1 Thessalonians 5:22

Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. B Delta G f g, Vulgate, insert, 'but.' 'Aleph (') A C omit it. You ought indeed not to "quench the Spirit" nor "despise prophesyings;" 'but,' at the same time, do not take "all" as genuine which professes to be so; 'prove (test) them all.' Means of testing existed in the Church: some had the "discerning of spirits" (1 Corinthians 12:10; 1 Corinthians 14:29; 1 John 4:1). Another test, which we also have, is to try the professed revelation whether it accord with Scripture, as the noble Bereans did (Isaiah 8:20;...

22_From every evil appearance_. Some think that this is a universal statement, as though he commanded to abstain from all things that bear upon their front an _appearance of evil_. In that case the meaning would be, that it is not enough to have an internal testimony of conscience, unless regard be at the same time had to brethren, so as to provide against occasions of offense, by avoiding every thing that can have the appearance of evil. Those who explain the word _speciem _ after the manner of dialecticians as meaning the subdivision of a general term, fall into an exceedingly gross blunder. For he (619) has employed the term _speciem _ as meaning what we commonly term _appearance_. It may also be rendered either—_evil appearance_, or _appearance of evil_. The meaning, however, is the same. I rather prefer Chrysostom and Ambrose, who connect this sentence with the foregoi

16-22 We are to rejoice in creature-comforts, as if we rejoiced not, and must not expect to live many years, and rejoice in them all; but if we do rejoice in God, we may do that evermore. A truly religious life is a life of constant joy. And we should rejoice more, if we prayed more. Prayer will help forward all lawful business, and every good work. If we pray without ceasing, we shall not want matter for thanksgiving in every thing. We shall see cause to give thanks for sparing and preventing, for common and uncommon, past and present, temporal and spiritual mercies. Not only for prosperous and pleasing, but also for afflicting providences, for chastisements and corrections; for God designs all for our good, though we at present see not how they tend to it. Quench not the Spirit. Christians are said to be baptized with the Holy Ghost and with fire. He worketh as fire, by enlightening,...

Verse 22. _ABSTAIN FROM ALL APPEARANCE OF EVIL._] Sin not, and avoid even the _appearance_ of it. Do not drive your morality so near the bounds of evil as to lead even weak persons to believe that ye actually touch, taste, or handle it. Let not the _form_ of it, ειδος, appear with or among you, much less the _substance_. Ye are called to holiness; _be ye holy, for God is holy_....

ABSTAIN FROM ALL APPEARANCE OF EVIL - Not only from evil itself, but from that which seems to be wrong. There are many things which are known to be wrong. They are positively forbidden by the laws of heaven, and the world concurs in the sentiment that they are wicked. But there are also many things about which there may be some reasonable doubt. It is not quite easy to determine in the case what is right or wrong. The subject has not been fully examined, or the question of its morality may be so difficult to settle, that the mind may be nearly or quite balanced in regard to it. There are many things which, in themselves, may not appear to us to be positively wrong, but which are so considered by large and respectable portions of the community; and for us to do them would be regarded as inconsistent and improper. There are many things, also, in respect to which there is great variety of s...

EXPOSITION CONTENTS.—With regard to the time of that glorious advent when believers, whether dead or living, will be gathered together to Christ, the Thessalonians had already been fully instructed. They knew well that the day of the Lord would come suddenly and unexpectedly, and surprise an ungodly world. But they were not in darkness so as to be taken by surprise. Still, however, they must exercise constant watchfulness and sobriety, and be armed with the Christian graces of faith, love, and hope, being comforted with the assurance that God had not appointed them to wrath, but to the acquisition of salvation through Jesus Christ, who died for their benefit, in order that, whether living or dead, they might share in the blessings of his advent. Now follows a series of short admonitions. The Thessalonians were to love and honor their ministers, to live in peace among themselves, to admo...

ABSTAIN FROM ALL APPEARANCE OF EVIL. Of doctrinal evil. Not only open error and heresy are to be avoided, but what has any show of it, or looks like it, or carries in it a suspicion of it, or may be an occasion thereof, or lead unto it; wherefore all new words and phrases of this kind should be shunned, and the form of sound words held fast; and so of all practical evil, not only from sin itself, and all sorts of sin, lesser or greater, as the w Jews have a saying, "take care of a light as of a heavy commandment,'' that is, take care of committing a lesser, as a greater sin, and from the first motions of sin; but from every occasion of it, and what leads unto it, and has the appearance of it, or may be suspected of others to be sin, and so give offence, and be a matter of scandal. The Jews have a saying very agreeable to this x, "remove thyself afar off (or abstain) from filthiness, a...

1 Thessalonians 5:1. _But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night._ It will be a great surprise to the wicked. It will take them at unawares. Just at that moment when they least expect it will Christ come; and as the thief comes to destroy and to kill, so will the coming of Christ be the death of their carnal ease the destruction of their earthly hopes. 1 Thessalonians 5:3. _For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape._ A terrible text that «They shall not escape.» They shall not escape by their own power or force

V. THE DAY OF THE LORD AND EXHORTATIONS CHAPTER 5 _ 1. The day of the Lord 1 Thessalonians 5:1)_ 2. Exhortations 1 Thessalonians 5:12) 3. Conclusions 1 Thessalonians 5:23) 1 Thessalonians 5:1 “But concerning the times and seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child, and they shall not escape.” The apostle next men

SUNDRY COUNSELS AND EXHORTATIONS. 1 Thessalonians 5:12. Christians are urged to respect their leaders. No officers and ministers are mentioned in this epistle, but this verse implies that the Church had leaders. The ministry at Thessalonica was a ministry of service. Those who laboured most were naturally regarded as being over the Church. They are entitled to esteem and love, not by reason of any official position but for their work's sake. 1 Thessalonians 5:14. admonish the disorderly: an insistence upon the maintenance of discipline. The disorderly are probably those who had abandoned their regular business under the excitement of the expected Parousia....