Know why you believe what you believe!

     And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but a what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers. 1 Thessalonians 1:13 RSV

     There are many teachers in the world today. Many of them are biblicaly sound, they love God and desire to see people saved and growing in their walk with the Lord. They study the word, and do not depart from it when they instruct others. However the world is also full of false teachers as well. They instruct from other motives. They will teach what people want to hear. They do not love the truth, and seek to lead people astray.
     It is imperitive that we are thoroughly grounded in the word of God. It is in the word that we find safety. His word is the final authority on spiritual matters. The word of God declares the truth. We must compare what we see and hear by the word!
     It is dangerous to blindly accept whatever we hear just because we heard it from a pastor, teacher, evangelist or whoever. No matter who they are, or how trustworthy they appear to be, we must test them by the word of God. In the text found in 1 Thessalonians, Paul himself was grateful that they accepted what he had taught them. Not because he had taught them, but because they had determined that it was God's truth. He encountere the same thing at Berea, when the people studied the scriptures to see if he had told them the truth (Acts 17:11). This is the Apostle Paul! A man chosen and annointed by God to preach the gospel! He was responsible, under inspiration, for writing much of the New Testament! He wanted the people to check it out for themselves!
     We are responsible for ourselves. Never accept something just because someone taught you. We dare not be led astray. We also must never receive the truth just because man taught it. We must work it out within ourselves and receive it for what it really is, the very word of God!