Examine or Prove All Things 1 Thessalonians 5:21

Paul the apostle gave closing thoughts to the Thessalonian church members as he completed his first letter to them. He told them not to “render evil for evil”, to “rejoice evermore”, “pray without ceasing”, “in everything give thanks” and not to “despise prophesyings”. In chapter five and verse twenty-one Paul continued his final directives with the idea of “proving all things” and “holding to that which is good” where we read:

Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.

The verse begins, “Prove all things;” Paul began with the word, “Prove” which means “test, examine, scrutinize and deem worthy” “all things” which refers to “each, every, any, all, the whole and collectively some of all types”. Paul desired for the Thessalonians to “examine” and “deem worthy” each and every idea that came before them.

The verse goes on to say, “hold fast that which is good.” Paul added the phrase, “hold fast” which means “to restrain, detain and retain” “that which is good” or “anything which is beautiful, handsome, excellent, eminent, choice, surpassing, precious, useful, suitable, commendable and admirable in its nature and characteristics”. Whenever the Thessalonian church members found things which were “good”, they were to “retain” them and make them a part of their lives.

When we consider these words of Paul, it is quite easy to simply acknowledge and skip over them. However, we benefit ourselves when we meditate upon them slowly and realize how important it is to “prove” or “test” the ideas with which we are presented. We are inundated with information from personal and from social media, and people desire that we believe what they say or present. We, like the Thessalonians, should “examine” those words, determine if they are true, and only give weight and credence to those things which are provable and “good”. Too often people have been persuaded by words that cannot be “proven”, have not been “tested” and validated. Paul knew the Thessalonian church members would have “ideas” and “thoughts” presented to them for belief which may or may not align with the “word of God”. We, too, must not be deceived by ways and ideas that are opposed to “God's word”, and should we be deceived in any area, may our Lord Jesus bring it to our attention through His Holy Spirit before we are led in a path that is against Him and His ways.

Next time Paul tells the Thessalonians to “abstain from all appearance of evil”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.