Philippians 4:8

“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”

Believe it or not, Paul was not referring to some future Christian Wacko with the last name of “Noble” when he penned Philippians 4:8! All kidding aside, noble is a word packed with deep meaning for the follower of Jesus Christ. Noble means worthy of respect or entitled to honor. It is that which inspires reverence or awe.

This word is only used four times in the New Testament: once here in Philippians, twice in 1 Timothy when describing the attributes of Deacons and their wives, and one last time in Titus with respect to the type of older men who should be teaching the younger men. The easiest way to think of it is that which has a large degree of holiness…it is noble, indeed.

Take this “Noble Test” and see how you do:

Thinking about my own self-interest.
Thinking about how to get back at someone.
Thinking about any woman other than your own wife.
Thinking about how other Christians fail.
Thinking about checking out the next pornographic website.
Thinking about how to manipulate your circumstances at work.
Thinking about how you can mislead your parents or your spouse.
Thinking about some Hollywood star’s stuff or troubles.

Simply put…if it’s not worthy of respect due to its lack of holiness, don’t think about it! If you know the Word well this should be obvious. If you don’t, you need to get back to the first word in this list as soon as possible: whatever is TRUE.