Everything

"Test everything; hold fast to what is good."  (1 Thessalonians 5:20 ESV)

I have been pondering this verse since we returned from FL.  It was part of the text for the message on the last Sunday we were there.

Test everything.  That's a pretty direct statement.

Everything.

Everything the pastor says.
Everything the Bible teacher says.
Everything the newscaster says.
Everything the politician says.
Everything the government says.
Everything you read.
Everything you watch.
Everything you listen to.

And the list could go on.

There are no exceptions.
It doesn't say "test everything" except......
what the pastor says.
or what the Bible teacher says.
or what the newscaster says.
or what your particular political party says.
or what the government says.
or what your professor says.
or what your favorite celebrity or athlete says.

No exceptions.
Test everything.

But what does that mean?
What is the standard for the test?

Is everything to be measured by/tested against my personal opinions?
By what politicians or activists say?
By what the newscaster says?
By what you saw on Facebook or Twitter?
By television shows or movies?
By what you learned in university?
By the culture?

All those would be very fluid standards indeed.  The winds of change are constant in our culture, hardly a fit standard by which to test everything.

The apostle Paul was very clear in this instruction to Christians in Thessalonica, and by extension, to us as well. There is a standard by which we are to test everything. In the previous verse Paul wrote:  "Do not despise prophecies."  Now that might get a little tricker, since we tend to think of "prophecy" as simply a telling of what will happen in the future.  And prophecy does involve foretelling events that are yet to take place.  But the definition of prophecy includes forth-telling......proclaiming truth.  And where is that truth found?

Consider these verses:

"they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so."  (Acts 17:11 ESV, emphasis mine)

"Every word of God proves true."  (Proverbs 30:5 ESV)

"For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart."  (Hebrews 4:12 ESV)

"Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God; for many false prophets have gone out into the world. "  (1 John 4:1 ESV, emphasis mine)

The obvious conclusion is twofold:  1) we are to test everything, and 2) the standard by which it is to be tested is the Word of God.  Everything in the culture.  Everything said or done by government.  Or by politicians.  Or by celebrities.  Or by bloggers. Or by (gasp!) church leaders. 

I am not meaning to imply that we are to set ourselves up as judge and jury over others.  Certainly not!  We are not the authority!  We do not set the standard.  The standard has been set by God Himself in His Word.  The Word of God is the plumb line by which we are to test everything.  Everything!

And once we do that, the results may leave us a little uncomfortable.  If we are carefully examining everything, we may find our thoughts, our attitudes, our behaviors a little out of line with the standard set for us.  Does that mean we are at liberty to ignore the standard, or to come up with a new standard that is more comfortable?  No, the challenge then becomes to bring those thoughts, attitudes, behaviors in line with the standard, not the other way around!

But the first step, of course, is to test everything!  And how can we test everything and be certain that it is in line with the standard unless we know what the standard is?  And that requires spending time in the Word, knowing what it says!

For many that is already an ingrained habit of life.  But sadly, many who call themselves Christian have never developed a habit of daily Bible reading or of Bible study.  This leaves their plumb line a little skewed, since they don't have the "whole story", just bits and pieces.  How sad that is, particularly in this era where the Word of God is so readily available, in so many formats, in the printed form as well as electronically, and in so many translations.  And just as sadly, many have a "buffet" mentality to their Bible reading, choosing to read only the parts they like rather than reading the entire thing.  Or they limit their "Bible reading" to a quick devotional thought for the day, and read only the devotional, without ever reading the Bible itself.  How can we "test everything" if we haven't read "everything"?

"Biblical illiteracy may be one of the greatest maladies of the church today."  (Tommy Green, ThD, Senior Pastor, First Baptist Church, Brandon, FL)

"If we believe the Word of God, we must be in the Word of God."  (Tommy Green)

There's the key, isn't it?  To be able to "test everything" against the standard of the Word of God, we must know what the Word says.  And to know what the Word says, we must read it.  Not just occasionally.  Or in bits and pieces.  But the whole thing.  On a regular and on-going basis.

Just do it.  I dare you!