When Men Depart From Evil

Sin and evil are not the same thing. Sin is the transgression or trespass against God and other men. Evil is the environment created by sin. Evil is the effects of sin. The sin of man turns everyone against one another and causes strife, confusion, hatred, malice, along with all the grief, sorrow, loss, calamity, and pain that the world is full of. Since Adam and Eve ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, it is this environment in which the people of this world live and exist and carry on their lives. They spend most of their mental energy and strength fighting and striving against one another, and defending themselves from one another. To depart from evil means to come out from among them and cease to engage in the same hatred and paranoia and malice in which they live. To abandon our vices and bad habits and start going to church is not salvation or sanctification. To depart from evil is understanding. Jesus said to "resist not evil" and this is exactly what He meant, and showed us with his life.