Test the Mysterious Prophecies

Do not quench the Spirit. Do not treat prophecies with contempt but test them all; hold on to what is good. The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.
1 Thessalonians 5:19-21, 24

I’m typically skeptical about ordering things from eBay. Is it really going to be what’s pictured? I’ve gotten burned before. Just recently, I steered my daughter away from ordering a pair of expensive Nike shoes. But she insisted that we still order them. She argued that there’s an Authenticity Guarantee when you buy these shoes. We don’t pay unless they’re deemed real. It means that before we pay, the eBay seller sends the shoes to the sneaker authentication facility. Upon arrival, the “sneaker-head” experts verify and certify that the shoes are really authentic.

Are you this “eBay-meticulous” in your life? We reside in a world that’s filled with a constant stream of information that proclaims itself truthful. From information on our devices to our conversations with people, do we immediately believe information, or do we test it first? Truthfully, I find myself more often consuming the things I see and hear rather than testing them according to the truths in God’s Word.

In our reading, the apostle Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit, reminds us to “test them all” according to God’s Word instead of accepting cheap and false alternatives.

As we journey through Advent today, the world preaches many false ideas about the child lying in that manger. So what is the authentic truth? How do I guarantee it? God’s holy, inerrant Word is the only place to accurately authenticate truth. God’s given us the tools in his Word to compare, verify, and certify fact as opposed to fiction. When we do this, God says he will “sanctify you through and through,” and keep you “blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thessalonians 5:23).

My daughter never got her eBay shoes. The seller sent them to the sneaker authentication facility. They failed. They were fakes. Later, she purchased another pair straight from Nike. Those were authentic. However, fake or real, the authenticity of her new shoes can’t assure her of eternal life. Without authentic faith in God’s prophecies, we can’t stroll into heaven. Keep authenticating what you hear this Christmastime about that Christ Child to assure that you are enjoying the truth of that baby born for the forgiveness of all of your sins.

Lord, help me to test everything this Christmas according to what you have revealed to me in your holy Word. Amen.

Professor Theodore Klug serves Martin Luther College
as vice president for enrollment management.