The Spiritual Danger of Licentiousness and Misused Freedom

In a culture that increasingly defines freedom as self-expression and self-fulfillment, many Christians find themselves quietly struggling to discern where liberty in Christ ends and spiritual compromise begins. This reflection is written for believers who sincerely desire to follow Jesus, yet are navigating a generation shaped by messages that elevate personal desire over wisdom and restraint.

Scripture speaks directly into this tension. One of the fruits of the Holy Spirit listed in Galatians 5:23 is self-control—often translated as discipline. Yet within both the Church and the surrounding culture, this fruit is frequently misunderstood or dismissed as restrictive. I am writing to address that misunderstanding, because how we define freedom ultimately shapes how we live, what we permit, and what we resist.

This is not a call to perfection, nor a critique meant to shame. It is an invitation to examine where modern ideas of freedom may be quietly influencing our spiritual practices and dulling our discernment. By returning to Scripture’s definition of licentiousness and placing it honestly beside the fruit of self-control, we can better understand why God’s boundaries are not burdens, but safeguards—and how true freedom is found not in indulgence, but in surrender to Jesus Christ.

This leads to an uncomfortable but necessary question:

How many of us are actually practicing the authority Christ gave us?

How many of us are quietly ignoring the areas where our fruit is beginning to rot/already rotting that needs to be healed?

Take sex, for example. Sex is good. Sex was created by God. However, God also ordained sex for the marital covenant. When sex is treated casually, shared with many partners, it fractures something deeper. Many people are unaware of the spiritual weight of this—what Scripture and experience both point to as soul ties. Ignorance does not remove consequence; it only delays understanding.

Another example that often causes discomfort is yoga. The word “yoga” itself means to yoke—to be joined or united. Historically and spiritually, it is an Eastern religious practice designed to unite the practitioner with a god or deity through specific postures and meditative focus. This directly conflicts with the First Commandment: You shall have no other gods before Me.

At some point, this stops being about intention. Obedience cannot be redefined by personal preference.

I brought this concern to the Lord and asked Him to help me explain it clearly, especially to those who genuinely love Jesus but continue in practices He has warned against. This is how He impressed it upon my heart:

“I am the Lord of Heaven’s armies. You come to Me with your intentions. But you cannot go to another god with a Christian intention.”

My heart was clearly lead to Psalm 115:4–8 clearly states:

"Their idols are silver and gold, made by the hands of men. They have mouths, but cannot speak; they have eyes, but cannot see; they have ears, but cannot hear; they have noses, but cannot smell; they have hands, but cannot feel; they have feet, but cannot walk; nor can they make a sound with their throat. Those who make them will be like them, and so will all who trust in them."

What remains is disobedience when you continue in practices that defies the First Commandment: have no other Gods.

The Lord also made something else very clear to me: when this truth is shared in love and someone continues to defend themselves, dismiss the warning, or argue endlessly, there comes a point where you must walk away. Not in pride. Not in anger. But in obedience.

To invalidate this message is also to invalidate the testimonies of those God has called out of yoga, Reiki, and other spiritual practices, and back into the freedom of Jesus Christ. Their conversions matter. Their obedience matters. Their surrender matters.

True freedom is not found in license.

True freedom is found in self-control, surrender, and submission to Christ.

And that kind of freedom—though narrow—leads to life.

What Scripture Means by

Licentiousness

In simple terms, licentiousness refers to a pattern of behavior marked by moral looseness, lack of restraint, and disregard for God’s boundaries—often under the banner of “freedom” or personal rights. It describes a life that resists accountability and rejects self-discipline.

In Christian theology, licentiousness is always contrasted with true freedom. Biblical freedom is ordered toward love, virtue, and obedience to God—not self-indulgence. Where freedom leads us closer to Christ, licentiousness pulls us away while convincing us we are still free.

In the New Testament, the Greek word most often translated as licentiousness is ἀσέλγεια (aselgeia). This word carries a sobering meaning. It describes behavior that has not only lost restraint, but has also lost shame. It is not merely sin—it is sin that no longer blushes. A bold, defiant crossing of moral boundaries.

Scripture lists aselgeia among the works of the flesh (Galatians 5:19). Paul also uses it to describe a hardened heart that gives itself over to excess and moral abandonment (Ephesians 4:19), and a former way of life marked by indulgence and lack of restraint (1 Peter 4:3).

What is striking is the theological weight of this word. In Greek usage, aselgeia reflects a corruption of freedom—where liberty is twisted into license. It is the posture that says, “I know what God says, but this feels right to me.”

That is why licentiousness stands in direct opposition to the fruit of the Spirit called self-control (ἐγκράτεια – enkrateia). These two cannot exist together. Where the Holy Spirit produces restraint, licentiousness removes it.

The Old Testament reinforces this same truth, even though Hebrew uses different language. Words such as זִמָּה (zimmah), which describes intentional moral corruption, and נְבָלָה (nevalah), meaning disgraceful or foolish behavior, are used to describe actions that violate God’s covenant and bring disorder to both the individual and the community. In Hebrew thought, licentiousness is less about freedom and more about covenant betrayal.

This is why licentiousness extends beyond sexual sin. It includes persisting in any practice God has made clear is not His, especially when those practices are defended with spiritual language or personal sincerity. Good intentions do not override obedience. Sincerity does not replace submission.

Scripture consistently presents licentiousness as the opposite of holiness. It is associated with debauchery, moral laxity, sensual excess, and self-indulgence. By contrast, the life of the Spirit is marked by self-control, temperance, chastity, discipline, sobriety, and holiness.

Biblically speaking, licentiousness is not the absence of rules—it is the rejection of God’s authority. And over time, that rejection dulls discernment, hardens conviction, and leaves fruit quietly rotting on the vine.

A Return to True Freedom

If freedom is defined only by personal desire, then restraint will always feel like loss. But Scripture presents a different vision—one where freedom is not the absence of boundaries, but the presence of right order. Licentiousness promises liberation, yet it quietly erodes discernment and leaves the soul fragmented. What appears expansive at first often narrows the heart over time.

The invitation of Christ is different. He does not call His followers to rigid control or moral performance, but to Spirit-formed self-control—the kind that grows through surrender, obedience, and trust. This fruit is not produced by willpower alone; it is cultivated as we submit our practices, desires, and assumptions to the authority of God’s Word.

This is where honest reflection begins. Not with defensiveness, but with humility. Not with comparison, but with examination. When a practice, habit, or belief requires constant justification, it is worth bringing it into the light of Scripture and asking whether it draws us closer to Christ or slowly pulls us away.

True freedom is not found in doing whatever we want. It is found in belonging to the One who knows what leads to life. And when we allow the Holy Spirit to restore self-control where licentiousness once ruled, the fruit that grows is not restriction—but peace, clarity, and freedom that endures.

Conversion stories here:

Angela Scafidi

Former Astrologist, ennegram, yoga master, reiki master and witch:

https://youtu.be/YRp4AU4WBt8?si=bOivZJppWNusJy0v

Steven Bancarz

Former: New age occultist/ Christ consciousness (we are our own God)

https://youtu.be/488s2RigJfA?si=7GCbRBMAh1ZGDFS9

Citation

Bible

The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version. 1989. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

The Holy Bible: New Living Translation. 2015. Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers. Psalm 115:15–18.

Greek Lexicon

Bauer, Walter, Frederick William Danker, William F. Arndt, and F. Wilbur Gingrich. A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature. 3rd ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000.

Hebrew Lexicon

Brown, Francis, S. R. Driver, and Charles A. Briggs. The Brown–Driver–Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 1907.

Theological Dictionary

Kittel, Gerhard, Geoffrey W. Bromiley, and Gerhard Friedrich, eds. Theological Dictionary of the New Testament. Vols. 1–10. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1964–1976.

Concordance

Strong, James. The Strongest Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1996.

Scripture References

Galatians 5:23; Ephesians 4:19; 1 Peter 4:3; Genesis 34:7. NRSV.