Topical Bible: Unholy

Jump to: Webster's • Concordance • Thesaurus • Greek • Hebrew • Library • Subtopics • Terms

Topical Encyclopedia

The term "unholy" is used in the Bible to describe that which is profane, impure, or not set apart for God's purposes. It stands in contrast to what is holy, which is consecrated and dedicated to God. The concept of holiness is central to the biblical narrative, and anything unholy is seen as contrary to God's nature and commands.

Old Testament Context

In the Old Testament, the Hebrew word often translated as "unholy" is "ḥol," which refers to that which is common or profane. The Israelites were called to be a holy nation, distinct from the surrounding peoples (Exodus 19:6). The Levitical laws provided detailed instructions on how to maintain holiness, including dietary laws, rituals, and moral conduct. Anything that defiled or was considered unclean was deemed unholy. For example, Leviticus 10:10 instructs the priests to "distinguish between the holy and the common, between the unclean and the clean."

The prophets frequently rebuked Israel for their unholy actions, which included idolatry, injustice, and immorality. Isaiah 64:6 laments, "All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags." This underscores the pervasive nature of unholiness in human actions apart from God's sanctifying work.

New Testament Context

In the New Testament, the Greek word "anosios" is used to describe what is unholy. The New Testament continues the theme of holiness versus unholiness, emphasizing the transformative power of Christ's sacrifice. Believers are called to live holy lives, set apart for God. In 2 Timothy 3:2 , Paul warns that in the last days, people will be "lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy."

The apostle Peter exhorts believers to holiness in 1 Peter 1:15-16 : "But just as He who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do, for it is written: 'Be holy, because I am holy.'" This call to holiness is a call to reject unholy behaviors and attitudes, aligning one's life with God's standards.

Theological Implications

Unholiness is fundamentally a separation from God, who is the source of all holiness. It is often associated with sin, which is any action, thought, or attitude that falls short of God's glory (Romans 3:23). The presence of unholiness in the world is a result of the Fall, when sin entered the world through Adam and Eve's disobedience (Genesis 3).

The sacrificial system in the Old Testament foreshadowed the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus Christ, who came to cleanse humanity from sin and unholiness. Hebrews 10:10 states, "And by that will, we have been sanctified through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all." Through Christ, believers are made holy and are called to live in a manner worthy of their calling.

Practical Application

For Christians, the call to avoid unholiness involves both personal and communal aspects. Individually, believers are to pursue purity in thought, word, and deed, relying on the Holy Spirit for strength and guidance. Communally, the church is to uphold standards of holiness, encouraging one another in love and good deeds (Hebrews 10:24).

The battle against unholiness is ongoing, requiring vigilance and a commitment to spiritual disciplines such as prayer, Bible study, and fellowship. Ephesians 5:3 advises, "But among you, as is proper among the saints, there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed."

In summary, the concept of unholiness in the Bible serves as a reminder of the need for God's grace and the transformative power of the Gospel, calling believers to live lives that reflect the holiness of God.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary

(a.) Not holy; unhallowed; not consecrated; hence, profane; wicked; impious.

Greek

462. anosios -- unholy
... unholy. Part of Speech: Adjective Transliteration: anosios Phonetic Spelling:
(an-os'-ee-os) Short Definition: regarding nothing as holy Definition: unholy ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/462.htm - 7k

2839. koinos -- common
... Word Origin from sun Definition common NASB Word Usage common (3), common property
(1), impure (2), unclean (5), unholy (5). common, defiled, unclean, unholy. ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/2839.htm - 7k

Strong's Hebrew

2455. chol -- profaneness, commonness
... common, profane place, unholy. From chalal; properly, exposed; hence, profane --
common, profane (place), unholy. see HEBREW chalal. 2454, 2455. chol. 2456 > ...
/hebrew/2455.htm - 6k

Library

Sin not a Mere Negation.
... Manicheism. This should not be misunderstood. This theory does not deny
that the sinner is unholy, nor that he ought to be holy. It ...
/.../kuyper/the work of the holy spirit/xii sin not a mere.htm

The Communion of Saints.
... perfect. And the mingling together of holy and unholy in the Church is exactly
in accordance with the prediction of our Lord Himself. ...
/.../burbidge/the kingdom of heaven what is it/chapter x the communion of.htm

2 Timothy iii. 4-Jan
... For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers,
disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection ...
/.../homily viii 2 timothy iii.htm

In his Temple
... He saw the outer court of His temple converted into a place of unholy traffic. ... The
eyes of those engaged in their unholy traffic are riveted upon His face. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/white/the desire of ages/chapter 16 in his temple.htm

Two Standpoints.
... Then all ill, misery, plague, everything unholy, every demon, every spirit turned
against God shall become truly hellish; that is, every thing ungodly shall ...
/.../kuyper/the work of the holy spirit/ii two standpoints.htm

Thou Shalt Sanctify the Holy Day. [Remember the Sabbath Day to ...
... Therefore it becomes holy or unholy on your account, according as you are
occupied on the same with things that are holy or unholy. ...
/.../luther/the large catechism/thou shalt sanctify the holy.htm

Sanctification is a Mystery.
... Hence the obligation continues to rest upon him not only to stop his unholy working
in it, but also to reconsecrate perfectly what he has so bitterly and ...
/.../kuyper/the work of the holy spirit/ii sanctification is a mystery.htm

Ninth Day. Holiness and Mediation.
... And yet the very Day of Atonement, in which he might enter into the Most Holy, was
but the proof of how unholy man was, and how unfit to abide in God's Presence ...
/.../murray/holy in christ/ninth day holiness and mediation.htm

A Present Religion
... all, but the developments of our present character, for what is hell but this,
"He that is filthy, let him be filthy still, and he that is unholy, let him be ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 4 1858/a present religion.htm

In what Sense we are to Leave the World
... For although the Jewish church was then full as unclean, as unholy, both inwardly
and outwardly, as any Christian Church now upon earth, yet our Lord ...
/.../wesley/sermons on several occasions/sermon 81 in what sense.htm

Thesaurus

Unholy (23 Occurrences)
...Unholy (23 Occurrences). Acts 10:14 "On no account, Lord," he replied; "for
I have never yet eaten anything unholy and impure." (WEY NAS). ...
/u/unholy.htm - 13k

Impure (28 Occurrences)
... 2. (a.) Defiled by sin or guilt; unholy; unhallowed; -- said of persons or things.
3. (a.) Unchaste; lewd; unclean; obscene; as, impure language or ideas. ...
/i/impure.htm - 14k

Profane (69 Occurrences)
... 2. (a.) Unclean; impure; polluted; unholy. 3. (a.) Treating sacred things with contempt,
disrespect, irreverence, or undue familiarity; irreverent; impious. ...
/p/profane.htm - 30k

Disobedient (30 Occurrences)
... the latter three references "children (sons) of disobedience" are mentioned, as
if one should become the very offspring of such an unhappy and unholy state of ...
/d/disobedient.htm - 17k

Major (2 Occurrences)
... It its the first proposition of a regular syllogism; as: No unholy person
is qualified for happiness in heaven [the major]. Every ...
/m/major.htm - 7k

Purified (44 Occurrences)
... (WEY). Acts 10:15 Again a second time a voice was heard which said, "What
God has purified, you must not regard as unholy." (WEY). ...
/p/purified.htm - 20k

Regard (230 Occurrences)
... (KJV WBS). Acts 10:15 Again a second time a voice was heard which said, "What
God has purified, you must not regard as unholy." (WEY). ...
/r/regard.htm - 36k

Unclean (393 Occurrences)
... an unlawful thing for a man who is a Jew to join himself or come to one of another
nation, but God has shown me that I shouldn't call any man unholy or unclean ...
/u/unclean.htm - 39k

Visit (97 Occurrences)
... You know better than most that a Jew is strictly forbidden to associate with a Gentile
or visit him; but God has taught me to call no one unholy or unclean. ...
/v/visit.htm - 36k

Noisy (14 Occurrences)
... the Gentiles delight in-- pursuing, as you did, a course of habitual licence,
debauchery, hard drinking, noisy revelry, drunkenness and unholy image-worship. ...
/n/noisy.htm - 10k

Resources

What is the unholy trinity in the end times? | GotQuestions.org

Who is the false prophet of the end times? | GotQuestions.org

What is the meaning of debauchery? | GotQuestions.org

Unholy: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.com

Bible Concordance • Bible Dictionary • Bible Encyclopedia • Topical Bible • Bible Thesuarus

Concordance

Unholy (23 Occurrences)

Acts 10:14
"On no account, Lord," he replied; "for I have never yet eaten anything unholy and impure."
(WEY NAS)

Acts 10:15
Again a second time a voice was heard which said, "What God has purified, you must not regard as unholy."
(WEY NAS)

Acts 10:28
He said to them, "You yourselves know how it is an unlawful thing for a man who is a Jew to join himself or come to one of another nation, but God has shown me that I shouldn't call any man unholy or unclean.
(WEB WEY NAS)

Acts 11:8
But I said,'Not so, Lord, for nothing unholy or unclean has ever entered into my mouth.'
(WEB WEY NAS)

Acts 11:9
"But a voice answered, speaking a second time from the sky, "'What God has purified, you must not regard as unholy.'
(WEY NAS)

1 Corinthians 7:14
For, in such cases, the unbelieving husband has become--and is--holy through union with a Christian woman, and the unbelieving wife is holy through union with a Christian brother. Otherwise your children would be unholy, but in reality they have a place among God's people.
(WEY BBE)

Colossians 3:5
Therefore put to death your earthward inclinations--fornication, impurity, sensual passion, unholy desire, and all greed, for that is a form of idolatry.
(WEY)

1 Timothy 1:9
as knowing this, that law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and insubordinate, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers,
(WEB KJV ASV BBE DBY WBS NAS RSV NIV)

2 Timothy 3:2
For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
(WEB KJV ASV WBS NAS RSV NIV)

Hebrews 10:29
How much worse punishment, do you think, will he be judged worthy of, who has trodden under foot the Son of God, and has counted the blood of the covenant with which he was sanctified an unholy thing, and has insulted the Spirit of grace?
(WEB KJV ASV BBE WBS NIV)

1 Peter 4:3
For you have given time enough in the past to the doing of the things which the Gentiles delight in-- pursuing, as you did, a course of habitual licence, debauchery, hard drinking, noisy revelry, drunkenness and unholy image-worship.
(WEY)

Exodus 30:9
You shall offer no strange incense on it, nor burnt offering, nor meal offering; and you shall pour no drink offering on it.
(See RSV)

Leviticus 10:1
Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer, and put fire in it, and laid incense on it, and offered strange fire before Yahweh, which he had not commanded them.
(See RSV)

Leviticus 10:10
And that ye may put difference between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean;
(KJV DBY WBS)

Numbers 3:4
Nadab and Abihu died before Yahweh, when they offered strange fire before Yahweh, in the wilderness of Sinai, and they had no children. Eleazar and Ithamar ministered in the priest's office in the presence of Aaron their father.
(See RSV)

Numbers 26:61
Nadab and Abihu died, when they offered strange fire before Yahweh.
(See RSV)

Numbers 35:33
So do not make the land where you are living unholy: for blood makes the land unholy: and there is no way of making the land free from the blood which has come on it, but only by the death of him who was the cause of it.
(BBE)

Isaiah 58:13
If you keep the Sabbath with care, not doing your business on my holy day; and if the Sabbath seems to you a delight, and the new moon of the Lord a thing to be honoured; and if you give respect to him by not doing your business, or going after your pleasure, or saying unholy words;
(BBE)

Isaiah 65:5
Who are saying, 'Keep to thyself, come not nigh to me, For I have declared thee unholy.' These 'are' a smoke in Mine anger, A fire burning all the day.
(YLT)

Jeremiah 16:18
And I will give them the reward of their evil-doing and their sin twice over; because they have made my land unclean, and have made my heritage full of the bodies of their unholy and disgusting things.
(BBE)

Ezekiel 7:21
And I will give it into the hands of men from strange lands who will take it by force, and to the evil-doers of the earth to have for themselves; and they will make it unholy.
(BBE)

Ezekiel 7:22
And my face will be turned away from them, and they will make my secret place unholy: violent men will go into it and make it unholy.
(BBE)

Malachi 1:12
But you make it unholy by saying, The Lord's table has become unclean, and his food is of no value.
(BBE)

Subtopics

Unholy

Related Terms

Impure (28 Occurrences)

Profane (69 Occurrences)

Disobedient (30 Occurrences)

Major (2 Occurrences)

Purified (44 Occurrences)

Regard (230 Occurrences)

Unclean (393 Occurrences)

Visit (97 Occurrences)