Enter Not Into The Path of the Wicked

Proverbs 4:14-15

Enter not into the path of the wicked,

and go not in the way of evil men.

Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it,

and pass away.

And here we have the 4 step approach to keeping ourselves from the path of the wicked - aka sin.

1) Avoid it

As Paul puts it in 1Th 5:22 - Abstain. And from all APPEARANCE of evil. Yes, anything that looks like it, avoid. That is the first and most powerful way.

2) ok so what if it unavoidable? Do not get close. Circumvent it. Have u ever noticed we tend to drift toward something we have our attention on? Wherefore the key here is to keep our focus on the straight and narrow. If we can’t avoid, let us at least not go near. 

3) What if we still gravitate towards it? The next step is to turn away! Don’t let ourselves crash right into it. It is also from this stage that faithful brethren come in play by pushing us away, because at this stage, it becomes more apparent to others.

4) stage 4 is more of a follow up to a successful stage 3. Don’t just stop there when our backs are against evil - walk away! Get out! As Paul puts it “flee”! (2Ti 2:22) And reset ourselves to the pre stage one condition.

But know this - at every successive stage, it gets easier to progress but more difficult to pull away! Wherefore, it is so important for us to remain sensitive and vigilant that we keep ourselves in the stage 1 state, should temptation come our way. And the key to that? Constant, consistent, and concentrated study of the Word AND careful and concerted (I.e. taking the whole counsel, sparing no effort) application of IT to our lives. 

Let us all help one another and encourage and exhort one another to stay in the strait and narrow and to greater spiritual heights!