https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Prove-What-Is-Acceptable.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n\tby Jeffrey W. Hamilton<\/p>\n\t
Text: I Thessalonians 5:16-24<\/p>\n
<\/p>\nI. I doubt it has escaped your notice, but there are people around us who don’t always do\nwhat is right\n
A. How do you know who to trust? <\/p>\n
B. People claim to be Christians, but we know people can and do lie<\/p>\n
C. For that matter, how do I know if I am as good as I claim to be?<\/p>\n
II. Examine the evidence<\/p>\n
A. Too often we let things slide. <\/p>\n
1. We just accept what comes along because it requires less effort<\/p>\n
2. Besides, who wants more “drama” in their life?<\/p>\n
B. We want to live as God desires – Ephesians 5:1-2<\/p>\n 1. Which means we have to stay out of sins, such as fornication, impurity,\nand greed – Ephesians 5:3\n 2. But that also means I can’t be talking as if those sins are acceptable, even\nwhen joking – Ephesians 5:4\n
3. It isn’t something that can be ignored – Ephesians 5:5-6<\/p>\n
4. We have to be different – Ephesians 5:7-8<\/p>\n
5. Which means we need to prove what pleases the Lord – Ephesians 5:9-10<\/p>\n
C. We need to prove all things – I Thessalonians 5:21-22<\/p>\n 1. We all too easily assume that whatever we are doing must be fine with\nGod – Psalms 19:12-13\n
2. We need to hang on to the good<\/p>\n
3. We need to reject (hate) the evil<\/p>\n
4. That means we have to take a stance<\/p>\n D. In other to mature, we need to be able to distinguish between good and evil –\nHebrews 5:13-14\n
1. It only comes through the use of God’s word – putting it into daily practice<\/p>\n
III. What we look at<\/p>\n
A. It is not just what a person says<\/p>\n
B. We are not to believe everyone who comes along – I John 4:1<\/p>\n
1. Those who follow God are not bothered by this – Acts 17:10-12<\/p>\n
2. Look at what they accomplish – Matthew 7:15-20<\/p>\n
C. But we also have to examine ourselves – II Corinthians 13:5-6<\/p>\n
1. Look at what you do and accomplish – Galatians 6:3-5<\/p>\n
IV. What we compare against<\/p>\n
A. We can’t use ourselves as the standard – II Corinthians 10:12<\/p>\n
B. We can’t use the world – I Corinthians 2:14-16<\/p>\n
C. It is God’s word that can improve us – Psalms 19:7-11<\/p>\n
D. God’s word discerns the thoughts and attitudes – Hebrews 4:12<\/p>\n
V. You know more when you are interested in a subject<\/p>\n
A. A car buff knows all sorts of details about what makes a good or poor automobile<\/p>\n B. A sports buff knows all sorts of details about what makes someone or some team\ngood or bad at their sport\n
C. Learn to love God’s word – Psalms 119:97-104<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: I Thessalonians 5:16-24 I. I doubt it has escaped your notice, but there are people around us who don’t always do what is right A. How do you know who to trust? B. People claim to be Christians, but we know people can and do lie C. For that matter, how do I…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[119,32],"tags":[1119,478,713,877],"class_list":["post-36793","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-audio","category-sermon","tag-discernment","tag-false-teachers","tag-judging-others","tag-proof"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":9457,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/doesnt-rahabs-example-prove-that-lying-is-acceptable-in-some-situations\/","url_meta":{"origin":36793,"position":0},"title":"Doesn’t Rahab’s example prove that lying is acceptable in some situations?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 13, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Doesn't Rahab's example prove that lying is acceptable in some situations? Answer: We know: That we cannot do evil that good may come from it (Romans 3:8). The Lord did not commend Rahab for lying (Hebrews 11:31; James 2:25). We are told not to lie (Colossians 3:9). That all\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":61326,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-doesnt-god-prove-himself\/","url_meta":{"origin":36793,"position":1},"title":"Why Doesn’t God Prove Himself?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 11, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Isaiah 43:8-13 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cIf God is real, why doesn\u2019t He just give concrete evidence?\u201d \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0It is a question that preachers frequently run into. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0If I don\u2019t personally see the evidence, then I don\u2019t think adequate proof exists - John 20:25 II.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0God has given evidence \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":33419,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/can-the-bible-prove-itself\/","url_meta":{"origin":36793,"position":2},"title":"Can The Bible Prove Itself?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 18, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry Wane Benton Atheists laugh when a Christian uses the Bible to \"prove\" it is the word of God by appeal to the fact that the Bible claims to be the word of God. Of course, it is not just the fact that the Bible claims to be the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":65621,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-do-you-prove-jesus-was-not-a-muslim\/","url_meta":{"origin":36793,"position":3},"title":"How do you prove Jesus was not a Muslim?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 11, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello Brother Hamilton and the rest of La Vista Church of Christ, I have two questions that I want to ask you. I want to start with this one in particular because they're two different ideas. As we know, the more time goes by, there will be a new\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":32500,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/were-elders-limited-to-the-age-of-miracles-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":36793,"position":4},"title":"Were Elders Limited to the Age of Miracles? (Sermon)","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 24, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Acts 20:17-35 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Some times I wonder where ideas about the Scriptures come from. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The passages are clear, but it seems that some want a certain outcome, so they seek whatever means they can find to arrive at that result. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0I was asked if elders\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":38841,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/was-homosexual-mistranslated\/","url_meta":{"origin":36793,"position":5},"title":"Was “homosexual” mistranslated?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 20, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hi, I recently came upon a claim that, because of mistranslation, homosexuality was condemned even though it isn't stated as being bad. I read certain people explaining that I Corinthians 6:9-10 is mistranslated since \"homosexual\" wasn't even a word in Ancient Greek. They even claim that only the abuse\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36793","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36793"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36793\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36793"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36793"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36793"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}