1 Thessalonians 5:21 Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. There are many occasions when the soul feels that it has come to a crisis. It may be compared to the feeling of William Tell when he was taking aim at the apple. Everything depends on the action of the next moment. It is to decide for God or the devil, for heaven or hell. We all need a holdfast at such critical times. I will mention two. I. THERE IS A GOD. Unless we can hold on to that, life becomes hard and vexatious, and we are like people floundering on ice, but when our heavenly Father is a fact to us, life loses its bitterness and death cannot sting. God cannot be proved to any one. Every man must prove Him for himself. You cannot prove colour to a blind man, to know it he must see. If you seek God with the proper faculties, you will find and know Him. 1. One of the links in this holdfast is that God is perfect. You cannot trust men fully because of their imperfections, but you can fully trust God because He is all-wise, all-powerful. He does not learn by experience; what He does cannot be improved. 2. Another link is that God is loving. The sweetest and most self-sacrificing love this side of heaven is not in the least degree comparable to it. It was not exhausted on Calvary. It is treasured up for you. 3. It is possible for every man to find God. You are nearer to Him than you fancy. Open the door of your faith and He will enter in. II. THE TRUE MOTIVE OF RIGHT ACTION IS LOVE TO GOD AND MAN. When men act on this they cannot go wrong. Do true children need rules and regulations to tell them how to behave towards parents and brothers? If this law ruled all other laws would he needless. Hold then fast to this in — 1. Business perplexities. 2. Conflicting duties. 3. Fierce temptations. 4. Death. (W. Birch.) Parallel Verses KJV: Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. |
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