The Diligence of Self Study

What is the Purpose of the Church?

Well good morning everyone and welcome to Burr Oak. For those visiting for the first time or viewing this online I am Pastor Ben and it is my humbled joy to be able to share God’s word with you today. Well last week we took a break from our current series to celebrate communion together and I so greatly appreciate the message that Pastor Dick brought regarding discipleship. He brought up a great point on the cost to discipleship. A point that maybe many of us who have been part of the church for a long time have simply forgotten or maybe even purposefully overlook. The fact that the cost of discipleship is extremely steep costing you everything you have. And once you have given that, you can then also expect to go through persecution and suffering.

We discussed that topic a little at our Sunday night group meeting. We know that the Scriptures talk about suffering and persecution but what should be the Christian’s perspective to it? Should we simply embrace it when it comes, which in turns correlates to doing everything we can to prevent it from coming. Or should we embrace it as a reality and therefore find reason to rejoice and be embolden to spread the Gospel message? As we grow in our faith in Christ this is one of the many questions we need to ask ourselves.

And this is why it is important for us to know our Bibles and know the purpose of the church. Which we are going to pick back up today with. But before we go any further let us have our minds brought to attention with our focus verse.

Ephesians 4:15–16 ESV

Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

Please pray with me.

Father, we thank you for this day. For the ability to gather together as your people, to grow and learn about your love for us and what you have called us to do. Lord may you bless this message and our gathering here today.

In Jesus name we pray, amen.

Well if you remember two weeks ago we began to lay the foundation for the second purpose of the church. Which what are the three purposes? To exalt God, to edify the saints, and to evangelize the lost. We are now looking to the second purpose, the edification of the saints. Over the next few weeks we are going to be digging down into this purpose, but two weeks ago we laid a foundation by establishing a couple things. First we established a definition for edification. We defined edification as that which inspires and equips the believer to continue in their walk with Jesus.

Edification - The process of being inspired and equipped to continue in one’s walk with Jesus.

We also established that edification happens really within the context of the corporate meeting by each of us coming together with the gifts each of us have been given by the Spirit. That there is not to be any division in classes. That while there are spiritual offices given by Christ, that those who fill those offices are not at some advanced spiritual level over everyone else. No it is in unity as a whole that we edify each other. Which corresponded directly with the purpose for corporate worship; to grow in oneness.

The final thing that we established is that edification helps us to grow in discernment. This serves to keep us from getting tossed to and fro by the waves, or swayed by any wind of doctrine that may come about. Which leads us into our message for today.

The title for our message today is The Diligence of Self Study: The Path to Personal Edification and we are looking to Acts chapter 17 verse 10-15. If you brought your own Bible or want to follow along on your device please turn there now. If you are using the blue Pew Bible it is on page 1026. Or you can follow along on the screen.

Let us hear the word of the Lord.

Acts 17:10–15 ESV

The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived they went into the Jewish synagogue. Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so. Many of them therefore believed, with not a few Greek women of high standing as well as men. But when the Jews from Thessalonica learned that the word of God was proclaimed by Paul at Berea also, they came there too, agitating and stirring up the crowds. Then the brothers immediately sent Paul off on his way to the sea, but Silas and Timothy remained there. Those who conducted Paul brought him as far as Athens, and after receiving a command for Silas and Timothy to come to him as soon as possible, they departed.

May the Lord bless the reading of his word.

Many of us are familiar with the term or phrase, “Be a Berean.” It is the idea that we are to study the Scriptures for ourselves to see if what we have been told holds true to the counsel of the word of God. As Alastair Roberts comments,

“Many of us grew up being exhorted to be “Berean Christians,” meaning we were encouraged to go back home and study our personal Bibles to see if our pastors’ teaching was accurate. While there is doubtless merit in this practice, it’s exceedingly unlikely that this is what the Bereans were doing.” Alastair Roberts The Gospel Coalition Reading Scripture ‘Like a Berean’ May Look Different Than You Think

So how do we understand this term Berean and how does it relate to personal edification? As we approach our passage for today we are going to see three biblical truths presented regarding edification. These will be seen through The Character of the Bereans, The Conduct of the Bereans, and The Care for Paul.

The Character of the Bereans

As we approach this section we need to see that it is directly related to the passage before it. In verses 1-9 we are told of Paul’s time in Thessalonica. Paul and Silas spent about a month in Thessalonica where they had gone into the Synagogue for three Sabbaths to reason with the Jews there. While there were some that came to faith, the welcoming was not very warm. Paul and his crew were snuck out under the cover of night, because a mob had broke out in the city, rioting trying to find them. Instead of finding Paul and crew, a man name Jason was drug from his home and ordered to pay a fine before being released. With this in mind let’s look to the first two verse of our passage for today.

Acts 17:10–11 ESV

The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived they went into the Jewish synagogue. Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.

As we begin this section we need to understand that there is a significance to them being sent to Berea. Up to this point in Paul’s mission trip, he had been stopping in the cities located along the Egnatian Way. This was the major east to west roadway through the First Century European world. Paul had not strayed from this path. Berea was not located on the Egnatian Way. It was located approximately 60 miles south of Thessalonica and while Berea had a decent population, it was more or less in the middle of nowhere.

Now this group that Paul is leading was traveling light and by foot. The trek from Thessalonica to Berea would have taken about 3 days time. I want you to consider that for a moment. Consider having to travel so light because at any moments notice you are having to pack up and leave under threat of life. You are probably hungry, thirsty, leaving at night means you are probably not well rested, and you are going to go walk for the next three days, covering 60 miles. Now for some of us that may be even to grand for us to imagine. I have a good friend who is getting ready to leave on an adventure of a life time. In the next couple weeks he will begin a thru hike of the Appalachian Trail. Total distance will be roughly 2200 miles and he plans for it to take him 6 months. Now my friend is a seasoned hiker who averages 20-22 miles a day while hiking. Now me, I am about wiped out if I do much more than 8 miles at Chain of Lakes.

Now while this was a normal way of life in the first century, to have to start by traveling at night and the under the threat of death would have added stress to Paul and his companions. But what do they do? As they had always done, they went to the local synagogue and presented their teaching. And this is where we become introduced to the Bereans. Our passage says that they were more noble than the Jews in Thessalonica. To understand the significance of this we need to look back and see how the Jews in Thessalonica were described. It is back just a few verses.

Acts 17:5 ESV

But the Jews were jealous, and taking some wicked men of the rabble, they formed a mob, set the city in an uproar, and attacked the house of Jason, seeking to bring them out to the crowd.

When we look at this verse and we consider the word jealousy what we are pointed towards is that this type of jealousy is that of a negative kind. In fact another Bible story that is used to help us understand this word is that of Joseph being sold in to slavery by his brothers in Genesis. If you remember the selling into slavery was the compromise. The initial reaction to the jealous feeling was to murder him. See there is one type of positive jealousy that seeks to protect. Then there is this kind where it seeks to destroy, where it seeks to kill. The Jews in Thessalonica had a murderous jealousy. The type that turned their city upside down. But why? Why did this jealousy exist? Marshal states,

Acts: An Introduction and Commentary e. Thessalonica and Beroea (17:1–15)

Paul’s successful drawing away of the Gentiles roused the envy of the Jews. The Gentiles were potential converts to Judaism, but Paul had proved more effective than the synagogue in persuading them to take the step of full commitment. Many Gentiles who were attracted by the more spiritual aspects of Judaism were unwilling to take the step of circumcision and were content to remain as God-fearers.

See the Christ based message did away with the separation of Jews and Greek. There was no longer a distinction between the two. Those who were devote Jews seen as being spiritually and morally superior, now were losing their status as in Christ all are equal. See this idea of separation of classes within the church should not exist. In Christ we are one. If you struggle with feeling inadequate, quit looking at yourself and start looking at Christ and what he has done. If you are looking down on others. If you view yourself as having it more together than others within the church. Remember how far fallen you are and your need for Jesus. We can differ in maturity and giftedness, but we never differ in value. Whether you have been walking with Jesus for 5 minutes or for 50 years, your value to him is the same.

And this is where we see the difference with the Jews in Berea. Our passage today say they were more noble.

Acts 17:11 ESV

Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.

Now the word here used for noble means one that is born of nobility. Which if you consider what we just said regarding separation in the church, it can make us stop and wonder why Paul is now talking about class separation. But he’s not. Paul is using a word with a dual meaning. While in one sense this could be understood to be a mark against the Thessalonica Jews, that the Bereans’ are of a more noble class then they are, what is really being referenced here is the nobility came through the fact that they were humble enough to be open-minded to what Paul had to say. That is the marked difference. The Thessalonica Jews were arrogant, filled with blinding pride that sought the destruction of Paul and his group. The Berean Jews humbly took them in and heard what they had to present.

Yet, while they were humble enough to listen, they did not blindly accept. This brings us to our next point.

The Conduct of the Bereans

It is the conduct of the Bereans that has caused their reputation to be one that has carried on for nearly two millennia. The idea of fervent study of the Scriptures to test what you have been taught. Let’s look to our passage for today.

Acts 17:11–12 ESV

Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so. Many of them therefore believed, with not a few Greek women of high standing as well as men.

Let’s break this down a little bit so we can best understand what it means to be a Berean. First was the character of nobility. This is what we just looked at. The character of a nobility-mindedness which manifests itself in the form of humility to be able to receive the teaching. When God’s word is presented to you, you need to be humble.

If you are coming to this with the mindset, that you already know this, or this does not apply to you, or there is no way that this could be true, or you deem the one presenting as being inadequate to teach for whatever reason, you are sitting in a bad spot. You have a hardness already in your heart, that will block the Spirit from being able to move.

The next thing we need to see is what they did with this message. First they eagerly recieved it. But this zeal they had for this message was not in a blind acceptance. The zeal was connected to seeing if this message was true. The second thing they did was they weighed this message according to what the Scriptures said. And this zeal that they had was not contained to just the regular weekly meeting. The Bereans were so eager to understand this message they set to examining it, to testing it, everyday.

Now there are a few thing we need to understand from this verse. First, is the priority we should make of understanding God’s word. There are many that believe the idea of seeking out the Scriptures to test something is to simply prove wrong the person who presented it. I want you to ask yourself, if you are or ever have sought out the Scriptures on a particular point just to prove someone wrong, what was your motive for doing that?

The Bereans did not eagerly set about this to try and prove Paul wrong, but rather to see if the message he brought weighed up against the Scriptures. And this is significant. It is significant because Paul’s argument to the Bereans was coming from a similar point of Authority. Both Paul and the Bereans held that the Scriptures were God’s word and had authority over them. There are a couple things we can learn from this one for edification and one for evangelism.

For edification what we need to understand is that the Bereans were weighing what would be considered a fundamental issue. They were weighing the fact that the Scriptures support that Jesus Christ was the long await Messiah. This is a fundamental issue. And the Bereans were seeking to see if this was the testimony of what would be our Old Testament. What we need to understand is that this testing was not over some secondary or lesser issue to try and prove that someone’s opinion is wrong.

Those doctrines and theological understandings that we have the liberty to disagree on because we all only know in part. You know the things that many churches split over. The Bereans were weighing the teaching of a fundamental understanding. I am not saying do not weigh the teaching of these lesser doctrinal issues, what I am saying is question your motive. Do you want to understand, or do you want to prove wrong?

While the topic of evangelism is still a few weeks away, we need to look at this issue of authority. Paul could argue from the point of the authority of Scripture because it was a shared point amongst both groups. What this means for us is that when evangelizing others we need to understand this aspect of authority. If someone does not share the same point of authority then your arguments will not be affective. If you are talking to someone and trying to present the Gospel, and you keep saying, “the Bible says this, or the Bibles says that” and they response is that they do not care, it is because they do not accept the authority of the Bible. To witness this way often times will be futile.

For most people, regardless of what they believe, a common or shared authority is life experience. For the believer the Bible frames how we understand our life experiences and how we respond to them. But we still have this shared authority. Beginning by relating to those around us through our experiences till they question how we have handled, or why we may have prospered through trying times. When they get to the point of this question, then the opening for the Authority of Scripture can enter.

Coming back to our passage, we see the outcome of this fervent examination of the Scriptures. It led to the believing by both Jews and Gentiles. Both men and women. Because see, while Paul had a habit of starting with those that had a shared point of interest, this message was for everyone. No group was excluded. Jew, Gentile, men, women, slave, or free, the message of salvation through Jesus is for everyone. No one is too far gone from God in this life to not receive his grace and mercy.

And that power unites us. That power causes us to grow in understanding and humility. It causes us to become less defensive, it causes us to become less worrisome, it causes us to become less anxious, it causes us to become less fearful, it causes us to become less arrogant. When we taste that grace and mercy, it awakens something in us. Something that we may have known we were missing. It gives us this sense of belonging like we have never had. It causes us to look at life radically different. The unfortunate thing is that as time goes by we tend to bury that spark that was lit inside. We tend to dial it back and hide it. All along our Lord is beckoning to us for it to be revived. When that flame of Christ burns deep within us we operate differently.

This brings us to our last point.

The Care for Paul

Jealousy is a very powerful emotion. Another word for jealousy is envy. Merriam Webster defines envy as,

Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary (Eleventh Edition) Envy

1: painful or resentful awareness of an advantage enjoyed by another joined with a desire to possess the same advantage

We have already discussed how this was what was going on in the hearts of the Jews at Thessalonica. Yet, this murderous envy that consumed them was not satisfied in just running Paul and crew from their town. Let’s look to the remainder of our passage.

Acts 17:13–15 ESV

But when the Jews from Thessalonica learned that the word of God was proclaimed by Paul at Berea also, they came there too, agitating and stirring up the crowds. Then the brothers immediately sent Paul off on his way to the sea, but Silas and Timothy remained there. Those who conducted Paul brought him as far as Athens, and after receiving a command for Silas and Timothy to come to him as soon as possible, they departed.

The Bereans had welcomed Paul in. Many had come to believe in Christ through Paul’s teaching. We do not know how long Paul was in Berea, but in that duration of that time a relationship was built. The extant of that relationship was that when Paul needed to leave Silas and Timothy stayed behind and some of the now Berean believers traveled with Paul to Athens. They then carried back the message to Silas and Timothy to catch up to Paul.

To fully understand the principles that are presented in these verses we need to see the context of all that has happened to this point. When looking at these verses there are two primary principles that we need to see. How we respond when life gets disrupted, and the edification and reprieve that we receive when gathered with the brethren.

The Jews in Thessalonica had their lives disrupted. The cultural systems that they had in place were turned upside down when Paul came in preaching Christ. The first thing we need to understand is that when Jesus is coming after us to call us closer to him he will disrupt your life. He will turn it upside down, he will expose ever little secret that you have. And he does this because he his protectively jealous of you. He wants every aspect of you for himself. He will not allow any part to remained own by any other thing. This was the whole of the last study we went through, Gospel Treason. For your life to be disrupted by Jesus is a grace from God. Yes, it may be hard to go through at the time. But what occurs on the other side is a beautiful resting in who Jesus is.

Paul understood this as this is what happened to him on the Damascus Road. His whole life was turned upside down. Some of you here know what this is like. Some of you have had to have these shaking happen a couple times because after the initial one this idea of behavioral-ism, perfectionism, and legalism, crept in and instead of remaining in the light by the confession of your sins, you attempted to hide them in the dark, hoping to keep the presence up that you had it all together. Jesus will not accept that. He is jealous for you. He is protective of you in that he will not let anything stand between you and him.

And yet we have a choice to how we respond to these shakings. We can see them for what they are and rejoice and glorify our God, or we can respond with murderous jealousy, envy, or malice. When we look at our passage for today this is what we see of the Jews in Thessalonica. They were so filled with rage at this disruption that they rioted within their city and then spread it to Berea as well.

Family, it does not take much thought to realize that this still happens today. All you have to do is turn on the news. When we see or read these stories many of us are filled with strong emotions. We have our own thoughts and opinions on these situations and what the correct counter-action should be. But how many of us when these emotions rise turn to the Scriptures for direction for guidance in how to handle and deal with the times we live in.

Maybe we would come to the passage we have for today. We would see this mob mentality that has raised up that is causing destruction. And we would be like yes, yes that is what is going on here, but what is the answer? What is the answer? What does the Scriptures say? I can tell you what it doesn’t say. It doesn’t say that Paul and the other believers raised up a counter protest. It does not say that he met force with force. So what does it say?

If you read this and believe the answer is that Paul ran away you are reading this wrong. Paul continued on his mission. See Paul’s mission was not political reform. It was to give hope to the hopeless. It was to help set the captives free, one person at time. It was to preach Christ and Christ crucified. The answer for us is to maintain on mission. To exalt God, to edify the saints, to evangelize the lost.

The goal of Jesus was never to reform a nation, it was to go to the ends of the earth setting the captives free. If a nation was reformed in the process then praise God. Family, understand me, I love this country. I still believe that it is the greatest in the world. I am entirely blessed to have been born here rather than anywhere else. Yet, as Christians, we need to have our eyes less on the American flag and more on the cross of Christ.

You want to know what to do in these times that we live. Look to the Scriptures, they will tell you. But it will probably not be the answer you are hoping for. Can this seem daunting, absolutely. Would it be easier if reform came from the top down, maybe. But what we need to understand is that our Lord has not left us alone here amidst all this.

Paul escaping the violent mobs of Thessalonica found an unexpected reprieve in Berea. The welcoming and response that Paul and them experienced in Berea was not common. It was not the norm. The ability to be heard. The ability to study the Scriptures daily to draw people closer to God. This was not something Paul normally experienced. But this became a point of edification for Paul. While it is not stated in the Scriptures we can see from what continue to take place that there was an inspiration and equipping that took place. Let’s look to verse 16 and 17

Acts 17:16–17 ESV

Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him as he saw that the city was full of idols. So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons, and in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be there.

Paul is by himself in Athens. Silas and Timothy have not caught up to him yet. And what does Paul do. On his own he goes about tell people about God. From the Jews and the God-Fearers, to anyone who would listen. We all understand that courage easily comes in numbers. Yet, here is Paul by himself faithfully proclaiming the word of God. This is what edification of the saints does for us. It helps us to grow in oneness. It helps us to become discerning. But it becomes a fuel tank of encouragement to be able to go out of these doors and faithfully live out and share our faith with those that will listen.

So what does it mean to be a Berean? A Berean is a person that has a humility about them where they will listen, they will then weigh against God’s word, making it a priority to study, who will then inspire and equip others to continue on their mission. It is not someone who seeks out God’s word as evidence to prove their point or to prove others are wrong. There is an idea that being a Berean manifests itself solely through self study. And while that may be an element of it. The full fruition comes through us being connected together.

Closing

In closing there are just a few comments I would like to make. There is something special that is to take place when the Church gathers together. It should be a small taste of heaven we we are gathered with saints from every tribe, tongue, and nation. We ought to be in firm agreement on the fundamentals and loving in our differences on everything else. If on these secondary things you find you struggle too much with. That these differences actually cause so much anguish in you that it disrupts your participation in worship, I would first ask you to question why. Why does this cause you so much anguish, what is a t the root of that? If after working through that you still struggle, that is okay. Maybe this is not the church for you. That is okay really. You are still loved and cared for. Right now we all see only partially. But a glorious day is coming when we will see fully. When we will know fully for we will be fully known. If your hope is in that day then rejoice brother and sister for it will be wonderful.

If your hope is not in Christ and his return, I would encourage you to consider as to why not. What are your hesitations? And if you would like to talk through these I would be more than happy to schedule a time to sit and talk with you.

END IN PRAYER