Abstain from all appearance of evil. 1 Thessalonians 5:22
According to the F.B.I, in more than 40% of all murder cases in the United States, alcohol was a contributing factor. Lawyers tell us that more than half of the fatal accidents on Canadian highways involve the use of alcohol or drugs. Small wonder that drinking gets a bad name, and it deserves it. So do those who drink it. So, drinking is not only bad for Christians, it also makes us look bad before other Christians and the world. It’s a bad testimony. It violates our text today.
But our text is not just about alcohol and drugs. Christians are living in a world awash in all manner of evil, and while we must live in the world, we are instructed to not be of the world. Who said that? Our Lord: ‘They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world’ – John 17:16. If we examine His life as described by the Gospel writers, we will find neither taint nor appearance of evil in any aspect. The One Who ‘receiveth sinners and eateth with them’ led those sinners away from their sin and its unholy appearance.
Abstaining from all appearance of evil means avoiding those places whose business is catering to sinful activity. It means having little to do with those people who openly practice what the Scriptures condemn. It means elevating our language above the gutter talk of profanities and obscenities that spill from the lips of so many of those around us. The list goes on but the message is clear.
The life that abstains from all appearance of evil is a life that embraces all appearance of righteousness. -Jim MacIntosh
Here is the link to the video of this message: https://youtu.be/-NG-SOsq6O8