"Avoid every kind of evil." 1 Thessalonians 5:22 (NIV) The King James version of The Bible for this verse reads: "Abstain from all appearance of evil."
In his letter to the believers in The Church at Thessaliniki, the Apostle Paul gave them advice regarding guidelines and examples of good Christian behavior. In this verse Paul told them to avoid every kind of evil. The Amplified Bible for this verse reads: "Abstain from evil; shrink from it and keep aloof from it, in whatever form or whatever kind it may be."
In order to engage in successful Christian living, one must avoid sinful behavior, as much as is humanly possible. Believers still sin, but when we fall and sin, we do not stay down. We ask The Lord God to forgive us and He picks us up and cleans us up. (Psalms 37:24 and 1 John 1:9) However, as believers are encouraged to avoid any activity which is sinful, and to avoid anything which even appears to be, or might be perceived to be sinful. (1 Thessalonians 5:22 KJV) We are advised to avoid corrupt or evil practices which suggest sinful thoughts or actions, even if they are legal by the laws of man. We should be very careful regarding that which we place before our sanctified eyes, or in our sanctified ears, because some inappropriate things can lead to sinful thoughts. (Psalms 101:3 and 2 Timothy 4:3) Listening to false witness reports, or watching sinful acts on television, at the movies, or on the internet, produces sinful thoughts which is sinful behavior. (Exodus 23:1, Psalms 101:3, Matthew 5:28, and Proverbs 23:7) So, let us ask God to forgive us of our sinful thoughts, words, and actions. Let us pray for guidance in our decision making, for help in avoiding sinful activities, and for help avoiding those things which appear evil or sinful. We do not want to stumble and fall into sin, and we do want to cause someone else to stumble and fall into sin. (Malachi 2:8)
No comments:
Post a Comment