Transcript Avoiding Evil - Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission

Avoiding Evil
 1 Thess. 5:21-22
 “Test everything. Hold on to the good.
Avoid every kind of evil.”
 Costs of Substance Abuse:
 Alcohol abuse (1988) $184.6 billion
 Drug abuse (1995) $109.8 billion
 Tobacco abuse (2002) $155 billion
 These figures do not include the cost of the
substances themselves nor the attendant costs that
accompany them (law enforcement, etc.).
 Substance abuse costs more than just
money.
 There are also physical, emotional, spiritual,
and social costs as well.
I. The dangers of substance abuse
 Dangers to oneself
1. Addiction
2. Health Problems
3. Death or injury
4. Academic problems
5. Relationship to Christ
6. Relationship with others

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Dangers to others
Assault
Sexual abuse
Unsafe sex
Crime
Drunk driving
Birth defects
Meth lab toxic fumes and explosions
Second-hand smoke
II. The alternative to substance
abuse
 Test everything
 The Scripture test—evaluate everything in
light of Scripture.
 Example of the Bereans
 “Now the Bereans were of more noble
character than the Thessalonians, for they
received the message with great eagerness
and examined the Scriptures every day to
see if what Paul said was true” (Acts 17:11).
a.
b.
c.
d.
2. The personal test
The physical test—will this harm me
physically?
The emotional test—will this lead to
emotional dependence?
The social test—will this damage my
relationship with other people?
The spiritual test—will this damage
my relationship with Christ?
 B. Hold on to the good.
 C. Avoid every kind of evil.