Abstain from every form of evil.
from all appearance of evil: Evil comes in many guises. It is not enough to avoid evil in one form. The Christian is obliged to avoid every kind of evil. The watch word is hold to that which is good and avoid every kind of evil. This verse has often been the basis for a misunderstanding of the identity of evil. The fact that something appears evil does not make it so. To the Pharisees, the healing of the blind man on the sabbath appeared evil. It was, however, really unmitigated good. Vincent’s comment on the meaning of "appearance" is helpful: "It never has the sense of semblance. Moreover, it is impossible to abstain from everything that looks like evil" (51). Since this admonition applies to every form of evil, it applies to evil teaching as well as evil practices.