Examining the Scriptures

Today we close our excursus on prominent false teachings of our day with a brief reflection on the discerning posture that should mark every Christian. As we return next week to John’s first epistle, the example of the Bereans in today’s verse gives us a model for the kind of discernment that John wanted to cultivate in his readers.

Paul and Silas, having been driven out of Thessalonica by hostile Jews, came to the city of Berea and entered the synagogue to preach Christ. The Bereans heard the same gospel that the Thessalonians had heard, but they responded differently. The Thessalonians had largely rejected the message and stirred up a riot. The Bereans, by contrast, “received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so” (Acts 17:11). Luke therefore calls them “noble,” using a Greek word that suggests moral excellence and good character.

Two qualities of the Berean response deserve our close attention. First, the Bereans received the Word with eagerness. They were not skeptical hearers looking for reasons to dismiss Paul’s message but came ready to learn, willing to take seriously what was being taught. This is the right posture for a Christian hearer. We come to the preaching of the Word as those who hope to receive it gladly, eager for our minds and hearts to be shaped by what God has spoken.

Second, they “examin[ed] the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.” Their eagerness was not credulous. It was paired with a steady commitment to test what they heard against the Scriptures already in their hands, the Old Testament writings that they already accepted as the Word of God. They did not simply trust Paul because he was a compelling speaker; they considered whether his message about Jesus the Messiah was indeed what those texts taught. When they found that it was, they believed.

This posture is exactly what we need when confronted with the various false teachings of our own day. Some teachings, as we have seen, are easily exposed as departures from Scripture. Others are more subtle and require careful examination. In every case, the Bereans’ example calls us to test whatever we hear in light of the written Word.

May we return to John’s first epistle with renewed appreciation for the Apostle’s central concern: that his readers know the truth of the gospel and walk in it confidently, undeceived by the spirit of error.