One of the images that Scripture gives of a life of sin is that of fruitlessness, as represented by the word akarpos. The seed that is planted among the thorns, those thorns being the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches, is choked out and becomes unfruitful (Matt. 13:22). Jesus uses the same …
The Bride and the Whore
A word translated as filthiness is found one time in the New Testament, in Revelation 17:4. The word is akathartes, and is applied to the great whore of Babylon — she in her turn is an image of unbelieving Israel, the Jerusalem below. She had in her hand a golden cup that was full of …
Unclean in Different Ways
The word unclean is a translation from the word akathartos. The overwhelming number of times the word is used in the New Testament, it is to describe the unclean spirits that Jesus would cast out (Matt. 10:1; Mk. 1:23; Luke 4:33, and many others). It is used several times in Acts this way, and also …
Keeping the Central Room Clean
The word akatharsia means uncleanness, and the New Testament uses the word to refer to moral uncleanness. In Matt. 23:27, Jesus refers to the Pharisees who are whited sepulchres outside, but inside are full of all uncleanness. The pagan Gentiles had the same problem, and God gave them up to uncleanness (Rom. 1:24). The Roman …
No Fault
Pilate several times says that he had found no fault in Jesus (Luke 23:4,14). The word is aition, and contextually refers to the charges that had been made against Jesus, which were charges of sedition and blasphemy. In the same chapter the same word is rendered as cause, but meaning the same thing — “I …
Missing One of the Themes
The word aitiama is used once and is rendered as complaint. “And when he [Festus] was come, the Jews which came down from Jerusalem stood round about, and laid many and grievous complaints against Paul, which they could not prove” (Acts 25:7). One of the more striking aspects of the biblical narrative is how often …
Faults and Crimes
The word autia is rendered a number of different ways. When it refers to objectionable behavior, the context helps determine how it should be translated. It is rendered as the accusation that was recorded against Jesus at His crucifixion and nailed to the cross above Him (Matt. 27:37; Mk. 15:26). When Festus is talking about …
Not Ashamed
The verb “be ashamed” is the rendering of aischunomai, and it occurs five times in the New Testament. Again, sin and shame are closely related. In the parable of the unjust steward, he was ashamed to beg (Luke 16:3). Paul was not ashamed to use his authority over the Corinthians (2 Cor. 10:8). Paul did …
Sin and Shame
Sin and shame are closely related. It was not for nothing that Adam and Eve hid when they heard the Lord coming in the Garden. The word aischron is rendered as shame in three places. In 1 Cor. 11:6, the apostle Paul says that it is a shame for a woman to be shorn or …
More on Speech
The apostle Paul took a dim view of dirty talk. In Colossians 3:8 he uses the word aischrologia to prohibit filthy communication. In our previous discussion of this (on Eph. 5:4), we noted that we need to take our directions on this from the robust apostles and not from the prim Victorians. Now where might …