In the book of Acts, Paul and Silas travel to Berea to preach the word of God.
The brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so. Therefore many of them believed, along with a number of prominent Greek women and men. (Acts 17:10-12)
The reason the Bereans are called “noble” or “noble-minded” is because they searched the Scriptures to verify the validity of Paul and Silas’s teaching.
Is careful study a mark of nobility? In fact, it is.
It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, but the glory of kings is to search out a matter. (Proverbs 25:2)
It is the glory of kings to search out a matter, and this is why the Bereans were considered “noble-minded” — because they searched the Scriptures to discover the truth.
Today, much lip service is given to the Bereans. We praise them for weighing the teaching of men against the Word of God. And yet, for most believers, this is as far as it goes. They refuse to search the Scriptures themselves — even when challenged to provide evidence for their beliefs.
There are many Bible-believing people who have unwittingly bought into the traditions of men — failing to realize that these traditions have no biblical basis.
Many of these traditions have been around for hundreds of years. So when these traditions are called into question, believers defend their position by asking, How could so many people be wrong for so many years?
This is really the wrong question to ask. Believers have been misled many times throughout history. For example, the practice of indulgences continued for hundreds of years even though it’s nowhere to be found in the Bible.
The better question is this: Can the tradition be supported by the Bible or not?
There is no reason to be offended or get defensive if one of your beliefs is questioned. Simply use it as an opportunity to go back to the Bible… to search the Scriptures… and see what the truth really is.
My hope for you is that you’d be willing to not just praise the Bereans — but to imitate them as well. My hope for you is that you would be noble-minded and eagerly search out the truth. My hope for you is that you would not stand on tradition, but rather on the firm foundation of the Word of God.
Love it! Would start a church and call it Berean.. But no one would search the scriptures to see what the name means…
Nice one. 😉
I think the Bereans are still around. But they are in your quite conservative, evangelical churches studying the Scriptures diligently week after week. This isn’t the type of thing that sells books and movies, or gets 20,000 people to church on a weekend. So we don’t see this type of Berean lifestyle on our radar screen as much. But they are around, as there is always a remnant.
I don’t doubt there are a few out there… I just wish there were more! 🙂
You’re right of course, studying the word is so important; and yet only a few take the time. Subsequently, we see an explosion of all kinds of heresies flooding all over the place these days, and few people who are actually searching the word to find the true foundation. People accept anything that tickles their ears, without confirming it first…