When the trumpet of the Lord shall sound, and time shall be no more, The morning breaks eternal, bright and fair, When the saved of earth shall gather over on the other shore, and the road is called up yonder, I'll be there. When the road is called up yonder, When the road is called up yonder, When the road is called up yonder, When the road is called up yonder, I'll be there.

On that bright and cloudless morning when the dead in Christ shall rise, and the glory of his resurrection share, when the chosen ones shall gather to their home beyond the skies, and the road is called up yonder, I'll be there. When the road is called up yonder, When the road is called up yonder, When the road is called up yonder, When the road is called up yonder, I'll be there.

Let us lay before the Master from the dawn till setting sun, let us talk of all his wondrous love and care. Then when all the life is over and our work on earth is done, and the road is called up yonder, I'll be there. When the road is called up yonder, When the road is called up yonder, When the road is called up yonder, When the road is called up yonder, I'll be there.

Thank you, Doug, for the good song and that reminder of the promise we have in Christ. When the road is called up yonder, I'll be there.

Well, we're continuing our study through this rich section of the first epistle to the Thessalonians, and we've seen that Paul here gives us some very practical commands concerning the application of doctrinal truth in the life of the believer. These quick, pointed exhortations are meant to instruct the young believers there concerning the living out of the Christ life. 

We saw last time that it's God's will for us to be thankful in all things, and that this spirit of thankfulness comes as we focus our attention on Jesus, on our salvation, on the promises and truths of the Word of God. Today, we're going to look at four very short verses that hone in on the application of the Word of God in our lives. 

First, the Spirit, who guides us into all truth, who teaches us, who empowers us to obey the Word. Second, the proclamation of the Word, which teaches, exhorts, and encourages us. Third, the discerning of the Word, in which we are called to strive, to agonize, to pray, to study the Word of God in order to rightly divide it and recognize truth and error. And fourth, obedience to the Word, and this is the practical outworking of the Word in our lives as we abide in Christ and yield to Him His will and His Word in our lives. 

This is the expression of the life of Christ out through our members in obedience to Him by faith. These are important practical commands concerning the Christian life and how we can experience a fruitful, abundant life that brings glory to God and men to Christ. 

Let's look at those short verses again. 1 Thessalonians 5:19-22, do not quench the Spirit, do not despise prophecies, test all things, hold fast what is good, abstain from every form of evil. 

Well, I've given you four points on your outline this morning. First, the Spirit and the Word. Second, the proclamation of the Word. Third, discerning the Word. And fourth, obeying the Word. 

Well, first we see in our text this command from the Apostle Paul, do not quench the Spirit. The Holy Spirit and His role in the life of the believer is perhaps one of the most important doctrines for the believer in Jesus Christ to understand, to know, to believe, to affirm. And yet, the role of the Holy Spirit, His work in the life of the church and the individual believer is perhaps one of the most misunderstood and abused doctrines in the church. 

I'd like to begin in John 14. If you'd turn to John 14, verse 16 with me, please. We're just going to look at some scriptures that help us understand the Holy Spirit and His role in our life as believers. 

In John 14, verse 16, Jesus said to the disciples, “And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever, the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him, but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.” Here Jesus introduces an amazing, profound truth to disciples. After the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit will be given. Jesus will send another Helper to the disciples. They had walked with Him for three years, been with Jesus throughout His amazing ministry on this earth, seen the signs, the wonders, the healings, the power of Christ over all creation. He was with them. He could answer their questions. He could calm their concerns. He could comfort them, encourage them, teach them. 

But now He was leaving. And they were afraid. They were confused. They were concerned. And Jesus is trying to comfort them in John 14, trying to encourage them, gives them this amazing promise. He says, “After I go, I will send another Helper, the Holy Spirit.” Jesus had been with them, beside them all the time, but He tells them that the Holy Spirit would now live in them. This is the promise of the New Covenant. 

In Ezekiel 36, we see this promise for the New Covenant time, Ezekiel 36:26. He says, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you. I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.” The Holy Spirit would come to permanently indwell the believer in Jesus Christ in the New Covenant time after the cross. And He will be a helper. He will be a comforter. 

Turn over to John 16. In John 16, Jesus teaches us further concerning the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. John 16, verse 4 says, “But these things I have told you, that when the time comes, you may remember that I told you of them. And these things I did not say to you at the beginning, because I was with you. But now I go away to Him who sent Me, and none of you ask Me, ‘Where are you going?’ But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. Nevertheless, I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away. For if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I depart, I will send Him to you. And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin and of righteousness and of judgment, of sin, because they do not believe in Me, of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more, of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged. I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when He, the Spirit of Truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth. For He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears, He will speak, and He will tell you things to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. All things that the Father has are Mine, therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you.”

Well, here we learn that the work of the Spirit includes many things. He is a comforter, He convicts the world of sin and righteousness and judgment. He's our guide into all truth through the Word of God. He teaches us, He guides us. He also has the primary purpose to point us to Jesus, to glorify Jesus and take what is His and declare it to us. This is an important truth because the head of the church is Christ. The Holy Spirit's role is to declare Jesus to us, to point us to Jesus, to glorify and exalt Jesus. 

In some of the church today, there is no head. There's no Lord, there's no Master. In much of the church, there are two heads, Jesus and the Holy Spirit, where the Holy Spirit is exalted to an equal or greater level than Christ in His role in the church as head. But as Adrian Rogers said, anything with no head is dead and anything with two heads is a freak. Jesus is the head of the church, and the role of the Holy Spirit is to declare Him, to exalt Him, to point us to Him.

Turn over to Ephesians 1 with me, please. Ephesians 1 at verse 13. Ephesians 1:13, a tremendous promise here concerning the Holy Spirit. “In Him, in Jesus, you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and whom also having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession to the praise of His glory.” Here Paul tells us that the Holy Spirit seals us, that He's a deposit, an earnest, a guarantee of our inheritance. He lives in us, permanently indwelling us, and encourages us of the truth of our salvation.

One more passage, Romans 8 at verse 26. Romans 8:26 says, “Likewise, the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” 

The Spirit helps us in our weakness. He makes intercession for us in deep times of despair when we do not even know how to pray. He knows our heart. He makes intercession for us according to the will of God. Earlier in chapter 8 it says the Spirit witnesses with our spirit. It's so important to understand. We are on the same page. 

Because of regeneration, the new birth and the new spirit in us, our spirit, the Holy Spirit and our spirit are in agreement. He witnesses with our spirit to what? That we are children of God and co-heirs with Christ. The Holy Spirit has a comforting, assuring, teaching, guiding role in the life of the believer, and He continually points us to Christ, glorifying Him. This is primarily done through the Word of God, guiding us into all truth, allowing us to discern truth from error.

So in our text, Paul says literally, “the Spirit, do not quench.” Well, it is possible for us to quench the work of the Spirit in our lives. The word quench speaks of putting out a fire. And we see several times in the Scriptures the Holy Spirit pictured as a fire or flames. 

So how is it that we quench the Spirit? If we're not going to do it, we need to know how it is that we do it. I believe these commands in our text this morning hang on a common thread, these four commands, and that is the Word of God. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies. Test all things. Hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil. 

These commands all relate to the Word of God and its application to our daily lives. So the primary role of the Spirit that is in focus here is the discerning of the Word of God, the guiding into all truth, the work of the Spirit by means of the Word of God in our lives for the very purpose of sanctification, which is the broader context of the letter Paul's writing here to the church in Thessalonica. 

Jesus said in John 17, “Sanctify them by your truth. Your word is truth.” And the Holy Spirit uses the word, the truth, to do his sanctifying work in our lives. So to put out that fire, to quench the Spirit, is to deny or disobey the truth, the Word of God, to go to another source or means, or to reject or transgress the Word of Truth. 

This can take many forms, but the main idea has to do with a dependence on, a focus on, and a desire to obey the Word of God by the power of the Holy Spirit in us. We quench the Spirit when we deny or reject, when we fail to believe that the Word of God is sufficient, is truth, is the means by which God intends to produce holiness and Christ-likeness in our lives. 

And we also quench the Spirit when we choose of our own will not to believe the Word of God and act contrary to who we are in Christ, living like a man and Adam in sin. The positive command concerning this is to abide in Christ, to walk in the Spirit, to let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly. 

So this boils down to dependence and trust concerning the Word of God as a fully sufficient means for life and godliness, and a desire to obey, to yield to Christ's life in us, and to live in holiness according to God's Word. 

I would say that a major push in the evangelical church over the past couple decades is a move from trust and faith in the Word of God as His means for sanctification to a trust in and pursuit of the ways, the wisdom, and the means of the world. It is a bold assertion to say that the Word of God, the Holy Spirit, and Jesus Christ living in us is not sufficient concerning all things that pertain to life and godliness. 

We see this in evangelism, where the preaching of the gospel is no longer good enough. But we must look to marketing campaigns, entertainment, and the meeting of the physical needs of the lost man and Adam in order to more effectively reach Him for Christ. The Word and the power of the Spirit convicting men of sin and righteousness and judgment is no longer good enough. This is a quenching of the Spirit.

And we see this in the modern doctrines of sanctification in the church as well. And this really grieves my heart, my brothers and sisters in Christ. The preaching and teaching of the Word of God and a trust and dependence on the power of the Holy Spirit is no longer in vogue in the modern evangelical church. Rather, we must employ the wisdom of men through psychology and self-help and many and varied programs to really deal with the deep needs of the men in our modern world. 

I want to boil this down to a real simple but vital truth. The church today at large will tell you that you as a believer in Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit living in you and the Word of God at your disposal, are insufficient, incompetent to counsel your brother or your sister in Christ concerning the struggles and difficulties of life and all the things that pertain to life and godliness. 

Rather, you need the philosophies and methods of Freud and Jung to really address the deep needs of the modern man. I wonder what Paul did before Freud. In my mind, in the church, this shift from trusting in the Word of God, the power of the Holy Spirit and the sufficiency of Jesus Christ for my sanctification, to trusting in psychology and the ways and wisdom of men is the greatest quenching of the Spirit that exists in the church today. 

What we are saying is that the Word of God and His Holy Spirit are unable to meet my need for sanctification, that there's something outside of God and His truth that I need in order to live an abundant, healthy life of bearing fruit for the glory of God. The Bible teaches, and I believe, that it is God and God alone by His power and His Spirit and His Word, His life, and us that can produce the Christ life through us. 

I want to say one thing here to be clear. God uses His church and His people in this work. You, my brother and my sister, are competent to counsel. Really a better term is to disciple. But we need each other. And God has given us fellow believers to help us, to comfort and encourage or even rebuke and correct, to point us back to Jesus, to His Word, to His truth. 

We are not alone in a room waiting on God to heal us or deliver us from our struggles. God has given gifts to the church, people, to proclaim His Word, to come alongside and bear one another's burdens, to comfort, to encourage. Sometimes you just need someone to talk to, to give you a hug and remind you of the promises and the sufficiency of Christ. But don't talk to a pagan, to a man in Adam who has no truth to give, who only has the means and the ways of the world and does not have the Holy Spirit or the Word of God. 

Talk to a brother, a sister in Christ, participate in fellowship, live your life among a group of Christ-centered, Word-centered people who all love you and desire what is best for you. And that is the truth and a life of dependence on the Word of God and the power of the Spirit to produce holiness and abundance in our lives. 

This is why it's so important to be an active part of a Word-centered, Christ-centered fellowship of believers, where the Word is preached, the Word is sung, and the Word is at the center of everything we do. 

So we can quench the Spirit when we choose not to depend on the Word and the Spirit on Jesus Christ in us, the hope of glory, but rather turn to the men and the wisdom of the world to meet our needs. And we can quench the Spirit individually when we choose not to believe and obey that Word in our lives. 

And this is where we see the thread of the Word of God tie these commands together in our text. Do not quench the Spirit, do not despise prophecies. One of the main ways we quench the Spirit is by despising prophecies. Now it is important that we understand this word here, prophecies, and what it means to despise them. 

The word is used of speaking forth the Word of God. It can be used of new revelation from God, such as in the time of the Apostles as they spoke and wrote the Word of God. It is used of the written Word of God, we see Jesus refer to this in Matthew 13 when He says, and the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, quoting that prophecy, the written Word of God is prophecy. 

Turn over to 2 Peter 1, and we'll see Peter affirm this truth. 2 Peter 1:19 says, “And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.” Recalling this verse, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. Peter refers to Scripture here as prophecy. 

So the word prophesy, or prophecy, can be used of the new revelation from God, it can be used of the written Word, but it's most often throughout the Scriptures all the way back in history, used to speak, of speaking forth, that is, reiterating what has already been revealed through the Word of God. I believe we see this in Romans 12, where Paul is discussing the various gifts in the church. 

Turn over to Romans 12, verse 3, and look at this with me. Romans 12:3 says, “For I say through the grace given to me to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, so we being many are one body in Christ and individually members of one another. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them. If prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith, or ministry, let us use it in our ministering. He who teaches in teaching, he who exhorts in exhortation, he who gives with liberality, he who leads with diligence, he who shows mercy with cheerfulness.” 

Now, you'll notice that the list of gifts here do not include any of the miraculous or signed gifts. They are all gifts which are effective in the church today and relate to the ministry of the Word of God. The word prophecy, the gift here described, would relate to speaking forth the Word of God. And the one gifted to do such by the grace of God and the power of the Holy Spirit is to interpret, to divide the Word of God and preach it according to the proportion of faith. 

The most comprehensive teaching on the gift of prophecy and its purpose is in 1 Corinthians 14. Let's look at that passage, 1 Corinthians 14. We'll read verses 3 and 4 first. “But he who prophesies speaks edification and exhortation and comfort to men. He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church.” Now look down to verse 22. “Therefore, tongues are for a sign, not to those who believe, but to unbelievers. But prophesying is not for unbelievers, but for those who believe. Therefore, if the whole church comes together in one place and all speak with tongues and there come in those who are uninformed or unbelievers, will they not say that you are out of your mind? But if all prophesy and an unbeliever or an uninformed person comes in, he is convinced by all and he is convicted by all, and thus the secrets of his heart are revealed and so falling down on his face he will worship God and report that God is truly among you.” 

Paul's point in this chapter is that the coming together of believers is for edification. If you read through the whole chapter, he emphasizes the need for edification. And he says that edification is through prophecy, through the proclamation, the preaching, and teaching of the Word of God. 

Now whether prophecy refers to a new revelation from God, as was the case in this time perhaps, or times before that when the Word of God was being written, or whether the prophecy is written word, such as the Old Testament in this time, as Jesus quotes Isaiah, or whether prophecy is just a reiteration of what's already been revealed, the point of speaking forth the Word of God is edification of the believers. 

This is the Word of the Lord. This is what God has said, hear now what the Lord says. This is speaking forth the Word of God. So Paul's point in this chapter is that the coming together of believers is for edification and that edification is through prophecy, through the proclamation, the preaching, and teaching of the Word of God. It's most often used in the Bible in this way, just speaking forth what's already been revealed. And this is how Paul uses it in our text. And his instruction is not to despise the Word preached and taught. 

The word despise literally means to fail to esteem, to look down upon, or to set it not, meaning to make void or of no effect. The opposite would be to esteem highly, to value properly, to have a right estimation of value. And we look back in the context here, verses 12 and 13, we saw Paul encourage them. He says, “We urge you, brethren, to recognize those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you and to esteem them very highly in love for their work's sake. That's the key phrase, for their work's sake.” What is their work? Their work is to preach and teach and proclaim the Word of God, to prophesy, to speak forth the Word of God. 

Be at peace among yourselves, he says. The point here is that these men preach and teach the Word of God. That is the value. That is the gift of prophecy. And we should esteem them for their work's sake. So we can quench the spirit when we choose to deny, reject, or disbelieve the Word of God. 

The positive command is summarized in Romans 6, where we are exhorted to know the Word of God, then to choose to reckon it to be so, and then make a volitional choice to believe the Word of God, count up the facts, reckon it to be so, and yield to Jesus Christ and his life in us. This is a moment-by-moment choice to remember, to reckon the Word of God to be true. 

My friends, sometimes the Word of God says hard things. Think of it this way with me. When we were saved, the process of sanctification began. We were recreated, made new on the inside, as we read in 2 Corinthians 5 this morning. But the outward confirmation to the inward reality of who we are in Christ, holy living, sanctification, Christ-likeness, begins when we are saved and continues throughout our Christian life on this earth. 

So it is necessary for change in our lives. We are not perfect, right? We have not arrived outwardly in our behavior. And there is a process of confirmation. This necessitates growth, and growth can be painful. The Word of God must confront and correct us where we are not in line with God's will. This can be difficult at times, and we can have a tendency to despise the Word of God or sometimes the preacher of the Word of God. 

But if the man of God is doing his work, being faithful to his calling, then he's simply saying what God says. And this sometimes brings us to a confrontation with the Word of God and presents us with a choice. We can choose to obey God, to believe His Word, to trust Him and do what He says, or we can choose to despise the Word and rationalize our sin, reject what He says, and trust in ourselves. 

This is a practical application that Paul is making, and he says, do not despise prophecy, the speaking forth of the Word of God, rather be eager to hear the Word, to know the Word, to study, to show yourself approved, a worker that need not be ashamed. Strive to rightly divide the Word, and choose to believe God and yield to His life and power in you in order to see the fruit of holiness. 

So we see in our text the spirit in the Word, the proclamation of the Word, and next we see discerning the Word. Test all things. Hold fast what is good. In Acts 17:10, it says, “Then the brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea. And when they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the Word with all readiness and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.” 

It's an amazing statement. They were more fair-minded because they searched the Scriptures daily to see if what Paul said was true, and they had a great readiness to receive the Word with gladness. We are to test all things by the Word of God. This is why I do not believe that there is new revelation today. That the Word of God is complete. And if a man claims to have a new revelation from God today, then how would we know if it is true? We would have to search the Scriptures to see if it lines up with what God has revealed. 

And if we must go to the Scriptures to assess this new revelation, then the truth is already there. What is the point of the revelation? The Word of God is our yardstick by which we measure all things. And Paul says that we are to be testing all things and holding fast what is good. This is so key to our Christian life. 

We have a great tendency to give the benefit of the doubt, to extend grace, and this is good, I think, for the most part. But when it comes to doctrine, when it comes to truth teaching, particularly the gospel, we must hold fast to the truth, to what is good. 

And this is true with all teaching and doctrine and application of that truth in our lives. Let's not tinker around with half-truths and errant teaching and wallow through the mud to find a nugget of truth. Test it by the Word of God. Hold fast to what is good and chuck the rest. This is the admonition of Paul. 

And he says in our last point, abstain from every form of evil. Obey the Word. The natural conclusion to knowing God's Word, walking in the Spirit, choosing to believe God's Word, testing all things, and holding fast to what is good is obedience, is doing what God says. We're building a butcher shop at our farm right now, and I'm a farmer and a preacher, but I'm not much of a carpenter. 

So I rely heavily on my good buddy Ron Heff to keep me moving in the right direction by his good and solid advice. But sometimes when I call Ron and ask him a question, I don't always get the answer I would like. I called him earlier this week and I asked him if I could just put purlins on the roof and put metal on, and then I could avoid all the expense and trouble of sheeting the whole roof and putting tar paper on there before the metal. And he said, no, no, you have to sheet it, or it'll rain on your building when the dewpoint drops and the condensation forms. 

Now, this really wasn't what I wanted to hear, but it's the truth. And the question is, do I trust Ron and his advice concerning building? Now, I can say that I trust him, that I believe him, that I think he's great, but if I don't sheet that roof and put down tar paper, if I do not obey his command, then I show that I really do not trust him. 

And this is the way it is with God and his word. I can say that I trust God, that I believe God, that I think he's great and powerful and filled with truth and always does what is best for me as my Abba Father. But if the Spirit makes clear to me the meaning of the word and the truth taught in the word is clear and applicable to me, and I choose to despise the word, choose to go my own way and reject what God is saying, grieving and quenching the Spirit, if I choose not to obey God and His word, then I show that I do not trust him and I do not believe him. 

This is the choice in my mind when temptation and difficulty come. Will I reckon the word of God to be true? Will I take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ? Will I yield to him and his life and me, and will I obey? Will there be obedience for my sake and for his glory? And I know deep in my heart that he says what is best for me. Sometimes it doesn't feel that way. Sometimes I don't like his answer, but I know that he does what is best for me, that he tells me the truth, and that obeying him is what I need to do. 

Abstain from every form of evil. I close with this illustration some of you probably have heard before. A father of three teenage boys had a family rule that the kids could not attend R-rated movies. It just so happened that the boys desperately wanted to see one that was playing at the local theaters. 

So they interviewed friends and even some members of their church to find out what was good, bad, or offensive in the movie in hopes of enabling them to make a list of pros and cons to help convince their dad to let them see it. Grinning, the teens presented their dad with the list, proudly proclaiming that they had discovered the movie contained just a few swear words and only a few violent parts, and well, okay, there were some sex scenes, but they weren't too explicit, no big deal really, nothing they hadn't seen on TV probably. 

The pros, they told their father, were that it was a popular movie, a big name blockbuster with a good plot and fantastic special effects that absolutely everyone was raving about. Everybody who saw this movie was saying it would probably be nominated for several awards, and dad, many of our congregation members have seen it already and they said they loved it. 

The boys figured since there were more pros than cons, their father really needed to reconsider his position about R-rated movies, at least for just this one, because they really, truly wanted to see it. And after all, it wasn't that bad. The father quietly considered their list of pros and cons and asked them to return later in the day for his decision. 

When they returned, he had a plate of freshly baked brownies laid out on the coffee table for them. “Don't start eating them just yet,” the father admonished. “I personally made these for you guys, but you need to know there are some pros and cons.” The boys broke into raucous laughter. “What do you mean, dad? One of them asked. “They're brownies. There's no cons when it comes to brownies.” 

“There are in these brownies,” dad replied. “You see, I made them myself from an award-winning recipe. I used the finest chocolate and walnuts, healthy goat milk, and other yummy ingredients. They're moist and fresh with a delightful chocolate frosting on top. Those are the pros.” The boys looked at each other and shrugged, wondering what dad was getting at. 

“These delicious brownies,” dad said after a pregnant pause, “contain only one con. I mixed in a little dog poop.” The boys gasped, staring at their father, eyes wide with shock. “No, really,” the father continued soberly. “I mixed in some dog poop. You guys won't mind that, right? I mean, it's just a tiny bit, not enough to hurt anything. I mixed the dough well. Chances are, you won't even be able to taste anything weird. I baked them at 350 degrees, so all the bacteria and germs surely are destroyed.” 

The boys continued to stare at their father in disbelief. “Why would you do that, dad?” the oldest one said. “Well, son,” the father replied, “I guess to teach you guys a lesson in hypocrisy. I mean, what's the difference between eating a brownie containing dog poop and being willing to allow your eyes to watch a cuss word riddled movie that contains some sex and violence? Either way, your body and soul are afflicted by things God never meant for human beings to expose themselves to. Am I right, or am I wrong?”

Each boy's gaze dropped to the floor when their father's little lesson in hypocrisy began to sink in. Without another word, they looked at their father, and then at each other, and then quietly turned to leave the room. Hypocrisy in the church is perhaps the greatest impediment to the gospel. God intends that we should live a holy life, separate from the world, and He has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness. 

He has given us a new heart and a new spirit. We have died to sin, we have died to the law, we have died to the fear of death. We are new men, and we have the power of the Holy Spirit and Jesus Christ living in us. Paul writes to the Thessalonians and to us, do not quench the spirit. Do not despise prophecies. Test all things, hold fast what is good, and abstain from every form of evil. 

Let's close in prayer. Father, we thank you for the Word, for these commands, and we thank you that you teach us about who we are and what you've done, who we have in Jesus Christ and salvation, and that it's a reasonable, logical thing for us to live out who we are, to live holy lives, to present our bodies as living sacrifices. This is a reasonable act of worship. 

Father, we trust you and believe you for your power, for your will to accomplish these things in our lives. Help us to abide in Jesus one day at a time, to look to him, and to bear fruit for your glory that men might be saved. In Jesus' name, Amen.