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1 THESSALONIANS 5:22 “ABSTAIN FROM ALL APPEARANCE OF EVIL.” (KJV)
“Abstain from every form of evil. (NKJV, NASB, RSV)
“Reject every kind of evil.” (NIV)
“Stay away from every kind of evil.” (NET)
Before we get to the text of this verse, I want to share another technique I was given to help me memorize Scriptures. I’m sure you recall from earlier chapters my experience of Children’s Church and the emphasis on Bible Verses. We would go downstairs and Sister Patterson would lead us in Sword Drills, teachings and here... screaming.
Kids love to scream. This technique allowed them to scream in church and not get into trouble. The technique actually involved something that looked more like a cheer at a basketball game. We repeated this little cheer so many times that we could all scream it from memory, even though most of us had no idea what the specific verses said. Sister Patterson taught us what they meant later.
We were all told that we were going to do the cheer. Then, at the top of our lungs, all twenty or so of us screamed together: “Say my chum, have you seen? Second Timothy, two fifteen. First Thessalonians five twenty-two, tells you exactly what to do!” They could hear us all the way upstairs. It brought a lot of smiles to members of the congregation.
The reason I bring this experience up is because it teaches us another technique to help us memorize Bible verses. Writing now, in the fourth book of Hide the Word, I have had many of my readers tell me they have an easier time memorizing the Scriptures…especially the shorter and more already-familiar ones…but they have a far more difficult time remembering the chapter and verse where the Bible Scripture comes from.
This little “ditty” we all screamed as kids might help you with that. I would not necessarily encourage you to scream it. But, the rhyme of the cheer might help you remember the verse from our previous chapter (2 Timothy 2:15) and the one for this chapter (2 Thess 5:22)…because it “tells you exactly, WHAT TO DO!” (We always screamed louder at the end.)
Remember in the last chapter, 2 Timothy 2:15 taught us to “study to show ourselves approved.” That was a great lesson to teach kids at an early age. This verse is a great one too. “Avoid every kind of evil!” Oh, how important that lesson was going to become for the rest of our lives!
The King James word “abstain’ is an interesting word. Of course, in our culture, we are regularly taught to do just the opposite…“INDULGE!” Much of our society, especially in the world of advertising, is driving us to get as much as we can, eat all we want, “have it your way!”
Abstinence is almost a totally foreign concept to us. We tried a form of it back in the 1920s. None of us alive remember it, but there was a brief time when the United States decided to try to outlaw drinking alcohol. It didn’t last long because, quite honestly, as Americans we like to indulge…maybe not just alcohol, but all kinds of pleasures that might seem totally innocent if we can tell ourselves enough times that they are.
To abstain means to “restrain oneself from doing or enjoying something.” When we abstain from something, we give it up. I can remember one church Cheryl and I went to that had an exercise occasionally that was called a period of “Prayer and self-denial.”
Of course, we all know that our brother Catholics spend time during the approaching days of Easter each year “giving up” certain indulgences for Lent in an attempt to demonstrate self-denial. The practice isn’t necessarily popular, but it demonstrates a concept that, occasionally at least, it can be a good idea to give up some things that might not be so good for us.
This short verse we memorize today tells us to examine things and determine if they might have some “form of evil.” If we find that they do, the Bible encourages us to abstain from them, reject and stay away from them. Oh, if only it was that easy, huh?
In the very next verses, Paul states the goal that God Himself would “sanctify you wholly” and “keep our spirit, soul and body sound and blameless.” Sanctification isn’t a doctrine just for “holiness” denominations.
I was raised in a pretty strict environment as a child. We did not do a lot of things. We chose not to drink, smoke or go to the movies. Initially, it seemed like those were the “Big 3.” I learned later in life that there are lots of other “indulgences” I could get into that were far from holy.
I was reminded of 1 Corinthians 6:19 that, “my body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you,” and “you are not your own.” 2 Cor 6:16 reinforced this by telling me “you are the temple of the living God.” It is true. There are things we need to not let into our spirits, souls or bodies.
Of course, when we leave the protective environment of the home we were raised in, we have to decide for ourselves what is good and what is evil. It wasn’t until I went away to the Air Force Academy at age 18 that I saw my first movie. (“Say it isn’t true!”)
Now, I have to admit that I didn’t get any immediate feelings of condemnation when I watched the theater production of “Fiddler on the Roof.” But, how easily and how quickly could I be right at home going to see something on the “silver screen” that Mom and Dad would not have been proud to know I was watching. Oh, and what about Jesus?
I use the illustration of movies because it seems like the most innocent indulgence I could admit to. But, just like any other 18 year old, first time away from home, it didn’t take long before indulgences could become more serious, more pleasurable and probably more able to draw me away from my love for Jesus.
Ultimately, indulging in the worldly desires available to us all might give us pleasure for a while but they can quickly lead to distraction, destruction and despair. Is it worth it? Ask me at the exact time I am enjoying those delights and any young man or woman would say, “It sure is!” Ask me after those delights have caused me to bring about serious, negative impacts on my life and most of us would admit…“that sure snuck up on me fast!”
We end up finding us no longer shouting, “Say my chum, have you seen, Second Timothy 2:15” but rather, “Say my chum, have you seen, the joy you get by seeing what I have seen!” And the seemingly innocent joy we get from early, non-damaging indulgences can develop into habit patterns that later show up as drug abuse, life-changing sexual immorality and destroyed families and relationships…all because we refuse to “abstain from evil.”
Hey, we don’t all have to turn into monks in a monastery who commit to a vow of silence for the rest of our lives! But saying no to some things that we know are obviously unholy might be a good place for us to start if we are serious about being followers of Jesus.
We serve a holy God. He desires holiness in His followers. He knows that Satan’s lures are devious, subtle and seemingly innocent at the beginning. Oh how we need to learn as quickly as possible that the way to avoid certain destruction down the road is to abstain from ALL appearances of evil now.
New followers of Jesus find an indescribably joy knowing that Jesus paid the price for all our sins and mistakes. But, we find out very quickly that Satan doesn’t just walk away when we give our life to the Lord. He is immediately interested in getting us back to those things we gave into so easily before our decision to follow Jesus.
Satan isn’t omnipotent (all knowing). He can’t know what you are thinking and how easily he can affect that thinking. But he is a great observer of what worked well in your life in the past. Now, we have been bought with a price, we are servants of the King. And the King has given us all the tools we need to not go back to that life.
Abstain starts with just saying no to the devil and those old temptations. Resist: James 4:7 tells us that if we will “resist the devil, he will flee from you.” Just like Jesus did when He was tempted, quote Scripture and Verse to him. “Get behind me Satan!” Remember our memory verse from 1 Cor 10:13. You aren’t alone! God is faithful to you! He won’t allow you to be tempted beyond your ability to resist. He will make a way for you to escape! You can bear it!
Holiness doesn’t come all at once. I believe holiness is a life-long path. It is one the Lord wants us to follow. We need to become holy, even as He is holy. We walk a Christian life that continues to be molded, day by day, to make us more and more like the image of Christ.
For most of us, that walk toward holiness in the Lord begins with something as simple as just abstaining from all appearances of evil. The Holy Spirit now lives within you to help you know what is holy and what is evil. He gives us the power to resist the devil and say no to his traps. We just have to decide to do it.
Abstain is not an evil word. It is the key to our walking in the Spirit and living a victorious life in Jesus Christ. Why not give it a try?
Questions to consider: Why is it so easy to choose the wrong things in life and seemingly impossible to do the right things and resist the devil? List all the tools the Lord has given us to be able to abstain from evil. Do you recognize evil when you see it? How can we abstain from evil if we do not recognize it or choose to ignore it so we can have pleasure for a season? Now that the Holy Spirit lives in you, how does He speak to your spirit so you can know what is sin, what displeases Him and what draws you away from His presence?
Other verses to study: A lion? 1 Peter 5:8 describes him as a being we should know is as dangerous to us as a lion. We do not fear him. This verse tells us we overcome him by being sober and vigilant. Don’t give place to the devil. Ephesians 4:27 We wrestle against principalities, powers and rulers of darkness. Eph 6:12 Submit to God, resist the devil and he will flee from you. James 4:7 The Lord gives us armor to stand against the devil with. Eph 6:11-14
 
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