1 Thess. 5:19-22, Holy Spirit Living (2)

First we are told, do not quench the Spirit.  Then we are specifically told not to quench the Spirit by despising the very word of God that was inspired by the Spirit and that is being reached in the churches.  The question is: how do we honor the Spirit-inspired and inerrant word of God while it is being preached by imperfect preachers.  It is really quite simple and yet it is something many are reluctant to do. 

We have known brothers and sisters in Christ who wanted to speak well of preachers even when their doctrine was destructive.  The thought was that we should be happy the preacher was preaching and thought it divisive to be calling attention to the preacher’s faulty doctrine.  I suspect their frustration stemmed from church fights over non-issues.  Or it could have been a simple desire to run from confrontation.  But that is not a possibility for those who follow Christ.  Note that this passage is directed to the brethren (5:12), not simply to the leaders.  It is for all of us to …

·        Test all things.  Every sermon or prophecy is to be proven.  This term is applied to heretics (1 Jn. 4:1).  But it also describes what the Bereans did with the teaching of Paul (Ac. 17:11).  As believers we need to naturally take into serious consideration the teaching from the pulpit and compare it to Scripture.  We are to respect those gifted to preach but they are not to be elevated to the position of final authority.  God has given to every one of us His Spirit so that we might be able to understand what God has said (1 Cor. 2:11,14-15).  Any who objects to this or acts offended at this kind of accountability is giving indication that they ought not be trusted.

·        Hold fast what is good.  Since we do not despise prophecies, when we hear the preacher speak what is consistent with Scripture, we must hold tightly to what has been said.  Jesus Himself taught His disciples to do this: If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.  It is also emphasized in the book of Wisdom (Prov. 4:13; 23:23; 6:20-23).

·        Abstain from every form of evil.  From my childhood I can remember my mother quoting this verse when warning me not to do anything that someone else might see and think is wrong, even if it is not wrong.  She might have been right (one should not be too quick to disagree with one’s mother).  But the language seems to be saying we should avoid evil in whatever form it takes.  The word abstain is also used in 1 Th. 4:3 of fornication and in 1 Pet. 2:11 of fleshly lusts.  Those are not just issues that have the appearance of evil.  In terms of testing prophecies it should encourage us not to get in the habit of accepting 90% truths, which are of course 100% falsehoods; that’s the way heresy is started.

So again, as followers of Christ we have been equipped with the Holy Spirit so that we can understand Scripture.  We need preachers and teachers; they are gifts to the Body of Christ from Jesus Himself.  But we must be willing to test their teaching, to abstain from the evil and to hold fast to the good!