Debauchery | Bible Class on the Works of the Flesh and the Fruit of the Spirit

Debauchery

Debauchery | Bible Class on the Works of the Flesh and the Fruit of the Spirit

When I have read the works of the flesh previously, I have always read “debauchery” (“lasciviousness” in the King James Version), I’ve always thought in terms of sexual sin. The word can certainly refer to sexual sin. That does make perfect sense because debauchery is grouped with sexual immorality (fornication) and impurity. The New International Version even puts a semicolon after debauchery to group sexual immorality, impurity, and debauchery together.

The New International Version seems to group the works of the flesh in five categories:

  1. Sexual sins (sexual immorality, impurity, and debauchery).
  2. Religious sins (idolatry and witchcraft).
  3. Relational sins (hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions, and envy).
  4. Intemperate sins (drunkenness and orgies [or carousing]).
  5. Other sins.

That makes perfect sense. However, the Greek term has a far wider use than simply in a sexual sense.

We should see words as they were truly used in the first century. God inspired his word in Greek to people who spoke the language every day and would have understood the meaning of words. It’s only wise, it seems to me, to understand the words as our first-century brethren would have understood them. That, I’m convinced, is the truth God wishes to convey to today’s world.

The Greek term for debauchery—aselgeia—means unbridled lust, excess, shameless, outrageousness, absence of restraint, insatiable desire for pleasure. Obviously, the term can—and does—refer to sexuality. However, the term is much broader. The word was used to refer to someone who was excessively fat.

Is there a great deal of excess in today’s world?

What are some examples of people living life to the excess?

“What comes out of a person is what defiles them. For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and defile a person” (Mk 7:20-23). In what way(s) does lewdness—excess of sin—come from inside? How does lewdness—excess of sin—defile a person?

“Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy” (Rom 13:13). How is excess of sin the opposite of decently? It does appear that debauchery has a sexual connotation in this passage. Carousing and drunkenness go together. Dissension and jealousy go together. It only makes sense that sexual immorality and debauchery fit together.

How can sexual immorality be to the excess?

“I am afraid that when I come again my God will humble me before you, and I will be grieved over many who have sinned earlier and have not repented of the impurity, sexual sin and debauchery in which they have indulged” (2 Cor 12:21). Notice that Paul is concerned that the Corinthians had not repented of their impurity, sexual sin, and debauchery—the first three works of the flesh we have discussed.

“Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed” (Eph 4:19). This verse obviously seems to use debauchery—sensuality in the New International Version—to refer to excess. Those guilty of debauchery indulge in every kind of impurity.

“For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do—living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry” (1 Pet 4:3). Notice that Peter says the Christians to whom he wrote had lived in debauchery, just like the Gentiles. I fear that too often we who were raised in moral families look down on those who lived lives of open sin. However, Christians have always come from that kind of life. If God can forgive them and they can repent, why do we need to look down on them like the Pharisee praying in the temple?

“Many will follow their depraved conduct [debauchery] and will bring the way of truth into disrepute” (2 Pet 2:2). Peter writes about heretics living in debauchery and leading their followers to live that way. Do we see false teachers living lives of debauchery today? Why might debauchery and doctrinal error go hand in hand?

God “rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the depraved conduct [debauchery] of the lawless” (2 Pet 2:7). This is a clear example where debauchery refers to an excess of sin. As you read the account of Lot, you find the men of Sodom were not simply engaging in homosexual acts. You find that they were excessively living in such sin.

Heretics “mouth empty, boastful words and, by appealing to the lustful [debauchery] desires of the flesh, they entice people who are just escaping from those who live in error” (2 Pet 2:18). Again, notice the connection between error and debauchery.

“Certain individuals whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord” (Jude 4).


This Bible class was originally taught by Dr. Justin Imel, Sr., at Church of Christ Deer Park in Deer Park, Texas.

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