Examine the Truth for Yourself
Samuel Smith
23 Jan'19
5
EXAMINE THE TRUTH FOR YOURSELF
When the Bible says, "Prove all things", it means that every individual has the responsibility to judge for himself by the WORD OF GOD, whether that which is put before him as religious truth, is God's truth, or is not. When the Bible says, "Prove all things," it means that God requires every Christian man or woman to compare man's words and man's writings with God's revelation, and to make sure that he or she is not deluded and taken away by false teaching.
Beloved Brother or Sister, I ask your particular attention to the expression, "Prove all things". In every point of view it is most weighty and instructive. Here, you will remember, the great Apostle Paul is writing to the Christian Church in Thessalonica. Paul is writing to a Church which he himself had founded. Here is an inspired Apostle writing with special reference to matters of doctrine and preaching, as indicated by the verse preceding the text: "Despise not prophesyings." And yet mark what he says later: "Prove all things." He does not say, "Whatever apostles, whatever evangelists, whatever your pastors and teachers, whatever your leaders, whatever your ministers tell you is truth - that you are to believe." NO! he says, "Prove all things." He does not say, "Whatever your church pronounces true - that you are to hold." NO! he says, "Prove all things." The principle laid down is this, "Prove all things by the WORD OF GOD. All ministers, all teaching, all preaching, all doctrines, all sermons, all writings, all opinions, all practices — prove all by the WORD OF GOD; compare all with the standard of the Bible; weigh all in the balances of the Bible; examine all by the light of the Bible; test all in the crucible of the Bible. That which can abide the fire of the Bible - you are to receive, hold, believe and obey. That which do not correspond with the " Thou saith the Lord" as contained in the Bible - you are to reject, refuse, repudiate, and cast away."
My dear Brother or Sister in Christ, you have the right to "Prove all things " and you must exercise this right if you love your soul. You are NOT to believe things in Christianity merely because they are said by Popes, Cardinals, Bishops, Priests, Deacons, Churches or Councils. You are not to argue that "Such and such things must be true - because these men say so." You are NOT to do so. You are to "prove all things" by the WORD OF GOD just like the Bereans did in
Paul Fonsi