"Depart from evil and do good…”
Evil (sin) is a fact of life. We read about it in the Bible as well in the newspaper, and we see it on TV all of the time. We find it to be a problem in our own lives – if we are honest. But our text told us that we can depart from evil. The fact is that evil does not have to win because we have a heavenly Father Who loves us and wants to deliver us from evil. In the Lord’s model prayer, Jesus reminded us that we can ask God to “deliver us from evil.” So, evil does not have to win. Let’s see how we can go about departing from evil. The first thing is that we have to recognize evil. This is tricky, because Satan is tricky in leading us into evil. We need to recognize evil in our own lives, even in things that we might consider not to be of ultimate importance in our lives. This leads to the second thing about evil that we need to know, i.e., we need to realize that it is broadly defined, meaning that it can be done in many ways. Let me illustrate what I mean by using simple ways that Satan can trick us into evil: We can sin by our words. The verse preceding this verse psalm 34 says: “Keep your tongue from evil, and your lips from speaking guile." Satan loves to control our use of words. This can come in the form of swearing, and that is a common problem. But Satan tricks us into thinking that if we do not “cuss” we have this temptation whipped. But we need to consider hurtful and demeaning things that we might say to people. We can sin by our actions. We need to watch what we do, as well as to watch our words. Satan loves to push us into doing things that we should not do. We might think that because we haven’t done some of the “biggies” like adultery and murder, that we are doing fine. I remind you that the “biggies” likely come from succumbing to what we consider smaller things that we do. By the way, the “smaller” things are evil too. We can sin through our thoughts. An old adage reminds us that: “A thought is the father of a deed.” Satan loves to enter into our minds and our imaginations in order to lead us into sin and evil. Come on, you know what I mean. The text follows with…”and do good.” We can depart from evil by doing good. We cannot do this on our own. Many times people try to reform their lives by “turning over a new leaf.” Someone has reminded that when we turn over a leaf all we have is the other side of the same leaf. We need the help of God through sorrow for sin and repentance, and by seeking God's forgiveness, which He gives freely through Jesus. Let me illustrate how we can do good: With the help of the Holy Spirit, we need to watch our words. We need to stop and think before we say things that are hateful, hurting or sarcastic. We need to watch that our words are used to build up rather than to tear down. Proverbs 12:18 reminds us: “There is that speaks like the piercing of a sword (a sharp tongue): but the tongue of the wise is health.” With the help of the Holy Spirit we need to watch our actions. The greatest witness that we have to the world is how we live. You’ve heard: “That your actions speak so loudly that I can’t hear what you say.” We need to seek the guidance of the Spirit in what we do. We need to stay close to the Lord in our daily lives to do what is good rather than what is bad. With the help of the Holy Spirit we need to watch our thoughts. This is probably one of the most difficult things that we have to do to “depart from evil and do good.” How can we control our thoughts? Without the help of the Spirit of God, we cannot control them. I have to constantly remind myself to seek the Spirit’s guidance in what I think. I haven’t mastered it, but I continue to work on it. By God's grace it is possible to overcome evil through salvation by faith in Christ, and by the leadership of the Holy Spirit leading us to good. Bro.Joe
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AuthorDr. Joe Beauchamp is the author of this blog and website. Categories
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September 2021
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