The Bereans
When the Apostle Paul taught at Berea in Acts 17 a group of people did not simply listen and take his word for it. They did not follow without thought, nor without checking his words, teachings & doctrine against the Scriptures.
Here's what verse 11 says:
" These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so."
They were eager & ready to listen to what Paul had to say, yet this group of people knew that anyone who comes 'proclaiming the Word of God' must fall in line & under what Scripture says. And they would not follow blindly, without first checking out what this preacher said.
The Examples
In reading this I thought about how this is a great example to us about how we listen to preachers, pastors, ministers or anyone else who would minister to us concerning the things of God.
-When someone is preaching or teaching the Word of God we find an example of how we ought to listen; with readiness or eagerness over the message they are bringing to us.
-When someone speaks we should assess their words with Scripture. So rather than simply taking their word for how we, for example, come to God, should live, should give, should worship etc. We should check that what they said is rooted from & in line with the Bible.
Any message that is not Biblical or indeed may contradict Scripture is not one that we need to worry about or concern ourselves with.
-As these people were studying, 'searching' through the Scriptures daily, so we find an example that would be helpful and a blessing upon our own lives; an example of 'daily Bible study'.
1 One useful thing about study of the Bible is that the more we study & familiarize ourselves with it, then the easier we can assess & practice discernment concerning those messages we hear from others according to it.
[I have known some Christians who I thought had the gift of discernment, but who would claim that their discernment is only as a result of knowing the Bible through study].
2 The 'searching' or 'examined' we read about here is from 'anakrino' which was often used of a judicial investigation. This was not a simple cursory read or light glance, it was indepth study.
[Thus we find an example that is more than a devotional thought for the day, (which is indeed great if used as a supplement to daily study), but an example of daily study.]
-After listening to them & checking the Scriptures to see if they are speaking a true message from God we must respond. In this passage the Bereans found that Paul's words were indeed rooted & in line with scripture and they responded appropriately "Therefore many of them believed".
When the Apostle Paul taught at Berea in Acts 17 a group of people did not simply listen and take his word for it. They did not follow without thought, nor without checking his words, teachings & doctrine against the Scriptures.
Here's what verse 11 says:
" These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so."
They were eager & ready to listen to what Paul had to say, yet this group of people knew that anyone who comes 'proclaiming the Word of God' must fall in line & under what Scripture says. And they would not follow blindly, without first checking out what this preacher said.
The Examples
In reading this I thought about how this is a great example to us about how we listen to preachers, pastors, ministers or anyone else who would minister to us concerning the things of God.
-When someone is preaching or teaching the Word of God we find an example of how we ought to listen; with readiness or eagerness over the message they are bringing to us.
-When someone speaks we should assess their words with Scripture. So rather than simply taking their word for how we, for example, come to God, should live, should give, should worship etc. We should check that what they said is rooted from & in line with the Bible.
Any message that is not Biblical or indeed may contradict Scripture is not one that we need to worry about or concern ourselves with.
-As these people were studying, 'searching' through the Scriptures daily, so we find an example that would be helpful and a blessing upon our own lives; an example of 'daily Bible study'.
1 One useful thing about study of the Bible is that the more we study & familiarize ourselves with it, then the easier we can assess & practice discernment concerning those messages we hear from others according to it.
[I have known some Christians who I thought had the gift of discernment, but who would claim that their discernment is only as a result of knowing the Bible through study].
2 The 'searching' or 'examined' we read about here is from 'anakrino' which was often used of a judicial investigation. This was not a simple cursory read or light glance, it was indepth study.
[Thus we find an example that is more than a devotional thought for the day, (which is indeed great if used as a supplement to daily study), but an example of daily study.]
-After listening to them & checking the Scriptures to see if they are speaking a true message from God we must respond. In this passage the Bereans found that Paul's words were indeed rooted & in line with scripture and they responded appropriately "Therefore many of them believed".
