Abstain from Every Form of Evil
Paul ended the letter of I Thessalonians with several brief and powerful commands. Sometimes truth is best communicated succinctly. That way we can remember the admonition and apply it in our lives. I Thessalonians 5:22 was one of those commands. Even though it has only 6 words, it communicates much to us as believers.
We must abstain from things as Christians. Yes, I know that many of us want to do what we like or what brings us pleasure, but if God says it is wrong, we are to abstain. That simply means stop,. Don't do it. Whatever it takes, stay away from those things.
Every is another simple word that means all of them. We are not allowed to pick out one or two, so we can do them, and abstain from the rest. Why? Because all sin destroys and brings death. God is making this command to help us, not to cause us to miss out on fun things.
Evil is the opposite of good and right. Evil is anything that is not God's will. The Bible is clear on sin. It does not mention every conceivable form of sin, but it gives us admonitions on all things that are evil. That is why this admonition says "every form of evil." We have the principles and the specific instructions in the Bible, so any form of any of those things is evil, and we must abstain from them.
It is not rocket science. Do what is right, and stay away from evil. God helps us in the process, but we have to determine what we will do, then, He gives us the power and direction to do it.
Tomorrow, I intend to read II Thessalonians 1-3.
We must abstain from things as Christians. Yes, I know that many of us want to do what we like or what brings us pleasure, but if God says it is wrong, we are to abstain. That simply means stop,. Don't do it. Whatever it takes, stay away from those things.
Every is another simple word that means all of them. We are not allowed to pick out one or two, so we can do them, and abstain from the rest. Why? Because all sin destroys and brings death. God is making this command to help us, not to cause us to miss out on fun things.
Evil is the opposite of good and right. Evil is anything that is not God's will. The Bible is clear on sin. It does not mention every conceivable form of sin, but it gives us admonitions on all things that are evil. That is why this admonition says "every form of evil." We have the principles and the specific instructions in the Bible, so any form of any of those things is evil, and we must abstain from them.
It is not rocket science. Do what is right, and stay away from evil. God helps us in the process, but we have to determine what we will do, then, He gives us the power and direction to do it.
Tomorrow, I intend to read II Thessalonians 1-3.