Test everything. Hold on to the good. 1 Thessalonians 5:21
Hearing any message of my church leaders may contain trivial facts that doesn't agree with the word of God.. The bible says let no man deceive you Matthew 24:4 yet our leaders continue to use commentaries to give their teaching more depth. My opinion is that because they are human this practice has been abused by some as some depend heavily on commentaries.
Are we to develop faith from information based on what is written in commentaries? I’m not saying that this practice is entirely wrong as long as the information agrees with the word of God. The problem of finding time to study God’s word is universal. Have we considered that our leaders are so busy administering the gospel that they barely have enough time to search the scriptures?
Commentaries are a great source of information that shortens study time. The resources within commentaries may be the primary reason that so many church leaders use them to shape their sermons. However the same leaders do not follow the example they use to teach a need to study the bible.
The example I am speaking of requires you to have a line of people pass a simple message from person to person and test the message the last person received against the original message. It’s obvious because the message was changed and the message passed on to the next person was expressed in the way it was understood.
Therefore," declares the Lord, "I am against the prophets who steal from one another words supposedly from me. Jeremiah 23:30
How does one know that the ideas contained in the commentaries are from the bible and not repeating a message they heard understood and believed. It is possible for that all commentary become a trusted resource of information that they are no longer checked against the word of God. Therefore, it is possible that the information gained from commentaries reflect your church leader’s message from God.
The main thrust of Jeremiah message reflected the idea that God sent one prophet after another demanding the people reform their ways. For over four hundred years God said his chosen people, Israel would not listen to his warnings. The failure to listen to God may be happening today as our church leaders are forced to use the commentaries to have a concise and relevant message to their congregation.
The problem of not listening to God goes from the speaker to the person in the pews who is hanging onto every word spoken by their church leader. Whom are we listening to when we don’t take the time to test every word we hear against the word of God. Remember that you are the last person in the line of people trying to understand what said so they can repeat the message.
Are we getting a distorted message? You are the only one who can determine the truth of the matter but it requires you to test everything and hold onto the good. 1 Thessalonians 5:21
The doctrine of the rapture is found in commentaries but not in the teachings of the bible. From what I can see of this doctrine it is a doctrine that teaches peace and safety because not every word of God applies to you. Heaven and earth according to Matthew 5:18 will not pass away before every word is accomplished. Yet men believe that we won’t go through the great tribulation. I have to ask why God would teach his children anything that was not going to happen to them.
We should be leery of doctrines found in our study aids that do not agree with the word of God. Do we ask if the views expressed in these study aids match idea for idea or closely resemble what the bible expresses? Without divine revelation God’s people do not do as he asks Proverbs 29:18 but believe something false about our Lord and Savior. Can we demonstrate our love for Christ by not knowing him through what he says in our ear?
Although the bible mentions great tribulation it is not described as having time table. Like so many doctrines of the bible man tends to heighten and enlarge the doctrine importance when expounding the word of God. God is not partial for his warnings pertain to every person of his creation.
The belief in God in three persons is common place in the church. The doctrine of the trinity has its origin with man because the bible mentions the names of God the father the Son and the Holy Spirit. The scriptures teach otherwise but in depth study looks at every word for truth.
In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. Acts 2:17
While God says I will pour out my Spirit have we checked the pronouns that who “I and My” are referring to? These are personal pronouns that reflect back to one person and the bible reveals who this person is. The outpouring of the spirit occurred in the upper room where Jesus instructed his disciples to wait upon the promise of the father Acts 1:4.
We don’t always define the “small print” or the small words that God is using to express his thoughts. Yet the small word “of” defines the promise of the father because the word “of” defines where the promise is derived from. In other words the promise is guaranteeing what the father will do and also says the spirit poured out on mankind belongs to the father.
The study of God’s word can easily become a collection of facts without meditating on the word of God. For its in meditation that Gods word is compared with God’s word and his word becomes the living word. It’s where the word of God reveals the hidden truth. Through meditation the secrets of the kingdom is revealed to you but not to the world.
In the same way the truth of the gospel is not known to the world for one reason. The worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things choke the word, making the understanding of men unfruitful.
It’s through our participation of God’s great and precious promises that we have a means of escaping the corruption of the world caused by our own evil desires 2 Peter 1:4. One may look intently into God’s word but be deceived by forgetting to do what he learns James 1:25. The bible says blessed are those who hear the word of God and obey it Luke 11:28.
The majority of false doctrines do not require you to think but believe what you hear not knowing it’s a lie. However the importance of personally seeking the truth of God’s word demands that you hear directly from God. What you hear from men may be rumors that can be misunderstood but the word God inspired may change the way you think. Testing all things allows you to hold onto the truth.
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