I have been enjoying a daily read through 1 Thessalonians for a little while now. It has been a great encouragement yet a challenge. I noted in chapter 5:22 the verse says in KJV "abstain from every appearance of evil" that in the ESV and NASB it is translated as "22 Abstain from every form of evil."
I have often said that I cannot understand how we can possibly abstain from every appearance of evil. Christians and the world alike have told us that living by faith for provision is wrong, that salvation can come without repentance, that home schooling is wrong, that believing as a father I have some say in who my kids marry is wrong, that reading any version besides the KJV is wrong, and a few that say chiropractic is witchcraft. I avoided getting chiropractic care for years due to this belief that stemmed from my childhood, and now I know better. At the time though, this verse was used to prove the point that it appears to be evil.... to whom?
When we find truth in God's Word that is unpopular, be it the public proclamation of the Gospel or a dozen other righteous things, some of which are commanded by God, what are we to do? Do we avoid obedience because someone might not agree and find my position offensive or claim it appears to be evil? What about Martin Luther, William Tyndale and many others who defied the "only true church" the Roman Catholics, to bring us the Word of God in English and exposed the falsehood of salvation by works? These men in their times were mocked and even killed for what I know now to be the truth of God's Word.
I believe the only course of action for the Christian is to carefully study God's Word, pray and wait on the Lord's conviction of truth, and then walk in the truth no matter the consequences. We have done this in many aspects of our lives and lost a lot of friends, financial support, and much worse. If I know the grass is green, I can't call it red no matter how much I know it would help me, even if I wanted to, the grass is green and God's Word is truth worth dying for if that choice needs to be made. I can't explain it any better than that, but this was on my heart and I thought I would share it.
I have often said that I cannot understand how we can possibly abstain from every appearance of evil. Christians and the world alike have told us that living by faith for provision is wrong, that salvation can come without repentance, that home schooling is wrong, that believing as a father I have some say in who my kids marry is wrong, that reading any version besides the KJV is wrong, and a few that say chiropractic is witchcraft. I avoided getting chiropractic care for years due to this belief that stemmed from my childhood, and now I know better. At the time though, this verse was used to prove the point that it appears to be evil.... to whom?
When we find truth in God's Word that is unpopular, be it the public proclamation of the Gospel or a dozen other righteous things, some of which are commanded by God, what are we to do? Do we avoid obedience because someone might not agree and find my position offensive or claim it appears to be evil? What about Martin Luther, William Tyndale and many others who defied the "only true church" the Roman Catholics, to bring us the Word of God in English and exposed the falsehood of salvation by works? These men in their times were mocked and even killed for what I know now to be the truth of God's Word.
I believe the only course of action for the Christian is to carefully study God's Word, pray and wait on the Lord's conviction of truth, and then walk in the truth no matter the consequences. We have done this in many aspects of our lives and lost a lot of friends, financial support, and much worse. If I know the grass is green, I can't call it red no matter how much I know it would help me, even if I wanted to, the grass is green and God's Word is truth worth dying for if that choice needs to be made. I can't explain it any better than that, but this was on my heart and I thought I would share it.
