"Abstain from all appearance of evil."
How many times have you heard that verse quoted? I have heard it many times. I'm sure I've also said it myself. We interpret it to mean that we should abstain from anything that could appear to someone that we may be doing something evil/sinful.
But recently, at the men's Bible study that I attend, we accidentally and unexpectedly discovered that this is actually a misunderstanding of the text. We were discussing how to bring the gospel to lost people within their own subcultures, going out into the world to bring the truth of Jesus to the lost on their turf, when someone brought up the question, "What about abstaining from all appearance of evil?". None of us could remember the context of that familiar verse, so we looked it up. It turns out that most Bible translations translate it differently, shedding light on the familiar translation as to how it should be interpreted, which is quite different than how we are accustomed to understanding it.
The verse is I Thessalonians 5:22. Here is the verse in several common translations:
New International Version (NIV) - "Avoid every kind of evil."
New American Standard Bible (NASB) - "... abstain from every form of evil."
English Standard Version (ESV) - "Abstain from every from of evil."
New King James Version (NKJV) - "Abstain from every from of evil."
King James Version (KJV) - "Abstain from all appearance of evil."
Only the KJV reads as we are used to hearing it. In light of the modern English translations of the verse (and if you read it in context) it becomes clear what the intended meaning of the KJV was, which would have certainly been clear to readers when the version was younger. In modern English we would better understand the intended meaning of the word "appearance" as used in the verse if it were written something like this:
"Abstain from evil in every way it appears."
After thinking this through, I realized that it would be completely out of character for the Bible to command us to be so concerned with outward appearances. The Bible spends a lot of time calling us to not focus on outward appearances -- which is our natural tendency.
Jesus was not concerned with "the appearance of evil" as we have misunderstood it, but only with doing what was right. The life of Jesus was characterized by faithfulness to the Father's will without concern of how it would appear to others. God the Son, pure and holy, came to this sinful, corrupt Earth via a questionable birth as an apparently illegitimate child. He hung out with lots of questionable people and did lots of questionable things. He was called "a glutton and a drunkard", and "a friend of tax collectors and 'sinners'." His life was filled with "questionable" moments, though all of them were righteous.
Knowing this, let us follow Jesus by seeking to do God's will as we reach others without being concerned about appearances.
4 comments:
I get to be the first to comment. Cool.
I like the entry. Very well thought out. I'd like to see you use this space to discuss all of your various theorys I've heard over the years, including multi-perspective discussions and building a better mousetrap, uh, I mean screw head. Maybe you'll make a million bucks...
Darren,
Great blog! This going to be great! I don't disagree at all with you. We have done scripture a huge injustice by interpreting it in those terms. I cant believe just now we see what Paul really meant. Oh well, it just shows our need for the spirit of God.
Another illustration of this is in Galatians when the Apostle Paul tells how he confronted the Apostle Peter, when Peter was eating with the Gentiles and then abandoned them when the Jewish leaders showed up and confronted him about who he was eating with. Peter was ashamed of the Gentiles(because it gave an appearance of evil), when there was no need to be ashamed.
I wish I could say we dont struggle with this today, but the truth is if I was seen with a hooker many would condemn me. Or if they saw me having a beer in a bar with guy I might be condemned.
The truth is, the perversion of 1 Thessalonians 5:22 has led to the opression of our freedom in Christ.
Very good! The KJV can cause some confusion if one reads it with today's grammatical construction and word definitions in mind. We must be careful to understand the style of that day in order to correctly understand it or any other older texts.
I wonder if there is any difference in the Byzantine and Alexandrian texts in this verse.
Darren,
I enjoyed your post as well as your insight at the men's Bible study. This has been a passage I have heard all my life warning not to "abuse" your liberty in Christ. This has been one of those "ah ha" moments for me, very liberating, thank you for broaching it.
Post a Comment