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1 THESSALONIANS 5:20 “DESPISE NOT PROPHESYINGS.” (KJV, NKJV, ASV, RSV)
“Do not treat prophecies with contempt.” (NIV)
“Do not despise prophetic utterances.” (NASB)
“Do not scoff at those who prophesy.” (TLB)
Honestly, I put off using this Scripture as a memory verse. However, there a lots of reasons to include it. First, welcome to another very short verse that is easy to memorize…just three words. You can memorize it in seconds and add it to your list of 100.
Second, you may recall that we sang a song that included this verse in it, “In Everything Give Thanks.” (daveweb1a.com/hide/Thanks.m4a and daveweb1a.com/hide/Quench.m4a) You can add, “Despise not prophesyings” to that chorus…we did every week at Bible Study. Remember how singing a song helps us plant it firmly in our memory and in our heart.
Third, despite its shortness, this is the Word of God. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 tells us, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.”
If nothing else, I hope these short lessons (100 of them) are profitable for you to learn doctrine, help provide reproof and correction that we might need, and give us teaching to grow in righteousness.
Now, we traditionally accept prophecy to mean FORETELLING or FORTHTELLING of the word of God. Prophets of the Old Testament were typically called by God to tell the children of Israel future events that were coming to them and their nation. Isaiah, Daniel and Revelation are vivid examples of foretelling God’s people about what was in the future.
We have some of that today in the church. But more often, prophesyings today are usually demonstrations of someone standing before the people proclaiming, “this is what the Lord is saying to us today.” Our pastors and teachers should be doing that every week.
It is an awesome responsibility to stand before the people and say this. We often reveal what He is saying in a part of the Bible to present a clearer understanding of what we read. Hopefully, it is covered in prayer and listening to His voice to make sure we are accurate. But oh, what a careful thing it must be when we stand before others and say, “The Lord says this!” I take that very seriously and approach it with humility and care.
“Despise” is a strong word for Paul to use. Apparently, in the early church, as I think it still is today, many, while listening to words of “prophesying” judged them, tested them and even occasionally rejected some truths the messenger/prophet was bringing. In the very next verse, verse 20, Paul even tells us to “test all things and hold fast what is good.”
What freedom the Lord gave us in the Spirit! We should certainly listen intently to the Word revealed by those whom the Lord chooses to preach and teach it to us. We are even allowed and encouraged to examine and test it, to make sure it is true and consistent with the other teachings of the Bible.
The tendency with this kind of freedom, however, is to move right into judging those revealed truths, deciding whether we agree with them or not and maybe even “despising” them when we don’t agree with what has been said. Paul tells us not to do that.
How quick we are, sometimes, to rush right into examining what others in the body of Christ think about doctrines, teachings and interpretations of Scripture and declare them wrong. Sometimes we can be guilty of doing this just because it doesn’t fit into our comfort zone of how we practice ourselves. We probably shouldn’t do that.
I like how some of the other translations try to explain this thought in other words. “Don’t treat prophesies with contempt.” “Don’t scoff at those who prophesy.” “Do not despise prophetic utterances.”
There are so many different approaches to how Christians choose to have church. Don’t be afraid to visit some of those who worship differently than you do. I know the way some worship isn’t comfortable for everyone. But we need to be careful when we proclaim one way as correct and another as wrong. We might occasionally find that we are the one who is wrong. Oh, surely not!
The Corinthian church had problems in this area, particularly in the exercise of the gifts of the Spirit. That was why Paul wrote such strong instructions in this area in 1 Corinthians 12 and 14. But, remember that right in the middle, in chapter 13, he told them (and us), without love, all of those great gifts will be nothing more than noise.
With so many different choices of styles and approaches to have church in our culture, you have the freedom to find one that you are comfortable with…that allows you to hear the Lord’s voice when one of His servants proclaims it. You don’t have to stay where you are not comfortable…let alone where a particular style makes you frustrated or angry.
What you don’t have the right to do is “despise” how others see God’s truths. We should probably even go so far as to examine ourselves occasionally to make sure we aren’t being overly judgmental of those the Lord chooses to bring us His truths every Sunday.
Yes, we are to test what is said (verse 21) and what goes on in the church against the standard of the Bible and what the Lord would say to us individually. But, let’s make sure that while we are judging against what has been revealed to us so far in our lives, we don’t get ourselves to the point where we decide WE are the ultimate arbiter of Truth and the way we see things must be the only way.
Don’t DESPISE prophesy…or any other exercise of our faith in Jesus. You are not forced to be comfortable with it, but don’t despise it either. Maybe don’t despise how loud the music is being played. Listen to what the preacher is preaching about today without judging the accuracy of his hermeneutics. Be careful when we judge the only “correct” way to worship the Lord as being our own. Let our love for each other as brothers direct our relationships in the church. We might find out that we get along better together in heaven, let alone here on earth, if we do.
Questions to consider: What are some doctrines of the church you attend that are different from others in different churches and denominations? What did the Lord really mean by using the word “Despise” in this verse? Are our likes and dislikes important in the church we choose? How does your upbringing affect your attitudes toward a church? Why is there such a wide variance of how churches believe the Word? Is our culture in the United States very different from the rest of the world?
Other verses to study: Romans 11:29 “For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance. Romans 12:6 “Having then gifts differing to the grace that is given to us…” 1 Cor 14:1 “Follow after charity, and desire spiritual gifts, but rather that ye may prophesy.” 1 Cor 14:12 “…as ye are zealous of spiritual gifts, seek that ye may excel to the edifying of the church.” Read all of 1 Corinthians 12-14.
 
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