Paul tells us to "walk circumspectly, not as
fools, but as wise"
In this lesson we have a pod of peas which equip us to
Let us first look at the principle that we should avoid all evil. Paul says, "Abstain from every form of evil"
The devil is not slow in "taking advantage of us". If we choose to remain "ignorant of his schemes"
So in walking circumspectly, we observe this principle carefully, that we will avoid every opportunity and occasion for evil to assert itself in any form. Now let us think about how we can best
We need to design a set of precautions for ourselves. These are taboos that we observe so as to avoid any occasion of evil. As a wise Christian, one will make various rules for self that take into account one's individual circumstances
Now let us be clear that these rules and taboos are of our own making to apply to our own walk. We do not make taboos for others, nor allow others to make them for us. These personal precautions must be distinguished from commandments of the Lord which do
A rule such as "Do not touch" has no value in itself. There is no virtue in observing taboos for their own sake, and in fact it is a digression to do so
For example, the Lord says, "Flee fornication"
Again, we must emphasise that these taboos are for yourself only, and they are not your religion. They are not commands of the Lord. Rather, they are sensible precautions that you personally take to ensure that you keep the commandments of the Lord. We should not regard the taboos we practice as righteousness. They are not. Setting an alarm clock is not getting up early. It is merely a precaution to help us do so. In the same way, the rules we make for ourselves are not our religion or our righteousness. The taboos are merely precautions that help us to remain in righteousness and to maintain the real requirements of our religion, namely our obedience by faith to the
So in walking circumspectly, we observe personal taboos that help us to keep well away from evil. But there is something else we need in order to keep these
Presentiment is an awareness, even a foreboding, that something evil is just around the corner. We should not think that our precautions remove the danger. It is like a man who took out insurance on his home, mounted a fire extinguisher on the wall and smoke alarms on the ceiling. So he said, "Now there is no danger of fire." That's not right, is it? Likewise, we take sensible precautions agains sin, but know the danger of sin is still there. We need to be constantly aware
Along with all our taboos and precautions against sin, we need to maintain a lively presentiment. Satan lies in ambush everywhere. He is always scheming, and we need to ensure, as we mentioned earlier, that we are "not ignorant of his schemes"
It's worth noting that after we make a set of taboos, as precautions addressing a set of personal circumstances, Satan will contrive to change the circumstances hoping that we won't notice. He hopes that we will continue blindly following our taboos without realising that they may be no longer appropriate in the
It's also worth noting that this matter of taboos has to be considered within the principle of liberty. We touched on the principle of liberty when we cautioned against imposing our own personal taboos on others or permitting others to impose theirs on us. The Christian should have at once a keen sense of liberty in Christ and a keen sense of the power of the prince of this world to entrap the unwary. The Lord warns of "the sin which so easily entangles us"