Those Eager Bereans

How do we know what to believe?

Never used to be a problem for me. I’d simply ask the pastor what we all believed after I joined. Then I wondered why the enthusiasm didn’t last very long.

On the other hand, I normally had plenty of confidence navigating my occupation, having the necessary knowledge in that realm I could base information on. And I loved acquiring that knowledge.

So, is there any way for Jesus Christ’s disciple to validate what he hears?

I could confirm much of what’s said about the Bible by simply corroborating parts of the Old Testament with the New Testament—especially what the apostle Paul wrote because, believe it or not, not everyone just took him at his word:

“The brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. 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.” [Ac. 17:11] [my emphasis]

[προθυμία, (prǒ-thū-mee’-â) willingness, readiness, eagerness, zeal]

Of course, at that time, Paul didn’t have quite the reputation he has now. Even so, the reliability of God’s written word is substantiated in the text of this passage—along with evidence of the audacity some people are willing to demonstrate just to be sure about what others tell them.

So, is it really that simple? Is truth available to me if I’m just willing to read the Bible inductively?

I’m convinced it is. Not unlike a job, a big part of discipleship is about attaining enough knowledge to be able discern between truth and lies.

The Bereans knew what the Scriptures said because they loved them.

And they were determined to know the truth.