“For we have spent enough of our past lifetime in doing the will of the Gentiles–when we walked in lewdness, lusts, drunkenness, revelries, drinking parties, and abominable idolatries.”
in lewdness
Lewdness means excesses, licentiousness, absence of restraint, indecency, wantonness; debauchery, sensuality. Lewdness is wanton or unabashed sensuality. These people parade their deviant sexuality not caring what people think of them. They have no concern about even their reputation, much less their character.
“Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy” (Romans 13:13).
“Lewdness” may relate to the Phallic cult of that day. This cult participated in unrestrained sexual activity. This was a dominant religion of that day. Everyone wanted to belong to that church! Their goddess was Aphrodite (Greek name; the Romans called her Venus and the Semitic peoples called her Ishtar).
“Who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness” (Ephesians 4:19).
“For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ” (Jude 4).
The behavior of these people completely lacks moral restraint. “Lewdness” usually carries the implication of sexual licentiousness of extreme immorality. They live like promiscuous dogs.
“Lest, when I come again, my God will humble me among you, and I shall mourn for many who have sinned before and have not repented of the uncleanness, fornication, and lewdness which they have practiced” (2 Corinthians 12:21). Some Christians in the church at Corinth were guilty of this sin.
“Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness” (Galatians 5:19).
The prominent idea is shameless conduct. Lewdness takes part in actions that disgust and shock public decency. These people carry open outrage against decency. They tolerate no check or rein on their will.
Principle:
Lewdness is characteristic of a society without any standards.
Application:
Unrestrained obscenity and pornography are examples of lewdness. The Internet will launch unrestrained lewdness into greater influence in our world. Girls will unabashedly and provocatively portray their whole bodies to the entire world. The filthier, the more blatant and flagrant, the more the pornography will spread. We give people what they want and what customers demand.
The world demands filth because it runs alienated from God. Without God, there can only be arbitrary standards.
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