1Pet4:1Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh [his body], arm yourselves with the same way of thinking [attitude], for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin [is done with sin], 2so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh [his earthly life] no longer for human passions [evil desires] but for the will of God. 3The time that is past suffices for [you have spent enough time in the past] doing what the Gentiles [pagans] want [choose] to do, living in sensuality [debauchery1], passions [lust], drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties [carousing6], and lawless idolatry. 4With respect to this they are surprised when you do not join [plunge with] them in the same flood of debauchery [dissipation4], and they malign5 [heap abuse on] you; 5but they will give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. 6For this is why the gospel was preached even to those who are [now] dead, that though judged in the flesh the way people are [according to men in regard to the body], they might live in the spirit the way God does [according to God in the regard to the spirit]. - ESV
Rm13:7Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay
taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.
8Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love
one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law. 9The
commandments, "Do not commit adultery," "Do not murder,"
"Do not steal," "Do not covet,"
and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule:
"Love your neighbor as yourself." 10Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the
fulfillment of the law. 11And do this, understanding the present time. The hour has come for
you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when
we first believed. 12The night is nearly over; the day is almost
here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. 13Let
us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in orgies and
drunkenness, not in
sexual immorality and debauchery1a, not in dissension and jealousy. 14Rather,
clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to
gratify the desires of the sinful nature. - NIV
2Pet2:4For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them into gloomy dungeons to be held for judgment; 5if he did not spare the ancient world when he brought the flood on its ungodly people, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others; 6if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes, and made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; 7and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the filthy lives of lawless men 8(for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard)� 9if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue godly men from trials and to hold the unrighteous for the day of judgment, while continuing their punishment. 10This is especially true of those who follow the corrupt desire of the sinful nature and despise authority. Bold and arrogant, these men are not afraid to slander celestial beings; 11yet even angels, although they are stronger and more powerful, do not bring slanderous accusations against such beings in the presence of the Lord. 12But these men blaspheme in matters they do not understand. They are like brute beasts, creatures of instinct, born only to be caught and destroyed, and like beasts they too will perish. 13They will be paid back with harm for the harm they have done. Their idea of pleasure is to carouse6a in broad daylight. They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their pleasures while they feast with you. 14With eyes full of adultery, they never stop sinning; they seduce the unstable; they are experts in greed�an accursed brood! 15They have left the straight way and wandered off to follow the way of Balaam son of Beor, who loved the wages of wickedness. 16But he was rebuked for his wrongdoing by a donkey�a beast without speech�who spoke with a man's voice and restrained the prophet's madness. - NIV
2Pet2:17These men are springs without water and mists driven by a storm. Blackest darkness is reserved for them. 18For they mouth empty, boastful words and, by appealing to the lustful desires of sinful human nature, they entice people who are just escaping from those who live in error. 19They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity2�for a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him. 20If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning. 21It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them. 22Of them the proverbs are true: "A dog returns to its vomit," (Pro26:11) and, "A sow that is washed goes back to her wallowing in the mud." - NIV
1 - debauchery: indulgence in pleasure that lacks moral restraint, extreme
indulgence in sensual pleasure. 1st ref: ^
1a: ^
2 - deprave: to make bad, to corrupt morally, degrade with
unsound principles or moral values. ^
4 - dissipation: spending or using up wastefully or foolishly,
causing to spread thin or scatter and gradually vanish. ^
5 - malign: have or show intense or vicious ill will. ^
6 - carouse: a drunken revel, intense pleasure or satisfaction taken while
drunk. 1st ref: ^ 6a: ^
Also see: Self Control
Challenge: True Life