Pam Padgett ... teacher
Many ideas and thoughts are presented to us as truth. Some come
directly to our mind, while others are spoken by other people. Although
seeming to be true, many are not based in truth from God.
Paul exhorted us ... Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. (1 Thessalonians 5:21)
Many years ago I worked with a young woman who did not
eat meat of any kind. She was very passionate about this, saying it was
wrong to kill animals and eat them. When I heard her say these
things, they seemed reasonable to me and I thought that surely it must
be wrong to kill and eat animals. As I was talking with God about this,
however, I was reminded that God commanded the children of Israel to
kill, roast, and eat the Passover lamb (Exodus 12:5-8). This proved for
me that it was not wrong in the sight of God, and I
held fast to this and let go of what the young woman at work had said.
Another example I was reminded of ... I was raised in the Catholic
church and attended Catholic school for five years. I thought
everything I had been taught was true. But after being born again, I
met a friend who read the Bible and told me she also was born again. As
we talked, I would sometimes mention something I had been taught in the
Catholic church. She didn't argue, but simply asked me "Where is that
in the Bible?" By this God started sorting through the various
doctrines I had been taught, showing me what was true and what was not
true. In this way I was led to prove doctrines, turn from those that
were not true, and hold to those that were true.
When Paul and Silas taught in the synagogue in Berea, they proved by the scriptures what Paul and Silas spoke. Many of them believed, holding fast to the truth ...
Acts 17:10 And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas
by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the
Jews. 11 These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they
received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the
scriptures daily, whether those things were so. 12 Therefore many of
them believed; also of honourable women which were Greeks, and of men,
not a few.
Paul exhorted us to prove "all" things. Whether secular ideas or religious doctrines, we prove them
by turning to God. When we are shown truth from God in the matter,
often by the Holy Spirit reminding us of scripture, we hold fast to that
truth.