Examine the Scriptures

Acts 17:1-12 “Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so” (Acts 17:11, NASB). My first cousin Anthony told me about a time when the preacher was preaching. Anthony said that one of the deacons, the chairman of the deacon board, was continuously sanctioning what the preacher was saying by saying repeatedly “amen.” Anthony said that when the preacher had finished he asked the deacon, “What did he say”? The deacon replied, “I don’t know, but I’m going to say amen anyhow.” This story is an example of what takes places in our churches every Sunday. The preacher preaches. The people respond to the preaching with words of affirmation of what the preacher is saying. Yet, the truth is that too often the people affirm what the preacher says even though they do not know what he is talking about. They do not know whether or not what the preacher says can be confirmed by the scriptures, the Holy Bible. I am concerned about this, and I find it disturbing because I have seen people standing up, waving their hands, and shouting affirmations to what the preacher is saying while at the same time I know that the preacher is assassinating the text to support his or her own agenda. I have seen people stand up when the preacher reads the text, supposedly to honor God’s Word. How can we honor God Word by standing up when the preacher reads the text for the sermon, but we never look at the text again? Jesus said: ‘“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter’” (Matt. 7:21, NASB). Did you get that? We honor God when we know His word, and our actions reflect His words. Therefore, it is of the utmost importance that the child of God knows what the Father says. In this article I want to challenge us to examine the Scriptures in order to determine if what we hear preachers and other religious leaders saying is the truth according to the teachings of Jesus Christ. The setting of our text is in Berea (Acts 17:10). The apostle Paul is on his second missionary journey along with his partner Silas (Acts 15:36). On this journey Paul visits the churches that he established while on his first missionary journey. First, let us revisit what takes place on Paul’s first journey (Acts 13-14). On his first missionary journey Paul is met with opposition from Jews that insist that Gentiles have to be circumcised (Acts 15:1) and follow the Jewish dietary laws to be saved (Gal. 2:11-12). The Jews reject Paul’s message that Jesus is the Christ that died for the sins of all people. In Acts 15 the apostles and elders decide that the Gentiles are not required to follow the customs of the Law handed downed by Moses. The council drafts a letter and sends it to the church at Antioch Acts 15:23-29). While visiting the churches on his second journey Paul enters the city of Thessalonica and goes to the synagogue of the Jews. The emphasis of Paul’s preaching and teaching is found in Acts 17:2-3. “And according to Paul’s custom, he went to them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and giving evidence that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead, and saying, ‘This Jesus whom I am proclaiming to you is the Christ.” The message that Paul preaches is the same message that Jesus proclaimed to the two disciples on the Emmaus Road (Luke 24:25-27). The people in Thessalonica reject Paul’s message, and they force Paul to leave the city. The church sends Paul and Silas to Berea. When they arrive in Berea Paul does not deviate from his course of ministry. He goes to the synagogue of the Jews and preaches the same gospel; this time with a different outcome. It is from the people of Berea that we learn to examine the Scriptures. What do we need to do to examine the Scriptures? The people are described as people that are of noble minds. This means that they have open minds. They are a people with broad minds. They are willing to consider things that they are not familiar with. The Jews in Thessalonica have closed minds. They are set in their beliefs and traditions. No one is allowed to challenge their beliefs. The message that Paul teaches, that Jesus is the Christ, do not meet their expectations. In their minds, the Messiah will come and defeat the Romans and reestablish Israel as the most prominent kingdom in the world. The Messiah will sit on David’s throne. Some people insist on holding to their traditions and beliefs. Traditions are good if they are based on truth and serve a useful purpose. The problem comes when tradition hinders the truth. For example, when we, the older members in the church, refuse to consider what the young people are saying we are holding on to our traditions. We denounce them and say that they need faith, and they need to pray more. Do we try to understand them? What is the appropriate way to answer their questions, and how does the church meet their needs in a world that is different from the world that we were raised in? Maybe, we need to examine the Scriptures to see if Jesus has anything to say about the unaddressed concerns of the younger members in the church. The people of Berea are eager to hear the word, the message that Paul is bringing to them. Now, this does not mean that they accept without question the message that Paul brings. We should not accept the message that the preacher preaches without question. We should listen to what the preacher is saying. We should take notes so that we can go home and examine the Scriptures for ourselves. The text says that they were examining the Scriptures daily. They want to know if the Scriptures confirm the message. Is Jesus the Christ? Did Jesus die for the sins of all people? Is Jesus the only way to God? Do all religions worship the same God? These are challenging questions that the church must be prepared to answer. The answers to these questions and many other questions can be answered rightly when we examine the Scriptures. Young people are walking away from the church. It is not because they do not believe in God. It is not because they do not have faith and the desire to serve God. Rather, it is because the church is closed minded and unprepared to answer their questions and help them to confront their challenges in their lives. Preachers must stop preaching sermons that promote their own personal agendas. We should not applaud the preacher because he or she is well versed in traditional preaching clichés. We should not applaud the preacher when the sermon says nothing to develop our discipleship. Yes, “Jesus is alright,” but how does this look in my life? Yes, “Jesus died and he got up on Sunday morning, but what does that have to do with the abuse that I suffer at home from family members who are supposed to love me? As we have seen in our text today, preachers must preach Jesus. People need to know Jesus. People need to know that Jesus cares for them. People need to know how to incorporate Jesus into every fabric of their life. Then they will be able to believe that Jesus desires to meet their needs. The church needs to examine the Scriptures that confirm that Jesus is the Christ, the Savior of the world.