10 As soon as it was night, the believers sent Paul and Silas away to Berea. On arriving there, they went to the Jewish synagogue. 11 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. 12 As a result, many of them believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men.
13 But when the Jews in Thessalonica learned that Paul was preaching the word of God at Berea, some of them went there too, agitating the crowds and stirring them up. 14 The believers immediately sent Paul to the coast, but Silas and Timothy stayed at Berea. 15 Those who escorted Paul brought him to Athens and then left with instructions for Silas and Timothy to join him as soon as possible.
Are you a Berean Christian? What does it mean to be a Berean Christian? Some go to a church with the name Berean in it. There are some Berean Bible Churches. There are some Berean Baptist churches. What type of Church is a Berean church? What type of Christian is a Berean Christian?
It is an unpopular topic in some circles. It is a dangerous topic. Some churches don’t like this doctrine. They actively discourage it. The view of Catholics is that is the job of the church to interpret Scripture.
They believe that that the Pope interprets Scripture. If the church interprets Scripture, he is the head of the church as the successor to St. Peter, according to Catholics.
You say, “That is the Catholic church.” Well, there is a Baptist church not too far from here that says that the pastor is the final interpreter of Scripture in their church. It is in their constitution. I fought to get that removed but they kept in in. It is the exact opposite of what this passage teaches.
What is the context? The time is around 50 AD. Paul is on his missionary journey. He is with Silas and Luke. He is in Greece. He is in Europe. He is going to different places who have never heard of Jesus.
He always starts in the Jewish synagogue because there is more common ground there and yet, wherever he goes, it is the Gentiles who have the greatest response to his message.
He went to Philippi where he preached to a group of women. He led a women’s bible study. He cast out a demon out a slave girl. He was beaten and arrested. When he was released, he went to Thessalonica.
Jesus said, “When you are persecuted in one place, flee to another” (Matthew 10:23 NIV). He fled to Thessalonica and started a church until he was kicked out of that city.
He was persecuted. He was falsely accused of crimes, defying Caesar’s decrees. A mob was looking for him, so he left at night and went forty-five miles to the city of Berea.
Berea is a city in Greece. You can visit it. It has a population of about 42,000 people today. I do not know how big it was in Paul’s day. They have a different name for it today. They call it Veria today. In Modern Greek, the letter β is pronounced as a v sound.
If you go there today, there are monuments to Paul. They have a monument there where Paul supposedly preached. When Paul went there, there were no Christians and the Jews eventually persecuted him and kicked him out of the city.
Fast forward two thousand years later, the whole city is Christian. It is Greek orthodox and there are not any Jews there left. There are no synagogues there. There is a historic synagogue there, but it is just a museum. No one worships there.
Today, we are going to find out what happened when Paul went to Berea and shared his faith. He received a completely different response than he did at Thessalonica. Instead of being persecuted, people were open and eager to hear what he had to say. They investigated it. They were open-minded.
Luke says that this group of people were more noble than the ones at Thessalonica. They had a much better response. They received no persecution. The persecution came but it only came because some of Paul’s old enemies traveled forty-five miles to Berea to persecute him.
What can we learn from the church of Berea. This is a very important passage. Some preachers almost skip over it and say very little about Paul’s time in Berea.
I have many books on Acts and many of them do not say much about this church. I believe that there is an important message from this group of people for every Christian.
We could call this “The Berean Model.” That is our topic for today. We want to look at the group of people that God called noble. What is the Berean Model? What is the Berean Blueprint? We are going to look at six character traits of the Bereans. What can we learn from these Bereans?
The Berean Model
1) Be Open
The Thessalonians rejected the Word. They were not hostile or antagonistic to it. They were receptive to it. They were open to truth. They were not suck in their traditions. They were willing to hear new ideas. They were open to spiritual things. They were open to God’s Word.
They were humble. They were teachable. They had a teachable spirit. They were not cynical. The first characteristic of the Bereans is that they were receptive. They were not skeptical. Do you receive God’s Word? Are you open to spiritual truth? Are you teachable?
2) Be Eager
The Bereans were not just receptive but enthusiastic. We are told that the Bereans “received the message with GREAT EAGERNESS.” The Bereans received the Word and they received it eagerly.
They did not receive the Word because they had to. They wanted to receive it. They were anxious to hear what Paul said. They looked forward to it. This was not a duty to perform.
Are you hungry for spiritual truth? I am going to be honest with you. All for honesty in church? There are many Christians who are not eager to hear the Word. Many come to church, but they are not eager to hear the Word or study it.
They are not eager to know the Word. Many go to church to be entertained rather than to hear God’s Word. They are eager to hear some good music.
They are eager to meet some people, but they are not too eager to be confronted with the Word of God. In fact, not every church preaches the Word of God.
There are many who have absolutely no desire to do an in-depth study of the Scriptures. A surface study is all they need. Many Christians are content with a shallow Bible study that does not dig deeper.
Many do not go to a group to learn anything. They only go to a group to build relationships and to get to know people. There is nothing wrong with that. We need that but we also need an in-depth study of God’s Word.
One day when we get to heaven, we might run into the prophet Habakkuk. He might ask us if we ever read his book. We do not want to have to say that we never knew he even wrote one. That is much of the church today.
3) Be Studious
They examined the Scriptures. (Acts 17:11 NIV). The Bereans did not just read the Scriptures, they studied them. They examined them. They did not do casual reading of the Word. There is a difference between reading and studying something.
They studied the Scriptures. They read parallel passages. They looked at the original language. They read the context. They compared Scripture with Scripture. They used Scripture to interpret Scripture.
4) Be Curious
Now the Berean Jews … examined the Scriptures every day TO SEE IF WHAT PAUL SAID WAS TRUE. (Acts 17:11 NIV)
They were curious. They liked what Paul said but they needed to verify it for themselves. They wanted independent verification. They checked it out for themselves. They did a thorough investigation.
They believed in what Ronald Reagan said of the Soviet Union: “Trust but verify.” Reagan’s philosophy was the philosophy of the Bereans. They tested what Paul said. They verified it.
They compared what Paul said to their OT Scriptures. Paul said that the promised Messiah had to suffer and die. They went back to the Old Testament to see if that was actually true.
They had never heard the concept of a suffering Messiah before. Did the Bible actually say that? They looked at the context, because verses can be taken out of context. Cults do that all the time. They did a textual comparison.
Some believe everything they hear. They do not question it. If you heard it in church, if a preacher said it, it must be true. The Bereans questioned what they heard. Paul made a claim and they tested that claim to see if it was true.
Some preachers discourage you from using your mind. The Bereans were thinking Christians. They did not say, “If Paul said it is true, it must be true.”
They did not take the preacher’s word for it.
They did not take the missionary’s word for it.
They did not even take an authority’s word for it.
Paul was an authority. He was the biggest authority in the church. He was an apostle, but they did not take his word for it.
They did not take the scholar’s word for it.
Paul was very well educated. He was highly educated. He studied under the greatest rabbi of his day. He went to Jerusalem and studied under Gamaliel.
That would be like someone saying that they studied under Einstein but even though he was highly educated, they did not take the word of a distinguished rabbi from Tarsus at face value.
The Bereans were not only receptive, enthusiastic and studious; they were discerning. This passage is the biblical endorsement for critical thinking.
That is something we do not see in the church too often, people testing sermons, testing preachers.
That is how the Protestant Reformation began. Martin Luther read the Bible for himself. He did not just accept what the Catholic Church told him. He did his own study.
There was a time not too long ago when Catholic services were in Latin and people were discouraged reading the Bible on their own. They were told that only priests can interpret Scripture.
The Roman Catholic Church at one point discouraged people even reading the Bible in their own language. John Wycliffe translated the Bible into English. He gave us the first complete translation of the bible into English. The Roman Catholic church ordered that John Wycliffe’s books were to be burned, his bones dug up, crushed and scattered in the river.
Some said that you should not read the Bible because you might get the wrong interpretation. One of the results of the Protestant Reformation is a doctrine called the right of private interpretation.
The right of private interpretation says that every believer has both the freedom and the responsibility to read the Bible for himself. Believers do not have to rely on a pastor or priest or churches’ interpretation of Scripture. You don’t have to rely on someone with a robe and a pointy hat to interpret it for you. You can read it and interpret it for yourself.
We can do that because we have the Holy Spirit inside us. He indwells us and He is the author of Scripture. I John 2:20 says that we all have been anointed by the Holy One, and we all have knowledge (ESV).
You can read the Bible. You can read it in your own language. That is why Luther translated the Bible into German so ordinary people did not have to rely on the clergy to read it. The final authority is the Bible, NOT the church.
The Bereans avoided two extremes. They avoided the extreme of blind faith, and they avoided the extreme of extreme skepticism. They did not cynically dismiss the apostles. They also did not blindly accept what they said. Some skepticism is good.
The Bereans were not gullible. They did an investigation. They did not take claims at face value. They read on their own. They asked questions. They even fact-checked an apostle and Paul commended them for that. God called them noble for doing that.
Most preachers don’t like it when you question them, or they say that you can read the Bible for yourself, but you better not disagree with anything they say, or you will be excommunicated. We do not have to be afraid of questions.
No pastor should claim to have all of the answers. We should admit that there are some things that we simply do not know and we should not be threatened by people who have genuine questions. Truth can withstand examination.
5) Be Biblical
The Bereans were not just receptive, eager and discerning, they were biblical. There are plenty of people who are very critical. They ask questions but they reject Scripture.
This group of people accepted Scripture and used it to test truth and to determine truth. They used Scripture as their final authority. They went straight to the primary source of truth.
The Bereans used the Scripture test. They did not use the denomination test or the tradition test. They did not use the emotional test, seeing how he made them feel, deciding whether they liked what he said or did not like it.
They did not use the popularity test. They did not take a poll and see what everyone else thought about what Paul said. They did not compare what he said to the majority opinion on the matter. They compared what Paul said to Scripture
They compared what Paul said against the standard. They went straight to their Bible. They let Scripture decide. They did not rely on other people to teach them the Bible. They studied it out for themselves.
Why is Scripture the final authority? It is not just the word of man. It is the word of God (I Thessalonians 2:13). It is inspired by God (II Timothy 3:16)
The law of the Lord is PERFECT, refreshing the soul. (Psalm 19:7 NIV)
ALL your words are TRUE; all your righteous laws are eternal. (Psalm 119:160 NIV)
Sanctify them by the truth; YOUR WORD IS TRUTH. (John 17:17 NIV). God’s Word is true. You can trust it. Everything that is true lines line up with it.
When someone tells you to consult mediums and spiritists, who whisper and mutter, should not a people inquire of their God? Why consult the dead on behalf of the living? 20 Consult God’s instruction and the testimony of warning. IF ANYONE DOES NOT SPEAK ACCORDING TO THIS WORD, THEY HAVE NO LIGHT OF DAWN. (Isaiah 8:19-20 NIV).
Biblical TestsThe Bereans applied some tests and we should as well. The Bible has a lot to say about testing people. 1) Apostles are to be Tested I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have TESTED those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. (Revelation 2:2 NIV) The Church of Ephesus tested people who claimed to be apostles and Jesus commended them for that. They found many false apostles in their day. We have more today. 2) Prophets are to be Tested Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but TEST THE SPIRITS to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. (I John 4:1 NIV) Do not treat prophecies with contempt 21 but TEST THEM all; hold on to what is good, 22 reject every kind of evil. (I Thessalonians 5:20-21 NIV) Prophets are to be tested. Paul says that all of them are to be tested. If a person claims to have a word from God and says that God spoke to them, we are to test that person. We should not automatically assume it is true. How do you test a prophet? Check to see if what they say comes true. Many have made false predictions. Some have made false predictions about presidential elections. They say that God told them that Trump was going to win the 2020 presidential election and then Biden won. That did not come from God. That prophet loses credibility if what he says does not come to pass. This is the ACCURACY TEST. If someone claims to speak for God and they make predictions that do not come to pass, they are false. There is another test we can use. It is the ORTHODOXY TEST. Compare everything to Scripture. After John says that we need to test the spirits because many false spirits have gone out into the world, he says this: This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3 but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world. (I John 4:2-3 NIV) If someone claims to be from God but teaches things that flatly contradict Scripture, like saying that Jesus never came in the flesh, you know that prophecy is false because it contradicts Scripture and Scripture is always true. 3) Teachers are to be Tested Paul’s words were tested by the Bereans. He was a visiting rabbi. Every preacher and every Sunday School teacher should be tested. Everything that you hear in the media and in social media should be tested. All teaching should always be tested by Scripture. Scripture is the final authority. You should listen with an open Bible and compare everything to Scripture. Don’t just take what the teachers say to be true. Read the Scriptures for yourself. Decide for yourself. Preaching should lead to Bible study. It should invite and encourage more bible study. Every sermon just introduces you to a topic. It should make us want to study the Scriptures even more. Most of us hear a sermon and come out asking, “Did I like or not like the sermon?” We do not too often ask if it is even biblical or how we could learn more about it? We should do what they did. They tested everything by the Word of God. They compared everything to the Hebrew Scriptures. We need to compare everything to the whole Bible, not just the OT. When preachers make claims today, we need to do the same thing. When cultists make claims and say that Jesus is not God, there is no Hell, salvation is by works, use the biblical test. The Bible says that we are to use some tests. |
6) Be Faithful
The Bereans were not just receptive, enthusiastic, discerning, and biblical. They were also faithful. They examined the Scriptures EVERY DAY to see if what Paul said was true. (Acts 17:11 NIV)
The Bereans did not just read the Scriptures, they studied them. They examined them. They did not do casual reading of the Word. They compared Scripture with Scripture. They used Scripture to interpret Scripture, and they did it, not just once or occasionally but every day.
They did not have the Internet. The Bible was not as accessible. They had to read scrolls. We have multiple bibles at home in different translations. We have the Bible on our phones. We have instant access to it and yet we tend to read and study it less than they did. They did it every day.