The Berean Believers: A Pattern For Victorious Living

THE BEREAN BELIEVERS: A PATTERN FOR VICTORIOUS LIVING

Study Text: Acts 17: 10-12

Introduction:

- Whatsoever is written in the Bible is for our learning, in which we can receive instructions in righteousness, godly examples or patterns to emulate, and ungodly or bad examples to avoid.

- The Holy Spirit, who inspired Luke to write the book of Acts, recorded for us some key lessons we can learn from the Bereans. These lessons have to do with:

i. Our attitude towards God’s word and His ministers

ii. Our discipline in the reading of God’s word

iii. Our willingness to acknowledge the truth when shown from the word of God

iv. Our willingness to be a discerning Christian, and

v. Our willingness to share the truth of God with others in order that they might be saved.

- So the question we need to ask ourselves is; how can I follow the example of the Berean Christians? That is: What can I learn from this account of the Bereans that clearly demonstrates the mark a true follower of the Lord Jesus Christ?

- There would be less deception in the church and less manipulations of the believers through excellency of speech, if everyone who names the name of Christ would follow the examples of the Berean Christians.

- There would be more converts to the faith if more people would examine the truth of the Holy Bible with an open heart.

- As Believers, if we are going to know the God of the Bible, we must read the Bible. We have to spend time in it to learn of our God. Don't just believe everything that you hear, examine the Scripture to see that what you hear is the truth of the word of God.

- We shall discuss the topic under three subheadings:

1. An Interesting Subject for our Learning

2. An Important Secret for our Lifting

3. An Indispensable Standard for our Living

1. An Interesting Subject for our Learning

- As any Biblical student knows, it is the Berean's approach to the Scripture and their response to it that makes them an interesting study. There is nothing spectacular about the city, but about the inhabitant of the city.

- We can definitely sense the power of godly influence in the city. A man or group of individuals would have influenced almost everyone in the city to follow a godly example.

- In life, we all have tendencies to be influenced positively or negatively whether we are conscious of it or not. It is our responsibility to identify these influences, to maximise the benefit of godly influence and to avoid or reject ungodly influence. Psalm 1:1.

- Paul and Silas had been in Thessalonica preaching the gospel. They were met with great hostility there because of the message of Jesus.

- In fact, Paul was teaching the people that there was a loftier and exalted King than Caesar – and that King is Jesus. This teaching fuelled a fire first with the Jewish community, and then spread to the city authorities.

- They formed a mob and went searching for Paul claiming that “These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also” (Acts 17:6). After they searched Jason’s house, they took money from him, and then let him go because Paul was not with him.

- Meanwhile Paul and Silas slipped out of town and went to Berea. Upon their arrival, as was the pattern of Paul when entering a new city, they went to the local synagogue.

- When Paul stood and preached Jesus as the Christ to those in the synagogue, they listened intently. In fact, the Scripture says, “Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so” (Acts 17:11).

- Rather than simply throwing stones at Paul, dragging him to prison for blasphemy, or running him out of town, they simply examined the Scriptures to see if what Paul said was the truth.

- As a result, many of these Jews came to faith in Jesus as the Christ and the church was born in Berea.

- In the life of the church, we need people with attitudes like the Bereans who will study the Scripture with eagerness – examining the Word to learn and grow in the Lord.

- Unfortunately, the church today seems to be plagued with a large population of people with the attitude of the “Thessalonians” rather than Bereans.

- The healthiest church as a whole, and for individual family units, will be the church that is populated with people who are eager to receive the word of God and search the scripture daily to confirm the truth about what they hear.