To effectively deal with this topic, we will need to explain
the word abstinence, as well as what we mean by the “appearance of evil”
Abstinence is synonymous with self denial, temperance or
sobriety. According to Merriam Webster Dictionary, it is the practice of not
doing or having something that is wanted or enjoyable.
The Bible says in Apostle Paul's letter to the Christians at
Thessalonica:
1 Thessalonians 5:22 KJV
[22] Abstain from all appearance of evil.
What then is an appearance of evil? An appearance of evil
therefore is anything that is tainted with evil. It is anything that is
disguised with evil which may not necessarily present initially as sin but is
capable of leading one into sin. It is evil masquerading itself in deception
through different forms and kinds.
With these definitions in view, we will move on to
deliberate further on the message.
Before we attempt to discuss why we will need to abstain,
let us first of all look at some examples of the appearance of evil;
1. Joseph and Potiphar's wife: When Potiphar's wife cast her
eyes on Joseph and desired to sleep with him, he refused saying that he could
not do such a wicked thing against his master and God. Eventually when she
caught Joseph by his garment desiring to lie with him, Joseph fled and got out
of that environment. ( Gen. 39: 1-12 ).
That was an appearance of evil. Imagine if Joseph did not
flee from the room but stayed back to resist the woman, that in itself is not a
sin but he may have succumbed to the strong persuasion and overtures of the
woman which would have resulted in adultery. Thank God that Joseph obeyed the
scriptures and the voice of the Holy Spirit and abstained from this appearance
of evil.
2. David and Uriah's wife: The scriptures have it on record
that King David rather than go to war, at a time when kings go forth to battle,
he sent his men while he tarried in Jerusalem. As a result, as he strolled on
the roof top of his house, his eyes caught the sight of a naked woman by name
Bath-Sheba, taking her bath and who was very beautiful to look upon. (2 Sam.
11:1-5 ). Rather than deliberately avoid looking again, he continued to look
and hence conceived lust in his heart, which led to his sending for the woman
and sleeping with her. This case is the opposite of what we saw in example 1
above. It was not sin when David's eye first caught a glimpse of the naked
woman as that was accidental. What he should have done was to realize that,
that scene was an appearance of evil and abstain by not looking again. If he
had done that, the resulting sin of adultery and killing of Uriah would not
have been committed.
We can go on and on by giving so many real life examples of
this nature but time and space will not permit. You will therefore need to
think out the other real life examples by yourself to learn the lessons
therein. A striking example is a brother who visits his fiancée who leaves
alone and stays out late into the night with her alone in the room under the
pretext of praying together. That is a bubble waiting to burst one day, as the
likelihood of their committing fornication is very high. Another example is a pastor who is fond of
borrowing money from the church collections each Sunday to meet family needs
with the promise to repay when his allowance is paid. He may find himself
unable to repay when the debt accumulates which will lead him to manipulate the
accounts of the church with a view to hide his malfeasance.
Finally, we need to abstain from all appearances of evil, as
it can lead to committing the actual sin. Another reason is for the sake of the
gospel, so that the ministry be not blamed and reproached before unbelievers. (
2 Cor. 6:3 )
Be Blessed as you Read, Comment, Like, and Share to Bless
others with this message.
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