The Noble Bereans - Acts 17:10-12
Notes
Transcript
Paul and Silas go back to the synagogue
Paul and Silas go back to the synagogue
Despite being forced out of yet another synagogue, most recently the one in Thessalonica, Paul and Silas immediately return to the synagogue, this time in Berea. Once again, like many times before, they open the Scriptures and teach from them about the Messiah who had come, Jesus of Nazareth.
Search the Scriptures
2 Timothy 3:15 “and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.”
some have heard the scriptures all of your life
others may be new to not only the faith, but the knowledge of Jesus
all should diligently search the Scriptures
1 John 4:1 “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.”
it will keep us from falling into the traps of false teaching
it will help us to navigate the darkness of this world
D.L. Moody said we should search the scriptures to make sure our prayers are in line with scripture
We must have a warrant for our prayers. If we have some great desire, we must search the Scriptures to find if it be right to ask it.
D. L. Moody
Prevailing Prayer: What Hinders It? (1884)
Dwight Lyman Moody (Evangelist)
Never take someone else’s word for granted, no matter how much you trust them!
As an aside, no music is more sweet to a gospel preacher than the rustle of Bible pages in the congregation. Many times when I have been in the pulpit and I have read a passage of Scripture, nobody has followed me to see if I was quoting correctly. I strongly urge you to take your Bibles with you when you go to church. What is the best way of hearing the Word? Is it not to search and see whether what the preacher says is really according to the Word of God? Thus, I entreat you to search the Scriptures to see if what is being taught to you is true.
Charles Spurgeon
Believe the Scriptures
James 1:22 “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.”
simply knowing what the Scriptures say isn’t enough — we must believe it and obey it
many hear the word, and understand what it means, but ignore its instruction, warning, guidance, and command and then wonder why they cannot get along in life
Immature people talk about their beliefs, but the mature person lives his faith. Hearing God’s Word (James 1:22–25) and talking about God’s Word can never substitute for doing God’s Word. Warren W. Wiersbe
The Scriptures have never erred.
Martin Luther (Founder of the German Reformation)
These Bereans were noble in their diligence and persistence in searching the Scriptures. Paul never had to write them a letter chiding them for being swayed by false doctrines. Paul wrote letters to 7 churches in an attempt to correct false teachings and/or understandings of doctrine, but not to the Bereans. Was this because they were more intelligent, or better-equipped, or somehow more favored by God?
No! But by their actions it was revealed they were more noble at heart than the Thessalonians, and let’s be honest, more than most Americans.
From this it is undeniable, (1) that the people, no less than the ministers of the Church, are entitled and bound to search the Scriptures; (2) that they are entitled and bound to judge, on their own responsibility, whether the teaching they receive from the ministers of the Church is according to the word of God; (3) that no faith but such as results from personal conviction ought to be demanded, or is of any avail.
Every single false doctrine and so-called “Christian” cult has arisen from false teachers coming up through the orthodox faith and then twisting Scripture to further the enemy’s agenda.
Satan is the master deceiver, and he is fond of using the illusion of truth to distort the truth.
After Jesus was baptized, the Holy Spirit took Him to the Wilderness to be tempted. There, Satan tempted Jesus and he threw his best weapons at Him. First, he appealed to Jesus’ physical weakness: hunger. “Command these stones to be turned to bread.” He was banking on Jesus’ weakness turning to capitulation. When that did not work, Satan took on the role of a false teacher. He tempted Jesus to jump off the pinnacle of the temple, and then cited Scripture to justify it.
For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways. On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.
See what Satan did here? He took two verses out of context and attempted to use it to tempt Jesus to tempt fate.
Is this much different than those who take verses out of context to create entire doctrines, practices, and even denominations?
Serpents: Mark 16:18 “they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.”
some people take this one verse and use it very unwisely and unfaithfully
this is not a license to bring rattlesnakes into church gatherings in order to demonstrate our faith
Sinlessness of Mary: Luke 1:28 “And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.
some take this verse and have built an entire dogma around it (dogma means if you don’t believe it, you are out of the church)
nothing about this verse (or any others) implies, let alone insists, that Mary was sinless, a perpetual virgin, or was assumed into Heaven
in a shocking turn of events, the Vatican just last week issued a statement by Pope Leo that the title and role of “co-redemptrix” is not appropriate because Jesus alone is responsible for our salvation
how many people have been excommunicated, persecuted, and martyred for saying this very thing over the last 1500 years??
I think the Church is currently still reforming - semper reformanda- one Catholic at a time
we could do this all day — 1500 years of misapplying Scripture has led to many false doctrines
Day-Age Theory: 2 Peter 3:8 “But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.”
this verse is used to suggest that the 6 days of Creation that we find in the first chapter of Genesis could actually be 6,000 years
it’s also often talked about in the context of Revelation 20, where the “millenium” is mentioned 5 times. This is taken to be a literal 1,000 year reign of Jesus physically on earth
Consider this: Psalm 50:10 “For every beast of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills.”
this does not mean that God does not own the cattle on the 1,001st hill
the word “thousand” is used to signify a very large number, perhaps innumerable
These are just a few examples of the dangers we open ourselves up to if we do not diligently search the Scriptures.
The Lord has very graciously given us many gifts to help us in our growth.
pastors
teachers
elders
commentators
professors
Scripture itself
the Holy Spirit
The Bereans received the Word with eagerness. They also took Paul seriously, but they did not take Paul at face-value. Paul and Silas could have come bearing a false gospel, and all of those Jews and Gentiles who had previously believed would have been led astray, and all of those who beat, imprisoned, and banished them would have been the heroes. But they were telling the truth, of course, and the Bereans did not take them for granted. They were noble-hearted and said, “Let us look at the Scriptures and compare them to the “facts” and “fulfillment” that are being presented to us and see if they corroborate each other. In finding that the claims of Paul and Silas were truthful, many of them believed, and along with them, not a few of the Greek men and women.
