Holiness in Scripture expresses separation unto God and conformity to His character (Leviticus 19:2; 1 Peter 1:16). Its antithesis is the state conveyed by Strong’s Greek 462, rendered “unholy” or “irreverent.” The term denotes more than mere moral failure; it points to an active refusal to honor what God has declared sacred, eliminating the boundary between the profane and the divine.

Occurrence in the New Testament

The word appears twice, both in the Pastoral Epistles.
• 1 Timothy 1:9 places the “unholy” among a catalog of offenses that demand the corrective function of God’s law.
• 2 Timothy 3:2 lists the same attitude as a mark of perilous “last days,” when society will be characterized by wholesale rebellion against divine order.

Literary and Contextual Function

In both passages the term stands within vice-lists, a literary device that sharply contrasts the gospel’s transforming power with unchecked human depravity. By coupling “unholy” with sins against family (disobedience to parents, murder of parents) and society (violence, greed), Paul underscores that contempt for the sacred erodes every sphere of life.

Old Testament and Jewish Background

Although the exact Greek term is rare in the Septuagint, the concept is woven throughout the Law and the Prophets. Nadab and Abihu’s “unauthorized fire” (Leviticus 10:1-2) and Uzzah’s irreverent touch of the ark (2 Samuel 6:6-7) illustrate the peril of treating holy things as common. The prophets rebuke Israel for “profaning” the covenant (Malachi 2:10-11), demonstrating that unholiness invites divine judgment and exile.

Theological Significance

1. Revelation of the human heart: Unholiness exposes a disposition fundamentally at odds with God’s nature (Romans 8:7).
2. Necessity of the atonement: Only Christ’s sacrificial death satisfies the holiness of God while cleansing the believer from profane defilement (Hebrews 10:10, 14).
3. Sanctification imperative: The Spirit’s indwelling presence progressively conforms believers to holiness (1 Thessalonians 4:7-8); persistent unholiness contradicts genuine faith (Hebrews 12:14).

Historical Insight

Early Christian writers echoed Paul’s warning. Ignatius urged the Philadelphians to flee “profane” teaching that denied Christ’s incarnation, linking doctrinal error with moral unholiness. Tertullian argued that believers must not attend gladiatorial games because they trivialize blood, a sacred symbol of life. The church recognized that reverence for holy realities—Scripture, worship, sacraments, marriage—guards communal purity and witness.

Ministry Applications

• Preaching and Teaching: Proclaim the holiness of God alongside the grace that empowers holiness in His people (Titus 2:11-14).
• Corporate Worship: Guard against casual treatment of Scripture reading, prayer, and the Lord’s Table; cultivate awe (Hebrews 12:28-29).
• Discipleship: Encourage believers to discern cultural influences that normalize profanity—language, entertainment, sexual ethics—and to pursue lives “set apart” in thought and practice (Philippians 4:8).
• Church Discipline: Employ Matthew 18:15-17 and 1 Corinthians 5 guidelines to restore those whose conduct persistently profanes the faith community.

Eschatological Perspective

2 Timothy 3:2 locates unholiness within the moral decline preceding Christ’s return. The church must therefore remain vigilant, “spotless and blameless” (2 Peter 3:14), offering a prophetic contrast to a profane age and hastening the day when “nothing unclean will ever enter” the New Jerusalem (Revelation 21:27).

Summary

Strong’s Greek 462 diagnoses a heart posture that despises the sacred. Scripture portrays it as incompatible with God’s nature, contrary to the gospel, corrosive to society, and characteristic of the last days. In response, believers are called to revere what God declares holy, trusting the finished work of Christ and yielding to the sanctifying guidance of the Holy Spirit.