All ideas that you believe and follow must begin and end with Jesus and the Bible.”
In today’s information overload world, you’re never at a loss for people giving you advice, sharing memes that echo their thoughts, giving their two cents, and wanting to offer their take on why things happen and what you should do about them. For instance, if you open yourself to social media even the smallest bit, you’ll get a relentless avalanche of viewpoints from voices all along the political spectrum. Turn on the TV, and through hundreds of channels, you’ll hear from all sorts of “experts” babbling endlessly about life, health, self-help advice, motivation, life, the mind, society, and what is wrong and right.
Seemingly everyone on Earth has an opinion, and a lot of them sound so reasonable and good! I mean, they seem successful and wise, so how can they be wrong? Plus, when we don’t have our own opinions flying endlessly out of our mouths, we are too quick to share those viewpoints we think parrot our own thinking.
But did you ever stop to think if absolutely everything that goes in and out of your ears, brain, heart, and mouth is solidly biblical? Really, does it line up with the whole of Scripture?
Take what the Berean Jews did in Acts chapter 17. These people were preached to by the Apostle Paul in the synagogue in their home town. According to verse 11, the Bereans “examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.” While they wholeheartedly embraced Paul’s Holy Spirit-led teaching, they did so by also personally knowing and diligently studying the Word of God. As a result, they knew that the apostle’s instruction was rock-solid and believed in the Lord Jesus Christ.
I would advise all of you brothers to do the same. Study and feed yourself the Bible every day. Saturate your mind and heart in God’s bountiful treasures in His Holy Scriptures. Know what God’s Word says; don’t just take someone else’s word for it. All ideas that you believe and follow must begin and end with Jesus and the Bible.
And then…filter everything you read, everything you hear, and everything you digest daily through the Bible’s teachings. Every motivational speech, every inspirational quote, every leader you listen to, every TV broadcast, every social media account, every piece of advice from a relative or friend of yours, every book or internet article, or any sermon all have to be placed under the scrutinous microscope of the Bible. 1 Thessalonians 5:21 [NLT] implores us, “but test everything that is said. Hold on to what is good.”
I praise God for our local pastors, Christian ministries and organizations, and the surplus of good commentary and devotional tools available for 21st Century followers of Christ. They can be an enormous blessing in our spiritual walks with Christ. But yes, even with the aforementioned entities, you must filter everything you read and hear during the course of our lives through the filter of the Scriptures.
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