Christian Education and Discipleship

How to Teach and Learn Biblical Truths - Part 8

Transcript: AI Transcript

Professor: John Weaver

Subject: Education and Discipleship

Genre: Sermon

Dictation Name:

Date: 2022-05-08

Synopsis: John Weaver continues his series on learning biblical truth by focusing on how to teach biblical truth from Acts 17:1-13. He emphasizes that modern Christianity suffers from doctrinal ignorance, which leads to wrong conduct. Using Paul's example in Thessalonica, Weaver explains that teaching must involve reasoning out of and with Scripture, opening (expounding) the text, and alleging (setting one's teaching alongside Scripture for verification). The goal is to shut people up to the Word of God, leaving the results to God.

[John Weaver] Well, let's open our Bibles to the book of Acts chapter 17. I want to take the time to read the first 13 verses, although we will not be dealing with all 13 today. But I want you to see the context. I'm bringing a message again on how to learn biblical truth. This is actually the eighth message in this series, and there's going to be one more, and then I'll be ending it. So, look in Acts chapter 17, beginning with verse 1, Now when they had passed through Amphibolus in Apollyona, they came to Thessalonica, where was a synagogue of the Jews.

[John Weaver] And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three Sabbath days reasoned with them out of the Scriptures, opening, and alleging that Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead, and that this Jesus, whom I preach unto you, is Christ. And some of them believed and consorted with Paul and Silas, and of the devout Greeks a great multitude, and of the chief women not a few. But the Jews, which believed not, moved with envy, took unto them certain lewd fellows of the baser sort, and gathered a company, and set all the city on an uproar, and assaulted the house of Jason, and sought to bring them out to the people. And when they found them not, they drew Jason and certain brethren unto the rulers of the city, crying, These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also. And whom Jason hath received, and these all do contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, one Jesus. And they troubled the people and the ruler of the city when they heard these things.

[John Weaver] And when they had taken security of Jason and the other, they let them go. And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night into Berea, who coming thither into the synagogue of the Jews. These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind. and searched the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so. Therefore many of them believed, also of honorable women, which were Greeks, and of men not a few. But when the Jews of Thessalonica had knowledge that the word of God was preached of Paul at Berea, they came together also and stirred up the people."

[John Weaver] Let me just point out the fact that In this series, I've covered, number one, three reasons why we must interpret Scripture. Then I gave several messages on six prerequisites for interpreting the Scripture. And then I gave several messages which included 13 ways to consider Scripture each time we're reading through the Bible. And now I'm finishing this week and next week on how to teach and how to learn biblical truth. I believe that one of the greatest shortages, or the greatest weaknesses, however you want to say it, of modern day Christianity is the fact that most Christians are absolutely totally ignorant of Bible doctrine. They may know a lot about many things, but they know very little about Bible doctrine. There are very few Christians that can explain the doctrine of justification by faith, or the doctrine of sanctification, or even the doctrine of election. or any major doctrine, not only can they not discuss them or explain them, they could not even do so in an intelligent manner. So, the truth of the matter is, we have lost a lot in this day and time.

[John Weaver] The truth of the matter is, our conduct is supposed to be based upon the Word of God. And if our understanding is wrong, our conduct is going to be wrong. If our doctrine is wrong, then our lives are going to be wrong as well. So, anyone who believes wrongly, you can mark it down, is going to act wrongly. It is true. And it's impossible for you and I to be obedient and that of which we are ignorant. It's impossible to be obedient to that which we don't know and understand.

[John Weaver] That's why the Bible says in Proverbs 23, verse 7, As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he. In other words, our conduct is based upon our thinking. We actually act out what we believe. David said in Psalm 116, verse 10, I believed Therefore have I spoken." So we don't only actually end up speaking that which we believe, we actually end up acting out doing that which we believe. So our conduct then is based upon what we believe.

[John Weaver] Now, we can talk about holy and godly living. There are many pastors I know that encourage their people to live holily and to live godly, and I certainly commend them for that. However, let me point something out. It is impossible to live a holy life or a godly life, if you don't even know what holiness is or godliness, if you cannot explain it, if there is no basis for it, if there is no foundation for it in your life, it's just impossible for you to do. So it's really and truly useless in one sense of the word for a pastor or a preacher to encourage people to do something that they do not understand.

[John Weaver] What I'm trying to make is this. Our duty is based upon our doctrine. In 1 Corinthians 15 and verse 58, that's a verse that a lot of people can quote. The Apostle Paul said, Therefore, my beloved brethren, be you always steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as you know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. So now listen to that again. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be you steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord. So here's my question. What's going to make someone steadfast? What's going to make them unmovable? What's going to make them always abounding in the work of the Lord?

[John Weaver] Is it games, gadgets, gimmicks, promotions, praise, awards? Contests? And the answer is no. It's none of those things. It is Bible doctrine.

[John Weaver] Now listen, let me quote again, 1 Corinthians 15, verse 58.

[John Weaver] That is a conclusion, that is an application drawn from everything that he is teaching in 1 Corinthians chapter 15. What is he teaching in 1 Corinthians 15? The answer is, he's teaching the bodily resurrection of the dead. He taught in 1 Corinthians chapter 15 that Jesus Christ was raised bodily from the dead. He was the first fruits of those that sleep. And then he said that our resurrection is based upon His resurrection. In other words, His resurrection guarantees our resurrection.

[John Weaver] So I want you to think about this. How then can Paul say, therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord? Here's how he could say it. For as much as you know your labor is not in vain in the Lord. How do we know it's not in vain? I've preached for 57 years. I've never been written up in Time magazine as the pastor of the year. I've never been written up in a paper that says everybody ought to hear John Weaver. No. I've been attacked a lot, but I've never been praised hardly any.

[John Weaver] But I don't need the praise. And I don't care about the condemnation. The point I'm trying to make is this. It doesn't matter what people say. It doesn't matter what people think, because the Lord knows not only the heart, He knows the conduct, He knows the action, He knows everything. Then He said, you be steadfast and unmovable, regardless whether people praise you, regardless of whether there's awards and contests, because you know your labor is not in vain in the Lord. How do I know that?

[John Weaver] the cause of Bible doctrine, the cause of biblical doctrine, the resurrection of the dead. My duty is based upon my doctrine. Bible doctrine.

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to turn whole Acts 17, but I want you to turn to 1 Timothy chapter 1. Let's go to 1 Timothy chapter 1. Now, I want you to see this. The apostle Paul, is teaching, and he makes a tremendous statement to Timothy in 1 Timothy chapter 1, beginning there with verse 3. He says this, As I besought thee to abide still at Ephesus, when I went into Macedonia, that thou mightest charge some that they teach nor the doctrine, neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions rather than the godly edifying which is in the faith, so do.

[John Weaver] Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of good conscience, and of faith unfeigned." Now let me ask you a question. He says in verse 5, now the end of the commandment is, where is the commandment? What commandment is he talking about? Well, go back to verse 3. He says, I besought thee to abide still at Ephesus, when I went into Macedonia, that thou mightest charge some that they teach nor the doctrine. The word charge is perigaleos, which is also translated as commandment. So the commandment that he's talking about in verse 5 is the word charge or command in verse 3 where he said, I besought thee to command or charge some that they teach nor the doctrine.

[John Weaver] In other words, you are to be orthodox and not heterodox. Now, watch what happens. Here's what he's talking about teaching Bible doctrine. Look in verse 5.

[John Weaver] Now the end of the commandment, what commandment? The end of the commandment that you preach, nor the doctrine other than Bible doctrine. Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned.

[John Weaver] Now to understand verse 5, you have to turn it upside down. Why do you have to turn it upside down? Because he gives the end first. He says the end of the commandment is, So what comes first? What comes first in verse 5 is faith unfeigned. That is an unhypocritical faith, a real, genuine faith. That real faith then produces a pure heart, and then that pure heart then produces what he calls charity or love out of a pure heart, or of a good conscience. The good conscience is next. So it's the good conscience then that produces the love out of a pure heart. So you have to have an unhypocritical faith, You have to have a good conscience, and that produces then love out of a pure heart. So, note if you would please, that is the end of the commandment.

[John Weaver] In other words, everything in our lives is to be based upon Bible doctrine. So, the point I'm trying to make is very simple. It does no good to tell people to live a holy life if they do not know what holiness is, or if they have no foundation for holiness. So here's my application. Likewise, it does no good to tell people to study the Bible if they do not know how to study. We have to have a foundation. We have to have a biblical foundation.

[John Weaver] Now hopefully, this is going to be a two-part message. The final part will be coming next week. So I'm going to try to teach you today not only how to teach biblical truth, but next week, how to learn biblical truth, and you're going to see how intimately tied together these things are. So let me explain Acts 17 very quickly. In Acts 17, the Apostle Paul is on his second missionary journey. And in that second missionary journey, he makes three stops. And you can look at Acts 17 in light of this. First of all, he stops at Thessalonica in verses 1-9. Secondly, he stops then at Berea in verses 10-13. And thirdly, he stops at Athens in verses 17-34.

[John Weaver] And then when you get to chapter 18, he moves on to Corinth and he stays there for 18 months. Now, Acts chapter 17 can be divided very easily into three simple thoughts. First of all, I want you to note that there was opposition to the gospel in Thessalonica. Opposition to the gospel in Thessalonica. Secondly, there was interest in the gospel in Berea. And thirdly, there was indifference to the gospel in Athens.

[John Weaver] Now, I will point this out. If you look in Acts 17, beginning there with verse 18, you'll see that their indifference was based upon not only unbelief, but bad philosophy. Look in Acts 17, if you would please, verse 18. Then certain philosophers of the Epicureans and of the Stoics encountered him, that is the Apostle Paul, and some said, what will this babbler say? That's an interesting word actually, a seed picker.

[John Weaver] Others thought he seemed to be a setter for the strange gods because he preached unto them Jesus and the resurrection. And they took him and brought him unto Areopagus saying, May we know what this new doctrine whereof thou speakest is. So clearly then, these people were indifferent. All they wanted to do was just simply to pick. Look in verse 32 and you will see the indifference here. And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked And others said, we will hear thee again concerning this matter."

[John Weaver] So, with this outline in mind, I want to teach you today and show you from the Scripture how to teach biblical truth. I want you to hold on to this, because next week you're going to see a very clear parallel in how to learn biblical truth. So, how did Paul teach? Well, let's look in Acts chapter 17 and verse 2. Look at this. And Paul, notice these next words,"...as his manner was." In other words, he did this everywhere.

[John Weaver] This is how he taught. And Paul,"...as his manner was, went in unto them, and three Sabbath days reasoned with them out of the Scriptures, opening and alleging that Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead, and that this Jesus whom I preach unto you is Christ." First of all, the Bible says that He reasoned with them out of the Scriptures. The only way we're ever going to teach the truth is to reason out of the Scriptures.

[John Weaver] Now, the word reason there is the Greek word delegomai, and it's made up of two words, dia, which is a preposition which means through, and lego, to say. So, it literally means to say through. Literally, it is translated in our Bibles as reasoned. dispute and to reason with, and literally what it means is to mingle thought with thought. It means to converse. It means to discourse. It means to argue. It means to discuss. Now, one of the important meanings of this word reason is to mingle thought with thought. In other words, in a presentation of truth, Your thoughts must be logically connected where one thought logically, consistently follows the previous thought. So, it is refuting what I would call a helter-skelter presentation of the Scripture.

[John Weaver] So, let me ask you a question. Most of us have been in church all of our lives. Have you ever been to a church? Have you ever heard a preacher or a teacher speak? Maybe he's preached for an hour, spoke for an hour. And after the hour was over, you wondered what he said. Why he said it? What was the point? And you were just as ignorant when you came out as when you went in.

[John Weaver] You had no idea what he was even saying. You see, You can teach and you can preach and you can say a lot of good things. You may even say a lot of true things. But if the thoughts are not logically connected, then no one understands exactly what you're saying. Huh! A good illustration of that is just look at modern day politicians. Anybody understand what Nancy Pelosi says? Or Joe Biden? I mean, come on! All I'm saying is, if it is not presented in a logical, consistent manner, no one can understand it.

[John Weaver] So it should be a fundamental fact and obviously understood that the Bible said He reasoned with them out of the Scriptures. So, if you and I are going to teach the Scriptures, we have to reason out of the Scriptures. Notice if you would, the Apostle Paul was not teaching his pet peeves. He was not teaching what he learned as a Pharisee. He was not teaching what he was raised up with as a family member. He was not teaching what Grandpa believed or what Grandma believed. He was teaching out of the Scriptures.

[John Weaver] You see, if you are in a debate, or if you're just talking with someone, and you express your opinion, and your friend expresses his opinion, one opinion is as good as another. It's just an opinion. You may safely disagree with an opinion. Because an opinion is an opinion. But you can't safely disagree with Scripture. So the point I'm trying to make, and this is what Paul is doing in Acts chapter 17, which we shall see later, Paul is endeavoring to shut these people up to the Word of God so that they can see that if they disagree with him, what they're doing is they're disagreeing with God. They're disagreeing with Scripture. So one of the principles of the Reformation was sola scriptura, which means the Scriptures alone. And so the Scriptures alone are our sole authority for faith and practice. So Paul reasoned with them out of the Scripture.

[John Weaver] Now, let me go a little bit further with this word, dialegomai. He not only reasoned with them out of the Scripture, listen carefully, he reasoned with Scripture. Okay? That's not another way of saying exactly what I've just said. What I'm trying to tell you is the Apostle Paul used Scripture as he reasoned out of the Scripture, and he did so in a logical, consistent way. You remember I told you that one of the meanings of reasoned is to mingle thought with thought.

[John Weaver] So let me say this again. In simple terms, it means to argue logically and completely in a thorough manner.

[John Weaver] Now, let me show you. Look in Acts 17 and verse 17. Acts 17, verse 17. Therefore disputed he in the synagogue with the Jews and with the devout persons, and in the market daily with them that met with him. Now, notice if you would the word disputed. When you and I hear the word disputed, we think of an argument. We can say, well, wow, Gary and Steve had a disputation. When you hear that word, you think, wow, they got in an argument. It was very heated.

[John Weaver] Maybe it was even a knock down drag out. That's what we think. Would you be surprised if I told you that the word disputed in Acts 17, 17 is the exact same Greek word found in Acts 17, verse 3, dialegomai. So it is translated, disputed. And it's also translated, reasoned. Now look in Acts chapter 18 and verse 4. Watch carefully. Acts 18 verse 4. And He reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath and persuaded the Jews and the Greek. So there it is translated as reasoned again. Now look in verse 19 of chapter 18. And he came to Ephesus and left them there, but he himself entered into the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews." There it is again. Now, look in Acts chapter 19, beginning there, verse 8. And he went into the synagogues and spake boldly for the space of three months, disputing, it's the same word, disputing and persuading things concerning the Kingdom of God.

[John Weaver] But when divers were hardened, believe not, but spake evil of that way before the multitude, he departed from them, and separated the disciples, disputing daily in the school of one Tyrannus." Note, if you would, it is translated in verse 8 and verse 9 as disputing. So the word disputing and the word reasoning are exactly the same word in the Greek. I want you to notice, if you would please, verse 8 again. Acts 19, verse 8, And he went into the synagogue and spake boldly for the space of three months, disputing and persuading the things concerning the kingdom of God. Now the word persuade here is the Greek word patho, and it means to persuade. It means to induce someone to believe by words. It means to move someone to do something, to have faith, to believe, and or to be persuaded of a person and to trust and to have confidence.

[John Weaver] Now, let me ask you a question. What would be an implication then, based upon what we've just looked at in Acts 17, 18 and 19, What would be an implication of learning to reason scripturally? Well, I want you to look at verse 8. Acts 19, verse 8, And he went into the synagogue and he spake boldly for the space of three months, disputing and persuading the things concerning the kingdom of God. Now watch verse 9. Here's what happened. But when divers were hardened, and believe not, But spake evil of that way before the multitude. He departed from them and separated the disciples, disputing daily in the school of one Taranus." Now watch.

[John Weaver] So when he reasoned biblically, some got mad, some got glad. Watch verse 10. And this continued by the space of two years. Here it is. So that all they who dwelt in Asia heard the Word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks. They all heard. What is it we try to do when we communicate truth? We want to communicate the truth of God's Word. We want to communicate the Lord Jesus Christ.

[John Weaver] Whether people believe or whether they disbelieve, The consequences of God, that's not our business. Our business is to teach and proclaim the whole Word of God. And consequently, Paul's reasoning, Paul's disputing, Paul's arguing, Paul's mingling thought with thought, meant, therefore, when everyone heard, regardless of whether they believed or not, the whole of Asia, heard the Word of God.

[John Weaver] Now, let me just tell you that the problem with most preaching today is that there is no logical, scriptural connection in the thoughts. Many messages convey some truth. They may convey a half-truth, but listen carefully, a half-truth presented as the whole truth becomes an untruth. A half-truth presented as a whole truth becomes an untruth. We have to learn to present the whole truth in a logical, consistent manner.

[John Weaver] Let me give you an illustration. Suppose I told you today that I'm going to teach you on Acts 17, verses 2 and 3, and I'm going to teach you from the Scripture how to teach truth. And when I started teaching, I started mentioning sanctification, I may mention election, I may mention justification, I may say a lot of good things, I may say a lot of true things, but wait a minute, when you left, Would you understand anything about Acts 17, 2 and 3? And the answer is no, because I really didn't teach that. I just used that as a text, and I just said some things. And like I said, they may have been true, they may have been good, but that was not a logical, consistent explanation of this particular passage. Now, let me give you one of my favorite illustrations.

[John Weaver] I read this years and years ago, and I've never, ever forgotten it. And I got so tickled at it because it is so true. There was a time when it was mandatory that if you preached a sermon, you had to have three points. Three points. In fact, when I was a young preacher, it was still a kind of a joke. You've got to have three points in a poem. You know, that kind of thing.

[John Weaver] Well, I was reading about This one preacher who was preaching through the Bible expositionally, and he happened to come to the text in Numbers chapter 2 and verse 21, when the Bible says, And Balaam arose early, and saddled his ass, and went with the princes of Moab. So his points were these. Number one, a good trait in a bad man. Balaam arose early. Number two, the ancient art of saddlery. He saddled his ass. And number three, some concluding remarks about the woman at the well. What connection does the woman in the well have with Balaam saddling an ass?

[John Weaver] I mean, the truth of the matter is that's exactly how many sermons are presented today. There's just absolutely nothing there consistently and logically. So, if truth that is not presented logically, if we do not reason out of the Scripture, if we do not reason with the Scripture in a logical, consistent manner, we cannot communicate truth.

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to go back to Acts 17 and look at verse 3. Watch this. Now, Paul in verse 2 has reasoned with them out of the Scriptures. Look at what verse 3 says. Opening, and alleging that Christ must in ease have suffered, and risen again from the dead, and that this Jesus whom I preach unto you is Christ." So, not only did Paul reason out of the Scripture and with the Scripture, look at verse 3, opening, opening. So let me ask this question, what does it mean to open the Scripture?

[John Weaver] You know what most Christians think? Most Christians think to open the Scripture means that you sit down with someone and you open the Bible to a certain passage and say, there it is, read it for yourself. That is not opening Scripture. The word for opening here is dienagogal. It literally means to open by dividing asunder, to drawing asunder, to open thoroughly that which has been closed, such as the opening of the eyes of the blind or the opening of the ears of the deaf. It means to rouse someone to the understanding of doctrine.

[John Weaver] Let me show you something. I want you to look in your Bibles very quickly to the book of Luke chapter 2 because This same word is used in Luke 2 and verse 23. And interestingly enough, when you look at this word, it's actually a word that refers to the firstborn, or the first in birth, because in birth the womb is opened thoroughly. So look in Luke 2 and verse 23.

[John Weaver] As it is written in the law of the Lord, every male that openeth..." It's the same word. "...the womb shall be called holy unto the Lord."

[John Weaver] Now, go back to Acts 17 and look at verse 3. So the word opening here means to open thoroughly in the sense of Scripture. Hence, it means to cause one to understand. It means to cause one to grasp the truth. So when one expounds something, Thoroughly. When He expounds it with reason, and when He expounds it completely, He's giving the sense of the Scripture. Let me show you. Look back in your Bibles to Luke chapter 24 very quickly. Luke 24.

[John Weaver] Because Jesus Christ is on the Emmaus Road with two believers, and you remember how He joins Himself to them, and they're discouraged because it was the third day, and He joins them and says, what's wrong with you? Well, they said, we thought Jesus Christ was the Messiah, but He was crucified. Besides all this, it's the third day. And I want you to note something. Look, if you would, in Luke chapter 24, beginning there with verse, oh, let's see, verse 25. Then He said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have written, or have spoken, ought not Christ to have suffered these things?

[John Weaver] and to enter into His glory." Now watch what He did. "...And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, He expounded unto them in all the Scripture the things concerning Himself."

[John Weaver] Now, the word expounded is a different word than the inorgo, but I want you to know it literally means the same thing. It means to unfold the meaning of that which is said. In other words, He explained He interpreted, He expounded what the Scripture said. Look at it again. He said, O fools and slow of heart, to believe all that the prophets have written. Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter His glory, and beginning at Moses and all the prophets? He expounded. In other words, He began with Genesis and went all the way through everything concerning Himself. He explained it in detail. Now, look if you would please in verse 32 what the result was. And they said one to another, did not our heart burn within us while he talked with us by the way and while he did what? What did he do? While he opened to us the scripture. What is opening the Scripture? It means that you open it thoroughly, that you expound it, that you explain it.

[John Weaver] Let me show you. Look in your Bibles to the book of Mark chapter 7. Mark chapter 7. Here is the same word, dianoigo, look at it in Mark chapter 7, beginning there with verse 34. In fact, let's begin reading verse 32. And they bring unto him one that was deaf, and had an impediment in his speech. And they beseech him to put his hand upon him. And he took him aside from the multitude, and put his fingers into his ears.

[John Weaver] And he spit and touched his tongue. And looking up to heaven, he sighed and said unto him, Epaphatha, that is, be opened. Same word. Be opened, and straightway his ears were opened, and the string of his tongue was loose, and he spake plain." In other words, what happened when our Lord opened His ears? He heard as He'd never heard before. He spoke as He'd never spoken before. So the word, open, then, means not just simply to put someone in front of the Bible and say, read it for yourself. No, no, no. It means that you are expounding, you are explaining, you are interpreting the Scripture. You are showing them what the Scripture actually means.

[John Weaver] So, if you will look very quickly in your Bibles to the book of Nehemiah. Ezra, Nehemiah. Look at Nehemiah 8, beginning there with verse 7. Nehemiah 8, verse 7.

[John Weaver] And we'll start in the middle of that verse, just so I will not have to pronounce all the names of the Levites, OK? We'll start with the phrase, and the Levites, right in the middle of verse 7. What's this? And the Levites caused the people to understand the law, and the people stood in their place. So they read in the book of the law of God distinctly, that's exposition, and gave the sense, that's explanation or interpretation, and caused them to understand the reading, that's application. So what is preaching? Preaching is exposition, explanation, and application.

[John Weaver] And no one opens a Scripture unless he expounds and explains a Scripture. Opening, therefore, means to give the sense and the understanding thereof. So Paul then not only reasoned out of the Scripture, he not only reasoned with the Scripture, he opened it. He explained it.

[John Weaver] Now, go back, if you would, to Acts 17 and look at verse 3. Watch this again. Acts 17, verse 3. Paul, as his manner was, went into the synagogue and began to teach, and this is how he taught. So watch it. In verse 2, he reasoned out of the Scripture and with the Scripture. In verse 3, he opens, but now he does something else. Opening and alleging.

[John Weaver] that Christ must needs have suffered, now follow it with me, and risen again from the dead, and that this Jesus whom I'm preaching to you is Christ." Now most of us have never really grasped what this word, alleged, means. I could say, well, I'm alleging that Steve stole one of my pistols. Now, if I allege that, I'm not just really accusing him outright of doing it. I'm just alleging it. And we think of alleging as something that is not necessarily true, but it's just something that we're going to say. No, that is not what this Word means.

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to watch. Paul opened and alleged. So what in the world does it mean? First of all, the word alleged is from the Greek word paratithēmi. Para is a preposition which literally means alongside of. Tithēmi is a verb which means to cause to stand. So actually the word paratithēmi means to cause to stand beside of. or in the place of, or to set it near, or to set before in teaching. So, I want you to follow me now.

[John Weaver] I'm going to show it to you from Scripture in just a moment. So here's what Paul is doing. He's reasoning out of the Scripture. He's reasoning with the Scripture. He's opened the Scripture. He's explained it. He's interpreted it. And now he is alleging. Look what he is alleging. Look in verse 3 again. Opening and alleging that Christ's needs have suffered and risen again from the dead. Now watch it.

[John Weaver] And that this Jesus whom I preach unto you is Christ. So here's what he's doing. He's preaching that Jesus Christ is the Messiah. that Jesus Christ is the only salvation, that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and so he reasons out of the Scripture, listen, he reasons with the Scripture, he explains, he interprets, and now what he does, he takes what he says and sets it right down beside the Scripture and says, you compare what I just said with what the Scripture says, and you will find that what I said is what the Bible says. And therefore, what I'm saying is biblical and right.

[John Weaver] Now let me show you. I'm going to show you the same word. I want you to turn in your Bibles to the book of Mark chapter 8. Look in Mark chapter 8. Here is one of the instances where our Lord fed a large number of people. I want you to look in Mark 8. beginning there with verse 6. The Bible says,"...And he commanded the people to sit down on the ground, and he took the seven loaves, and gave thanks, and break, and gave to his disciples, to set before them." To paratith, amen. And they did set them before them. Paratith, amen. And they had a few small fishes, and He blessed and commanded to set them before them, peretith Amen."

[John Weaver] Now, let me ask you something. He had the fish, and He had the bread, and He broke it, and He blessed it, and He multiplied it, and He set it alongside of the people. Why did He set it alongside of the people? So that they could assimilate it. So that they could eat it. So they could possess it. So it would be theirs. This is exactly what Paul is doing back in Acts 17.

[John Weaver] He's setting everything that he says right beside the Word of God. And he said, look, what I'm teaching you about Jesus Christ is exactly what the Bible says about Jesus Christ. So what I'm saying and what the Bible says are one and the same. See, you can teach any doctrine, just like the Apostle Paul. So, your major premise would be this, the Bible teaches, and then you can insert what other doctrine you want to insert. The minor premise is this, the Bible is open, that is, it is expounded, it is explained, it is interpreted to demonstrate the truth, and the conclusion is, what I've just said is what the Bible says. So what I'm saying and what the Bible says are one, they are one and the same. So that's exactly what Paul is doing. Paul goes in, he reasons out of the Scripture, he reasons with the Scripture, he opens, he explains, he interprets, he applies, and then he sets it, what he just said, right by the Scripture. He says, look for yourself.

[John Weaver] It's one and the same. Now, let me very quickly dispel a myth. Some might tend to think, well, if I can learn to preach like Paul and teach like Paul, if I can reason out of the Scripture and with the Scripture, if I can open, if I can allege, then wow, folks are going to just flock to me and folks are going to be saved by the thousands. I'm going to have 100% success. That's not true.

[John Weaver] I want you to look in Acts 17. Look again at verse 4. Paul, listen to me, Paul was one of the greatest teachers that ever lived. I would say, with the exception of Jesus Christ, he was one of the best. God used him to write most of the New Testament. But if you look in Acts 17 verses 4 and 5, When he preached, some of them believed, which is wonderful, and consorted with Paul and Silas, of the devout Greeks, a great multitude, and of the chief women, not a few."

[John Weaver] But watch this,"...but the Jews who believed not moved with envy, took unto them certain lewd fellows of the basest sort, and gathered the company, and set the whole city on an uproar." Wow! Skip down to verse 32. He's preaching now in Athens. In verse 32 it says,"...when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked, and others said, We'll hear thee again on this matter. So Paul departed from among them, albeit certain men claimed unto him, and believed, among whom was Dionysius, the Arab apagite, and a woman named Damarius, and others with them."

[John Weaver] So, most rejected, but just a few did indeed believe. And if you will turn back in your Bibles very quickly to John chapter 6, John chapter 6. And note, if you would, beginning there with verse 60. I said that probably the Apostle Paul was the second greatest teacher in the world. The Lord Jesus Christ Himself would be the greatest teacher. He not only knew truth, He was truth. He was truth personified. But I want you to notice in John chapter 6, He is teaching that He is the bread of life. Look in verse 60. John 6, verse 60, Many therefore of His disciples, when they heard this, said, This is a hard saying. Who can hear it? When Jesus knew it Himself that His disciples murmured it, He said to them, Doth this offend you?

[John Weaver] What, then, if you shall see the Son of Man and stand up where he was before? It is the Spirit that quickeneth, the flesh profiteth nothing. The words I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life. But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not and who should betray Him. And He said, Therefore, said I unto you, that no man can come unto Me, except it were given him of My Father.

[John Weaver] From that time many of His disciples went back and walked no more with Him. Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will you go away also? Then Simon Peter answered Him, To whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life." Can you believe that? Jesus Christ gave one of the greatest expositions on the bread of life in John chapter 6. And what did they say? This is a hard saying. You can hear it. And many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more.

[John Weaver] Let me tell you something. I've already said it. I'll say it again, duty is ours and the consequences for God's. Our responsibility is to teach the whole Word of God. What people do with it is between them and the Lord. We can't make anyone believe. We can't cram truth down their throats. But we are responsible to teach the whole Word of God. And if we learn to reason out of the Bible, reason with the Bible, to open and to allege as the Apostle Paul, one thing we can know for sure is they heard the Word of God, and that means they are shut up to that Word. And they're going to give an account to God for what they heard and how they heard and how they responded or did not respond. The whole object of preaching is to shut people up to the Word of God.

[John Weaver] I want to end with a quote. This is a quote from Charles Haddon Spurgeon. He said this, If we play at preaching, we have chosen an awful game. To shuffle texts like cards and to make literary essays out of themes which move all heaven and hell is shameful. We must be serious as death in this solemn work. An earnest brother may make a mistake in grammar, and at this they observe it with a sneer.

[John Weaver] The Lord's people mock at him. Other devout believers errs in a classical illusion, and this also affords the mockers pleasure. The earnestness and the devotion go for nothing. Or rather, these are the secret reasons for the contempt of these superfine and superficial critics. The gospel is nothing to them. Cleverness is their idol. As for themselves, these gentlemen are mainly concerned to find out what will bring them the most honor in the philosophical school to which they belong.

[John Weaver] They have neither convictions nor beliefs, but only tastes and opinions, and the whole matter is a sport from the first to the last to them." Wow! I pray you above all things to keep clear of the scorner's chair and the trifler's campstool. Be seriously earnest. And so when it comes to teaching and preaching, we cannot shuffle text like cards, and we cannot make a game out of it, and it cannot be just our own cleverness.

[John Weaver] It has to be reasoning out of Scripture, reasoning with Scripture, opening it, explaining it, applying it, and then placing it side by side with the Word of God so that people can see this is truth. And once that has happened, they have been shut up. to the Word of God. You must remember this. The Word of God is going to do one of two things. It's either going to draw them savagely to Jesus Christ, or it's going to drive them away from Him in condemnation. But the Word of God will have been taught. Let's pray. Father, thank You for Your Word. Thank You for Your truth. Thank You, Lord, for teaching us how to teach, how to convey truth, And Lord, I pray that You also help us to learn truth and to have real doctrinal convictions of the truth. Help us, Lord, to be careful to honor Thee in all that we say and do, to live for Thee, to be holy, to be godly, to be obedient. And Father, thank You for the Lord Jesus Christ who alone is salvation.

[John Weaver] May we repent of our sins and trust only in Him. In the name of Jesus Christ, we ask and pray. Amen.

How to Teach and Learn Biblical Truths - Part 8

John Weaver | SermonAudio

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	SermonAudio
Media ID	59221652495935
Subject	Education and Discipleship
Course	Christian Education and Discipleship
Genre	Sermon
Date	2022-05-08
Dictation Name
Book	Book 073: Christian Education and Discipleship — Chapter 8
Source Timed Segments	77

Formatted Transcript

Introduction: The Problem of Doctrinal Ignorance

Weaver introduces the series and laments that most Christians are ignorant of Bible doctrine, which leads to wrong conduct because conduct is based on belief.

Well, let's open our Bibles to the book of Acts chapter 17. I want to take the time to read the first 13 verses, although we will not be dealing with all 13 today. But I want you to see the context. I'm bringing a message again on how to learn biblical truth. This is actually the eighth message in this series, and there's going to be one more, and then I'll be ending it. So, look in Acts chapter 17, beginning with verse 1,

Scripture Reading — Acts 17:1-13

"Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where was a synagogue of the Jews." "And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three Sabbath days reasoned with them out of the Scriptures, opening and alleging that Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead, and that this Jesus, whom I preach unto you, is Christ. And some of them believed and consorted with Paul and Silas, and of the devout Greeks a great multitude, and of the chief women not a few. But the Jews, which believed not, moved with envy, took unto them certain lewd fellows of the baser sort, and gathered a company, and set all the city on an uproar, and assaulted the house of Jason, and sought to bring them out to the people. And when they found them not, they drew Jason and certain brethren unto the rulers of the city, crying, These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also; whom Jason hath received: and these all do contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, one Jesus. And they troubled the people and the rulers of the city when they heard these things."

"And when they had taken security of Jason and of the other, they let them go. And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews. These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so. Therefore many of them believed; also of honourable women which were Greeks, and of men, not a few. But when the Jews of Thessalonica had knowledge that the word of God was preached of Paul at Berea, they came thither also, and stirred up the people." Let me just point out the fact that in this series, I've covered, number one, three reasons why we must interpret Scripture. Then I gave several messages on six prerequisites for interpreting the Scripture. And then I gave several messages which included 13 ways to consider Scripture each time we're reading through the Bible. And now I'm finishing this week and next week on how to teach and how to learn biblical truth. I believe that one of the greatest shortages, or the greatest weaknesses, however you want to say it, of modern day Christianity is the fact that most Christians are absolutely totally ignorant of Bible doctrine. They may know a lot about many things, but they know very little about Bible doctrine. There are very few Christians that can explain the doctrine of justification by faith, or the doctrine of sanctification, or even the doctrine of election, or any major doctrine. Not only can they not discuss them or explain them, they could not even do so in an intelligent manner. So, the truth of the matter is, we have lost a lot in this day and time.

The truth of the matter is, our conduct is supposed to be based upon the Word of God. And if our understanding is wrong, our conduct is going to be wrong. If our doctrine is wrong, then our lives are going to be wrong as well. So, anyone who believes wrongly, you can mark it down, is going to act wrongly. It is true. And it's impossible for you and I to be obedient to that of which we are ignorant. It's impossible to be obedient to that which we don't know and understand.

That's why the Bible says in Proverbs 23, verse 7,

Scripture Reading — Proverbs 23:7

"As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he."

In other words, our conduct is based upon our thinking. We actually act out what we believe. David said in Psalm 116, verse 10, "I believed, therefore have I spoken." So we don't only actually end up speaking that which we believe, we actually end up acting out, doing that which we believe. So our conduct then is based upon what we believe.

Duty Is Based on Doctrine

Using 1 Corinthians 15:58, Weaver argues that steadfastness in Christian service comes from knowing Bible doctrine, specifically the resurrection, not from external motivations.

Now, we can talk about holy and godly living. There are many pastors I know that encourage their people to live holily and to live godly, and I certainly commend them for that. However, let me point something out. It is impossible to live a holy life or a godly life if you don't even know what holiness is or godliness, if you cannot explain it, if there is no basis for it, if there is no foundation for it in your life. It's just impossible for you to do. So it's really and truly useless in one sense of the word for a pastor or a preacher to encourage people to do something that they do not understand. What I'm trying to make is this: Our duty is based upon our doctrine. In 1 Corinthians 15 and verse 58, that's a verse that a lot of people can quote. The Apostle Paul said,

Scripture Reading — 1 Corinthians 15:58

"Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord."

So now listen to that again.

Scripture Reading — 1 Corinthians 15:58

"Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord."

So here's my question. What's going to make someone steadfast? What's going to make them unmovable? What's going to make them always abounding in the work of the Lord?

Is it games, gadgets, gimmicks, promotions, praise, awards, contests? And the answer is no. It's none of those things. It is Bible doctrine.

Now listen, let me quote again, 1 Corinthians 15, verse 58.

That is a conclusion, that is an application drawn from everything that he is teaching in 1 Corinthians chapter 15. What is he teaching in 1 Corinthians 15? The answer is, he's teaching the bodily resurrection of the dead. He taught in 1 Corinthians chapter 15 that Jesus Christ was raised bodily from the dead. He was the firstfruits of those that sleep. And then he said that our resurrection is based upon His resurrection. In other words, His resurrection guarantees our resurrection.

So I want you to think about this. How then can Paul say, "Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord"? Here's how he could say it: "Forasmuch as ye know your labour is not in vain in the Lord." How do we know it's not in vain? I've preached for 57 years. I've never been written up in Time magazine as the pastor of the year. I've never been written up in a paper that says everybody ought to hear John Weaver. No. I've been attacked a lot, but I've never been praised hardly any.

But I don't need the praise. And I don't care about the condemnation. The point I'm trying to make is this: It doesn't matter what people say. It doesn't matter what people think, because the Lord knows not only the heart, He knows the conduct, He knows the action, He knows everything. Then He said, you be steadfast and unmovable, regardless whether people praise you, regardless of whether there's awards and contests, because you know your labour is not in vain in the Lord. How do I know that?

The Command to Teach No Other Doctrine

From 1 Timothy 1:3-5, Weaver shows that the goal of commanding sound doctrine is love from a pure heart, good conscience, and sincere faith, which are produced by right doctrine.

Because of Bible doctrine, because of biblical doctrine, the resurrection of the dead. My duty is based upon my doctrine. Bible doctrine. Now, I want you to turn to Acts 17, but I want you to turn to 1 Timothy chapter 1. Let's go to 1 Timothy chapter 1. Now, I want you to see this. The apostle Paul is teaching, and he makes a tremendous statement to Timothy in 1 Timothy chapter 1, beginning there with verse 3. He says this, "As I besought thee to abide still at Ephesus, when I went into Macedonia, that thou mightest charge some that they teach no other doctrine, neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions, rather than godly edifying which is in faith: so do."

"Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned." Now let me ask you a question. He says in verse 5, "Now the end of the commandment is..." Where is the commandment? What commandment is he talking about? Well, go back to verse 3. He says, "I besought thee to abide still at Ephesus, when I went into Macedonia, that thou mightest charge some that they teach no other doctrine." The word "charge" is paraggello, which is also translated as "commandment." So the commandment that he's talking about in verse 5 is the word "charge" or "command" in verse 3 where he said, "I besought thee to command or charge some that they teach no other doctrine." In other words, you are to be orthodox and not heterodox. Now, watch what happens. Here's what he's talking about: teaching Bible doctrine. Look in verse 5.

"Now the end of the commandment..." What commandment? The end of the commandment that you preach no other doctrine than Bible doctrine. "Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned." Now to understand verse 5, you have to turn it upside down. Why do you have to turn it upside down? Because he gives the end first. He says the end of the commandment is... So what comes first? What comes first in verse 5 is faith unfeigned. That is an unhypocritical faith, a real, genuine faith. That real faith then produces a pure heart, and then that pure heart then produces what he calls charity or love out of a pure heart, or of a good conscience. The good conscience is next. So it's the good conscience then that produces the love out of a pure heart. So you have to have an unhypocritical faith, you have to have a good conscience, and that produces then love out of a pure heart. So, note if you would please, that is the end of the commandment.

In other words, everything in our lives is to be based upon Bible doctrine. So, the point I'm trying to make is very simple. It does no good to tell people to live a holy life if they do not know what holiness is, or if they have no foundation for holiness. So here's my application. Likewise, it does no good to tell people to study the Bible if they do not know how to study. We have to have a foundation. We have to have a biblical foundation.

Context of Acts 17: Three Responses to the Gospel

Weaver outlines Paul's second missionary journey stops: opposition in Thessalonica, interest in Berea, and indifference in Athens, setting the stage for how Paul taught.

Now hopefully, this is going to be a two-part message. The final part will be coming next week. So I'm going to try to teach you today not only how to teach biblical truth, but next week, how to learn biblical truth, and you're going to see how intimately tied together these things are. So let me explain Acts 17 very quickly. In Acts 17, the Apostle Paul is on his second missionary journey. And in that second missionary journey, he makes three stops. And you can look at Acts 17 in light of this. First of all, he stops at Thessalonica in verses 1-9. Secondly, he stops then at Berea in verses 10-13. And thirdly, he stops at Athens in verses 17-34.

And then when you get to chapter 18, he moves on to Corinth and he stays there for 18 months. Now, Acts chapter 17 can be divided very easily into three simple thoughts. First of all, I want you to note that there was opposition to the gospel in Thessalonica. Opposition to the gospel in Thessalonica. Secondly, there was interest in the gospel in Berea. And thirdly, there was indifference to the gospel in Athens.

Now, I will point this out. If you look in Acts 17, beginning there with verse 18, you'll see that their indifference was based upon not only unbelief, but bad philosophy. Look in Acts 17, if you would please, verse 18. "Then certain philosophers of the Epicureans, and of the Stoicks, encountered him," that is the Apostle Paul, "and some said, What will this babbler say?" That's an interesting word actually, a seed picker. "Others thought he seemed to be a setter forth of strange gods: because he preached unto them Jesus, and the resurrection. And they took him, and brought him unto Areopagus, saying, May we know what this new doctrine, whereof thou speakest, is?" So clearly then, these people were indifferent. All they wanted to do was just simply to pick. Look in verse 32 and you will see the indifference here. "And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked: and others said, We will hear thee again of this matter."

So, with this outline in mind, I want to teach you today and show you from the Scripture how to teach biblical truth. I want you to hold on to this, because next week you're going to see a very clear parallel in how to learn biblical truth. So, how did Paul teach? Well, let's look in Acts chapter 17 and verse 2. Look at this. "And Paul," notice these next words, "as his manner was." In other words, he did this everywhere.

Paul Reasoned Out of the Scriptures

Paul's manner was to reason (dialegomai) from the Scriptures, meaning to mingle thought with thought in a logical, consistent presentation, not merely sharing opinions.

This is how he taught. "And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three Sabbath days reasoned with them out of the Scriptures, opening and alleging that Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead, and that this Jesus, whom I preach unto you, is Christ." First of all, the Bible says that He reasoned with them out of the Scriptures. The only way we're ever going to teach the truth is to reason out of the Scriptures. Now, the word "reason" there is the Greek word dialegomai, and it's made up of two words, dia, which is a preposition which means through, and lego, to say. So, it literally means to say through. Literally, it is translated in our Bibles as reasoned, dispute, and to reason with, and literally what it means is to mingle thought with thought. It means to converse. It means to discourse. It means to argue. It means to discuss. Now, one of the important meanings of this word "reason" is to mingle thought with thought. In other words, in a presentation of truth, your thoughts must be logically connected where one thought logically, consistently follows the previous thought. So, it is refuting what I would call a helter-skelter presentation of the Scripture.

So, let me ask you a question. Most of us have been in church all of our lives. Have you ever been to a church? Have you ever heard a preacher or a teacher speak? Maybe he's preached for an hour, spoke for an hour. And after the hour was over, you wondered what he said, why he said it, what was the point? And you were just as ignorant when you came out as when you went in.

You had no idea what he was even saying. You see, you can teach and you can preach and you can say a lot of good things. You may even say a lot of true things. But if the thoughts are not logically connected, then no one understands exactly what you're saying. Huh! A good illustration of that is just look at modern day politicians. Anybody understand what Nancy Pelosi says? Or Joe Biden? I mean, come on! All I'm saying is, if it is not presented in a logical, consistent manner, no one can understand it.

So it should be a fundamental fact and obviously understood that the Bible said He reasoned with them out of the Scriptures. So, if you and I are going to teach the Scriptures, we have to reason out of the Scriptures. Notice if you would, the Apostle Paul was not teaching his pet peeves. He was not teaching what he learned as a Pharisee. He was not teaching what he was raised up with as a family member. He was not teaching what Grandpa believed or what Grandma believed. He was teaching out of the Scriptures.

You see, if you are in a debate, or if you're just talking with someone, and you express your opinion, and your friend expresses his opinion, one opinion is as good as another. It's just an opinion. You may safely disagree with an opinion. Because an opinion is an opinion. But you can't safely disagree with Scripture. So the point I'm trying to make, and this is what Paul is doing in Acts chapter 17, which we shall see later, Paul is endeavoring to shut these people up to the Word of God so that they can see that if they disagree with him, what they're doing is they're disagreeing with God. They're disagreeing with Scripture. So one of the principles of the Reformation was sola scriptura, which means the Scriptures alone. And so the Scriptures alone are our sole authority for faith and practice. So Paul reasoned with them out of the Scripture.

Reasoning with Scripture: Logical Argumentation

Weaver explains that 'reasoned' and 'disputed' are the same Greek word, indicating Paul argued logically and thoroughly from Scripture, persuading hearers.

Now, let me go a little bit further with this word, dialegomai. He not only reasoned with them out of the Scripture, listen carefully, he reasoned with Scripture. Okay? That's not another way of saying exactly what I've just said. What I'm trying to tell you is the Apostle Paul used Scripture as he reasoned out of the Scripture, and he did so in a logical, consistent way. You remember I told you that one of the meanings of reasoned is to mingle thought with thought.

Scripture Reading — Acts 17:2-3

So let me say this again. In simple terms, it means to argue logically and completely in a thorough manner. Now, let me show you. Look in Acts 17 and verse 17. Acts 17, verse 17. "Therefore disputed he in the synagogue with the Jews, and with the devout persons, and in the market daily with them that met with him." Now, notice if you would the word "disputed." When you and I hear the word "disputed," we think of an argument. We can say, well, wow, Gary and Steve had a disputation. When you hear that word, you think, wow, they got in an argument. It was very heated. Maybe it was even a knock down drag out. That's what we think. Would you be surprised if I told you that the word "disputed" in Acts 17:17 is the exact same Greek word found in Acts 17, verse 3, dialegomai. So it is translated "disputed." And it's also translated "reasoned." Now look in Acts chapter 18 and verse 4. Watch carefully. Acts 18 verse 4. "And he reasoned in the synagogue every sabbath, and persuaded the Jews and the Greeks." So there it is translated as "reasoned" again. Now look in verse 19 of chapter 18. "And he came to Ephesus, and left them there: but he himself entered into the synagogue, and reasoned with the Jews." There it is again. Now, look in Acts chapter 19, beginning there, verse 8. "And he went into the synagogue, and spake boldly for the space of three months, disputing"—it's the same word—"disputing and persuading the things concerning the kingdom of God." "But when divers were hardened, and believed not, but spake evil of that way before the multitude, he departed from them, and separated the disciples, disputing daily in the school of one Tyrannus." Note, if you would, it is translated in verse 8 and verse 9 as "disputing." So the word "disputing" and the word "reasoning" are exactly the same word in the Greek. I want you to notice, if you would please, verse 8 again. Acts 19, verse 8, "And he went into the synagogue, and spake boldly for the space of three months, disputing and persuading the things concerning the kingdom of God." Now the word "persuade" here is the Greek word peitho, and it means to persuade. It means to induce someone to believe by words. It means to move someone to do something, to have faith, to believe, and or to be persuaded of a person and to trust and to have confidence. Now, let me ask you a question. What would be an implication then, based upon what we've just looked at in Acts 17, 18 and 19, what would be an implication of learning to reason scripturally? Well, I want you to look at verse 8. Acts 19, verse 8, "And he went into the synagogue, and he spake boldly for the space of three months, disputing and persuading the things concerning the kingdom of God." Now watch verse 9. Here's what happened. "But when divers were hardened, and believed not, but spake evil of that way before the multitude, he departed from them, and separated the disciples, disputing daily in the school of one Tyrannus." Now watch.

The Result of Scriptural Reasoning: All Heard

When Paul reasoned biblically, some believed and some rejected, but the whole region heard the Word of God, which is the preacher's responsibility.

So when he reasoned biblically, some got mad, some got glad. Watch verse 10. "And this continued by the space of two years; so that all they which dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks." They all heard. What is it we try to do when we communicate truth? We want to communicate the truth of God's Word. We want to communicate the Lord Jesus Christ. Whether people believe or whether they disbelieve, the consequences of God, that's not our business. Our business is to teach and proclaim the whole Word of God. And consequently, Paul's reasoning, Paul's disputing, Paul's arguing, Paul's mingling thought with thought, meant, therefore, when everyone heard, regardless of whether they believed or not, the whole of Asia heard the Word of God.

Now, let me just tell you that the problem with most preaching today is that there is no logical, scriptural connection in the thoughts. Many messages convey some truth. They may convey a half-truth, but listen carefully, a half-truth presented as the whole truth becomes an untruth. A half-truth presented as a whole truth becomes an untruth. We have to learn to present the whole truth in a logical, consistent manner.

Opening the Scriptures: Expounding and Explaining

Weaver defines 'opening' (dianoigo) as thoroughly expounding Scripture to cause understanding, not merely reading it, illustrated by Jesus on the Emmaus road and Nehemiah 8.

Let me give you an illustration. Suppose I told you today that I'm going to teach you on Acts 17, verses 2 and 3, and I'm going to teach you from the Scripture how to teach truth. And when I started teaching, I started mentioning sanctification, I may mention election, I may mention justification, I may say a lot of good things, I may say a lot of true things, but wait a minute, when you left, would you understand anything about Acts 17, 2 and 3? And the answer is no, because I really didn't teach that. I just used that as a text, and I just said some things. And like I said, they may have been true, they may have been good, but that was not a logical, consistent explanation of this particular passage. Now, let me give you one of my favorite illustrations.

I read this years and years ago, and I've never, ever forgotten it. And I got so tickled at it because it is so true. There was a time when it was mandatory that if you preached a sermon, you had to have three points. Three points. In fact, when I was a young preacher, it was still a kind of a joke. You've got to have three points and a poem. You know, that kind of thing.

Well, I was reading about this one preacher who was preaching through the Bible expositionally, and he happened to come to the text in Numbers chapter 2 and verse 21, when the Bible says, "And Balaam rose up early, and saddled his ass, and went with the princes of Moab." So his points were these: Number one, a good trait in a bad man. Balaam arose early. Number two, the ancient art of saddlery. He saddled his ass. And number three, some concluding remarks about the woman at the well. What connection does the woman at the well have with Balaam saddling an ass? I mean, the truth of the matter is that's exactly how many sermons are presented today. There's just absolutely nothing there consistently and logically. So, if truth that is not presented logically, if we do not reason out of the Scripture, if we do not reason with the Scripture in a logical, consistent manner, we cannot communicate truth.

Now, I want you to go back to Acts 17 and look at verse 3. Watch this. Now, Paul in verse 2 has reasoned with them out of the Scriptures. Look at what verse 3 says.

Scripture Reading — Acts 17:2-3

"Opening and alleging that Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead, and that this Jesus, whom I preach unto you, is Christ."

So, not only did Paul reason out of the Scripture and with the Scripture, look at verse 3, opening, opening. So let me ask this question, what does it mean to open the Scripture? You know what most Christians think? Most Christians think to open the Scripture means that you sit down with someone and you open the Bible to a certain passage and say, "There it is, read it for yourself." That is not opening Scripture. The word for "opening" here is dianoigo. It literally means to open by dividing asunder, to drawing asunder, to open thoroughly that which has been closed, such as the opening of the eyes of the blind or the opening of the ears of the deaf. It means to rouse someone to the understanding of doctrine.

Let me show you something. I want you to look in your Bibles very quickly to the book of Luke chapter 2 because this same word is used in Luke 2 and verse 23. And interestingly enough, when you look at this word, it's actually a word that refers to the firstborn, or the first in birth, because in birth the womb is opened thoroughly. So look in Luke 2 and verse 23. "As it is written in the law of the Lord, Every male that openeth..." It's the same word. "...the womb shall be called holy to the Lord."

Scripture Reading — Acts 17:2-3

Now, go back to Acts 17 and look at verse 3. So the word "opening" here means to open thoroughly in the sense of Scripture. Hence, it means to cause one to understand. It means to cause one to grasp the truth. So when one expounds something thoroughly, when he expounds it with reason, and when he expounds it completely, he's giving the sense of the Scripture. Let me show you. Look back in your Bibles to Luke chapter 24 very quickly. Luke 24.

Because Jesus Christ is on the Emmaus Road with two believers, and you remember how He joins Himself to them, and they're discouraged because it was the third day, and He joins them and says, "What's wrong with you?" Well, they said, "We thought Jesus Christ was the Messiah, but He was crucified. Besides all this, it's the third day." And I want you to note something. Look, if you would, in Luke chapter 24, beginning there with verse, oh, let's see, verse 25. "Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory?"

Now watch what He did. "And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself." Now, the word "expounded" is a different word than dianoigo, but I want you to know it literally means the same thing. It means to unfold the meaning of that which is said. In other words, He explained, He interpreted, He expounded what the Scripture said. Look at it again. "He said, O fools and slow of heart, to believe all that the prophets have spoken: Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter his glory? And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded..." In other words, He began with Genesis and went all the way through everything concerning Himself. He explained it in detail. Now, look if you would please in verse 32 what the result was. "And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?" What is opening the Scripture? It means that you open it thoroughly, that you expound it, that you explain it.

Let me show you. Look in your Bibles to the book of Mark chapter 7. Mark chapter 7. Here is the same word, dianoigo, look at it in Mark chapter 7, beginning there with verse 34. In fact, let's begin reading verse 32. "And they bring unto him one that was deaf, and had an impediment in his speech; and they beseech him to put his hand upon him. And he took him aside from the multitude, and put his fingers into his ears."

"And he spit, and touched his tongue; and looking up to heaven, he sighed, and saith unto him, Ephphatha, that is, Be opened." Same word. "Be opened, and straightway his ears were opened, and the string of his tongue was loosed, and he spake plain." In other words, what happened when our Lord opened His ears? He heard as He'd never heard before. He spoke as He'd never spoken before. So the word "open" then, means not just simply to put someone in front of the Bible and say, "Read it for yourself." No, no, no. It means that you are expounding, you are explaining, you are interpreting the Scripture. You are showing them what the Scripture actually means.

So, if you will look very quickly in your Bibles to the book of Nehemiah. Ezra, Nehemiah. Look at Nehemiah 8, beginning there with verse 7. Nehemiah 8, verse 7.

And we'll start in the middle of that verse, just so I will not have to pronounce all the names of the Levites, OK? We'll start with the phrase, "and the Levites," right in the middle of verse 7. What's this? "And the Levites caused the people to understand the law: and the people stood in their place. So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly," that's exposition, "and gave the sense," that's explanation or interpretation, "and caused them to understand the reading," that's application. So what is preaching? Preaching is exposition, explanation, and application.

And no one opens a Scripture unless he expounds and explains a Scripture. Opening, therefore, means to give the sense and the understanding thereof. So Paul then not only reasoned out of the Scripture, he not only reasoned with the Scripture, he opened it. He explained it.

Alleging: Setting Teaching Beside Scripture

The word 'alleging' (paratithēmi) means to set alongside; Paul placed his teaching next to Scripture so hearers could verify it matched God's Word.

Now, go back, if you would, to Acts 17 and look at verse 3. Watch this again. Acts 17, verse 3. Paul, as his manner was, went into the synagogue and began to teach, and this is how he taught. So watch it. In verse 2, he reasoned out of the Scripture and with the Scripture. In verse 3, he opens, but now he does something else. Opening and alleging.

"...that Christ must needs have suffered," now follow it with me, "and risen again from the dead, and that this Jesus, whom I'm preaching to you, is Christ." Now most of us have never really grasped what this word "alleging" means. I could say, well, I'm alleging that Steve stole one of my pistols. Now, if I allege that, I'm not just really accusing him outright of doing it. I'm just alleging it. And we think of alleging as something that is not necessarily true, but it's just something that we're going to say. No, that is not what this word means.

Now, I want you to watch. Paul opened and alleged. So what in the world does it mean? First of all, the word "alleged" is from the Greek word paratithēmi. Para is a preposition which literally means alongside of. Tithēmi is a verb which means to cause to stand. So actually the word paratithēmi means to cause to stand beside of, or in the place of, or to set it near, or to set before in teaching. So, I want you to follow me now.

I'm going to show it to you from Scripture in just a moment. So here's what Paul is doing. He's reasoning out of the Scripture. He's reasoning with the Scripture. He's opened the Scripture. He's explained it. He's interpreted it. And now he is alleging. Look what he is alleging. Look in verse 3 again. "Opening and alleging that Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead." Now watch it.

"And that this Jesus, whom I preach unto you, is Christ." So here's what he's doing. He's preaching that Jesus Christ is the Messiah, that Jesus Christ is the only salvation, that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and so he reasons out of the Scripture, listen, he reasons with the Scripture, he explains, he interprets, and now what he does, he takes what he says and sets it right down beside the Scripture and says, "You compare what I just said with what the Scripture says, and you will find that what I said is what the Bible says. And therefore, what I'm saying is biblical and right." Now let me show you. I'm going to show you the same word. I want you to turn in your Bibles to the book of Mark chapter 8. Look in Mark chapter 8. Here is one of the instances where our Lord fed a large number of people. I want you to look in Mark 8, beginning there with verse 6. The Bible says, "And he commanded the people to sit down on the ground: and he took the seven loaves, and gave thanks, and brake, and gave to his disciples to set before them." To paratithēmi. "And they did set them before the people." Paratithēmi. "And they had a few small fishes: and he blessed, and commanded to set them also before them." Paratithēmi.

Now, let me ask you something. He had the fish, and He had the bread, and He broke it, and He blessed it, and He multiplied it, and He set it alongside of the people. Why did He set it alongside of the people? So that they could assimilate it. So that they could eat it. So they could possess it. So it would be theirs. This is exactly what Paul is doing back in Acts 17.

He's setting everything that he says right beside the Word of God. And he said, "Look, what I'm teaching you about Jesus Christ is exactly what the Bible says about Jesus Christ. So what I'm saying and what the Bible says are one and the same." See, you can teach any doctrine, just like the Apostle Paul. So, your major premise would be this: the Bible teaches... and then you can insert what other doctrine you want to insert. The minor premise is this: the Bible is open, that is, it is expounded, it is explained, it is interpreted to demonstrate the truth, and the conclusion is: what I've just said is what the Bible says. So what I'm saying and what the Bible says are one, they are one and the same. So that's exactly what Paul is doing. Paul goes in, he reasons out of the Scripture, he reasons with the Scripture, he opens, he explains, he interprets, he applies, and then he sets it, what he just said, right by the Scripture. He says, "Look for yourself."

The Mixed Response to Faithful Teaching

Even Paul and Jesus faced rejection; the preacher's duty is to teach the whole Word, shutting people up to God, while results belong to God.

It's one and the same. Now, let me very quickly dispel a myth. Some might tend to think, well, if I can learn to preach like Paul and teach like Paul, if I can reason out of the Scripture and with the Scripture, if I can open, if I can allege, then wow, folks are going to just flock to me and folks are going to be saved by the thousands. I'm going to have 100% success. That's not true. I want you to look in Acts 17. Look again at verse 4. Paul, listen to me, Paul was one of the greatest teachers that ever lived. I would say, with the exception of Jesus Christ, he was one of the best. God used him to write most of the New Testament. But if you look in Acts 17 verses 4 and 5, when he preached,

Scripture Reading — Acts 17:4-5, 32-34

"some of them believed, which is wonderful, and consorted with Paul and Silas; and of the devout Greeks a great multitude, and of the chief women not a few."

But watch this, "But the Jews which believed not, moved with envy, took unto them certain lewd fellows of the baser sort, and gathered a company, and set all the city on an uproar." Wow! Skip down to verse 32. He's preaching now in Athens. In verse 32 it says, "And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked: and others said, We will hear thee again of this matter. So Paul departed from among them. Howbeit certain men clave unto him, and believed: among the which was Dionysius the Areopagite, and a woman named Damaris, and others with them."

So, most rejected, but just a few did indeed believe. And if you will turn back in your Bibles very quickly to John chapter 6, John chapter 6. And note, if you would, beginning there with verse 60. I said that probably the Apostle Paul was the second greatest teacher in the world. The Lord Jesus Christ Himself would be the greatest teacher. He not only knew truth, He was truth. He was truth personified. But I want you to notice in John chapter 6, He is teaching that He is the bread of life. Look in verse 60. John 6, verse 60, "Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it? When Jesus knew in himself that his disciples murmured at it, he said unto them, Doth this offend you?"

"What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before? It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him. And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father." "From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him. Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away? Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life." Can you believe that? Jesus Christ gave one of the greatest expositions on the bread of life in John chapter 6. And what did they say? "This is an hard saying; who can hear it?" And many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more.

Let me tell you something. I've already said it. I'll say it again, duty is ours and the consequences for God's. Our responsibility is to teach the whole Word of God. What people do with it is between them and the Lord. We can't make anyone believe. We can't cram truth down their throats. But we are responsible to teach the whole Word of God. And if we learn to reason out of the Bible, reason with the Bible, to open and to allege as the Apostle Paul, one thing we can know for sure is they heard the Word of God, and that means they are shut up to that Word. And they're going to give an account to God for what they heard and how they heard and how they responded or did not respond. The whole object of preaching is to shut people up to the Word of God.

Conclusion: Seriousness in Preaching

Weaver quotes Spurgeon to emphasize that preaching must be earnest, not a game, and must reason from Scripture, open it, and allege it, leaving hearers accountable to God.

I want to end with a quote. This is a quote from Charles Haddon Spurgeon. He said this: "If we play at preaching, we have chosen an awful game. To shuffle texts like cards and to make literary essays out of themes which move all heaven and hell is shameful. We must be serious as death in this solemn work. An earnest brother may make a mistake in grammar, and at this they observe it with a sneer." "The Lord's people mock at him. Other devout believers err in a classical allusion, and this also affords the mockers pleasure. The earnestness and the devotion go for nothing. Or rather, these are the secret reasons for the contempt of these superfine and superficial critics. The gospel is nothing to them. Cleverness is their idol. As for themselves, these gentlemen are mainly concerned to find out what will bring them the most honor in the philosophical school to which they belong."

"They have neither convictions nor beliefs, but only tastes and opinions, and the whole matter is a sport from the first to the last to them." Wow! "I pray you above all things to keep clear of the scorner's chair and the trifler's campstool. Be seriously earnest." And so when it comes to teaching and preaching, we cannot shuffle text like cards, and we cannot make a game out of it, and it cannot be just our own cleverness. It has to be reasoning out of Scripture, reasoning with Scripture, opening it, explaining it, applying it, and then placing it side by side with the Word of God so that people can see this is truth. And once that has happened, they have been shut up to the Word of God. You must remember this. The Word of God is going to do one of two things. It's either going to draw them savingly to Jesus Christ, or it's going to drive them away from Him in condemnation. But the Word of God will have been taught. Let's pray. Father, thank You for Your Word. Thank You for Your truth. Thank You, Lord, for teaching us how to teach, how to convey truth, and Lord, I pray that You also help us to learn truth and to have real doctrinal convictions of the truth. Help us, Lord, to be careful to honor Thee in all that we say and do, to live for Thee, to be holy, to be godly, to be obedient. And Father, thank You for the Lord Jesus Christ who alone is salvation.

May we repent of our sins and trust only in Him. In the name of Jesus Christ, we ask and pray. Amen.

Study Guide

Major Themes

Doctrinal Ignorance Leads to Wrong Conduct

Summary: Weaver argues that most Christians lack understanding of Bible doctrine, which inevitably results in wrong living because conduct flows from belief.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'most Christians are absolutely totally ignorant of Bible doctrine... our conduct is supposed to be based upon the Word of God. And if our understanding is wrong, our conduct is going to be wrong.'

Duty Is Based on Doctrine

Summary: Christian steadfastness and service are grounded in doctrinal truth, not external incentives; the resurrection doctrine motivates enduring labor.

Evidence: Weaver explains 1 Corinthians 15:58: 'Therefore... be ye steadfast... How do we know it's not in vain? Because of Bible doctrine... the resurrection of the dead.'

The Necessity of Logical, Scriptural Reasoning in Teaching

Summary: Effective teaching requires reasoning (dialegomai) from Scripture, mingling thought with thought in a logical, consistent manner so hearers understand.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'in a presentation of truth, your thoughts must be logically connected... if the thoughts are not logically connected, then no one understands exactly what you're saying.'

Opening Scripture Means Expounding, Not Just Reading

Summary: To 'open' Scripture (dianoigo) is to thoroughly explain and interpret it, causing understanding, as Jesus did on the Emmaus road and the Levites in Nehemiah 8.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'the word "opening" here means to open thoroughly... to cause one to understand... you are expounding, you are explaining, you are interpreting the Scripture.'

Alleging: Setting Teaching Beside Scripture for Verification

Summary: Paul 'alleged' (paratithēmi) by placing his teaching alongside Scripture so hearers could compare and see it matched God's Word, shutting them up to truth.

Evidence: Weaver explains, 'he takes what he says and sets it right down beside the Scripture and says, "You compare what I just said with what the Scripture says, and you will find that what I said is what the Bible says."'

The Preacher's Responsibility and God's Sovereignty in Results

Summary: Faithful teaching will produce mixed responses; the preacher's duty is to proclaim the whole Word, leaving the consequences to God.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'duty is ours and the consequences for God's. Our responsibility is to teach the whole Word of God. What people do with it is between them and the Lord.'

Key Arguments

Conduct is determined by belief, so doctrinal ignorance leads to wrong living.

Summary: Weaver argues that since people act out what they believe, ignorance of Bible doctrine inevitably results in disobedience and ungodly conduct.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'our conduct is based upon our thinking. We actually act out what we believe... It's impossible for you and I to be obedient to that of which we are ignorant.'

The resurrection doctrine is the basis for steadfast Christian service.

Summary: Using 1 Corinthians 15:58, Weaver contends that knowing the doctrine of the resurrection provides the motivation for unwavering labor in the Lord.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'How do we know it's not in vain? Because of Bible doctrine, because of biblical doctrine, the resurrection of the dead. My duty is based upon my doctrine.'

The goal of commanding sound doctrine is love from a pure heart.

Summary: From 1 Timothy 1:5, Weaver argues that the end of the command to teach no other doctrine is love that flows from a sincere faith, pure heart, and good conscience.

Evidence: Weaver explains, 'the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart... So you have to have an unhypocritical faith, you have to have a good conscience, and that produces then love out of a pure heart.'

Paul's teaching method involved reasoning logically from Scripture.

Summary: Weaver demonstrates that the Greek word dialegomai means to mingle thought with thought, indicating Paul presented truth in a logically connected, coherent manner.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'it literally means to mingle thought with thought... your thoughts must be logically connected where one thought logically, consistently follows the previous thought.'

Opening Scripture requires expounding and explaining, not just reading.

Summary: Weaver argues that 'opening' (dianoigo) means to thoroughly unfold the meaning, as Jesus did on the Emmaus road and the Levites in Nehemiah 8, giving the sense.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'the word "opening" here means to open thoroughly... to cause one to understand... you are expounding, you are explaining, you are interpreting the Scripture.'

Alleging places human teaching alongside Scripture for verification.

Summary: Weaver argues that 'alleging' (paratithēmi) means to set teaching beside Scripture so hearers can see it matches God's Word, shutting them up to divine authority.

Faithful preaching will always produce mixed results.

Summary: Weaver argues that even Paul and Jesus saw many reject their teaching; the preacher's job is to proclaim truth, not to guarantee conversions.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'Paul was one of the greatest teachers that ever lived... But if you look in Acts 17 verses 4 and 5, when he preached, "some of them believed... But the Jews which believed not... set all the city on an uproar."'

Scripture References

Acts 17:1-13

Context: Weaver reads the passage as the primary text for the sermon, describing Paul's visits to Thessalonica, Berea, and the opposition he faced.

Proverbs 23:7

Context: Weaver quotes this verse to support the idea that conduct is based on thinking: 'As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.'

Psalm 116:10

Context: Weaver cites David's words, 'I believed, therefore have I spoken,' to illustrate that speech and actions flow from belief.

1 Corinthians 15:58

Context: Weaver uses this verse to argue that steadfastness in Christian service is based on the doctrine of the resurrection, not external motivations.

1 Timothy 1:3-5

Context: Weaver expounds this passage to show that the command to teach no other doctrine aims at producing love from a pure heart, good conscience, and sincere faith.

Acts 17:2-3

Context: Weaver focuses on these verses to explain Paul's teaching method: reasoning, opening, and alleging from the Scriptures.

Acts 17:17

Context: Weaver notes that 'disputed' here is the same Greek word as 'reasoned' in verse 2, emphasizing logical argumentation.

Acts 18:4, 19

Context: Weaver points out that Paul 'reasoned' in the synagogue, using the same word dialegomai, showing his consistent method.

Acts 19:8-10

Context: Weaver cites this passage to show that Paul's disputing and persuading led to all Asia hearing the Word, despite mixed responses.

Luke 2:23

Context: Weaver references this verse to illustrate the meaning of dianoigo ('open') as it relates to the opening of the womb.

Luke 24:25-27, 32

Context: Weaver uses Jesus' expounding of Scripture on the Emmaus road as an example of opening the Scriptures to cause understanding.

Mark 7:32-35

Context: Weaver cites the healing of the deaf man to show that 'opened' (dianoigo) means to cause to hear and speak plainly.

Nehemiah 8:7-8

Context: Weaver references the Levites who read distinctly, gave the sense, and caused understanding, as a model for exposition, explanation, and application.

Mark 8:6-7

Context: Weaver uses the feeding of the multitude to illustrate paratithēmi ('set before'), meaning to place food alongside people for assimilation.

Acts 17:4-5, 32-34

Context: Weaver cites these verses to show that even Paul's faithful preaching resulted in some believing and many rejecting.

John 6:60-68

Context: Weaver references Jesus' teaching on the bread of life, where many disciples turned away, illustrating that even the greatest teacher faced rejection.

Historical References

Charles Haddon Spurgeon

Context: Weaver quotes Spurgeon at length, warning against trifling with preaching and urging earnestness in handling God's Word.

Important Quotes

If we play at preaching, we have chosen an awful game. To shuffle texts like cards and to make literary essays out of themes which move all heaven and hell is shameful. We must be serious as death in this solemn work.

Significance: Weaver uses this Spurgeon quote to emphasize the gravity of preaching and the need to handle Scripture with earnestness, not as entertainment.

The earnestness and the devotion go for nothing. Or rather, these are the secret reasons for the contempt of these superfine and superficial critics. The gospel is nothing to them. Cleverness is their idol.

Significance: This quote highlights the danger of valuing style over substance in preaching, a key concern in Weaver's message about teaching biblical truth.

They have neither convictions nor beliefs, but only tastes and opinions, and the whole matter is a sport from the first to the last to them.

Significance: Weaver uses Spurgeon's words to warn against treating preaching as a game, reinforcing the call for doctrinal conviction.

I pray you above all things to keep clear of the scorner's chair and the trifler's campstool. Be seriously earnest.

Significance: This concluding Spurgeon quote encapsulates Weaver's appeal for seriousness in teaching and learning biblical truth.

Discussion Questions

Why does Weaver argue that doctrinal ignorance is one of the greatest weaknesses in modern Christianity, and how does he connect it to conduct?

Context: Weaver states that most Christians cannot explain major doctrines and that wrong doctrine leads to wrong living.

How does 1 Corinthians 15:58 demonstrate that duty is based on doctrine, according to Weaver?

Context: Weaver explains that the resurrection doctrine is the foundation for steadfastness and abounding in the Lord's work.

What does it mean to 'reason out of the Scriptures' as Paul did, and why is logical connection of thoughts essential?

Context: Weaver defines dialegomai as mingling thought with thought and argues that without logical connection, hearers cannot understand.

How does Weaver distinguish between merely reading Scripture and truly 'opening' it?

Context: Weaver uses the Greek word dianoigo and examples from Luke 24 and Nehemiah 8 to show that opening means expounding and explaining.

What is the significance of the word 'alleging' (paratithēmi) in Acts 17:3, and how does it relate to verifying teaching against Scripture?

Context: Weaver explains that alleging means setting teaching alongside Scripture so hearers can compare and see it matches God's Word.

Why does Weaver emphasize that even faithful teaching will produce mixed results, and how should this affect our approach to ministry?

Context: Weaver points to Paul and Jesus as examples of teachers who faced rejection, stressing that our duty is to teach, leaving results to God.

How does the quote from Spurgeon challenge common approaches to preaching and teaching today?

Context: Weaver uses Spurgeon's words to warn against treating preaching as a game and to call for earnestness and doctrinal seriousness.

Applications

Ground your teaching and living in sound doctrine.

Summary: Weaver urges believers to know Bible doctrine because conduct flows from belief; ignorance leads to wrong living.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'our conduct is supposed to be based upon the Word of God. And if our understanding is wrong, our conduct is going to be wrong.'

Teach and preach with logical, scriptural reasoning.

Summary: Weaver calls for teaching that reasons from Scripture in a logically connected manner, not merely sharing opinions or disjointed truths.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'if the thoughts are not logically connected, then no one understands exactly what you're saying.'

Expound Scripture thoroughly to give understanding.

Summary: Weaver applies the example of the Levites in Nehemiah 8 to show that teaching must include exposition, explanation, and application.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'preaching is exposition, explanation, and application. And no one opens a Scripture unless he expounds and explains a Scripture.'

Set your teaching alongside Scripture for verification.

Summary: Weaver encourages teachers to 'allege' by placing their words next to the Bible so hearers can see the teaching is biblical.

Evidence: Weaver explains, 'he takes what he says and sets it right down beside the Scripture and says, "You compare what I just said with what the Scripture says."'

Leave the results of teaching to God.

Summary: Weaver emphasizes that the preacher's duty is to proclaim the whole Word; what people do with it is between them and God.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'duty is ours and the consequences for God's. Our responsibility is to teach the whole Word of God.'

Be earnest and serious in handling God's Word.

Summary: Weaver applies Spurgeon's warning to avoid treating preaching as a game; instead, approach it with gravity and devotion.

Evidence: Weaver quotes Spurgeon: 'We must be serious as death in this solemn work.'

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T13:14:39Z

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T00:03:53Z

Clean Transcript

How to Teach and Learn Biblical Truths - Part 8

Clean readable transcript. This view follows the Commentary.net cleaned segment text while preserving timestamps for audio follow-along.

Well, let's open our Bibles to the book of Acts chapter 17. I want to take the time to read the first 13 verses, although we will not be dealing with all 13 today. But I want you to see the context. I'm bringing a message again on how to learn biblical truth. This is actually the eighth message in this series, and there's going to be one more, and then I'll be ending it. So, look in Acts chapter 17, beginning with verse 1, "Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where was a synagogue of the Jews."
#1 | 0:00 to 0:40 | cleaned
"And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three Sabbath days reasoned with them out of the Scriptures, opening and alleging that Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead, and that this Jesus, whom I preach unto you, is Christ. And some of them believed and consorted with Paul and Silas, and of the devout Greeks a great multitude, and of the chief women not a few. But the Jews, which believed not, moved with envy, took unto them certain lewd fellows of the baser sort, and gathered a company, and set all the city on an uproar, and assaulted the house of Jason, and sought to bring them out to the people. And when they found them not, they drew Jason and certain brethren unto the rulers of the city, crying, These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also; whom Jason hath received: and these all do contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, one Jesus. And they troubled the people and the rulers of the city when they heard these things."
#2 | 0:41 to 1:42 | cleaned
"And when they had taken security of Jason and of the other, they let them go. And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews. These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so. Therefore many of them believed; also of honourable women which were Greeks, and of men, not a few. But when the Jews of Thessalonica had knowledge that the word of God was preached of Paul at Berea, they came thither also, and stirred up the people."
#3 | 1:43 to 2:20 | cleaned
Let me just point out the fact that in this series, I've covered, number one, three reasons why we must interpret Scripture. Then I gave several messages on six prerequisites for interpreting the Scripture. And then I gave several messages which included 13 ways to consider Scripture each time we're reading through the Bible. And now I'm finishing this week and next week on how to teach and how to learn biblical truth. I believe that one of the greatest shortages, or the greatest weaknesses, however you want to say it, of modern day Christianity is the fact that most Christians are absolutely totally ignorant of Bible doctrine. They may know a lot about many things, but they know very little about Bible doctrine. There are very few Christians that can explain the doctrine of justification by faith, or the doctrine of sanctification, or even the doctrine of election, or any major doctrine. Not only can they not discuss them or explain them, they could not even do so in an intelligent manner. So, the truth of the matter is, we have lost a lot in this day and time.
#4 | 2:20 to 3:36 | cleaned
The truth of the matter is, our conduct is supposed to be based upon the Word of God. And if our understanding is wrong, our conduct is going to be wrong. If our doctrine is wrong, then our lives are going to be wrong as well. So, anyone who believes wrongly, you can mark it down, is going to act wrongly. It is true. And it's impossible for you and I to be obedient to that of which we are ignorant. It's impossible to be obedient to that which we don't know and understand.
#5 | 3:36 to 4:11 | cleaned
That's why the Bible says in Proverbs 23, verse 7, "As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he." In other words, our conduct is based upon our thinking. We actually act out what we believe. David said in Psalm 116, verse 10, "I believed, therefore have I spoken." So we don't only actually end up speaking that which we believe, we actually end up acting out, doing that which we believe. So our conduct then is based upon what we believe.
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Now, we can talk about holy and godly living. There are many pastors I know that encourage their people to live holily and to live godly, and I certainly commend them for that. However, let me point something out. It is impossible to live a holy life or a godly life if you don't even know what holiness is or godliness, if you cannot explain it, if there is no basis for it, if there is no foundation for it in your life. It's just impossible for you to do. So it's really and truly useless in one sense of the word for a pastor or a preacher to encourage people to do something that they do not understand.
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What I'm trying to make is this: Our duty is based upon our doctrine. In 1 Corinthians 15 and verse 58, that's a verse that a lot of people can quote. The Apostle Paul said, "Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord." So now listen to that again. "Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord." So here's my question. What's going to make someone steadfast? What's going to make them unmovable? What's going to make them always abounding in the work of the Lord?
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Is it games, gadgets, gimmicks, promotions, praise, awards, contests? And the answer is no. It's none of those things. It is Bible doctrine.
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Now listen, let me quote again, 1 Corinthians 15, verse 58.
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That is a conclusion, that is an application drawn from everything that he is teaching in 1 Corinthians chapter 15. What is he teaching in 1 Corinthians 15? The answer is, he's teaching the bodily resurrection of the dead. He taught in 1 Corinthians chapter 15 that Jesus Christ was raised bodily from the dead. He was the firstfruits of those that sleep. And then he said that our resurrection is based upon His resurrection. In other words, His resurrection guarantees our resurrection.
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So I want you to think about this. How then can Paul say, "Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord"? Here's how he could say it: "Forasmuch as ye know your labour is not in vain in the Lord." How do we know it's not in vain? I've preached for 57 years. I've never been written up in Time magazine as the pastor of the year. I've never been written up in a paper that says everybody ought to hear John Weaver. No. I've been attacked a lot, but I've never been praised hardly any.
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But I don't need the praise. And I don't care about the condemnation. The point I'm trying to make is this: It doesn't matter what people say. It doesn't matter what people think, because the Lord knows not only the heart, He knows the conduct, He knows the action, He knows everything. Then He said, you be steadfast and unmovable, regardless whether people praise you, regardless of whether there's awards and contests, because you know your labour is not in vain in the Lord. How do I know that?
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Because of Bible doctrine, because of biblical doctrine, the resurrection of the dead. My duty is based upon my doctrine. Bible doctrine.
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Now, I want you to turn to Acts 17, but I want you to turn to 1 Timothy chapter 1. Let's go to 1 Timothy chapter 1. Now, I want you to see this. The apostle Paul is teaching, and he makes a tremendous statement to Timothy in 1 Timothy chapter 1, beginning there with verse 3. He says this, "As I besought thee to abide still at Ephesus, when I went into Macedonia, that thou mightest charge some that they teach no other doctrine, neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions, rather than godly edifying which is in faith: so do."
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"Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned." Now let me ask you a question. He says in verse 5, "Now the end of the commandment is..." Where is the commandment? What commandment is he talking about? Well, go back to verse 3. He says, "I besought thee to abide still at Ephesus, when I went into Macedonia, that thou mightest charge some that they teach no other doctrine." The word "charge" is paraggello, which is also translated as "commandment." So the commandment that he's talking about in verse 5 is the word "charge" or "command" in verse 3 where he said, "I besought thee to command or charge some that they teach no other doctrine."
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In other words, you are to be orthodox and not heterodox. Now, watch what happens. Here's what he's talking about: teaching Bible doctrine. Look in verse 5.
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"Now the end of the commandment..." What commandment? The end of the commandment that you preach no other doctrine than Bible doctrine. "Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned."
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Now to understand verse 5, you have to turn it upside down. Why do you have to turn it upside down? Because he gives the end first. He says the end of the commandment is... So what comes first? What comes first in verse 5 is faith unfeigned. That is an unhypocritical faith, a real, genuine faith. That real faith then produces a pure heart, and then that pure heart then produces what he calls charity or love out of a pure heart, or of a good conscience. The good conscience is next. So it's the good conscience then that produces the love out of a pure heart. So you have to have an unhypocritical faith, you have to have a good conscience, and that produces then love out of a pure heart. So, note if you would please, that is the end of the commandment.
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In other words, everything in our lives is to be based upon Bible doctrine. So, the point I'm trying to make is very simple. It does no good to tell people to live a holy life if they do not know what holiness is, or if they have no foundation for holiness. So here's my application. Likewise, it does no good to tell people to study the Bible if they do not know how to study. We have to have a foundation. We have to have a biblical foundation.
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Now hopefully, this is going to be a two-part message. The final part will be coming next week. So I'm going to try to teach you today not only how to teach biblical truth, but next week, how to learn biblical truth, and you're going to see how intimately tied together these things are. So let me explain Acts 17 very quickly. In Acts 17, the Apostle Paul is on his second missionary journey. And in that second missionary journey, he makes three stops. And you can look at Acts 17 in light of this. First of all, he stops at Thessalonica in verses 1-9. Secondly, he stops then at Berea in verses 10-13. And thirdly, he stops at Athens in verses 17-34.
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And then when you get to chapter 18, he moves on to Corinth and he stays there for 18 months. Now, Acts chapter 17 can be divided very easily into three simple thoughts. First of all, I want you to note that there was opposition to the gospel in Thessalonica. Opposition to the gospel in Thessalonica. Secondly, there was interest in the gospel in Berea. And thirdly, there was indifference to the gospel in Athens.
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Now, I will point this out. If you look in Acts 17, beginning there with verse 18, you'll see that their indifference was based upon not only unbelief, but bad philosophy. Look in Acts 17, if you would please, verse 18. "Then certain philosophers of the Epicureans, and of the Stoicks, encountered him," that is the Apostle Paul, "and some said, What will this babbler say?" That's an interesting word actually, a seed picker.
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"Others thought he seemed to be a setter forth of strange gods: because he preached unto them Jesus, and the resurrection. And they took him, and brought him unto Areopagus, saying, May we know what this new doctrine, whereof thou speakest, is?" So clearly then, these people were indifferent. All they wanted to do was just simply to pick. Look in verse 32 and you will see the indifference here. "And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked: and others said, We will hear thee again of this matter."
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So, with this outline in mind, I want to teach you today and show you from the Scripture how to teach biblical truth. I want you to hold on to this, because next week you're going to see a very clear parallel in how to learn biblical truth. So, how did Paul teach? Well, let's look in Acts chapter 17 and verse 2. Look at this. "And Paul," notice these next words, "as his manner was." In other words, he did this everywhere.
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This is how he taught. "And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three Sabbath days reasoned with them out of the Scriptures, opening and alleging that Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead, and that this Jesus, whom I preach unto you, is Christ." First of all, the Bible says that He reasoned with them out of the Scriptures. The only way we're ever going to teach the truth is to reason out of the Scriptures.
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Now, the word "reason" there is the Greek word dialegomai, and it's made up of two words, dia, which is a preposition which means through, and lego, to say. So, it literally means to say through. Literally, it is translated in our Bibles as reasoned, dispute, and to reason with, and literally what it means is to mingle thought with thought. It means to converse. It means to discourse. It means to argue. It means to discuss. Now, one of the important meanings of this word "reason" is to mingle thought with thought. In other words, in a presentation of truth, your thoughts must be logically connected where one thought logically, consistently follows the previous thought. So, it is refuting what I would call a helter-skelter presentation of the Scripture.
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So, let me ask you a question. Most of us have been in church all of our lives. Have you ever been to a church? Have you ever heard a preacher or a teacher speak? Maybe he's preached for an hour, spoke for an hour. And after the hour was over, you wondered what he said, why he said it, what was the point? And you were just as ignorant when you came out as when you went in.
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You had no idea what he was even saying. You see, you can teach and you can preach and you can say a lot of good things. You may even say a lot of true things. But if the thoughts are not logically connected, then no one understands exactly what you're saying. Huh! A good illustration of that is just look at modern day politicians. Anybody understand what Nancy Pelosi says? Or Joe Biden? I mean, come on! All I'm saying is, if it is not presented in a logical, consistent manner, no one can understand it.
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So it should be a fundamental fact and obviously understood that the Bible said He reasoned with them out of the Scriptures. So, if you and I are going to teach the Scriptures, we have to reason out of the Scriptures. Notice if you would, the Apostle Paul was not teaching his pet peeves. He was not teaching what he learned as a Pharisee. He was not teaching what he was raised up with as a family member. He was not teaching what Grandpa believed or what Grandma believed. He was teaching out of the Scriptures.
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You see, if you are in a debate, or if you're just talking with someone, and you express your opinion, and your friend expresses his opinion, one opinion is as good as another. It's just an opinion. You may safely disagree with an opinion. Because an opinion is an opinion. But you can't safely disagree with Scripture. So the point I'm trying to make, and this is what Paul is doing in Acts chapter 17, which we shall see later, Paul is endeavoring to shut these people up to the Word of God so that they can see that if they disagree with him, what they're doing is they're disagreeing with God. They're disagreeing with Scripture. So one of the principles of the Reformation was sola scriptura, which means the Scriptures alone. And so the Scriptures alone are our sole authority for faith and practice. So Paul reasoned with them out of the Scripture.
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Now, let me go a little bit further with this word, dialegomai. He not only reasoned with them out of the Scripture, listen carefully, he reasoned with Scripture. Okay? That's not another way of saying exactly what I've just said. What I'm trying to tell you is the Apostle Paul used Scripture as he reasoned out of the Scripture, and he did so in a logical, consistent way. You remember I told you that one of the meanings of reasoned is to mingle thought with thought.
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So let me say this again. In simple terms, it means to argue logically and completely in a thorough manner.
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Now, let me show you. Look in Acts 17 and verse 17. Acts 17, verse 17. "Therefore disputed he in the synagogue with the Jews, and with the devout persons, and in the market daily with them that met with him." Now, notice if you would the word "disputed." When you and I hear the word "disputed," we think of an argument. We can say, well, wow, Gary and Steve had a disputation. When you hear that word, you think, wow, they got in an argument. It was very heated.
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Maybe it was even a knock down drag out. That's what we think. Would you be surprised if I told you that the word "disputed" in Acts 17:17 is the exact same Greek word found in Acts 17, verse 3, dialegomai. So it is translated "disputed." And it's also translated "reasoned." Now look in Acts chapter 18 and verse 4. Watch carefully. Acts 18 verse 4. "And he reasoned in the synagogue every sabbath, and persuaded the Jews and the Greeks." So there it is translated as "reasoned" again. Now look in verse 19 of chapter 18. "And he came to Ephesus, and left them there: but he himself entered into the synagogue, and reasoned with the Jews." There it is again. Now, look in Acts chapter 19, beginning there, verse 8. "And he went into the synagogue, and spake boldly for the space of three months, disputing"—it's the same word—"disputing and persuading the things concerning the kingdom of God."
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"But when divers were hardened, and believed not, but spake evil of that way before the multitude, he departed from them, and separated the disciples, disputing daily in the school of one Tyrannus." Note, if you would, it is translated in verse 8 and verse 9 as "disputing." So the word "disputing" and the word "reasoning" are exactly the same word in the Greek. I want you to notice, if you would please, verse 8 again. Acts 19, verse 8, "And he went into the synagogue, and spake boldly for the space of three months, disputing and persuading the things concerning the kingdom of God." Now the word "persuade" here is the Greek word peitho, and it means to persuade. It means to induce someone to believe by words. It means to move someone to do something, to have faith, to believe, and or to be persuaded of a person and to trust and to have confidence.
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Now, let me ask you a question. What would be an implication then, based upon what we've just looked at in Acts 17, 18 and 19, what would be an implication of learning to reason scripturally? Well, I want you to look at verse 8. Acts 19, verse 8, "And he went into the synagogue, and he spake boldly for the space of three months, disputing and persuading the things concerning the kingdom of God." Now watch verse 9. Here's what happened. "But when divers were hardened, and believed not, but spake evil of that way before the multitude, he departed from them, and separated the disciples, disputing daily in the school of one Tyrannus." Now watch.
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So when he reasoned biblically, some got mad, some got glad. Watch verse 10. "And this continued by the space of two years; so that all they which dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks." They all heard. What is it we try to do when we communicate truth? We want to communicate the truth of God's Word. We want to communicate the Lord Jesus Christ.
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Whether people believe or whether they disbelieve, the consequences of God, that's not our business. Our business is to teach and proclaim the whole Word of God. And consequently, Paul's reasoning, Paul's disputing, Paul's arguing, Paul's mingling thought with thought, meant, therefore, when everyone heard, regardless of whether they believed or not, the whole of Asia heard the Word of God.
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Now, let me just tell you that the problem with most preaching today is that there is no logical, scriptural connection in the thoughts. Many messages convey some truth. They may convey a half-truth, but listen carefully, a half-truth presented as the whole truth becomes an untruth. A half-truth presented as a whole truth becomes an untruth. We have to learn to present the whole truth in a logical, consistent manner.
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Let me give you an illustration. Suppose I told you today that I'm going to teach you on Acts 17, verses 2 and 3, and I'm going to teach you from the Scripture how to teach truth. And when I started teaching, I started mentioning sanctification, I may mention election, I may mention justification, I may say a lot of good things, I may say a lot of true things, but wait a minute, when you left, would you understand anything about Acts 17, 2 and 3? And the answer is no, because I really didn't teach that. I just used that as a text, and I just said some things. And like I said, they may have been true, they may have been good, but that was not a logical, consistent explanation of this particular passage. Now, let me give you one of my favorite illustrations.
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I read this years and years ago, and I've never, ever forgotten it. And I got so tickled at it because it is so true. There was a time when it was mandatory that if you preached a sermon, you had to have three points. Three points. In fact, when I was a young preacher, it was still a kind of a joke. You've got to have three points and a poem. You know, that kind of thing.
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Well, I was reading about this one preacher who was preaching through the Bible expositionally, and he happened to come to the text in Numbers chapter 2 and verse 21, when the Bible says, "And Balaam rose up early, and saddled his ass, and went with the princes of Moab." So his points were these: Number one, a good trait in a bad man. Balaam arose early. Number two, the ancient art of saddlery. He saddled his ass. And number three, some concluding remarks about the woman at the well. What connection does the woman at the well have with Balaam saddling an ass?
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I mean, the truth of the matter is that's exactly how many sermons are presented today. There's just absolutely nothing there consistently and logically. So, if truth that is not presented logically, if we do not reason out of the Scripture, if we do not reason with the Scripture in a logical, consistent manner, we cannot communicate truth.
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Now, I want you to go back to Acts 17 and look at verse 3. Watch this. Now, Paul in verse 2 has reasoned with them out of the Scriptures. Look at what verse 3 says. "Opening and alleging that Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead, and that this Jesus, whom I preach unto you, is Christ." So, not only did Paul reason out of the Scripture and with the Scripture, look at verse 3, opening, opening. So let me ask this question, what does it mean to open the Scripture?
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You know what most Christians think? Most Christians think to open the Scripture means that you sit down with someone and you open the Bible to a certain passage and say, "There it is, read it for yourself." That is not opening Scripture. The word for "opening" here is dianoigo. It literally means to open by dividing asunder, to drawing asunder, to open thoroughly that which has been closed, such as the opening of the eyes of the blind or the opening of the ears of the deaf. It means to rouse someone to the understanding of doctrine.
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Let me show you something. I want you to look in your Bibles very quickly to the book of Luke chapter 2 because this same word is used in Luke 2 and verse 23. And interestingly enough, when you look at this word, it's actually a word that refers to the firstborn, or the first in birth, because in birth the womb is opened thoroughly. So look in Luke 2 and verse 23.
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"As it is written in the law of the Lord, Every male that openeth..." It's the same word. "...the womb shall be called holy to the Lord."
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Now, go back to Acts 17 and look at verse 3. So the word "opening" here means to open thoroughly in the sense of Scripture. Hence, it means to cause one to understand. It means to cause one to grasp the truth. So when one expounds something thoroughly, when he expounds it with reason, and when he expounds it completely, he's giving the sense of the Scripture. Let me show you. Look back in your Bibles to Luke chapter 24 very quickly. Luke 24.
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Because Jesus Christ is on the Emmaus Road with two believers, and you remember how He joins Himself to them, and they're discouraged because it was the third day, and He joins them and says, "What's wrong with you?" Well, they said, "We thought Jesus Christ was the Messiah, but He was crucified. Besides all this, it's the third day." And I want you to note something. Look, if you would, in Luke chapter 24, beginning there with verse, oh, let's see, verse 25. "Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory?"
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Now watch what He did. "And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself."
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Now, the word "expounded" is a different word than dianoigo, but I want you to know it literally means the same thing. It means to unfold the meaning of that which is said. In other words, He explained, He interpreted, He expounded what the Scripture said. Look at it again. "He said, O fools and slow of heart, to believe all that the prophets have spoken: Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter his glory? And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded..." In other words, He began with Genesis and went all the way through everything concerning Himself. He explained it in detail. Now, look if you would please in verse 32 what the result was. "And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?" What is opening the Scripture? It means that you open it thoroughly, that you expound it, that you explain it.
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Let me show you. Look in your Bibles to the book of Mark chapter 7. Mark chapter 7. Here is the same word, dianoigo, look at it in Mark chapter 7, beginning there with verse 34. In fact, let's begin reading verse 32. "And they bring unto him one that was deaf, and had an impediment in his speech; and they beseech him to put his hand upon him. And he took him aside from the multitude, and put his fingers into his ears."
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"And he spit, and touched his tongue; and looking up to heaven, he sighed, and saith unto him, Ephphatha, that is, Be opened." Same word. "Be opened, and straightway his ears were opened, and the string of his tongue was loosed, and he spake plain." In other words, what happened when our Lord opened His ears? He heard as He'd never heard before. He spoke as He'd never spoken before. So the word "open" then, means not just simply to put someone in front of the Bible and say, "Read it for yourself." No, no, no. It means that you are expounding, you are explaining, you are interpreting the Scripture. You are showing them what the Scripture actually means.
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So, if you will look very quickly in your Bibles to the book of Nehemiah. Ezra, Nehemiah. Look at Nehemiah 8, beginning there with verse 7. Nehemiah 8, verse 7.
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And we'll start in the middle of that verse, just so I will not have to pronounce all the names of the Levites, OK? We'll start with the phrase, "and the Levites," right in the middle of verse 7. What's this? "And the Levites caused the people to understand the law: and the people stood in their place. So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly," that's exposition, "and gave the sense," that's explanation or interpretation, "and caused them to understand the reading," that's application. So what is preaching? Preaching is exposition, explanation, and application.
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And no one opens a Scripture unless he expounds and explains a Scripture. Opening, therefore, means to give the sense and the understanding thereof. So Paul then not only reasoned out of the Scripture, he not only reasoned with the Scripture, he opened it. He explained it.
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Now, go back, if you would, to Acts 17 and look at verse 3. Watch this again. Acts 17, verse 3. Paul, as his manner was, went into the synagogue and began to teach, and this is how he taught. So watch it. In verse 2, he reasoned out of the Scripture and with the Scripture. In verse 3, he opens, but now he does something else. Opening and alleging.
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"...that Christ must needs have suffered," now follow it with me, "and risen again from the dead, and that this Jesus, whom I'm preaching to you, is Christ." Now most of us have never really grasped what this word "alleging" means. I could say, well, I'm alleging that Steve stole one of my pistols. Now, if I allege that, I'm not just really accusing him outright of doing it. I'm just alleging it. And we think of alleging as something that is not necessarily true, but it's just something that we're going to say. No, that is not what this word means.
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Now, I want you to watch. Paul opened and alleged. So what in the world does it mean? First of all, the word "alleged" is from the Greek word paratithēmi. Para is a preposition which literally means alongside of. Tithēmi is a verb which means to cause to stand. So actually the word paratithēmi means to cause to stand beside of, or in the place of, or to set it near, or to set before in teaching. So, I want you to follow me now.
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I'm going to show it to you from Scripture in just a moment. So here's what Paul is doing. He's reasoning out of the Scripture. He's reasoning with the Scripture. He's opened the Scripture. He's explained it. He's interpreted it. And now he is alleging. Look what he is alleging. Look in verse 3 again. "Opening and alleging that Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead." Now watch it.
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"And that this Jesus, whom I preach unto you, is Christ." So here's what he's doing. He's preaching that Jesus Christ is the Messiah, that Jesus Christ is the only salvation, that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and so he reasons out of the Scripture, listen, he reasons with the Scripture, he explains, he interprets, and now what he does, he takes what he says and sets it right down beside the Scripture and says, "You compare what I just said with what the Scripture says, and you will find that what I said is what the Bible says. And therefore, what I'm saying is biblical and right."
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Now let me show you. I'm going to show you the same word. I want you to turn in your Bibles to the book of Mark chapter 8. Look in Mark chapter 8. Here is one of the instances where our Lord fed a large number of people. I want you to look in Mark 8, beginning there with verse 6. The Bible says, "And he commanded the people to sit down on the ground: and he took the seven loaves, and gave thanks, and brake, and gave to his disciples to set before them." To paratithēmi. "And they did set them before the people." Paratithēmi. "And they had a few small fishes: and he blessed, and commanded to set them also before them." Paratithēmi.
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Now, let me ask you something. He had the fish, and He had the bread, and He broke it, and He blessed it, and He multiplied it, and He set it alongside of the people. Why did He set it alongside of the people? So that they could assimilate it. So that they could eat it. So they could possess it. So it would be theirs. This is exactly what Paul is doing back in Acts 17.
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He's setting everything that he says right beside the Word of God. And he said, "Look, what I'm teaching you about Jesus Christ is exactly what the Bible says about Jesus Christ. So what I'm saying and what the Bible says are one and the same." See, you can teach any doctrine, just like the Apostle Paul. So, your major premise would be this: the Bible teaches... and then you can insert what other doctrine you want to insert. The minor premise is this: the Bible is open, that is, it is expounded, it is explained, it is interpreted to demonstrate the truth, and the conclusion is: what I've just said is what the Bible says. So what I'm saying and what the Bible says are one, they are one and the same. So that's exactly what Paul is doing. Paul goes in, he reasons out of the Scripture, he reasons with the Scripture, he opens, he explains, he interprets, he applies, and then he sets it, what he just said, right by the Scripture. He says, "Look for yourself."
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It's one and the same. Now, let me very quickly dispel a myth. Some might tend to think, well, if I can learn to preach like Paul and teach like Paul, if I can reason out of the Scripture and with the Scripture, if I can open, if I can allege, then wow, folks are going to just flock to me and folks are going to be saved by the thousands. I'm going to have 100% success. That's not true.
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I want you to look in Acts 17. Look again at verse 4. Paul, listen to me, Paul was one of the greatest teachers that ever lived. I would say, with the exception of Jesus Christ, he was one of the best. God used him to write most of the New Testament. But if you look in Acts 17 verses 4 and 5, when he preached, "some of them believed, which is wonderful, and consorted with Paul and Silas; and of the devout Greeks a great multitude, and of the chief women not a few."
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But watch this, "But the Jews which believed not, moved with envy, took unto them certain lewd fellows of the baser sort, and gathered a company, and set all the city on an uproar." Wow! Skip down to verse 32. He's preaching now in Athens. In verse 32 it says, "And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked: and others said, We will hear thee again of this matter. So Paul departed from among them. Howbeit certain men clave unto him, and believed: among the which was Dionysius the Areopagite, and a woman named Damaris, and others with them."
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So, most rejected, but just a few did indeed believe. And if you will turn back in your Bibles very quickly to John chapter 6, John chapter 6. And note, if you would, beginning there with verse 60. I said that probably the Apostle Paul was the second greatest teacher in the world. The Lord Jesus Christ Himself would be the greatest teacher. He not only knew truth, He was truth. He was truth personified. But I want you to notice in John chapter 6, He is teaching that He is the bread of life. Look in verse 60. John 6, verse 60, "Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it? When Jesus knew in himself that his disciples murmured at it, he said unto them, Doth this offend you?"
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"What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before? It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him. And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father."
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"From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him. Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away? Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life." Can you believe that? Jesus Christ gave one of the greatest expositions on the bread of life in John chapter 6. And what did they say? "This is an hard saying; who can hear it?" And many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more.
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Let me tell you something. I've already said it. I'll say it again, duty is ours and the consequences for God's. Our responsibility is to teach the whole Word of God. What people do with it is between them and the Lord. We can't make anyone believe. We can't cram truth down their throats. But we are responsible to teach the whole Word of God. And if we learn to reason out of the Bible, reason with the Bible, to open and to allege as the Apostle Paul, one thing we can know for sure is they heard the Word of God, and that means they are shut up to that Word. And they're going to give an account to God for what they heard and how they heard and how they responded or did not respond. The whole object of preaching is to shut people up to the Word of God.
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I want to end with a quote. This is a quote from Charles Haddon Spurgeon. He said this: "If we play at preaching, we have chosen an awful game. To shuffle texts like cards and to make literary essays out of themes which move all heaven and hell is shameful. We must be serious as death in this solemn work. An earnest brother may make a mistake in grammar, and at this they observe it with a sneer."
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"The Lord's people mock at him. Other devout believers err in a classical allusion, and this also affords the mockers pleasure. The earnestness and the devotion go for nothing. Or rather, these are the secret reasons for the contempt of these superfine and superficial critics. The gospel is nothing to them. Cleverness is their idol. As for themselves, these gentlemen are mainly concerned to find out what will bring them the most honor in the philosophical school to which they belong."
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"They have neither convictions nor beliefs, but only tastes and opinions, and the whole matter is a sport from the first to the last to them." Wow! "I pray you above all things to keep clear of the scorner's chair and the trifler's campstool. Be seriously earnest." And so when it comes to teaching and preaching, we cannot shuffle text like cards, and we cannot make a game out of it, and it cannot be just our own cleverness.
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It has to be reasoning out of Scripture, reasoning with Scripture, opening it, explaining it, applying it, and then placing it side by side with the Word of God so that people can see this is truth. And once that has happened, they have been shut up to the Word of God. You must remember this. The Word of God is going to do one of two things. It's either going to draw them savingly to Jesus Christ, or it's going to drive them away from Him in condemnation. But the Word of God will have been taught. Let's pray. Father, thank You for Your Word. Thank You for Your truth. Thank You, Lord, for teaching us how to teach, how to convey truth, and Lord, I pray that You also help us to learn truth and to have real doctrinal convictions of the truth. Help us, Lord, to be careful to honor Thee in all that we say and do, to live for Thee, to be holy, to be godly, to be obedient. And Father, thank You for the Lord Jesus Christ who alone is salvation.
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May we repent of our sins and trust only in Him. In the name of Jesus Christ, we ask and pray. Amen.
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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T13:14:39Z

How to Teach and Learn Biblical Truths - Part 8

John Weaver | Freedom Ministries

John Weaver continues his series on learning biblical truth by focusing on how to teach biblical truth from Acts 17:1-13. He emphasizes that modern Christianity suffers from doctrinal ignorance, which leads to wrong conduct. Using Paul's example in Thessalonica, Weaver explains that teaching must involve reasoning out of and with Scripture, opening (expounding) the text, and alleging (setting one's teaching alongside Scripture for verification). The goal is to shut people up to the Word of God, leaving the results to God.

Introduction: The Problem of Doctrinal Ignorance

Weaver introduces the series and laments that most Christians are ignorant of Bible doctrine, which leads to wrong conduct because conduct is based on belief.

Scripture Reading — Acts 17:1-13

"Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where was a synagogue of the Jews." "And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three Sabbath days reasoned with them out of the Scriptures, opening and alleging that Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead, and that this Jesus, whom I preach unto you, is Christ. And some of them believed and consorted with Paul and Silas, and of the devout Greeks a great multitude, and of the chief women not a few. But the Jews, which believed not, moved with envy, took unto them certain lewd fellows of the baser sort, and gathered a company, and set all the city on an uproar, and assaulted the house of Jason, and sought to bring them out to the people. And when they found them not, they drew Jason and certain brethren unto the rulers of the city, crying, These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also; whom Jason hath received: and these all do contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, one Jesus. And they troubled the people and the rulers of the city when they heard these things."

That's why the Bible says in Proverbs 23, verse 7,

Scripture Reading — Proverbs 23:7

"As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he."

Duty Is Based on Doctrine

Using 1 Corinthians 15:58, Weaver argues that steadfastness in Christian service comes from knowing Bible doctrine, specifically the resurrection, not from external motivations.

Scripture Reading — 1 Corinthians 15:58

"Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord."

So now listen to that again.

Scripture Reading — 1 Corinthians 15:58

"Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord."

So here's my question. What's going to make someone steadfast? What's going to make them unmovable? What's going to make them always abounding in the work of the Lord?

Is it games, gadgets, gimmicks, promotions, praise, awards, contests? And the answer is no. It's none of those things. It is Bible doctrine.

Now listen, let me quote again, 1 Corinthians 15, verse 58.

The Command to Teach No Other Doctrine

From 1 Timothy 1:3-5, Weaver shows that the goal of commanding sound doctrine is love from a pure heart, good conscience, and sincere faith, which are produced by right doctrine.

Context of Acts 17: Three Responses to the Gospel

Weaver outlines Paul's second missionary journey stops: opposition in Thessalonica, interest in Berea, and indifference in Athens, setting the stage for how Paul taught.

Paul Reasoned Out of the Scriptures

Paul's manner was to reason (dialegomai) from the Scriptures, meaning to mingle thought with thought in a logical, consistent presentation, not merely sharing opinions.

Reasoning with Scripture: Logical Argumentation

Weaver explains that 'reasoned' and 'disputed' are the same Greek word, indicating Paul argued logically and thoroughly from Scripture, persuading hearers.

Scripture Reading — Acts 17:2-3

So let me say this again. In simple terms, it means to argue logically and completely in a thorough manner. Now, let me show you. Look in Acts 17 and verse 17. Acts 17, verse 17. "Therefore disputed he in the synagogue with the Jews, and with the devout persons, and in the market daily with them that met with him." Now, notice if you would the word "disputed." When you and I hear the word "disputed," we think of an argument. We can say, well, wow, Gary and Steve had a disputation. When you hear that word, you think, wow, they got in an argument. It was very heated. Maybe it was even a knock down drag out. That's what we think. Would you be surprised if I told you that the word "disputed" in Acts 17:17 is the exact same Greek word found in Acts 17, verse 3, dialegomai. So it is translated "disputed." And it's also translated "reasoned." Now look in Acts chapter 18 and verse 4. Watch carefully. Acts 18 verse 4. "And he reasoned in the synagogue every sabbath, and persuaded the Jews and the Greeks." So there it is translated as "reasoned" again. Now look in verse 19 of chapter 18. "And he came to Ephesus, and left them there: but he himself entered into the synagogue, and reasoned with the Jews." There it is again. Now, look in Acts chapter 19, beginning there, verse 8. "And he went into the synagogue, and spake boldly for the space of three months, disputing"—it's the same word—"disputing and persuading the things concerning the kingdom of God." "But when divers were hardened, and believed not, but spake evil of that way before the multitude, he departed from them, and separated the disciples, disputing daily in the school of one Tyrannus." Note, if you would, it is translated in verse 8 and verse 9 as "disputing." So the word "disputing" and the word "reasoning" are exactly the same word in the Greek. I want you to notice, if you would please, verse 8 again. Acts 19, verse 8, "And he went into the synagogue, and spake boldly for the space of three months, disputing and persuading the things concerning the kingdom of God." Now the word "persuade" here is the Greek word peitho, and it means to persuade. It means to induce someone to believe by words. It means to move someone to do something, to have faith, to believe, and or to be persuaded of a person and to trust and to have confidence. Now, let me ask you a question. What would be an implication then, based upon what we've just looked at in Acts 17, 18 and 19, what would be an implication of learning to reason scripturally? Well, I want you to look at verse 8. Acts 19, verse 8, "And he went into the synagogue, and he spake boldly for the space of three months, disputing and persuading the things concerning the kingdom of God." Now watch verse 9. Here's what happened. "But when divers were hardened, and believed not, but spake evil of that way before the multitude, he departed from them, and separated the disciples, disputing daily in the school of one Tyrannus." Now watch.

The Result of Scriptural Reasoning: All Heard

When Paul reasoned biblically, some believed and some rejected, but the whole region heard the Word of God, which is the preacher's responsibility.

Opening the Scriptures: Expounding and Explaining

Weaver defines 'opening' (dianoigo) as thoroughly expounding Scripture to cause understanding, not merely reading it, illustrated by Jesus on the Emmaus road and Nehemiah 8.

Now, I want you to go back to Acts 17 and look at verse 3. Watch this. Now, Paul in verse 2 has reasoned with them out of the Scriptures. Look at what verse 3 says.

Scripture Reading — Acts 17:2-3

"Opening and alleging that Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead, and that this Jesus, whom I preach unto you, is Christ."

Scripture Reading — Acts 17:2-3

Now, go back to Acts 17 and look at verse 3. So the word "opening" here means to open thoroughly in the sense of Scripture. Hence, it means to cause one to understand. It means to cause one to grasp the truth. So when one expounds something thoroughly, when he expounds it with reason, and when he expounds it completely, he's giving the sense of the Scripture. Let me show you. Look back in your Bibles to Luke chapter 24 very quickly. Luke 24.

So, if you will look very quickly in your Bibles to the book of Nehemiah. Ezra, Nehemiah. Look at Nehemiah 8, beginning there with verse 7. Nehemiah 8, verse 7.

Alleging: Setting Teaching Beside Scripture

The word 'alleging' (paratithēmi) means to set alongside; Paul placed his teaching next to Scripture so hearers could verify it matched God's Word.

The Mixed Response to Faithful Teaching

Even Paul and Jesus faced rejection; the preacher's duty is to teach the whole Word, shutting people up to God, while results belong to God.

Scripture Reading — Acts 17:4-5, 32-34

"some of them believed, which is wonderful, and consorted with Paul and Silas; and of the devout Greeks a great multitude, and of the chief women not a few."

Conclusion: Seriousness in Preaching

Weaver quotes Spurgeon to emphasize that preaching must be earnest, not a game, and must reason from Scripture, open it, and allege it, leaving hearers accountable to God.

May we repent of our sins and trust only in Him. In the name of Jesus Christ, we ask and pray. Amen.

How to Teach and Learn Biblical Truths - Part 8

John Weaver | SermonAudio

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	SermonAudio
Media ID	59221652495935
Subject	Education and Discipleship
Course	Christian Education and Discipleship
Genre	Sermon
Date	2022-05-08
Dictation Name
Book	Book 073: Christian Education and Discipleship — Chapter 8
Source Timed Segments	77

Lecture Guide

Outline

Introduction: The Problem of Doctrinal Ignorance: Weaver introduces the series and laments that most Christians are ignorant of Bible doctrine, which leads to wrong conduct because conduct is based on belief.
Duty Is Based on Doctrine: Using 1 Corinthians 15:58, Weaver argues that steadfastness in Christian service comes from knowing Bible doctrine, specifically the resurrection, not from external motivations.
The Command to Teach No Other Doctrine: From 1 Timothy 1:3-5, Weaver shows that the goal of commanding sound doctrine is love from a pure heart, good conscience, and sincere faith, which are produced by right doctrine.
Context of Acts 17: Three Responses to the Gospel: Weaver outlines Paul's second missionary journey stops: opposition in Thessalonica, interest in Berea, and indifference in Athens, setting the stage for how Paul taught.
Paul Reasoned Out of the Scriptures: Paul's manner was to reason (dialegomai) from the Scriptures, meaning to mingle thought with thought in a logical, consistent presentation, not merely sharing opinions.
Reasoning with Scripture: Logical Argumentation: Weaver explains that 'reasoned' and 'disputed' are the same Greek word, indicating Paul argued logically and thoroughly from Scripture, persuading hearers.
The Result of Scriptural Reasoning: All Heard: When Paul reasoned biblically, some believed and some rejected, but the whole region heard the Word of God, which is the preacher's responsibility.
Opening the Scriptures: Expounding and Explaining: Weaver defines 'opening' (dianoigo) as thoroughly expounding Scripture to cause understanding, not merely reading it, illustrated by Jesus on the Emmaus road and Nehemiah 8.
Alleging: Setting Teaching Beside Scripture: The word 'alleging' (paratithēmi) means to set alongside; Paul placed his teaching next to Scripture so hearers could verify it matched God's Word.
The Mixed Response to Faithful Teaching: Even Paul and Jesus faced rejection; the preacher's duty is to teach the whole Word, shutting people up to God, while results belong to God.
Conclusion: Seriousness in Preaching: Weaver quotes Spurgeon to emphasize that preaching must be earnest, not a game, and must reason from Scripture, open it, and allege it, leaving hearers accountable to God.

Major Themes

Key Arguments

Conduct is determined by belief, so doctrinal ignorance leads to wrong living.

Weaver argues that since people act out what they believe, ignorance of Bible doctrine inevitably results in disobedience and ungodly conduct.

Weaver says, 'our conduct is based upon our thinking. We actually act out what we believe... It's impossible for you and I to be obedient to that of which we are ignorant.'

The resurrection doctrine is the basis for steadfast Christian service.

Using 1 Corinthians 15:58, Weaver contends that knowing the doctrine of the resurrection provides the motivation for unwavering labor in the Lord.

Weaver states, 'How do we know it's not in vain? Because of Bible doctrine, because of biblical doctrine, the resurrection of the dead. My duty is based upon my doctrine.'

The goal of commanding sound doctrine is love from a pure heart.

From 1 Timothy 1:5, Weaver argues that the end of the command to teach no other doctrine is love that flows from a sincere faith, pure heart, and good conscience.

Weaver explains, 'the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart... So you have to have an unhypocritical faith, you have to have a good conscience, and that produces then love out of a pure heart.'

Paul's teaching method involved reasoning logically from Scripture.

Weaver demonstrates that the Greek word dialegomai means to mingle thought with thought, indicating Paul presented truth in a logically connected, coherent manner.

Weaver says, 'it literally means to mingle thought with thought... your thoughts must be logically connected where one thought logically, consistently follows the previous thought.'

Opening Scripture requires expounding and explaining, not just reading.

Weaver argues that 'opening' (dianoigo) means to thoroughly unfold the meaning, as Jesus did on the Emmaus road and the Levites in Nehemiah 8, giving the sense.

Weaver states, 'the word "opening" here means to open thoroughly... to cause one to understand... you are expounding, you are explaining, you are interpreting the Scripture.'

Alleging places human teaching alongside Scripture for verification.

Weaver argues that 'alleging' (paratithēmi) means to set teaching beside Scripture so hearers can see it matches God's Word, shutting them up to divine authority.

Weaver explains, 'he takes what he says and sets it right down beside the Scripture and says, "You compare what I just said with what the Scripture says, and you will find that what I said is what the Bible says."'

Faithful preaching will always produce mixed results.

Weaver argues that even Paul and Jesus saw many reject their teaching; the preacher's job is to proclaim truth, not to guarantee conversions.

Weaver says, 'Paul was one of the greatest teachers that ever lived... But if you look in Acts 17 verses 4 and 5, when he preached, "some of them believed... But the Jews which believed not... set all the city on an uproar."'

Scripture References

Acts 17:1-13: Weaver reads the passage as the primary text for the sermon, describing Paul's visits to Thessalonica, Berea, and the opposition he faced.
Proverbs 23:7: Weaver quotes this verse to support the idea that conduct is based on thinking: 'As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.'
Psalm 116:10: Weaver cites David's words, 'I believed, therefore have I spoken,' to illustrate that speech and actions flow from belief.
1 Corinthians 15:58: Weaver uses this verse to argue that steadfastness in Christian service is based on the doctrine of the resurrection, not external motivations.
1 Timothy 1:3-5: Weaver expounds this passage to show that the command to teach no other doctrine aims at producing love from a pure heart, good conscience, and sincere faith.
Acts 17:2-3: Weaver focuses on these verses to explain Paul's teaching method: reasoning, opening, and alleging from the Scriptures.
Acts 17:17: Weaver notes that 'disputed' here is the same Greek word as 'reasoned' in verse 2, emphasizing logical argumentation.
Acts 18:4, 19: Weaver points out that Paul 'reasoned' in the synagogue, using the same word dialegomai, showing his consistent method.
Acts 19:8-10: Weaver cites this passage to show that Paul's disputing and persuading led to all Asia hearing the Word, despite mixed responses.
Luke 2:23: Weaver references this verse to illustrate the meaning of dianoigo ('open') as it relates to the opening of the womb.
Luke 24:25-27, 32: Weaver uses Jesus' expounding of Scripture on the Emmaus road as an example of opening the Scriptures to cause understanding.
Mark 7:32-35: Weaver cites the healing of the deaf man to show that 'opened' (dianoigo) means to cause to hear and speak plainly.
Nehemiah 8:7-8: Weaver references the Levites who read distinctly, gave the sense, and caused understanding, as a model for exposition, explanation, and application.
Mark 8:6-7: Weaver uses the feeding of the multitude to illustrate paratithēmi ('set before'), meaning to place food alongside people for assimilation.
Acts 17:4-5, 32-34: Weaver cites these verses to show that even Paul's faithful preaching resulted in some believing and many rejecting.
John 6:60-68: Weaver references Jesus' teaching on the bread of life, where many disciples turned away, illustrating that even the greatest teacher faced rejection.

Historical References

Charles Haddon Spurgeon: Weaver quotes Spurgeon at length, warning against trifling with preaching and urging earnestness in handling God's Word.

Important Quotes

If we play at preaching, we have chosen an awful game. To shuffle texts like cards and to make literary essays out of themes which move all heaven and hell is shameful. We must be serious as death in this solemn work.

Weaver uses this Spurgeon quote to emphasize the gravity of preaching and the need to handle Scripture with earnestness, not as entertainment.

The earnestness and the devotion go for nothing. Or rather, these are the secret reasons for the contempt of these superfine and superficial critics. The gospel is nothing to them. Cleverness is their idol.

This quote highlights the danger of valuing style over substance in preaching, a key concern in Weaver's message about teaching biblical truth.

They have neither convictions nor beliefs, but only tastes and opinions, and the whole matter is a sport from the first to the last to them.

Weaver uses Spurgeon's words to warn against treating preaching as a game, reinforcing the call for doctrinal conviction.

I pray you above all things to keep clear of the scorner's chair and the trifler's campstool. Be seriously earnest.

This concluding Spurgeon quote encapsulates Weaver's appeal for seriousness in teaching and learning biblical truth.

Discussion Questions

[Question]

Why does Weaver argue that doctrinal ignorance is one of the greatest weaknesses in modern Christianity, and how does he connect it to conduct?

[Context]

Weaver states that most Christians cannot explain major doctrines and that wrong doctrine leads to wrong living.

[Question]

How does 1 Corinthians 15:58 demonstrate that duty is based on doctrine, according to Weaver?

[Context]

Weaver explains that the resurrection doctrine is the foundation for steadfastness and abounding in the Lord's work.

[Question]

What does it mean to 'reason out of the Scriptures' as Paul did, and why is logical connection of thoughts essential?

[Context]

Weaver defines dialegomai as mingling thought with thought and argues that without logical connection, hearers cannot understand.

[Question]

How does Weaver distinguish between merely reading Scripture and truly 'opening' it?

[Context]

Weaver uses the Greek word dianoigo and examples from Luke 24 and Nehemiah 8 to show that opening means expounding and explaining.

[Question]

What is the significance of the word 'alleging' (paratithēmi) in Acts 17:3, and how does it relate to verifying teaching against Scripture?

[Context]

Weaver explains that alleging means setting teaching alongside Scripture so hearers can compare and see it matches God's Word.

[Question]

Why does Weaver emphasize that even faithful teaching will produce mixed results, and how should this affect our approach to ministry?

[Context]

Weaver points to Paul and Jesus as examples of teachers who faced rejection, stressing that our duty is to teach, leaving results to God.

[Question]

How does the quote from Spurgeon challenge common approaches to preaching and teaching today?

[Context]

Weaver uses Spurgeon's words to warn against treating preaching as a game and to call for earnestness and doctrinal seriousness.

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