28 Jan 2023
“Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true” (Acts 17:11 TNIV).
In the book of Acts, this one verse may be read through without paying much attention to its significance for us today as Christians. The Berean Jews were commended – they were described as having a more noble character than the Jews in Thessalonica – why so? Because they received the message of the gospel with great eagerness and they examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.
Their commendation centres on their eagerness to receive God’s message and to affirm whether it is true by examining the Scriptures daily. Imaginel checking on whether what the great Apostle Paul said is in line with Scriptures! Some may question why they should even doubt such a godly man as Paul but the fact is – they were commended!
Spiritual life expresses itself in thought, speech, and decisions that are marked by divinely sought understanding – godly wisdom comes from within as divine illumination of the Scriptures from the Holy Spirit brings about discernment and devotions (to the Triune God).
In other words, true notions and understanding lead to true wisdom by becoming a source of insight and of life-change through the Holy Spirit.
Understanding includes thinking and reasoning through what God reveals from the Scriptures through the teaching of the Holy Spirit. This was what the Berean Jews were commended for – they sought understanding from their daily examination of Scriptures even though they received God’s gospel eagerly and even though the message came from one as distinguished as Apostle Paul.
In all probability, the Berean Jews subsequently not only received the teaching of God, but they also applied this teaching to life and worked it out on the practical problems of daily life as well as communicated God’s truth to others.
It may not be an understatement to conclude that many distortions of truth in the church and among Christians are attributed to believers’ unwillingness and apathy in studying the Scriptures and seeking understanding from God.
Take the teaching of Antinomianism – it rejects the moral law of God as binding on our conduct in life. We have previously shared how God’s law is a reflection of His character and desire, and certainly, God’s children should share the same desires to be like the heavenly Father. The Apostle Paul warned against it in Romans 3:8.
On the other scale, the emphasis on law-keeping has sometimes bred legalism – an attitude of mind which gives excessive respect to the law and which seeks to enforce conduct of a similar kind in others. We have shared that salvation is obtained not by law-keeping but by relying upon Christ’s righteousness. The opposing of love to law, and use of ‘legalism’ to enforce it, is foreign to the teaching of the New Testament, where love is not opposed to law but defined in terms of it.
Then there is the teaching termed ‘hyper-grace’ by some. Ideas from such a teaching claim that we are already completely sanctified by faith and that we do not need to pursue holiness, let alone be disciplined in our pursuit of holiness.
Related to this teaching is the declaration that the moment you were saved, God forgave not only your past and present sins but your future sins as well – hence to them, it is wrong to ask God to forgive you when you sin today. We see here, the teaching on grace has been distorted with errors – we know that Scriptures clearly taught the need to be holy, for God is holy, and repentance and asking God for forgiveness are life-long on this earth, for we are not yet perfect and the spiritual battles against indwelling sin, the negative influences of the world and the attacks of the evil one continue in our pilgrimage on earth. It is true that God has provided forgiveness each time we repent truly but those who are truly born again do not continue to sin as a way of life.
We see here the dangers facing believers and the churches today: deception and wrong teachings are hard to detect because they ‘contain’ elements of truths in their teachings. But we need to realise that we have a formidable enemy who can also dress as an angel of light. Direct open confrontations and attacks may be easily discerned but deceptions may not be so easily detected, especially by those who are indifferent and lazy to heed God’s exhortations to understand and study the Scriptures. “All Scripture is God breathed and is useful for teaching, rebutting, correcting and training in righteousness, so that all God’s people may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Tim. 3:16-17).
It is sad and disheartening to see so many believers seeking to do good work for God without even the basic foundation and understanding of Scripture and its teaching.