Q: In 1 Thessalonians 5:22 it says to `abstain from the very appearance of evil.` How are we to do this when evil is constant and visible everywhere we look? We would have to be a monk living in a cave in order to abide by this law.
A: Scripture warns us against being taken "captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ (Colossians 2:8)." The basic principles of this world fall into two categories. The first category is one of repentance and obedience. The second category is one of maximizing pleasure and minimizing pain. Both of them are not representative of life as a Christian. The first thing you must avoid when trying to understand 1 Thessalonians 5:22 is the temptation of putting yourself under the law. It is easy to want to come up with a list of what is good and try to obey it and a list of what is evil and try to repent of it. This type of attitude is at the root of every religion on earth. And the goal of most religion is to try and be like God. This sounds good at first, but is actually a message that can be traced back to the Garden of Eden and from the mouth of Satan, himself.
When Satan was tempting Eve in the Garden he said, "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil (Genesis 3:5)." Most Christians (religious people in general) will not admit, or even realize, the fact that their actions are an exercise in trying to be like God. You will hear it taught that we should be more Christlike in our actions. Well, who is Jesus Christ? He is God. Or maybe someone will say that we need to get all the sin out of our lives. Who is the only sinless person that ever lived? Jesus Christ. And, again, He is God. Don't get me wrong, I am not advocating that a person should not avoid sin. There is no question that a believer should make every effort to do so. However, as I have heard it put, we are living in the wrong tree, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, by trying to be like God. The question that must be answered is "what is your motivation behind living the Christian life?"
The Christian life is not about trying to stop sinning, but learning to trust God in the midst of our sins. In Titus we learn that it is the grace of God, not the law of God, that "teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age (Titus 2:12)." Therefore, the motivation for the Christian life is the indwelling Holy Spirit guiding us from within, not through modifying our behavior through obedience to rules and regulations that try and define good and evil. And if the Holy Spirit is guiding us in our daily lives, is He going to lead us into sin? Of course not. He guides us by reminding us of who we are in Christ and of all we have been given through faith in Him. Sin can best be defined as our attempts to satisfy the deepest desires of our heart in anything except our relationship with God. When we are not responding to the truth revealed to us by the Holy Spirit we are going to give the appearance of evil because our only alternative is to seek what we desire most from the world. And all the world has to offer are poor substitutes that can only be experienced through various forms of sin.
With this in mind it should be easier to determine how a Christian is to "abstain from the very appearance of evil." The last verse of the chapter says that the "grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you (1 Thessalonians 5:28)." This is a summation of everything that came before it. How is it that a Christian is patient with everyone (verse 14), doesn't pay back wrong for wrong (verse 15), is joyful always (verse 16), gives thanks in all circumstances (verse 18) and holds on to the good (verse 21), amongst other things listed? It is by trusting in, and depending on, the Holy Spirit to remind us of all we have received as a gift of God's love for us. All these actions are fruits of the Spirit of God being produced through us as we learn to rely on Him with our lives. It is Jesus Christ who lives the Christian life, only He can live, in and through us. Jesus said that "apart from me you can do nothing (John 15:5)." Our lives are not about discovering which set of rules are best for us to live by and then dedicating ourselves to a life of obedience to them. We will only waste allot of time before admitting that we can't do it. The good news is that trying to live the Christian life, through futile attempts at obeying what is good and avoiding what is evil, will lead us to one important conclusion about Jesus Christ:
"The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it (1 Thessalonians 5:24)."
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