:20; Galatians 5:20–21; Mark 7:21–23). Although similar, and although they are often experienced together, envy and jealousy are not exactly synonymous. In some contexts, envy and jealousy are interchangeable terms, because both relate to…
What is the meaning of impurity in the Bible?
Impurity is the condition of being defiled in some sense. The word impurity can also refer to the contaminant itself: an unwanted substance that makes something unclean. The concepts of purity and impurity are important in the Bible’s presentation of holiness. Under the rituals of the Old Testament Law, the Israelites were often confronted with…
What is spiritual darkness?
Spiritual darkness is the state of a person who is living apart from God. The Old Testament book of Isaiah, in prophesying of the Messiah, speaks of a deep spiritual darkness that enveloped the people: “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a…
What is a scorner in the Bible?
The Bible speaks often of scorners, scoffers, and mockers. Those English words are often used interchangeably, especially in the book of Proverbs, as translations of the Hebrew word luts. A scorner is one who mocks the things of God and expresses his negative opinion of wisdom with derision, in order to involve others. Fools may…
What are capital sins?
Roman Catholicism teaches that capital sins are the root and source of all other sins. The earliest antecedent of this doctrine was written in the fourth century by a monk named Evagrius Ponticus, who originally listed eight “evil thoughts”: gluttony, lust or fornication, avarice, dejection or sadness, anger, despondency or listlessness, vainglory, and pride. Later,…
What are presumptuous sins?
Some form of the word presumptuous appears eight times in the King James Version (KJV). The word indicates intentionality and audacity in rebellion. A presumptuous sin can be committed by a single person (Exodus 21:14; Numbers 15:30; Deuteronomy 17:12; 18:22; Psalm 19:13), multiple people (2 Peter 2:10), or the entire nation of Israel (Deuteronomy 1:43;…