SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES DAILY
Text: Acts 17:10-15
Introduction
1. Illustration: The Bible is something more than a body of revealed truths, a collection of books verbally inspired by God. It is also the living voice of God. The living God speaks through its pages. Therefore, it is not to be valued as a sacred object to be placed on a shelf and neglected, but as holy ground, where people’s hearts and minds may come into vital contact with the living, gracious, and disturbing God. For a proper perspective on Scripture and for a valid understanding of revelation, there must be constant interworking of these factors; an infallible and authoritative Word, the activity of the Holy Spirit in interpreting and applying that Word, and a receptive human heart. No true knowledge of God takes place without these elements. — James Montgomery Boice
2. Let me ask you a question this morning, are you a Berean Christian?
3. What is a Berean Christian? Someone who searches the Scriptures daily to receive strength, guidance, and insight.
4. Read Acts 17:10-15
Transition: A Berean Christian is…
I. Daily in the Word (10-12).
A. Searched the Scriptures
1. One of the major things that we learn from the Book of Acts, and especially from the missionary journeys of Paul, is that God often used persecution and difficulty to spread the Good News of Jesus!
a. When we fail to see that in our own lives, we miss the big picture of what God is doing.
b. For instance, ever since we made the decision to leave the UMC and join the CMC, as difficult as that was, we have experienced growth and God is doing great things in and through us.
c. Such is the case with Paul in Berea. Unlike in previous stops, when he got to Berea, he found the people eager and hungry to know more about the Gospel of Jesus.
d. In fact, these people, instead of rebelling and causing trouble, went home and searched the Scriptures to see if what Paul said was true.
e. This was a major step in the right direction. However, that doesn’t mean there wasn’t problems, but this time it came from the outside and not from the people in Berea.
2. Luke begins this section of Paul’s journey in v. 10, where it says, “That very night the believers sent Paul and Silas to Berea. When they arrived there, they went to the Jewish synagogue.”
a. Luke tells us that the believers in Thessalonica, who had been hiding Paul and Silas from the rioters, under the protection of darkness, sent Paul and Silas on to Berea.
b. The term “believers” refers to the men and women of Jewish and Gentile descent, who had been lost in their sin, but had come to the light of Jesus.
c. They came to Christ, received forgiveness of their sin, and began walking in the light of Christ.
d. Once the two missionaries arrived in Berea, they did what they always did, they went to the Jewish synagogue and told the people there about Jesus.
3. However, the reception they received in Berea was a pleasant surprise from what they had been receiving. In v. 11, Luke tells us, “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.”
a. Berea was about forty-five miles south of Thessalonica toward Athens. When they got there, they found the people there to be “open-minded.”
b. The word open-minded means “noble,” or “generous - free from prejudice.”
c. In other words, they hadn’t already made up their minds about what Paul and Silas were saying. Instead of forming a mob and running them out of town, they did something more constructive.
d. They went home and searched the Scriptures to see if what Paul was telling them the truth.
e. What a great audience! They were teachable, open to hearing the truth, they did their homework, and they honestly longed to know the truth!
f. Is that what you’re doing? Do you go home and search the Bible to see if what I am saying is true? Is this Holy Book a part of your daily lives?
g. Unfortunately, for too many Christians, this book is not a part of their daily lives.
h. We should pray and make that a part of our daily routine, but if we are not reading the Scriptures, we are like an eagle with one wing, and we will never get to where we need to be like that.
i. We need to be like the believers in Berea and checkout the Scriptures for ourselves.
j. If you don’t have a Bible, tell me, and I will buy you one. It’s that important to me to know that my flock is feeding daily on the Word of God!
k. If you don’t think I’m serious about this, ask some of the people I have given a Bible to.
4. Now, if we look down at the very next verse, v. 12, we see what happens when we are in the Word daily, “As a result, many Jews believed, as did many of the prominent Greek women and men.”
a. Unlike the towns and cities that Paul and Silas had been to before, these Jews, and the movers and shakers among the Gentiles in Berea came to faith in Christ.
b. They weren’t contentious like the other people, but instead looked into what the Scriptures to see if they agreed with what these men were saying.
c. As a result, they acted upon what they learned. You see it’s one thing to know what the Bible says, but it’s another to act upon it.
d. It’s more than having head knowledge; we have to have heart knowledge too.
e. Like the Seminary Tina and I went to proclaimed, “Knowledge on Fire!”
f. Let God use his Word to set you on fire, and people will come from miles around to watch you burn!
B. Useful to Teach
1. “I want to know one thing: the way to heaven…. God himself has condescended to teach the way. For this very end he came from heaven. He hath written it down in a book. O give me that book! At any price, give me the book of God!” - John Wesley (Bruce B. Barton and Grant R. Osborne, Acts, Life Application Bible Commentary (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House, 1999), 296).
2. If you are not daily in the Bible, it is like going on a starvation diet and expecting to run a marathon
a. “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. 17 God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.” (2 Tim. 3:16-17).
b. A translation that comes closer to the idea of all Scripture being inspired is “God Breathed.” The words of the Bible came from God and were written down by men.
c. It came from God. We can trust it, rely on it, and allow it to transform us into the people God wants us to be.
d. Paul says it teaches us what is true. The world bombards us with lies every day. Through the news media, social media, movies and television, and the list goes on and on. But the Bible tells us the truth.
e. The Bible makes us realize what we are doing wrong and teaches us to do what’s right. Have you ever wished someone would just tell you what to do, how to fix a problem, or what road to take. God has, right here in his Book!
f. Now, listen to this, it equips us to do every good work. Have you ever thought to yourself all the times I’ve told you to go out and tell people about Jesus, how do I do it? Here’s how! This Book teaches us how to do just that.
g. If you are not in the Bible every day, you are doing yourself a disservice and telling God you don’t need his help.
h. There are more Bibles available today and more resources to help us understand it, but there are less people reading it.
i. Get in this Book!
Transition: A Berean Christian is also…
II. Faithful to Act on the Word (13-15).
A. The Believers Acted
1. Just like Jesus said, “Here is another story Jesus told: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a farmer who planted good seed in his field. 25 But that night as the workers slept, his enemy came and planted weeds among the wheat, then slipped away. 26 When the crop began to grow and produce grain, the weeds also grew.” (Matt. 13:24-26).
2. When God’s Word is being declared and acted upon, the enemy will always try to throw a wrench in the works. So, look what happens in v. 13, “But when some Jews in Thessalonica learned that Paul was preaching the word of God in Berea, they went there and stirred up trouble.”
a. God was doing a great work in Berea, but when those rascals in Thessalonica, the Jews specifically, came down to Berea and started trouble.
b. There are few sins uglier and more intense than jealousy.
c. They saw that the people in Berea were accepting Jesus, so they went down to Berea and tried to come against the work of the Holy Spirit.
d. It reminds me of an old chorus, “Oh, the devil’s mad, and I’m so glad. Oh, the devil’s mad, and I’m so glad. He lost a soul that he thought he had. All my sins are washed away. I’ve been redeemed!”
3. While the devil is crafty and devious, he is no match for the mighty Holy Spirit! Look at vv. 14-15, “The believers acted at once, sending Paul on to the coast, while Silas and Timothy remained behind. 15 Those escorting Paul went with him all the way to Athens; then they returned to Berea with instructions for Silas and Timothy to hurry and join him.”
a. These knew believers had searched the Scriptures, acted upon them, and now the Holy Spirit showed them how to step out in faith.
b. They grabbed Paul and sent him on his way down the coast to Athens.
c. In faith, they were stirred up the courage and did what they needed to do to protect Paul so he could continue his mission of telling people about Jesus.
d. Another good thing that happened, because the devil is always a dollar short and a day late, this mob was so focused on Paul that Silas and Timothy were able to stay in Berea and continue doing ministry, encouraging these knew believers, and making disciples for Jesus.
e. When we step out in faith and follow the leading of the Holy Spirit, good things are going to happen!
B. Do What it Says
1. Illustration: There was what I thought was a preacher’s joke, but a professor I had in Bible College told me it was actually a true story about the Apostle John. John was the elder of the church in Ephesus and he was very old and feeble at this point in his life. They would carry him into the assembly, and for weeks on end he preached the same message; beloved love one another. Eventually one of the other elders asked him, “Brother John, that’s a great message, but don’t you think we could hear another one?” The old Apostle looked at him and said, “When we learn this one, we’ll move on to the next one!”
2. Reading the Bible isn’t enough if we aren’t doing what it says!
a. “But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. 23 For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. 24 You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. 25 But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it.” (James 1:22-25).
b. Reading the Bible without doing what it says is a waste of time.
c. James said it’s like looking at yourself in the mirror and then walking away and forget what you look like.
d. You see, the Bible is like a mirror to your soul, it tells you what you are really like. It tells you what you are doing wrong and what you need to change.
e. But if you walk away and don’t change what you need to to change, you have forgotten what you really look like.
f. Don’t just read it or listen to it; do what it says.
g. Theology is really simple; if the Bible says, do it, do it! If the Bible says, don’t do it, don’t do it!
h. God didn’t give you His Word so you could ignore it!
i. Be like the Bereans and act on what you’ve read.
Conclusion
1. Be a Berean Christian…
a. Be daily in the Bible
b. Do what it says
2. What’s the point preacher? Read the Bible every day and let it change who you are so you can become who God made you to be.
