Taking a lesson from the Bereans...

There is a lot of different ideas and doctrines floating around in Christianity today. It can get confusing, and can leave you wondering what is true and what isn't. There seems to be a common myth that anything with the label "Christian" on it is A-Okay, and kosher. We assume that everything considered "Christian" has to be; that it was checked out by some mysterious, wise council or something. However, not everything with the label "Christian" on it contains ideas that are actually "Christian". How do you know what is good and what isn't? I believe we can take some lessons from the Bereans...

"Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true." (Acts 17:11, NIV) Now that is good stuff! I suggest we take some lessons from them.

Now, I firmly believe that God's Word is absolutely true. Therefore, if we come across any new idea or ideology, we take it and examine it, and compare it to the unchanging truth of the Scripture, looking to see if the "new teaching" is actually true. You'd be surprised how many "Christian" books contain ideas that don't line up with Scripture.

Now, I heard somewhere that the way that people at banks train to identify counterfeit bills is not by studying counterfeits, as you might think. Actually, they examine real bills and study them. They acquaint themselves with the real thing, so as to better see the fake. In Scripture, we are told to guard against false teachings, to watch out for false prophets. We need to discern what is right, and the way to do that is to be like the Bereans. Acquaint yourself with Scripture, study it, get to know it in and out so you can see what is true and what is not.

We need to be more like Bereans, studying the scriptures to see if what we are taking in is really true. His word is truth; don't be led astray.

For Christ's Glory!