One of the best posts about hypocrisy I have ever read.
1 Thessalonians 5:22 is my nemesis, something I’ve been harmed by or rather harmed by the poor interpretation and misunderstanding of it. I call it the “keeping up appearances passage,” the “how to wear a mask passage,” the “how to be total hypocrite passage.” In the KJV it goes like this, “Abstain from all appearance of evil.”
No need to abstain from the evil itself, just from the appearance of it?
The ESV gives a much better translation, “Abstain from every form of evil.” Placed in context with the entire passage it is actually speaking more about discernment as in, “…but test everything; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil.”
It seems almost silly to write about such a thing, as if to say nobody could possibly believe the bible cares nothing about your heart, but only the appearance of your…
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Matthew Winters (Honest Thoughts from a Pastor) 