In the same way, we are not to treat His word with contempt. Paul said, "[D]o not treat prophecies with contempt." (v.20) There are many who want others to think of them as followers of Jesus, but who have no time for His word. They express this in many ways. For some, they say they can’t understand it, and they search for strange teachings to back up what they want to believe. The problem is that what the Bible says is clear and right in front of them. Others say that God speaks, but not directly through the Bible. There are things in it that they believe, but they hold much of it to be in error. "After all," they reason, "it was written thousands of years ago by men who didn’t know what I know now." This view denies the Bible’s prophetic nature and makes it merely the words of men. Any position in which we in any way stand in judgement over the Bible is to treat it’s prophecy, it’s declaration, "thus sayeth the Lord," with contempt. To do so puts us at odds with God’s command through Paul here.
We are bound to respect and obey God’s word. What it calls sin is sin. What it commands we must do. What it teaches we must accept as truth. Only God and His word are eternal. God’s prophecy will outlast the universe. Our human understanding of the world shifts and changes. God and His word stay firm and sure.
Because only God and His word stand the test of eternity, Paul tell us, "Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil." (vv.21,22) Instead of quenching the Holy Spirit and treating God’s word with contempt, we are to test everything. We are to test the teaching that we hear and read. Just because it is on TV does not make it right. Just because they are spoken with a smile does not mean the words bring life. Just because it is in a book does not make it right. Just because it is in the margin or notes of your Bible does not make it God’s word. Listen carefully, just because it comes from this pulpit does not make it right. Study the word. Learn the word. Know the word. Test everything by what the Bible says. Hold tightly to the things that pass the test. Get rid, quickly and completely, of the things that don’t pass. It’s not just actions that are evil. Thoughts and teaching can be too, and anything that claims to be from God but is not is evil.
Paul assumes that we have followed his instructions so far. He is expecting that we will do the things he has told us to do and will avoid the things he has told us to avoid. If we are in Christ, then the blessings for which Paul prayed are ours as well. "May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." (v.23)
Indeed, Paul’s prayer is already being answered. What God begins, He finishes. If He has called you, justified you, cleansed you, redeemed you, and regenerated you, then He is already working to sanctify you. It will be a complete sanctification. There will be no part of your being, nothing in your behavior, nothing in your mind, nothing in your heart, that is not brought under the guidance and control of the Holy Spirit. Those who are in Christ are cleansed and renewed completely, from the inside out, and made blameless before God. God works in them to root out whatever is not pleasing to Him or submitted to His will. He changes and conforms them into the likeness of Jesus Christ. He works in them to clean out all that is not holy and pure so they may be ready to meet Him when He returns.
God does not just sanctify us for His own sake and for the sake of sanctifying us. There is a purpose in making us holy and setting us apart for Himself. He does it both so that He will be glorified and so that we may spend eternity with Him. Evil, anything unclean or marred by sin, cannot enter His presence. If we are to be ready when Jesus returns, we must not be engaged in the things the Bible condemns. We must be living holy and pure lives with which nobody can find fault. Our bodies, minds, and hearts must be in submission to our Lord and Savior.
The best news is that all of this is not only up to us. Paul ends by saying, "The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it." (v.24) Not only must we be ready and watching for Jesus when He returns, but God is working in us to get us ready. God Himself is doing this and no other. He commands our cooperation, but it is His task to make us into the people He created us to be–without sin, spot or blemish–perfect in His sight, holy and righteous, fit for His kingdom. We can fight it or cooperate with it
If you are in Christ then you are already blameless in God’s sight and will be blameless at the coming of the Lord. Indeed Paul points out that the one Who calls us is faithful and He will do it. If we are in Christ then we have access to the joy that flows from being in relationship with Him and we are being prepared for Jesus’ coming by the very God of peace. Joy and peace mark this season. We celebrate them and talk about them. Today we have seen how they are ours through Jesus.
