Those
who are truly discerning are passionately committed to sound doctrine, to truth,
and to all that is inspired by God.
Paul
was urging the Thessalonians to nurture and cultivate their love for truth, to
let it rule their thinking. He wanted them to foster a conscious commitment
to all truth;
a faithfulness to sound doctrine; a pattern of holding fast to all that is
good.
The
attitude Paul calls for is incompatible with the suggestion that we should lay
doctrine aside for the sake of unity. It cannot be reconciled with the opinion
that hard truths should be downplayed to make God’s Word more palatable for
unbelievers. It is contrary to the notion that personal experience takes
precedence over objective truth. God has given us His truth objectively in His
Word. It is a treasure that we should protect at all
costs.
“That
which is good” is truth that accords with God’s Word. The word “good” is kalos,
meaning something that is inherently good. It isn’t just something that is fair
to look at, lovely or beautiful in appearance. This speaks of something good in
itself—genuine, true, noble, right, and good. In other words, “that which is
good” does not refer to that which is entertaining. It does not refer to that
which garners accolades from the world. It does not refer to that which is
satisfying to the flesh. It refers to that which is good, true, accurate,
authentic, dependable—that which is in agreement with the infallible Word of
God.
When
you find such truth, embrace it and guard it like a treasure.
No comments:
Post a Comment