Let us pray before we read the Word of God.
Heavenly Father, as we draw near to Christmas, our hearts are filled with gladness again, remembering your love and sacrifice for us. We are a different person today because of Christ. Thank you for sending your Son as the atoning sacrifice for our redemption. We praise you Jesus, for WHO you are and all that you have done for us.
Bless us once again with your Word this morning, in Jesus’ Name, we pray, AMEN.
Do you prefer to hear the truth, or something that is nice but false?
• Do you prefer to live in the dark and in ignorance, or to know the truth and face the reality with faith?
• Do you forward a message without thinking twice whether it is true?
• Do you propagate fake news? Or would you correct the fake news?
• All of these questions has to do with truth and how we handle it.
• Does truth matter to you? That’s what we are going to ponder over today.
Let’s read the text. Last week we saw the work of Paul and Silas at Thessalonica.
• A group of angry Jews formed a mob and came against them. They had to flee.
• Let’s read on from there - Acts 17:10-15.
10As soon as it was night, the brothers sent Paul and Silas away to Berea. On arriving there, they went to the Jewish synagogue. 11Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. 12Many of the Jews believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men.
13When the Jews in Thessalonica learned that Paul was preaching the word of God at Berea, they went there too, agitating the crowds and stirring them up. 14The brothers immediately sent Paul to the coast, but Silas and Timothy stayed at Berea. 15The men who escorted Paul brought him to Athens and then left with instructions for Silas and Timothy to join him as soon as possible.
Paul and Silas were forced to sneak out of Thessalonica in the darkness of the night because of the threat from the Jews.
• They arrived in Berea, completely undeterred, went into the synagogue as was their practice and shared the same message of the Gospel.
• Yet here they received a completely different reception.
• Luke says the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians.
He highlighted the TWO qualities he saw:
1. they received the message with great eagerness, willing to listen and consider;
2. and they examine the Scriptures after hearing the message, every day, to see if what Paul said was really true. They showed a genuine desire to know the truth.
Contrast this to the antagonistic group in Thessalonica, who was blinded by jealousy and prejudice, evidenced but what they did.
• Luke said that they rounded up some “bad characters” from the marketplace and formed a mob to start a riot, against Paul and Silas.
• How “lack of noble character” that is. Gathering “bad characters” means they were not even seeking a decent dialogue or a just outcome.
The Bereans were serious. They did not reject Paul’s message without giving it due consideration. “Check it out and make sure it’s true.”
• They were eager to listen and they wanted to know the truth, not from Paul per se but from the Scriptures. That’s the noble part about them.
• Is this written in the Scriptures? Is this what God says? Is Jesus Christ our Saviour according to the Word of God?
They believe in the SUFFICIENCY OF SCRIPTURE
• In the Bible alone God has given us all that is necessary for our understanding of who He is, who we are, how He has acted and how we are to relate to Him.
The Scripture for them then was, of course, only the Old Testament, the first Testament.
• God has revealed His plan about the Messiah Jesus in the Old Testament. They would be able to find it if they read and study it carefully.
Remember Jesus’ walk with His two disciples after His resurrection, on the road to Emmanus (a-mei-us)? Remember what Jesus said?
• Luke 24:25 “25He said to them, "How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken!”
• 24:27 “And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.”
• Eventually when they were enlighted, they said the Lord “opened the Scriptures to us” (24:32) and thus causing them to see and understand Christ.
Jesus did not even point them to Himself: “Look at me, it’s me, I am Jesus. I am the resurrected Christ!”
• He points to the Scripture because the Scripture points to Him.
What excuse do we have today for not knowing Christ, when we have both the OT and the NT Scripture in our hands?
• Would Jesus says the same of us: "How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?" (Luke 24:25-26)
• Do you know Him? Who is Jesus? Do you need Him? Search the Scripture. The answer is clear. Don’t live in ignorance. God has revealed what we need to know.
The Bereans believed the Scripture as God’s revelation and searched the Scripture for the truth about Christ.
Look at what Paul did at Thessalonica.
• 17:2b-4 “…he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, 3explaining and proving that the Christ had to suffer and rise from the dead. "This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Christ," he said.
• The Scripture reveals Christ. Paul can reason, explain and prove FROM Scriptures that Jesus is the Christ, just like Jesus did with His disciples on the road to Emmaus.
• Paul did not use his experience. He did not say, “Believe me, I saw the risen Christ and heard His voice while on the road to Damascus. I experienced His healing power. I was blinded for a few days but was healed miraculously.”
Paul did not use his miraculous encounter with Christ or his healing to point people to Christ. He is NOT the authority, the Word of God is.
• Many like to use signs and wonders, miracles and healings to point people to Christ.
• That faith is misplaced and they tend to fall away because their faith was built upon experience and not the written Word of God.
• When such good experiences go, so goes their faith.
Paul pointed the people to Jesus from the Scripture. Enough has been revealed in the Bible for us to know Christ, without a doubt.
• To Paul, creation itself can point us to the reality of God, to His existence, if men pay attention.
• He said in Rom 1:18-20 18The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, 19since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities-his eternal power and divine nature-have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.
That’s general revelation from nature. Creation itself, although not the fullest revelation, has sufficient evidence to point us to God.
• But ‘godless and wicked’ men suppress the truth. Our sin blinds us to God’s presence, and His goodness and love.
• In His mercy, God provides us with the special revelation through the Scripture and in the Person of Christ, when He came and dwelt among us.
• Christmas is the full and final revelation of God and we have now the New Testament in our hands.
The Bereans were eager to seek the truth, unlike the Jews in Thessalonica who chose to suppress the truth and reject the Word of God.
• The Bereans did not reject it quickly as false, nor did they accept it immediately as true. Either way you can be wrong.
• They examined the Scriptures daily and verified Paul’s message against the Scriptures.
• It wasn’t a glance through but a daily study of the Word. They took time to seek the truth.
• They were not prepared to embrace Jesus as the Christ until they had reviewed the evidence.
They are like the investigators in the TV show CSI, Crime Scene Investigation.
Forensic investigators study the crime scene to find evidence of what happened.
They take the evidence to the lab to be tested and analysed, and only after much study can they make accurate conclusions.
The Bereans were not coloured by prejudice or jealousy to reject it outright, nor were they naive and careless to accept it simply as true without discernment.
• But when they finally found out that what Paul said was true, they believed.
• “Many of the Jews believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men.” (17:12)
• They were humble enough to believe the Gospel! They submitted to the truth of what God has revealed through the Scripture.
• I say they were “humble enough” because it would mean they have to change their old preconceived notion about the Messiah and accept the message of grace.
• They have to let go of their old belief in Judaism and the need for circumcision for the Greek believers among them.
No wonder Luke says they were of noble characters, unlike the Thessalonians.
They eagerly receive, carefully examine, and willingly SUBMIT to the Word of God.
• Unlike the Thessalonians who had Paul to ‘reason, explain and prove’ from the Scripture and were finally ‘persuaded’, the Bereans studied the Scripture themselves, after hearing the message of Paul, so it seems.
• They were serious about the Word of God. They did not let Paul do the thinking for them; they searched the Scripture themselves.
We see here the AUTHORITY OF SCRIPTURE
We see how they viewed the Scripture, as the inspired Word of God and source of truth.
• 2 Pet 1:20-21 “20Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation. 21For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”
• That’s what they believed. Truth does not lie with Paul but the Scripture.
• And when they were fully convinced, they take God at His Word and believed the Gospel.
Their faith was built upon the Scripture, and not on Paul’s words per se, even though Paul has been a great preacher and teacher.
• Knowing Paul’s credentials and looking at his ability to reason, explain and prove from the Scripture at Thessalonica, and again later in Athens speaking among philosophers, we could tell that Paul must be an eloquent and impressive speaker.
• Yet the Bereans did not accept his preaching simply because he was good and gifted, charismatic and popular.
• That was not the basis of their faith and that cannot be the basis of our faith too.
We do not simply take in what famous pastors, teachers or authors say, whatever their credentials or giftings.
• We search the Scripture and examine everything in the light of the Scripture.
• That’s the authority for our faith and life. Our faith is built and anchored upon the revealed Word of God.
• No doubt there are many good and faithful men of God who have helped us understand God’s Word and we want to honour and respect them.
• But our faith is in the Word. The Bible is the inspired, inerrant, infallible and eternal Word of God and that’s the final authority.
We see the EFFICACY OF SCRIPTURE
• The Word of God changes lives. It has the power to change lives. It convicts.
• Heb 4:12 “For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”
Paul was forced to flee many times. Earlier on at Pisidian Antioch (13:50-51), and then in Iconium (14:4-6), Lystra (14:19-20), was asked to leave in Philippi (16:19-40), and forced to run from Thessalonica (17:5-10), and now from Berea (17:13-14) to Athens.
• The situation looks bad but all these resistances could not stop the truth of Gospel from being preached and lives changed!
• Paul wrote a letter to the Thessalonians a short time later from Corinth.
• 1 Thess 1:4-8 “4 For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, 5 because our gospel came to you not simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction. You know how we lived among you for your sake. 6 You became imitators of us and of the Lord; in spite of severe suffering, you welcomed the message with the joy given by the Holy Spirit. 7 And so you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia. 8 The Lord's message rang out from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia - your faith in God has become known everywhere.”
Imagine this, they became the model church for the region, despite the challenging circumstance. We see their faith in God and their joy in the Holy Spirit.
• We see how God sustains a remnant of true believers in every city.
• There is power in the Word of God to bring conviction and life-change, for those who are willing to believe.
There was this rich man’s son who got into drugs and was remanded at a half-way house at the age of 30. Someone came to visit him and gave him a New Testament. He was thrilled. The paper was very thin and was ideal for rolling joints for him to smoke his drugs secretly.
He rolled his way through Matthew, Mark and Luke. When he came to John’s Gospel, his curiousity took the better of him and he started reading. As a result of his reading of the words of John’s Gospel, he encountered Jesus. He repented and confessed Christ as his Lord. He was filled with joy.
The therapist in charge of his case noticed the change. She commented, “Your life is a mess but I see that you have peace and joy.” To cut the long story short, he led her to faith in Jesus Christ, through the Gospel of John.
WE CAN LEARN FROM PAUL:
• Stand by the truth, preach the truth and live the truth, regardless of the circumstances.
• There are those who will reject the truth, and there are those who will come against the preachers of truth.
• We are responsible to remain faithful and true to God’s Word; we are not responsible for the reactions of the people.
WE CAN LEARN FROM THE BEREANS:
• Embrace the Word of God with gladness. Search the Scriptures daily, to know God and understand His will.
• The infallible Word is our source of truth and therefore our blessing, not google, social media or the press.
• We may not always understand His Word, we may not always like it, but it is the only firm foundation for our faith and life.
• Everything else is shaky ground. Popular culture changes, traditions evolve, social media lies, only the Word of God remains true. Let us build our lives upon it.
PRAYER:
Help us Lord, that we may, like the Bereans, embrace your Word with gladness, search the Scripture daily to understand Your Word and live in obedience to your ways. We are blessed when we trust you and put into practice what we hear.
We pray that the many who are still searching for answers to life will find the truth in Your Word. May they be led to hear the Gospel and your Word. May their hearts be open and receptive. May your light so shine that they may see Christ and trust Him.
We remember the many migrant workers in our land and pray that their time here will be a blessing and that they may come to the saving knowledge of Jesus while they are here in our land. May your will be done and your Name made known in these last days.
May the grace of Jesus, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us all, now and forevermore, AMEN.
