Are you one of those people who believes anything you hear or read? You might later find out that the information you were told was false. You were the victim of some scam, hoax, or lie. Maybe you are just the opposite. You are very skeptical of anything you are told, and instead of considering and looking into what you are told, you just toss it all out. You might miss out on some important or vital truth that way. The best course to follow is to carefully check out what you are told. That way you don’t accept a lie or toss out the truth. In our Scripture today we read about a group of people that God’s Word commends for doing just that.
As our Scripture passage opens, Paul was continuing his second missionary journey, which had taken him into Greece. The apostle had been witnessing and establishing a church in the city of Philippi, when he was arrested, beaten, and then run out of town. As Chapter 17 of Acts begins, Paul, Silas, and his companions arrive in the city of Thessalonica.
Paul had a certain pattern that he typically followed each time he came bringing the Gospel to a new city. After entering the city, he would search out if there was a Jewish synagogue. If there was, he and his companions would attend the Sabbath day services. As was typical in synagogues in Bible days, visitors were often invited to speak, read a portion of Scripture, and give commentary. Paul looked forward and counted on this custom, as this was an opening to select Scripture pertaining to the Messiah, and from there he would preach about Jesus. Paul followed this pattern of his in Thessalonica, and began to witness about Jesus being the Messiah (vs. 2-4).
As is the case whenever we bring the message of Jesus to a group, some might believe, and a lot will reject the Gospel. Here in Thessalonica, some believed Paul’s message, but many of the Jews in the synagogue rejected his words. Not only did this group reject the Gospel, they began to get violent, and started a riot (vs. 5-8). If the Jewish leaders had looked deep into the Word of God, they would have seen that Paul’s words matched what was said in the Bible, but they didn’t check it out. They couldn’t refute the theology of Paul‘s message, and instead they became jealous of the popularity of the message. They became so angry about Jesus who Paul preached, that they decided to cause a riot. Everywhere there are “religious” people who refuse the Light of the Gospel. Then they set about to stop the propagation of that Light. When they can’t stop the Light of Jesus with their arguments, they then often resort to stronger measures, as these men in Thessalonica did.
After a few short weeks, plus a lot of violence and a riot, Paul, Silas, and their companions were run out of town again. This time they traveled about 50 miles southwest of Thessalonica to the smaller city of Berea. Paul followed his pattern again, searching out a synagogue to visit (vs. 10). Rather than immediately rejecting the message with anger and violence, the Bereans went home following the religious services and took out their Old Testament Scriptures and studied Paul’s words for themselves (vs. 11). The Bereans listened to Paul's words eagerly, and then went and checked everything they heard with Scripture. They didn’t just rely on Paul’s word that the Old Testament prophesied the ministry, sufferings, and resurrection of Jesus. They went home and studied those Scriptures for themselves.
No matter how gifted, charismatic, or well-trained and experienced some preacher or teacher may be, we need to check what is being said against the Scriptures. The Bible should be our measuring tool for making sure that the teaching we receive is straight and true. There are countless false prophets out there today. Some who are preaching false doctrine in order to get money. Some to gain power over others. Satan is using others to keep people from hearing and accepting the true message of salvation in Jesus. If we can’t support the message with Scripture, there is something false about the teaching. If the message contradicts God’s Word, we are building on sand. The Bible is our ultimate authority for faith and life.
Satan wants to stop the message of Jesus at all costs. He instigated those in Thessalonica to follow Paul and Silas and stop them from preaching anywhere else (vs. 13-15). The devil will use many means to keep people from accepting Jesus as Savior. He will use violence from people who have closed their minds to God’s truth. He will use deception to lure people into accepting false words and messages. God commended the Bereans for being honorable and fair-minded. They didn’t automatically accept or reject the message. They wanted to know the truth, and they knew that the truth was in God’s Word. They took the message Paul gave, and measured it with the Words of the Bible. The Bereans saw that Paul’s words measured up fine against Scripture, and then they believed.
When we hear a messenger who claims to have a word from God, we should not automatically accept it as truth, nor automatically reject it. Hold it up to what is said in the Bible, just as the Bereans did. If the words match what the Bible says, as Paul’s did, it is safe. If it doesn’t, then reject it.
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