Acts 17:11 Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.
When Ronald Reagan was
President of the United States, he said that he always went by, "Trust but
verify." He gave everyone he dealt with in his political life the benefit
of the doubt that they were telling him the truth. He always said that because
the nation's security was at stake, he would always verify everything that came
across his desk.
In our text today, the Berean Jews followed this same pattern; when Paul would preach a sermon, they would search the scriptures to verify that what Paul was saying was the truth. Acts 17:11 says that they did this daily, which meant that they did this every time they heard a message.
In this day and age, we hear sermons and bible teachings not only in church on Sundays and other weekdays but through the media, TV, Radio, and computers. We need to follow the example of the Bereans and President Reagan to trust but verify. We love and trust our pastors; they work hard to study the Word and bring us the truth of God's Word.
The Bible tells us that we should be "thoroughly equipped" in our work for God (2 Timothy 3:16-17). A person can start their ministry off on the straight and narrow, advocating the truth of the Word of God, and somewhere along the line drift to a more prosperity gospel because of the attraction of fame and fortune. We should never disregard our study and research of God's Word no matter how comfortable we become with any pastor or teacher. Always follow the pattern of the Berean Jews and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what we are hearing is the truth.
Those out there do "pervert the gospel" and teach "a different doctrine." To be sure that we do not fall into these false teachers' traps, we should study the Word for ourselves daily. The Bible is the only gauge we have by which we can be sure that someone is preaching or teaching the Bible's truth or a false doctrine. Society changes and adapts with each passing generation; the relative truth to one generation can be non-applicable to the next down the line. However, the true gospel never changes or requires any modification or correction, no matter how the world around us changes (Hebrews 13:8).
Christ called them wolves in sheep's clothing. We can never recognize false teachings unless we know for ourselves the truth from God's Holy Word (Matthew 7:15). Trust but Verify.
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