Cease To Do Evil

Isaiah 1:16, “Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil;”

For today’s post, I want to focus on one phrase from this verse. The phrase I want to focus on is, “Cease to do evil.” It is such a simple instruction, but it is one that is often not followed.

How many times have we seen people try to get as close to sin as they can without completely falling in? I compare it to a hot stove. If the stove is hot, why would we want to see how close we can get to it without getting burned? We ought to want to stay away from it.

The same should be said about sin. The best way to cease doing evil is to keep far away from sin. 1 Thessalonians 5:22 says, “[22] Abstain from all appearance of evil.” The verse doesn’t just say to stay away from evil. It says to stay away from all appearance of evil. If we stay away from anything that even looks wrong, we will never find ourselves in a place where are committing sin.

The challenge today is simple. As the verse says, “Cease to do evil.” Let us strive not to commit sin. Let us focus on staying away from things that look like they could be sin. The ultimate goal is to be like Christ, and ceasing from evil is definitely a step in the right direction.