Prove Your Own Work
by H. E. Phillips

“ But let every man prove his own work. and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another” (Gal. 6:4), Wuest translates this verse as follows in Galatians In The Greek New Testament: “But his own work let each one put to the test and thus approve, and then with respect to himself alone will he have a ground for glorying, and not with respect to the other one (with whom he had compared himself). For each shall bear his own private burden. He comments upon this verse: “Again, when each man’s self-examination reveals infirmities of his own, even though they may not be the same as those of his neighbors, he will not claim moral and spiritual superiority to others. Furthermore, each saint should bear his own burden in the sense that he must recognize his personal responsibilities towards God and man. He is responsible for the kind of life he lives.”

The present trend is more and more to let George do it” in religious affairs. The average member of the church today is too indifferent to take the time and trouble to investigate the spiritual needs of himself and those of his immediate family for whom he is responsible. Fathers are to direct their own houses and provide the things that are needed, including the spiritual training. “But if any provide not for his own, and especially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel” (I Tim. 5:8). The Holy Spirit said that one who does not provide for his own house has denied the faith and is worse than an infidel. That is as bad it you can get’ The one who takes the time to read this is taking a step further than nine of his brethren in Christ, because only about one in ten Christians will take the time and put forth the effort to read something pertaining to the gospel of Christ and the church. Why is this true? Why do professed followers of Christ refuse to read of things pertaining to the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ? There are some reasons much too obvious to deny.

Perhaps the foremost reason why brethren will not read religious material is that they do not want to THINK. Thinking requires some mental effort: concentration, self-examination and judgment of self attitude and conduct. Anything that is not sensually self-satisfying and monetarily motivated does not capture the attention of those who are not interested in spiritual things. Invariably, when one nears the end of his life, he realizes the utter vanity of these things which he so ardently sought in his life. If we could get men and women to THINK about spiritual things earlier in life, they might make the necessary preparation for eternity. It is just a matter of being too lazy to exert the mental effort to think for themselves. It is a case of letting someone else do the thinking and we will just accept the conclusions. It is a requirement of each one of us to “work out our own salvation” and it is not accomplished by allowing another to do our study for us. How can one “think on these things” (Phil. 4:8) if he does not read and study the word of God for himself? How do you know you have the truth unless you read and weigh all the evidence touching a given subject? This is important!

Another reason for not reading to prove our own faith and work is prejudice. We, of all people, have developed a “prejudice” unequaled in many respects by most denominationalists today. This prejudice does not concern the same matters of religious endeavor, but where it exists, it is about as hard to deal with as any we have met. In increasing number professed Christians “refuse” to read or investigate anything that conflicts with their “present views” and “loyal stand.” Our criticism of the Communist and Catholic methods is that they refuse, or are refused, the opportunity to “hear both sides” of any issue. Catholics are taught to receive and “read” only authorized material. Now we have members of the church who have been taught to read only the authorized material published by authorized publishing houses.

Prejudice, whether self imposed or implanted by another, is the one factor that causes you to reject evidence, and, consequently, keeps you from knowing what truth really is. If you accept only what another has told you is truth, you have no more assurance of truth than the Communist who has been told there is no God.

A third reason why people refuse to read in search for religious truth is just plain indifference. It takes time and effort to read and think, and the lack of interest in the subject matter does not encourage putting forth the effort. It is much easier to take the position that it makes no real difference what a person believes, just so long as he is honest and sincere. But is one honest with himself who will not investigate “both sides” of an issue? Is one really sincere who refuses to read an article or a book that does not come from a duly authorized source? How can one know whether he has the truth or not if he refuses evidence?

We must prove our own work. We must search the word of God daily to be sure we are not being misled by false teachers who come in the name of the Lord. It is not enough to claim to follow along with “great and good men,” neither is it sufficient proof of being right to just say “I have always believed it.” Only the truth will make us free (John 8:32). The truth is the word of God (John 17:17).

Preacher Of The Word, December 1999