Test Everything

1 Thessalonians 5:19–22 Do not quench the spirit. Do not despise prophecies, but test everything. Hold on to the good; abstain from every kind of evil.

I used to be a problem child back when I was in the youth ministry. Back then, I was new to the church, and many of the things that were taught were new to me. Moreover, I had a hard time understanding how the pastors and leaders interpreted some Bible passages. Hence, I would frequently shower my leaders with endless questions about whatever was taught.

Once, after being unable to answer my questions well, one of the leaders rebuked me, “Stop doubting whatever Pastor teaches. Pastor is an anointed man of God. Your questioning does not honour God. Whenever you question Pastor’s teachings, you are quenching the Holy Spirit and God cannot work in your life! Stop questioning and just accept whatever Pastor teaches!”

Her words struck shame and fear into my heart. I squandered the next two years abstaining from reading the Bible. I listened only to what was taught in church by the pastors and leaders. I was afraid that if I continued reading the Bible, more questions and doubts would arise in my heart regarding what was being taught in church.

However, I later found myself picking up the Bible again, and I read the Book of 1 Thessalonians. The Apostle Paul concludes the Book of 1 Thessalonians in chapter 5 by giving the Thessalonian church some instructions, among which are:

“Do not quench the spirit.” (v. 19)

How?

“Do not despise prophecies (= preaching).” (v. 20)

How?

“Test them all. Accept whatever passes the test, and reject everything that fails the test.” (vv. 21–22; my paraphrase)

The verb “to despise” means to treat with utter contempt; to consider completely worthless and of no value. The opposite of “to despise” is to honour. According to God’s word through the Apostle Paul, if I did not test someone’s teaching, I would be despising it. If that teaching turns out to be of God, then I would be despising something that is of God!

This passage was a wake-up call to me. I would certainly not want to be despising something which is of God! God is our highest authority, not our pastors and leaders. Therefore, everything they teach must be tested for consistency with what God has revealed in his word. I realized that all this while, by blindly accepting whatever my pastors and leaders taught, I was actually despising the word of God!

Do not be afraid that you would hinder the Holy Spirit’s work in your life when you question anything your pastor or leader says. In fact, as we have already seen, the exact opposite is true! What my leader told me was merely a scare tactic. But if we truly believe that God is our highest authority, then we should be testing everything our pastors and leaders teach against the word of God!