Paul & the Bereans

I. Introduction
 A. Paul’s second missionary journey: See map – Troas, Philippi, Thessalonica
II. Explanation of Acts 17:10-12
 A. 10 The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived they went into the Jewish synagogue.
  1. The Christians of Thessalonica send Paul and Silas away “by night.” – Paul’s life was in danger. He was being rushed out of town on a 50 mile hike through the night.
  2. What happened in Thessalonica that made Paul run for his life? Let’s read about it in Acts 17:1-7 “They came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. 2 And Paul went in, as was his custom, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, 3 explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ.” 4 And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a great many of the devout Greeks and not a few of the leading women. 5 But the Jews were jealous, and taking some wicked men of the rabble, they formed a mob, set the city in an uproar, and attacked the house of Jason, seeking to bring them out to the crowd. 6 And when they could not find them, they dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the city authorities, shouting, “These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also, 7 and Jason has received them, and they are all acting against the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus.”
   a. Why did the Jews of Thessalonica resent these gospel messengers? V.5 tells us that they were jealous. Like the Pharisees, they were jealous because people were flocking to Christ.
   b. Their religion was all about them. It was completely earthly.
   c. It wasn’t about God. It wasn’t about the truth. It wasn’t about salvation or deliverance.
   d. It was about their position, their prestige, their popularity. And when the gospel came to town, they felt very threatened. And they wouldn’t stand for it.
  3. Berea was another large city, like Thessalonica, with enough Jews to have a synagogue, but this synagogue was different...
 B. 11 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.
  1. Paul and Silas had encountered a lot of opposition up to this point, but here in Berea their message was met with openness as the folks opened their hearts and their Bibles. “They received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.”
  2. Whenever people are really open-minded about Christ, many will come to believe (see v.12)
III. I would like to point out four truths which this passage teaches us:
 A. There are always two very different reactions to the word of Jesus.
  1. This is the way it was all through Christ’s ministry.
   a. John 7:12 There was much grumbling among the multitudes concerning Him; some were saying, "He is a good man"; others were saying, "No, on the contrary, He leads the multitude astray."
   b. John 9:16 Some of the Pharisees were saying, "This man is not from God, because He does not keep the Sabbath." But others were saying, "How can a man who is a sinner perform such signs?" And there was a division among them. Cf. John 7:40-44
   c. John 10:19-21 There arose a division again among the Jews because of His words. Many of them were saying, "He has a demon and is insane. Why do you listen to Him?" Others were saying, "These are not the sayings of one demon-possessed. A demon cannot open the eyes of the blind."
  2. What is going on here? The light comes into the world. Some are drawn to it. Others are threatened and repelled by it. (John 3:19-21)
  3. So it is here in Thessalonica & Berea. They looked like similar cities until the word of Jesus came.
  4. You’d hope that Jesus would be the great uniter of mankind. But really He’s the great divider.
  5. He said this Himself in Luke 12:51-53 "Do you suppose that I came to grant peace on earth? I tell you, no, but rather division; for from now on five members in one household will be divided, three against two, and two against three. They will be divided, father against son, and son against father; mother against daughter, and daughter against mother; mother-in-law against daughter-in-law, and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law."
 B. The example of the Bereans teaches us how to resist two dangers, not just one.
  1. There are two potential errors, not just one.
   a. Not open to anything new
   b. Believing anything you’re told
  2. In the Bereans we see the epitome of a godly attitude toward a new message: on the one hand eager to discover truth, but on the other hand not gullible in accepting whatever people say.
  3. They were open-minded to what Paul was saying but they wanted to check it out in the Scriptures.
  4. In Galatians, Paul is reacting intensely toward those who are listening to new ideas. “Even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.” (Galatians 1:8-9)
  5. So it’s not simply open-mindedness that we want. It’s not just being willing to listen. It is listening to God. There is more than one voice speaking.
  6. But how can you tell whether it’s God you’re listening to? That’s where the Bible comes in.
 C. The Bereans reflect the spirit of the Protestant Reformation.
  1. This is one of the great Protestant verses of the Bible.
  2. Just accepting whatever the religious leaders say is not what is held up as a model here, is it?
  3. The model which the Bible points to for us to imitate has two parts to it.
   a. Listening to the teaching with an open mind.
   b. Checking it out in the Bible.
  4. How do we know if something is true or false? From the word of God.
  5. How do we know what’s right and wrong? From the word of God.
  6. We don’t decide what’s right based on whether it sounds good. 
  7. We don’t decide based on whether we like it.
  8. We don’t decide based on whether it lines up with our view of things.
  9. We don’t even decide based on whether it fits in with everything else we’ve heard.
  10. We decide based on whether it fits in with what Scripture says. That’s God’s filter for us.
  11. This is why it is so important to know the whole Bible, and how it works.
  12. It’s because the Bereans already had a close relationship with Scripture that they could do this.
  13. I realize that not all of us are the same. We don’t have the same gifts/talents or the same training.
   a. But all of us are called to love God with our whole heart, soul, MIND and strength.
   b. And part of loving God with our minds is to read and listen to and learn His word.
   c. Not just for inspiration. Not just for theology. But “for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.” (2Timothy 3:16-17)
   d. It’s not just for the theologians among us. It’s not just for the pastors and the teachers.
   e. You are the closest thing to a theologian some people will ever know.
  14. On the other hand, this is not a denial of the gift of teaching in the church; it’s just a message that we judge all matters — including the teaching we receive — according to the word of God.
   a. True Christian preachers do not want blind acceptance of what they say.
   b. Here’s the attitude of true Christian preachers: “Listen to me and see if this is not what God says in His word. If it isn’t, then reject it. But if it is, then accept it and be changed by it.”
 D. In this story God directs us to the Bible for discernment, not to the whispers of the Holy Spirit.
  1. One of the great errors which is fast growing in the church today and threatens to do great harm to the church is the notion that Christians must not rely on an objective examination of the Bible as their source of truth, but must listen to the Spirit speaking in their hearts.
  2. Why is this so dangerous? It’s because we are so susceptible to our own preferences and impressions. That’s why we needed God to speak to us according to His wisdom and knowledge.
  3. His thoughts are high above our thoughts! (Is.55:8-9)
  4. We’re not afraid of what the Spirit might say. We’re just afraid of what people might think the Spirit says which the Spirit actually didn’t say!
   a. The problem with saying that the Holy Spirit is leading us is that it’s so easy to mistake our own thoughts for the Spirit’s thoughts.
  5. Why would people do this?
   a. Laziness – it’s a lot easier to think something than to carefully examine something.
   b. Fear of men – things God says which are an embarrassment to us
   c. Ignorance and/or unbelief – Matt.22:29 Jesus: “You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God.”
  6. First and foremost, the HS speaks to us through the word.
   a. It doesn't say that they sought the Spirit to discern whether this new message was of the Lord.
   b. The Spirit didn’t have to inform them of this because He already had – in the Scriptures.
   c. All of our ideas must be tested according to God’s word.
   d. And if we don’t know and read and understand the Bible, we are vulnerable to accepting all kinds of ideas and notions without even realizing we’re going against the Bible.
IV. Conclusion
 A. Here we read the story of Paul’s missionary endeavors and he comes to Berea and all of a sudden the story stops telling us what happened and it’s as if God calls all of us around and says, “Take note of these Bereans. I give them as an example to you. Imitate their ways.”
  1. What was so fantastic about the Bereans?
 B. In this story we see the joy of the Lord, we see what God delights in, we see what quality God loves.
  1. Much of the love of God for us is in spite of what we’re like.
  2. But there are some things which God really likes in people. (E.g. 1Peter 3:4)
   a. Psalm 147:10–11 “His delight is not in the strength of the horse, nor his pleasure in the legs of a man, but the LORD takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his steadfast love.”
   b. And we see it here in the story of the Bereans, in their receptivity to the gospel and their reliance on God’s word. This is a rare combination, but it’s a combination God delights in.
   c. It is a joyful, grateful receptivity toward God, combined with a careful, humble reliance on the Bible. What a blessing when you find these two together! 
  3. That’s one of the many reasons I’m so grateful for this congregation.
  4. Of course, these things are always the result of God’s work in our hearts.