1 Thes 5:22 Interpretation

[Amy.G]

The King James says to abstain from all appearance of evil. I remember a famous preacher who said that he had told all the women in his church if he sees them broken down by the side of the road, do not get upset if he drives by them. He would go and call help for them, but he would not pick them up so that another person would see him with another man's wife.

If I knew that my pastor had left a woman stranded alone on the side of the road, I would lose all respect for him.

 

[saturneptune]

Abstain from all appearance of evil.
eidos seems to indicate what others might see in you,
so I would definitely go with the King James. :wavey:

Well, behold and verily verily to you too.

 

[saturneptune]

If I knew that my pastor had left a woman stranded alone on the side of the road, I would lose all respect for him.

Amy, you have more common sense than the rest combined. This thread sounds like the Pharisees condemning the disciples and Jesus for gathering food on the Sabbath.

This is all that Bob Jones was, a Pharisee, no substance. A man with a beard is not evil. Dancing is not evil. Christ said if you love Me you will obey My commands. He did not say make up new ones, memorize them, and obey them through your own power.

 

[12strings]

Wow, what extremes a person will go to to justify themselves. If there is a adult video store next to your post office, then go with a witness who can verify that you went to the post office.

That's your answer? What if you live a seedy part of a big city with shady businesses everywhere...should you never walk outside unless you are with a friend?

What about movie theatres? Can you go, or might someone think you are seeing one of the bad movies?

It's Impossible to live this way...My former pastor believed it was a sin for women to wear pants...should all women wear skirts to obey this verse?

It might be impossible to avoid ALL appearance of evil...

KJV says "ALL" (All means all, remember...)

...but that does not mean a person should not try to obey this scripture and avoid all appearance of evil if possible.

But you just said in another thread...
-I do not agree that we are unable to obey.
-Men can obey God's word, they choose to disobey.

So should we obey this verse... or just try hard to obey it If Possible...and if it appears to someone that we have sinned, when in fact we haven't...have we in fact "chosen to disobey."?

The predominant translation of this verse makes the matter much more simple: Avoid every form (kind) of evil. If there is an evil that I don't avoid, but partake in, I have sinned knowingly...I don't have to worry about avoiding everything that might possibly look like a sin, or be wrongly considered a sin by someone else.

BTW, in this case, In America, where we are not living in refugee camps with 20-30 people packed into a 1-room building, and without knowing all of the circumstances of Evang.'s situation...I would also advise Evan. to move out, for the sake of the honor and reputation of his fiance. But there may be some other circumstances He has not shared.