Considerations

And the people of Berea were more open-minded than those in Thessalonica, and they listened eagerly to Paul’s message. They searched the Scriptures day after day to see if Paul and Silas were teaching the truth. As a result, many Jews believed, as did many of the prominent Greek women and men. (Acts 17:11-12)

That’s my truth. That’s their truth.  In today’s world, truth is in the eye of the beholder. In other words, truth varies from person to person. This is not just about whether the shade of the dress is blue or green. There are some fundamental truths in our world that are being bypassed, allowing people to create their own truths that make them feel more comfortable and make what was once controversial to be more acceptable. But this should not be surprising as ‘Satan, the ruler of this world’ (John 12:31), has been distorting truth to deceive his hearers from the beginning of time (Genesis 3).

But this question, ‘are we ensuring it is the truth we are listening to?’ is not being posed to the world but to us in the body of Christ. In the verses above from Acts 17, you see a group who eagerly listened to Paul and Silas but at the same time sought out the Scriptures to ensure that what they were taking in from their teaching was indeed the truth. They did not automatically assume that what they heard was true because Paul and Silas seemed good knowledgeable men. They took the time to sift the teaching through the word of God to see if there was anything that stood out as contrary to what God had placed in the Scriptures. And once they discovered that it aligned with the truth, many came to know Jesus Christ personally. In a world where there are many different truths being professed including in the Christian church, we could benefit from following the example of the people in Berea. 

Questions to Consider

As believers, what are we doing to ensure that what we are hearing and taking on as truth in our lives is just that: the truth? 

Whether it be what we hear through social media, TV, radio, print and yes even our own church pulpits, are we taking steps to determine that what is being shared and consumed by us is not false doctrine and feel good opinions from teachers who will tell itching ears whatever they want to hear? (See 2 Timothy 4:3)

Or are we content to be possibly receiving misaligned info that allows us to feel okay about doing things outside of the guide (The Bible) God has provided us to live by? (See 2 Timothy 4:4)

A Wise Course of Action

If there is any inkling of wanting to live the righteous life God desires for His children who are followers of His Son, Jesus Christ, the Bereans’ example of testing the waters before one drinks would perhaps be the best move we can make. Placing what we read, hear and see next to the word of God allows us to determine if it matches up with what God considers to be true and righteous. Not only is this a wise course of action for us as believers but is stated as one of the purposes of Scripture:

All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. (2 Tim 3:16)

Along with guiding us to what is right, it will expose the areas that we have also gotten wrong in our lives. Remember, we are descendents of the very ones who thought they had it together and ended up being expelled from the perfect home God created for them. Just as Adam and Eve were deceived to think they knew better than God, so are we likely to wander off track. And this is where God’s word is a living and powerful tool to help us see the truth in this distorted world we live in. 

As those who extensively study authentic money bills to instantly discern the counterfeit from the genuine, may we study in the same manner the word of God; that distortion of the truth in any way, will immediately disturb our hearts and minds and prevent us from being swept up in deceit and living contrary to the ways of God.