What the Bible says about Abstain from Appearance of Evil

Genesis 6:5

Evil is the very antithesis of the eternal life that comes from knowing the Father and the Son (John 17:3). At the very beginning of the Book, mankind had to choose between life and the knowledge of good and evil—and he did not choose life! Witness the sorry record humanity has written ever since.

We do not hear much about evil these days, except perhaps in the titles of Hollywood productions and video games, so it is worth considering its basic meaning. In its common usage, it always describes something bad or negative. Yet, it is not just bad in the sense that a snowstorm or an accident may be bad. Evil contains within it malignancy—something that is purposefully injurious or intentionally unkind. It is not merely unpleasant; it is miserable by design. With regard to human behavior, perhaps author M. Scott Peck, M.D. (The Road Less Travelled; People of the Lie) describes it best as "that which does harm to life or liveliness."

Clearly, evil is not something Christians should choose to be associated with, let alone glorify, for "the face of LORD is against those who do evil" (I Peter 3:12; Psalm 34:12-16). Paul raises the bar even higher with his exhortation to "abstain from every form of evil" (I Thessalonians 5:22)—from everything that is against life and especially eternal life!

It is evident that the rituals of Halloween, ancient and modern, do not promote life, but revel in the realm of trickery, sorcery, spiritism, and the many dark ways of the evil one. Christians should not be involved with such things. As Paul told the often-wayward Corinthians, "You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the Lord's table and of the table of demons" (I Corinthians 10:21).

Just like Adam, we have to choose between life and evil; they are mutually exclusive. Jesus foretells a future resurrection, in which all will be divided into two groups that represent what they chose during their lifetimes:

. . . for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation. (John 5:28-29; emphasis ours)

Eschewing the evil of Halloween is the easy part. The far greater challenge is to combat the evil that resides inside us (Mark 7:20-23)—evil that is promoted by Satan, evil that reached out in the Garden of Eden and has permeated the world ever since. It is seen in the way we do harm to life or liveliness in others—in cutting words, in deception, in attempts to manipulate, in self-centeredness that wounds those who encounter it, and in countless other ways. The manifestations of evil in mankind seem to be limited only by the length of his days.

However, those in whom God dwells have the means "not [to] be overcome by evil, but [to] overcome evil with good" (Romans 12:21). The means is the eternal life available through our relationship with God. Eternal life is not merely length of days, but length of days without evil—that is, life of the highest quality, life as God lived it while a human. When we emulate the Life-giver, we are choosing life—and condemning evil.

David C. Grabbe
The Glorification of Evil

1 Thessalonians 5:22

To set the right example—to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world—we must take care of one particular area. Paul mentions it in I Thessalonians 5:22: "Abstain from every form of evil." The KJV renders it, "Abstain from all appearance of evil."

"Abstain" (Gk. apéchesthe) literally means "to hold oneself off" or "to keep oneself from." A common synonym for this word is "refrain." When we abstain or refrain from doing something, we exercise restraint and self-control. We look at the situation with a sound mind, soberly, to ensure that we "do the right thing."

"Evil" is a translation of the Greek word poneros, used some 75 times in the New Testament, mostly as "evil" or "wickedness." This kind of evil is both the act itself as well as the corrupting effect it has on others. It is a broad term that includes many forms of malevolence, malignancy, corruption, and sin.

Notice the views on I Thessalonians 5:22 taken by three well-known commentaries:

» Adam Clarke: Sin not, and avoid even the appearance of it. Do not drive your morality so near the bounds of evil as to lead even weak persons to believe that ye actually touch, taste, or handle it. Let not the form of it, eidos, appear with or among you, much less the substance. Ye are called to holiness; be ye holy, for God is holy.

» Expositor's Bible Commentary: Paul very clearly intends an antithesis with v. 21 here. "Hold fast" to the good, but "hold yourselves free from" every kind of evil that tries to parade itself as a genuine representation of the Spirit. Only then can maximum benefit for the body of Christ in local worship be achieved.

» Barnes' Notes: [Abstain] not only from evil itself, but from that which seems to be wrong. There are many things which are known to be wrong. They are positively forbidden by the laws of heaven. . . . But there are also many things about which there may be some reasonable doubt. . . . There are many things which, in themselves, may not appear to us to be positively wrong, but which are so considered by large and respectable portions of the community; and for us to do them would be regarded as inconsistent and improper.

There are things, also, where, whatever may be our motive, we may be certain that our conduct will be regarded as improper. A great variety of subjects, such as those pertaining to dress, amusements, . . . and various practices in the transaction of business, come under this general class; which, though on the supposition that they cannot be proved to be in themselves positively wrong or forbidden, have much the "appearance" of evil, and will be so interpreted by others. The safe and proper rule is to lean always to the side of virtue. In these instances it may be certain that there will be no sin committed by abstaining; there may be by indulgence.

Because we represent God, any appearance of evil presents a wrong picture of who God is and what He is doing. How we conduct ourselves before the world—and among our brethren in the church—is vitally important.

John O. Reid
Abstaining From Evil