Prove All Things

**To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ, grace and peace be unto you.**  
  
**Concerning 1 Thessalonians 5:21, I write:**  

*"Prove all things; hold fast that which is good."*  

**Beloved, in these words, I urge you to exercise discernment and spiritual vigilance.**  

To **prove all things** is to examine and test everything that comes before you, whether by teaching, prophecy, or doctrine. Do not be quick to accept every word as truth, for many false doctrines and deceivers have gone out into the world. You are to weigh all things against the truth of the gospel which I have delivered unto you, which is **the gospel of the grace of God** (Acts 20:24), revealed to me by Jesus Christ.  

As I wrote to the Corinthians:  
*"The spiritual man judges all things, but he himself is judged of no man" (1 Corinthians 2:15).*  

**Hold fast that which is good** — when you have examined and found the truth, cling to it with unwavering faith. Let not the winds of false doctrine carry you away. As I admonished the Galatians:  
*"If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that which ye have received, let him be accursed" (Galatians 1:9).*  

Stand firm in the **faith of Jesus Christ**, who gave Himself for us, that we might be justified by faith apart from the works of the law.  

**Therefore, brethren, I beseech you:** Prove all things by the Word of God, and hold fast to the truth, which is in Christ Jesus, that you may be established in sound doctrine and walk worthy of the calling wherewith you are called.  

**Grace be with you always. Amen.**  
– *Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ by the will of God.*