They Searched the Scriptures Daily

Acts 17 ESV

1 Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. 2 And Paul went in, as was his custom, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, 3 explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ.” 4 And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a great many of the devout Greeks and not a few of the leading women. 5 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. 6 And when they could not find them, they dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the city authorities, shouting, “These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also, 7 and Jason has received them, and they are all acting against the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus.” 8 And the people and the city authorities were disturbed when they heard these things. 9 And when they had taken money as security from Jason and the rest, they let them go. 10 The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived they went into the Jewish synagogue. 11 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. 12 Many of them therefore believed, with not a few Greek women of high standing as well as men. 13 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. 14 Then the brothers immediately sent Paul off on his way to the sea, but Silas and Timothy remained there. 15 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. 16 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. 17 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. 18 Some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also conversed with him. And some said, “What does this babbler wish to say?” Others said, “He seems to be a preacher of foreign divinities”—because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection. 19 And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? 20 For you bring some strange things to our ears. We wish to know therefore what these things mean.” 21 Now all the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there would spend their time in nothing except telling or hearing something new. 22 So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said: “Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. 23 For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: ‘To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. 24 The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, 25 nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. 26 And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, 27 that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, 28 for “ ‘In him we live and move and have our being’; as even some of your own poets have said, “ ‘For we are indeed his offspring.’ 29 Being then God’s offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man. 30 The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, 31 because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.” 32 Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked. But others said, “We will hear you again about this.” 33 So Paul went out from their midst. 34 But some men joined him and believed, among whom also were Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris and others with them.

I’m always struck by how people respond when hearing the Gospel for the first time

How many have seen the film “Ee-taow”

The story of Mark and Gloria Zook from Belleville, PA who went to Papua Indonesia to work among the Mouk people

a people who knew nothing of the Gospel

And they began teaching them, laying a foundation of who God is, who satan is,

They worked through the OT stories of Creation, the Fall of man, the

God’s mercy, the sacrifices, the inability of man to keep God’s law

And finally God’s plan being fulfilled in Jesus

His birth

His life and ministry

His death and resurrection

And when they reach the end, the people

Said, “Ee taow!” It’s true!

And they believed the Gospel with joy!

Here in this chapter, we see different responses to the Gospel

In Thessalonica

One thing that you notice in Paul’s ministry—when he went to a new city, he would find the synagogue and make a beeline for it

Because this was where things happened

This is where the men of the Jewish community met to discuss religion. And that translated in to how they lived as a people

So that is where Paul would usually start, if he could

But he never knew how the message of the Kingdom of God would be received

Usually, people were very polarized—they accepted or did not accept

And that’s the way it was here in Thesslaonica

The Gentiles

in verse 4, a great many devout Greeks were persuaded to “join Paul and Silas”.

What does it mean that they were persuaded to join?

Did they become followers of Jesus? I don’t know for sure

But they were at least persuaded to give them a second chance and hear more

“Not a few leading women”

The Jews

Some of the Jews, thankfully, were also persuaded by what Paul shared

But others “reacted”.

They were not happy by the attention that Paul and Silas were receiving

They formed a mob (verse 5) and this guy, Jason, gets caught up in it, because apparently that is where Paul and Silas were staying

And they dragged Jason and some of the other Believers in front of the city council accusing them of inciting unrest

You know, this happened not only here but also in Ephesus. There was a huge riot there, too

And what was the problem? They were not happy about the message

And what was the message?

We read over and over again that when the apostles taught, they proclaimed the Kingdom of God

And when you think about it, that is a message that will get people upset

You know, I’ve said this before

Sometimes we boil the Gospel down to “You need to ask Jesus into your heart so that you can go to heaven when you die”

That isn’t a message that is going to threaten anyone, really.

That’s a very personal message. If you want to believe that, that’s OK

But if we come proclaiming that Jesus is King and the Kingdom of God is here and spreading throughout all the world, as Jesus taught that it would

That suddenly becomes very threatening to authorities and rulers and those who are concerned with control and power, doesn’t it?

And that was the problem of these Jews

And so they became very outraged

That was their response

In Athens

The Greeks there in Athens were very proud of their “philosophic” tradition

They didn’t react against things like the Jews did

But neither did they readily accept new ideas

Because in their minds, their ideas were so well thought out

So, when Paul shows up, they are kind of like, “What’s this guy babbling on about”

It seems like he is saying something about a new god

going on about something called the resurrection

They are quite skeptical

But they tell Paul, “Hey, we’ll give you some time. Let’s hear what you have to say

And so Paul makes his famous presentation and introduces them to “the unknown god” which is, in fact, the One True God

And their response was mixed.

Some of them mocked Paul

But some of them said, “Hmm, we would like to hear more about this”

In Berea (these are the ones that capture my attention)

Paul arrives in Berea and does exactly what he did in Thessalonica

He goes into the synagogue and begins teaching

And these Jews have a very different response

They don’t get all hot and bothered like the Jews in Thessalonica

They aren’t “coldly analytical” like the Greeks in Athens

instead, they receive the word with ALL eagerness

It says of these Jews that they were “more noble” than the Jews in Thessalonica

This word could be talking about their birth—they were born into the upper class of society

But from how it describes them, I think it talks about their character

Doubtless, they were Jewish to the core,

They had grown up in the synagogue, being thoroughly indoctrinated in Jewish law and religious teaching

They were Jews first and foremost

But they weren’t threatened when someone came in with different ideas

Instead, they came to the meetings, armed with their Bibles in their hands (as it were)

And they said, “hey, lay it on us. Give us what you’ve got. but you’ve gotta know. We’ve got our Scriptures in hand, and if you mislead us, we are set to prove you a liar. Or, if you are telling us the truth, we are ready to find that out too, even if it means that we have to change the way that we have always believed and practiced

Even if it changes how we understand God and His plans and purpose for this world

We are going to search the Scriptures daily and find out if what you are saying is true

I see in them a calm and peaceful demeanor, because they knew how to use their Scriptures

They were calm and peaceful because they were sure that the God of the Scripture could be trusted and that His Word could be trusted

They were of noble character

Us at Fairview—what about us today

You know, the more that I think about these Bereans, the more challenged I am

You know there are a lot of challenges facing Believers today. A lot of messages being thrown at us

We get messages thrown at us over the internet: social media, news media. These things come thick and fast

IN churches all over the country, people flock to hear charismatic leaders. And they sit and soak up whatever these guys have to say

And there are a lot of different responses that you see

And people are confused about their direction in life

They are confused about who Jesus is

They’re confused about what their priorities in life should be

Or people are reactionary and volatile

People are restless and angry about what is happening around us

Even in the church, people can seem confused and angry

We don’t like what is happening politically, socially,

The preacher isn’t preaching what we like

Or some people just “check out altogether”

Some people just cease to care about these things all together because it’s just too much to think about

And as I see it, none of these responses are desirable. None of these responses seem to be the way that God’s people should act

As we face a world of many messages and much confusion, I believe that we need more Bereans

we need more Bereans in this country

We need more Bereans in the church

People who search the Scriptures daily to find out if what we are being told is true

Unfortunately, according to statistics, only about 30% of adults who are active in church are engaged with their Scriptures on a daily basis!

I heard someone say the other day, “I just don’t know what to believe anymore”

And that’s true. By and large you don’t know what to Believe

That’s why we need Bereans who are willing to serve the Scriptures daily to see if what we are hearing is true

whether it’s in the news or in church

And you can look at me and say, “Hey, you are the preacher. that’s your job”

And I’ll do my best, but I will respond to you, that this is ALL of our jobs

Don’t wait for me to feed you

You be students of the Word. You examine the Scriptures daily, diligently, to see if what you hear is true!

And if you examine the Scripture and find out that what I say isn’t true, then you need to tell me. I need to know!

But my encouragement to you today is, BE STUDENTS OF THE WORD. Be Bereans

Open your Bible often, daily

It takes discipline, doesn’t it

Believe me, i know. It can be hard!

But do your best to be diligent in this

Not because God will be unhappy with you if you don’t

But because He has preserved His Word for us for our benefit

2 Tim 3 Paul tells Timothy that the Scriptures are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ

And he goes on to say that Scripture is “breathed out” or it comes out from the mouth of God and is profitable for us

For teaching or for doctrine

To learn what is right

To recognize falsehood

Learning how to think correctly

For rebuke and reproof

this is humbling!

To have the Word rebuke you

But I hope we all know that feeling

To be instructed in righteousness

not that our righteousness before God comes from reading the Bible

But righteous living does

Jesus said, if you hear my words and obey them you are going to build your house, your life on a foundation that is firm

So, open your Bibles daily because God has preserved these Scriptures for your benefit and instruction

Seek to read with understanding

Seek to understand what the scripture is truly saying

Check your agenda at the door when you open your Bible

Oh, it’s John 3 again. I already know how this passage goes

Seek to read with fresh eyes, even if it is something that you have read 100 times before

Trust that God will help you to understand what you are reading

Take a moment and ask the Holy Spirit to help you understand

Jesus told His disciples that He would send the Holy Spirit and He would guide them into all truth

He will reveal to you what He wants you to know

There are times when Scripture is hard to understand, that is true

But you know, thanks to technology, there are many different tools that are easy to use to help you in your study of Scripture

www.biblegateway.com

www.blueletterbible.com

www.biblestudytools.com

All of these sit

Seek to have Jesus revealed to you in Scripture

This is so important

Jesus was clear that the Scripture is about Him

Speaking to the religious leaders, he rebuked them

Because they sought the Scriptures

But they didn’t realize that the Scriptures were meant to reveal Jesus to them

And they did not come to Him for life

On the road to Emmaus

speaking to the two disciples

Jesus used ALL the law and prophets to show them what was supposed to happen to Him

Folks, the scripture is about Jesus

Find Him there. Learn to know Him

Hang on to His words. Be like the disciples who, when everyone else was fed up and abandoning Jesus, they said, “Lord, where else would we go? You have the words of life!”

And come to Him for life

And in all of this to be people of noble character, like the Bereans

IN a world where everyone is eithere

Outraged about something

depending 100% on human reasoning

Or people just don’t care

Let’s be People who live confidently, steadily and joyfully, searching the Scriptures daily with our trust

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They say,

Because I know my own heart, and I suspect that I’m not alone in what I deal with

I know that it’s possible to open my Scriptures with all kinds of wrong attitudes

Or I come to church hoping that the preacher will confirm Ideas that I already have and what I want to hang on to

Or, there’s the tendency that we have to come to church or listen to a preacher on TV or the radio and say, “well, he’s the preacher. He must know what he’s talking about.”

You know, I look around the scope of Christianity around the world, and there are a lot of preachers out there teaching things that just aren’t Scriptural

And people are coming to church week after week and sitting there just soaking it up

And I think, “Don’t they know the truth? Don’t they know that they are being misled?”