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Testing New Ideas Against
What God Has Said

The Scriptures are the ultimate test

Introduction

1. Text: Gal. 1:6-9.

2. Paul warned the churches of Galatia to reject any teaching that conflicted with the gospel of Christ -- they were to measure any new idea by what they knew God had already said.

3. Paul said they should apply that test to him -- and even to an angel from heaven!

4. So even if we had lived in Bible times, we would have had to test the truth of claims as we do today.

5. We live in an age of accelerating change -- new ideas confront us almost every day. Cf. Ac. 17:21.

6. With any new idea, the first question that must be asked is always this: what has God already said?

I. TWO OLD TESTAMENT EXAMPLES

1. Adam and Eve - Gen. 3:1-6.

2. The prophet sent by God to denounce Jeroboam's idolatry - 1 Kgs. 13:1-32.

III. THREE NEW TESTAMENT EXAMPLES

1. The gospel of Christ - Ac. 17:2,3,11; 18:28.

2. The inclusion of the Gentiles - Ac. 15:13-18.

3. Words of prophecy - 1 Cor. 14:29; 1 Jn. 4:1. Cf. Deut. 13:1-3; 18:20-22; 2 Thess. 2:1-5.

III. NOT EVEN A MIRACLE WOULD BE ENOUGH!

1. The apostles were given miraculous powers to confirm their apostleship and the truth of their witness to Christ (Hb. 2:1-4), but even so, their message had to be tested against what God had already said - 2 Cor. 12:12; Rev. 2:2. Cf. Ac. 17:11; Gal. 1:8,9.

2. Today, if a new idea contradicts previously revealed truth, not even a miracle should persuade us to believe it - 2 Thess. 2:9-12. Cf. Mt. 24:24; 2 Cor. 11:13,14.

IV. AN IMPORTANT WARNING

1. Of course, we need to make sure that when a thing seems to conflict with what God has previously said, it does not merely conflict with a mistaken idea we have about what God has said.

   1. The disciples might have argued that Jesus couldn't be the Messiah because the Scriptures said that Elijah must come first - Mt. 17:10-13.

   2. Paul might have argued that Jesus couldn't be the Messiah because He had been crucified and was therefore under the curse of God - Gal. 3:13.

   3. People might have argued that the earth couldn't be round because the Scriptures said that it has four corners - Isa. 11:12.

2. Unfortunately, many of our inferences from Scripture are anything but "necessary."

3. It takes honesty and humility to admit when our understanding of what God has said is the thing that has
   been wrong.

4. Also note: there are usually some other tests an idea must pass, even if there is no scripture that specifically contradicts it. Cf. 1 Cor. 10:23.

V. GROWTH IN DISCERNMENT

1. Our goal is to understand clearly whether a thing is pleasing to God or not. Cf. Eph. 5:17.

   1. Related words: discern, evaluate, judge, discriminate, test, verify.

   2. Consider the concept of an "assay." During the California Gold Rush, for example, prospectors had to take their newly discovered "gold" to an "assayer" to have its genuineness tested.

   3. We must learn to "approve the things that are excellent" (Phil. 1:9,10). Cf. Rom 12:2.

2. Testing for truth is not always easy or automatic -- it often involves hard work.

3. With the right attitude (Jn. 7:17) and thoughtful practice (Hb. 5:14), however, we get better at discernment the longer we live.

Conclusion

1. There is no shortcut or substitute for comparing what we hear to what we know God has already said.

2. These days, we are apt to be confronted with questions like these:

   1. Should the Gospel of Thomas be included in the New Testament canon?

   2. Was Mohammed a true prophet of God?

   3. Is the "emerging church" acceptable to God?

3. We must learn to test things against the standard of scriptural truth - 1 Thess. 5:21.

4. Ultimately the most critical "assay" we must make is whether we ourselves are faithful to the Lord
   - 2 Cor. 13:5.