Judges 12:6
Then said they unto him, Say now Shibboleth: and he said Sibboleth: for he could not frame to pronounce it right. Then they took him, and slew him at the passages of Jordan: and there fell at that time of the Ephraimites forty and two thousand.
The Shibboleth is a plain test that marks out a clearly defined position on God's side. To give that plain Shibboleth is to stand without wavering on the platform of truth. It is to hold the banner of truth firmly aloft, so that no one can fail to see on which side one stands.
Giving it requires a pure and holy heart, free from pretense and deception. It requires knowing the meaning of godly ministry, discerning between righteousness and unrighteousness and between truth and error, and serving God with all the powers of body, mind, and soul as a faithful sentinel standing firm for the right in time of peril. Those who cannot give it are halfhearted and halfconverted, whose reasoning leads minds into confusion despite great light and many opportunities, and God cannot accept them whatever their profession may be.