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 …
A Cloak for Shame
The word aischune is rendered as shame every time but one in the New Testament, and that one time it is translated as dishonesty. In Luke 14:9, the man who assumed the highest place was for him is forced to take the lowest place with shame, in humiliation. The crucifixion was a shame that Christ …
Crude Talk
The word aischrotes means filthiness, which is how it is rendered in Ephesians 5:4. In this context, it appears to be applied as a sin of speech. In the previous verse, Paul has addressed certain sins of the flesh that ought not to be committed (and therefore not named in their midst), and then in …
Dirtymoney
Peter tells us that ministers ought not to be motivated by aischrokerdos, by filthy lucre (1 Pet. 5:2). A related term (aischrokerdes) is proscribed for ministers in 1 Tim. 3:3,8 and Titus 1:7 (cf. Tit. 1:11). It is one word, which, if we did it this way, would come out like dirtymoney. Now what is …
Self-Condemned
The word hairetikos, heretic, is obviously related to our discussion of the word hairesis, or heresy. It is only used once in the New Testament, in Titus 3:10. In that place, we are told that a man who is a heretic should be rejected after two admonitions or warnings. The natural question is whether the …