You are all sons of light and sons of day.

1 Thessalonians 5:4-28 from the daily reading in the One year Bible

But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day would overtake you like a thief; ⁵ for you are all sons of light and sons of day. We are not of night nor of darkness; ⁶ so then let us not sleep as others do, but let us be alert and sober. ⁷ For those who sleep do their sleeping at night, and those who get drunk get drunk at night. ⁸ But since we are of the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet, the hope of salvation. ⁹ For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, ¹⁰ who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we will live together with Him. ¹¹ Therefore encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing.

¹² But we request of you, brethren, that you appreciate those who diligently labor among you, and have charge over you in the Lord and give you instruction, ¹³ and that you esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Live in peace with one another. ¹⁴ We urge you, brethren, admonish the unruly, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with everyone. ¹⁵ See that no one repays another with evil for evil, but always seek after that which is good for one another and for all people. ¹⁶ Rejoice always; ¹⁷ pray without ceasing; ¹⁸ in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. ¹⁹ Do not quench the Spirit; ²⁰ do not despise prophetic utterances. ²¹ But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good; ²² abstain from every form of evil.

²³ Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. ²⁴ Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass.

²⁵ Brethren, pray for us. ²⁶ Greet all the brethren with a holy kiss. ²⁷ I adjure you by the Lord to have this letter read to all the brethren. ²⁸ The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

In today’s text it says:  Do not despise prophetic utterances. But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good; abstain from every form of evil.   In much of the church today prophecy is thought of as something from the past, not something that is still active for today. Because it is often the prophecies which do not come true, the wild predictions of the end of the world, that receive most of the attention, many people do in fact despise prophetic utterances. As opposed to despising the gift of prophecy we are to: carefully examine everything. There are many prophets and prophecies recorded in scripture. But prophecy is also God’s word spoken today. If we are to carefully examine what is being said today as though God is speaking, the first test should be whether what is being said agrees with and lines up with what God has previously said. God’s word spoken today will not contradict His word which was spoken and is recorded in scripture, because God never changes. By this standard, we can discredit prophecies which predict the day of Jesus return. In Matthew 24:36-39, Jesus Himself says:  Of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven,but My Father only.But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark,and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.

In today’s text it says:   Encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing.    Prophecy is not predicting the future or warning of impending doom. 1 Corinthians 14:3 says:    One who prophesies speaks to men for edification and exhortation and consolation.  So it is to build up and console. Exhortation is also encouragement but it is encouragement to do what is right and what is good. Prophecy then includes speaking God’s word, His promises and His will for people’s lives, that they should walk in His will and His ways. That is part of the holding fast to what is good and the abstaining from evil. Just as the one who says they know the day of Christ’s return is discredited because their word contradicts what Jesus said in the written word, so too, anyone who says that God now accepts sin and immorality is not to be believed. Those are not God’s words. They do not reflect His will. God says:  Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! (Isaiah 5:20)   In today’s text it says:  We urge you, brethren, admonish the unruly, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with everyone. See that no one repays another with evil for evil, but always seek after that which is good for one another and for all people.   Many people today say that God’s word and His will is that we would love one another. They say that love is expressed in acceptance, tolerance and embracing the choices and actions of others. We are to be patient, but we are to love others by admonishing unruly and immoral behavior. In Matthew 5:19 Jesus Himself says:  Whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. John 3:16 says:  God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.     Romans 5:8 says:  God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.     If we are to share God’s love, if we are to encourage others in God’s love, we must also share Christ and the cross; the motivation and the demonstration of God’s love.

The text says:  See that no one repays another with evil for evil, but always seek after that which is good for one another and for all people. Rejoice always;  pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not quench the Spirit.    It is not our responsibility to judge, convict or condemn others for their actions. We should not repay evil with evil, but always seek what is good. We should though not quench the Holy Spirit. In John 16:7-11 Jesus says:   I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; butif I depart, I will send Him to you.And when He hascome, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:of sin, because they do not believe in Me;of righteousness,because I go to My Father and you see Me no more;of judgment, becausethe ruler of this world is judged.   It is the Holy Spirit who convicts the world of sin. We should not by our words or actions quench the Holy Spirit’s ability to convict the world of sin and righteousness. We should not work against the Holy Spirit.  Instead, as Jesus says in Matthew 5:16, we should:  Let your light so shine before men,that they may see your good works andglorify your Father in heaven.  The text says:   You, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day would overtake you like a thief; for you are all sons of light and sons of day. We are not of night nor of darkness.

Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.