The doctrine of jealousy

1. Definition.

a) Jealousy is a mental attitude sin which demands exclusive devotion and is intolerant of rivalry.

b) Jealousy is chagrin or discontent at the blessings, successes or status symbols of other people.

c. Jealousy is the resentment of the attractiveness or the approbation that someone else has received.

d. In the old English jealousy also had the connotation of ardent devotion. God would say, “I am jealous of my people.” So it has to be remembered that the old English has to antithetical meanings for jealousy, one is a mental attitude sin and the other is a synonym for love.

e. This study will be confined to the mental sin of jealousy or envy.

2. The source of jealousy. There are two basic sources for all mental sins of jealousy.

a) The old sin nature’s area of weakness. This produces the source of all categories of sin, including mental, verbal, and overt.

b) It also emanates from reversionism or being under the influence of evil, as in this passage, 1 Tim. 6:3,4.

3. Therefore jealousy is a sin inevitably related to reversionism. Jealousy crops up in unbeliever reversionism, mentioned in Romans 1:28,29. Jealousy also crops up in any type of believer reversionism — James 3:14-16.

4. Jealousy rejects Bible doctrine, therefore jealousy characterises reversionism — Acts 13:45; 17:5.

5. Jealousy motivates religion — Mark 15:10.

6. Jealousy of authority — e.g. the authority of Joseph motivated his brothers to sell him into slavery — Acts 7:9.

7. Jealousy can split all kinds of organisations and jealousy actually split the nation Israel. We have the northern and the southern kingdom because of jealousy — Isaiah 11:13.

8. So great was the sin of jealousy in Israel that a special offering was designed for it under the Levitical code — Leviticus chapter 5:11-31.

9. Jealousy was the basis for the destruction of category #2 love. Any true love can be in danger when jealousy attacks — Song of Solomon 8:6.

10. Jealousy is a self-destructive sin — Job 5:2; Proverbs 14:30.

11. Jealousy, therefore, is the strongest of the mental attitude sins — Proverbs 27:3,4.