1 Thessalonians 5:21-22 - Abstain From All Evil

19 Do not quench the Spirit; 20 do not despise prophetic utterances. 21 But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good; 22 abstain from every form of evil.

Target Date: Sunday, 2 July 2023

Word Study/ Translation Notes:

Abstain - ἀπέχομαι apĕchŏmai – to hold yourself off, block yourself

This is in the middle voice, which means “hold yourself away” as opposed to holding something away from you.

In combination with the prior phrase, hold fast, cling to what is good, and hold yourself, restrain yourself from … evil.

Every - πᾶς pas – every, all

Form - εἶδος ĕidŏs – shape, appearance

This word, having its root in “knowing” (oidos - “recognizing”), suggests the things that someone would recognize.

And while He was praying, the appearance of His face became different - Luke 9:29

Used in this passage to the effect of “that by which they recognized Him was changed”.

“Everything that looks like”

for we have regard for what is honorable, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men. – 2 Corinthians 8:21

Evil - πονηρός pŏnērŏs – evil, hurtful, guilty

hurtful, i.e. evil (prop. in effect or influence, and thus differing from 2556, which refers rather to essential character, as well as from 4550, which indicates degeneracy from original virtue); fig. calamitous; also (pass.) ill, i.e. diseased; but espec. (mor.) culpable, i.e. derelict, vicious, facinorous; neut. (sing.) mischief, malice, or (plural) guilt; masc. (sing.) the devil, or (plural) sinners:— bad, evil, grievous, harm, lewd, malicious, wicked (-ness).

Commonly used – “deliver us from evil” in the Model Prayer.

But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men. – Luke 6:35

This is an adjective modifying “form” – “Abstain from every evil form”.

This takes nothing away from our translations, but it does slightly focus the emphasis.

Thoughts on the Passage:

Every imperative in this passage – examine, hold fast, and abstain – are plural. This is not a commandment to an individual or rationalistic approach, suggesting we could make this determination individually. On the contrary, it is a call to the church (and especially the elders and leaders) to weigh teachings that come in by the Scripture, guided by the Holy Spirit, and in the spirit of Christian love and gentleness.

It is important to note that this judgment is based on Scripture guided by the Spirit. Any person may made solid-sounding arguments based on what they have read in the Bible, but only a believer, a follower of Jesus Christ, will be able, through the Spirit, to discern the goodness and rightness of the teaching. To simply appeal to the Bible without the Spirit and the teaching of Christ is to fall back on rationalism and logic to complete the work begun in the Spirit.

Vv. 21-22 may well have the primary purpose of instructing the church on how to handle prophetic utterances (preaching today) or other works of the Spirit.

The importance is that they test EVERYTHING, and cling to the good, restraining themselves from the evil.

Why would this restraint be necessary? Because the evil is attractive to our flesh. It strokes our pride. It confirms our power or worthiness.

The good feeds our humility. It exalts God in Jesus Christ and leaves us where we ought to be – unworthy slaves who were bought with a price.

The evil scratches itching ears.

The good speaks the truth in love, challenging our self-righteousness wherever it is found.

The evil seeks allies.

The good seeks those who may be served.

The brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. 11 Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so. - Acts 17:10-11

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. – 1 John 4:1

There is a saying widely ascribed to Jesus by writers in the early Christian centuries: “Become approved moneychangers.” This was sometimes explained in terms of 1 Thess 5:21, 22. For example, Clement of Alexandria quotes it in the form: “Become approved moneychangers, who reject much, but retain the good.” The distinguishing of genuine from counterfeit coinage is a good figure of speech for the distinguishing of true from false prophecy—or any other kind of religious teaching.

An alternative interpretation is that Paul wanted his readers not only to avoid evil itself but what others might perceive as involving evil (“every appearance of evil,” AV; cf. Rom. 14). It is not always possible, of course, to abstain from what appears to extremely narrow-minded people to be evil.

Thus Paul exhorts the community to evaluate what is said or done in the name of the Spirit or under the supposed influence of the Spirit (cf. 1 Cor. 14:29). He does not specify what criteria should be used in determining whether something is good or evil, but presumably he expected his readers to weigh supposed Spirit-inspired words and deeds against the doctrinal and ethical norms they had received from him.

The language is strikingly similar to that of Job 1:1, 8, where Job is described as a man who “shunned evil.”

There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job; and that man was blameless, upright, fearing God and turning away from evil. – Job 1:1

The Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil.” 9 – Job 1:8

Tittmann supports English Version, “from every evil appearance” or “semblance.” The context, however, does not refer to evil appearances in ourselves which we ought to abstain from, but to holding ourselves aloof from every evil appearance in others; as for instance, in the pretenders to spirit-inspired prophesyings. In many cases the Christian should not abstain from what has the semblance (“appearance”) of evil, though really good. Jesus healed on the sabbath, and ate with publicans and sinners, acts which wore the appearance of evil, but which were not to be abstained from on that account, being really good. I agree with Tittmann rather than with Bengel, whom Alford follows. The context favors this sense: However specious be the form or outward appearance of such would-be prophets and their prophesyings, hold yourselves aloof from every such form when it is evil, literally, “Hold yourselves aloof from every evil appearance” or “form.”

We should not rest our faith on the authority of others. The right of private judgment is the characteristic and privilege of Protestantism. We ought thoroughly to examine all doctrines by the test of Scripture, and then, discerning their reasons, we shall be able to take a firmer hold of them. At the same time, the fundamental principle of rationalism, that reason as such is the judge of the doctrines of revelation, is not contained in these words, and cannot be inferred from them.

Good and true prophetic words should not have the ultimate effect of stirring up fear and anxiety, but should lead the recipients (even sometimes through a healthy dose of exhortation and rebuke) towards obedience to and peace with God.

Applications:

We have so many people today listening to so many different “spirits”, cultivating strange doctrines, virtues, and vices, creating novel ethics. What is really needed, particularly by those in the church, is to hold to the Bible as the single guide to life and truth. Through it, the Spirit tells us not only what we shall believe, but how we shall conduct ourselves in the world around us.

The reality is that false teachers will double down on their error and defend themselves, their interpretations and systems, in spite of overwhelming scriptural evidence. A humble teacher will, most often, prefer to consider the argument in the light of Scripture, modifying their words if Scripture compels the change.

The perceived confidence of the teacher is no reliable indicator of the truth of their statements. An error may be sincerely held and well-defended, but will not in the end stand up to the dispassionate examination of Scripture.

As error grows, and the interest and pride of the false teacher deepens, the defense grows more harsh and loud. What the errant teacher cannot explain, he (or she) will shout down.

The personal experience of the errant teacher with the subject of their error is of no use at all to the conversation. It is true that the apostles used THEIR personal experiences at the Jerusalem Council, declaring that God had poured out his Spirit on the Gentiles. But those were the ones WRITING the Scriptures, not teachers who now have the Scriptures to examine their words and works.

For the Christian:

Shall we, then, submit ourselves to the judgment in the view of the ungodly? Must we adopt cultural norms and bow to the instantly-created virtues in order to avoid offending the easily-offended sinner? Even in this, we must discern through the Scripture. Those things which violate neither the Scripture nor our conscience on how it shall be applied, we have freedom to participate as Christians, knowing we shall answer to our Master for our choices.

But if those things call us to endorse sin or violate God’s Law, we can faithfully do nothing else but hold ourselves from it.

The question is not “Can I glorify God in this activity?”, but “Am I glorifying God in this activity?”

Sermon Text:

We come this morning to consider the 21st and 22nd verses of the fifth chapter of 1 Thessalonians.

We have come a long way from the beginning of this short letter to a beloved church, and now we are in the final commands and thoughts these apostles, Paul and Silas, are writing in this letter.

In reading our passage today, I did add the 19th and 20th verses for context.

Because the context of our verses today begins with the command “do not despise prophetic utterances.”

As we saw a few weeks ago, for us, that means not to despise, not to fail to cherish, the teaching the Holy Spirit provides through faithful gospel servants in the local church.

But the apostles would have been remiss if they had left the instruction there.

The church would have been at the mercy of teachers who were either in error, whether big error or small errors,

And at the mercy of false teachers who would pervert the gospel for their own pride or benefit.

If all they had to do is walk in and say, “I have a word from the Lord” to be believed and followed.

So the next words follow: Examine everything.

Examine, as a refiner tests the purity of gold or silver, put it to the test.

We see in Scripture from the beginning that false prophets will come, and they will lead away those they can.

And the saddest thing about these teachers of error is that they may be entirely sincere, believing everything they are saying, yet being entirely wrong,

Entirely in opposition to the teaching of the Scriptures, even as they use Bible verses to make their points.

We must not simply take people at their word that they are speaking the truth;

There is too much at stake.

Too many ways to make mistakes.

Too many ways to fool people intentionally.

When I was young, a family friend was saved out of the Jehovah’s Witness cult.

Part of their belief at that time was that only 144,000 people from the JW’s would go to heaven.

The rest of them would be stuck back here on earth with us Baptists after they died.

This friend said that in the JW congregation she had attended, there was one woman who was one of the 144,000.

When we asked her how they could know that, she said, “Because she told everyone she was.”

There is a danger to taking people at their word on spiritual things.

Only after we have examined everything, we are told to do one of two things:

Hold fast to the good.

Hold ourselves away from anything remotely evil.

So today, I would like to look at how we should be examining everything, with an eye toward how we shall hold to it or abstain from it.

The first thing we all need to understand is this is not, at its root, an individual command.

Every imperative, every command, is made to the CHURCH in the plural.

Now certainly, every individual believer should use discernment in what teachers to listen to, and should prove for themselves the teachers’ fidelity to the whole of Scripture.

But it would have been very simple for the apostles to say “Each of you examine everything.”

But instead, they address the church as a whole, as a body – as it should be.

The individual believer could make a grievous error, or be led astray by the persuasiveness of the teacher.

We need the church, the believers around us, to protect us from our blind spots and our mistakes.

This is one more instance of the truth that the Bible at no point recognizes Christians apart from the church;

And all these commands are within the context of the local church, in this case, the Thessalonian congregation.

Should an individual recognize errant teaching (which we will look at in a moment), he or she is to operate within the church to:

1. Check the accuracy of their understanding.

After all, just because someone disagrees with a teaching does not make them correct or the teaching wrong.

2. Hold fast to the good.

3. Abstain from any type of evil.

Examine everything.

As I said earlier, this comes right after the command “do not despise prophetic utterances”.

But the apostles don’t follow it up with the words:

Examine every teaching.

Or Examine every utterance.

They say instead “Examine everything”.

So that leads to the question of what are we to examine, and how are we to examine it?

1. Examine the teaching for fidelity to the Scripture.

This goes beyond looking to see if the teacher provides a verse and an explanation of their interpretation of it.

It is not enough to have a few disjointed verses that are tied together, even with a common word or idea.

Any teacher can give themselves a veneer of Bible verses to try to make their work seem Christian.

In fact, one of the common ways false teachers argue is by bombarding their listeners with disconnected Bible verses put into a leading order.

So that those who listen think they are “solidly grounded” in the Bible;

And those who contest their teaching would be at a disadvantage to fire “verses” as quickly.

Discerning whether teaching is faithful to the Scriptures, we must ask 2 questions:

A. Does the teaching line up with what God has told us to do?

What pleases God, described throughout the Bible and particularly in the books of the Law, should always be our first check.

Teaching that defends murder or lying or adultery or disloyalty to parents or to God is condemned off the bat.

And the invention of novel virtues in our world do not, in themselves, bind us.

For example, we, as believers, are not compelled by God’s word to participate in the use of imaginary pronouns for people who are confused or dissatisfied over their gender.

On the contrary, to reinforce someone’s delusion in that way would be a false witness to them regarding themselves.

B. Does the teaching line up with the distinctives of the gospel of Jesus Christ?

The gospel is in no way at odds with the Law, but the gospel goes beyond the Law, providing mercy and grace to those who have broken God’s Law.

So any teaching that is truly Christian cannot, must not, obscure the mercy and grace of Jesus Christ.

Certainly, call sin what it is – sin.

But never let us be guilty of condemning a sinner without the gospel’s offer of grace.

A few years back, there were “preachers” who would go to the public university campuses, climb on their box, take up their megaphone, and begin condemning people as they passed by.

Girls wearing shorts were condemned for inciting lust.

Couples holding hands were condemned for public adultery.

I am not sure if they still go out there or not, but there is one thing certain – that is not the gospel.

I have never met an unbeliever who was unaware of their sin.

But in every case, they may have been unaware of the consequence of their sin,

And they were unaware of the forgiveness that was offered for their sin.

Now we do see people today, as they have for centuries, trying to redefine their sinful lifestyles as something less than sin.

But I have complete faith in the work of the Holy Spirit, who:

And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment - John 16:8

In Luke 19, we see the familiar story where Jesus invites Himself to the house of Zacchaeus.

And what was the crowd’s reaction?

When they saw it, they all began to grumble, saying, “He has gone to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” – Luke 19:7

But then, without a word from Jesus about his sin, Zacchaeus repents.

Jesus confirms his salvation with this statement:

“Today salvation has come to this house, because he, too, is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.” – Luke 19:9-10

The crowd condemns; Jesus saves.

Related to the content of the message, we must examine how the message is delivered: 2. Examine the teaching for its tone and method.

Smugness, pugnaciousness, haughtiness are not becoming in a servant of God.

It is a dangerous thing for a teacher to be more in love with the way they put a truth than the truth itself.

On the other side, there are teachers that waver, being blown around by every wind of opposition.

Both forms of teaching should be suspect.

These would be, by definition, the “appearance of evil.”

Conciliation to the culture around us, similar to what I mentioned before, is not the gospel.

But we should also deeply suspect any teaching that tries to militate us toward anything except deeper holiness and more urgency in preaching the gospel.

There is a reason we are told here to “abstain from every form of evil”.

The word “abstain” means to hold yourself back, to block yourself (remember, as a church).

Why would we need to block ourselves from the evil?

Because it calls to us, it entices us with spiritual words that charm our flesh.

I suppose there are words that could be spoken in ways that might charm any one of us toward error if we are not careful.

Paul told the Corinthians:

And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. 2 For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. - 1 Corinthians 2:11-2

It is almost amusing when I see today people describe the apostle Paul as the most attractive and charismatic apostle.

Yet in so many places, we see him underrated in Scripture, at least in his physical presence.

For they say, “His letters are weighty and strong, but his personal presence is unimpressive and his speech contemptible.” – 2 Corinthians 10:10

For the believer, the plain, unadorned gospel of Jesus Christ is far more lovely than any decoration we could put on it.

The altar of unhewn stones more faithful than all the artistry of man.

The old rugged cross more precious than one made of gold.

So we must not allow ourselves to be carried away by eloquence.

Because it was not the apostle who was beautiful; it is the Holy Spirit who beautifies.

Finally, we must examine the teacher himself: 3. Examine the one speaking to make sure they are genuine.

James, in chapter 3, v.11f, asks:

Does a fountain send out from the same opening both fresh and bitter water? 12 Can a fig tree, my brethren, produce olives, or a vine produce figs? Nor can salt water produce fresh.

Now, let me be quick to say the teacher is not expected to be perfect, but is expected to be humble enough to be biblically corrected.

But there is real confusion in our world today at what constitutes someone worthy to carry Scriptural truth.

To the point that I saw the other day the recommendation that preachers begin to allow ChatGPT, the AI robot, to write sermons for them.

But any number of other teachers would point to the truth of their words in relation to the Bible, the orthodoxy of their theology, and then suggest we overlook their grievous and unrepentant sin because of the good they do.

After all, we might reason, what is the difference between Spurgeon preaching a sermon and having some unbeliever read that same text?

Or to have unbelieving musical artists release hymn compilations?

That is one of the great distinctive areas of the gospel:

For any book, fiction or nonfiction, the message is the same no matter who is reading it.

But with Scriptural truth, it will only come through a follower of Jesus Christ.

Because only the follower of Jesus Christ has the Holy Spirit to guide that truth.

It doesn’t make the believer infallible; it simply makes the unbeliever disqualified to deliver scriptural truth.

Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God, 13 which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words. – 1 Corinthians 2:12-13

It doesn’t matter if the person is the most eloquent speaker or the most beautiful singer, if they do not have the Spirit of God, their words are dead, being only words.

Spiritual words must be combined with spiritual thoughts by the Spirit inhabiting His people.

And if the person is not in Christ, they would be a form of evil we abstain from.