The Justifier of the Ungodly

ἀσεβής (asebēs) — Adjective

From the Greek ἀσεβής (asebēs), from a (not) and sebomai (to worship, to revere): ungodly, irreverent, without regard for God. Semantic force: The word does not primarily describe scandalous conduct but a missing orientation. An asebēs man may be entirely respectable; what he lacks is reverence, and the immorality Scripture associates with the term follows from that absence rather than defining it. Theological depth: Paul deliberately makes this the category God justifies. Elsewhere Scripture calls it an abomination to justify the wicked, which is precisely the tension the verse creates and the cross resolves.