Cease to Do Evil

 •  1 min. read  •  grade level: 7
 
To ask, “Suppose I leave what I am in, where am I to go?” is wholly out of place, and entirely wrong. It is not obedience, but seeking to please one’s self. My plain duty is, in the first place, to obey God, to separate from evil. To continue where I am, because I do not see where to go, is iniquity; it is the maintenance of the evil that I acknowledge to be there. I do not at all depreciate the importance of knowing what to do, and of seeking to find out the path of God, but I do maintain that a saint is bound to separate from evil, once he has discovered it, without seeing any further. The two principles of Scripture are, “Cease to do evil”; then, “Learn to do well.” Now I am bound to do the one, and also the other, but I must first separate myself from that which I see to be contrary to God, whether I see my way farther or not. It is not faith to do otherwise. Faith acts upon what God has revealed, and counts upon Him for more, and He never disappoints it. Take the step that you see to be God’s will, and He will show you light for the next. As the word assures us, “Unto the upright there ariseth light in the darkness” (Psa. 112:44Unto the upright there ariseth light in the darkness: he is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous. (Psalm 112:4)), and, “If any man will do His will [has the desire to do it], he shall know,” John 7:1717If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself. (John 7:17). The one who has that desire will be taught of God. “The meek will He guide in judgment: and the meek will He teach His way.” Psa. 25:99The meek will he guide in judgment: and the meek will he teach his way. (Psalm 25:9).