-October 18, 2021-
Good morning, happy Monday,
“Test all things; hold fast to what is good. Abstain from every form of evil.”
(1 Thessalonians 5:21-22).
In life we test many products, procedures, medications, and as we have seen recently, vaccines. We want safety for our children, spouses, families, and ourselves. We even have agencies in our country such as the Federal Drug Administration, the Center For Disease Control, the Product Safety Commission, among many others.
If we test everything so well, why shouldn’t we test everything we hear based on the Word of God? The Bible speaks of nearly every subject, either directly or indirectly. When we read something on line, see it on TV, on the radio, or on wherever source we get our news and information, we must test it for its accuracy, reliability, and trustworthiness. Nowadays, everyone has an opinion, and many celebrities speak on things they knew little about. We must be very careful.
Paul says, “Test all things.” Notice he wants us to test, not some things or most things, but all things. What does the Bible say about a particular subject? Chances are it will be diametrically opposed to what the world says, and vice versa. John wrote in 1 John 4:1-3, “ Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you heard was coming, and now is already in the world.”
Today, as in John’s day, there are many false prophets, cults, and religions. They many sound good, but we must test everything by the Word of God, God’s standard. The devil is most dangerous as an angel of light with a Bible in his hands. He takes a little truth and sandwiches it between two slices of false, evil teachings. Because we are indwelt by the Holy Spirit, we know when something doesn’t sound right. The more we know the Word, the better we can defend ourselves from the attacks of Satan.
The people in Berea took the right approach to what they heard. They checked it out for themselves from the Scriptures. Acts 17:11 says of them, “These were more fair-minded (or noble-minded) than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.”
Paul tells us when we test all things the goal is to hold fast to what is good. Good always triumphs over evil. We should always seek good, pursue it, do good good, and stand on the truth. Conversely, he tells us also, “Abstain from every form of evil.” The word abstain is defined as, “restrain oneself from doing or enjoying something.” Many people do this at Lent. Sometimes things that seem harmless are evil and against God’s will. If something is questionable, don’t do it. Give up things in order to do better things, and even give up better things to do the best things.
May the Lord help us to test everything we read or hear by the Word of God. If God has shown you something is wrong, give it up. The Lord always has something better for us. Hold fast to what is good, and abstain from every form of evil.
Have a blessed day being on guard and testing all things according to Scripture. Stay safe and healthy.
In His grace,
Dean
Dean Allen's Daily Devotional 