Category: Devotion of the Day

ABHORRENCE, NOT TOLERANCE

Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.
Romans 12:9

We are not to tolerate evil but abhor it. The mood of the age is to put up with evil, allow it, and then move easily to play with it and finally practice it. Tolerance is a pet word these days, and we stretch our consciences while we “broaden” our minds. But the Word of God tells us that the fear of the Lord is to hate evil and that we are to abstain from the very appearance of evil. There is no leniency toward sin whatever in that. Nothing is more dangerous to our spiritual well-being than a mild amiability that smiles at sin. Some have come to think that there is something noble in a mild attitude toward sin. Compassion on the sinful is one thing, but never confuse it with tolerance of evil. We have sunk to an acceptance of that toward which God counsels abhorrence and behold the harvest!

A holy, healthy hatred of sin and indignation at evil is our crying need today, because we fear not God – and the fear of the Lord is to hate evil.

A BETTER WAY

Jesus could no more openly enter into the city, but was without in desert places: and they came to him from every quarter.
Mark 1:45

Let the Bible scholars account for it as they will, over and over again Jesus discouraged publicity, left the crowd for the solitudes, and never played up to the multitude. His brethren could not understand why He did not go up to Jerusalem and get in the public eye. He did not seek the crowd, the crowd sought Him.

All this would be quite incomprehensible to this age of ballyhoo and the despair of high-pressure advertising. The Early Church grew as one brought another, and the Lord added such as should be saved. The Gospel was its own best publicity. By word of mouth it was noised about. Today we build up a gigantic publicity after the fashion of this age, but what we advertise does not come up to the advance notices. The mountain brings forth a mouse.

God’s ways are not ours and the church did her mightiest work unassisted by radio, television, and modern advertising. The best publicity the Gospel will ever have is a new Christian out to win others. And simple arithmetic shows that if each new disciple brought another the statistics would soon be phenomenal.

Maybe we have it all figured out wrong. Think it over.