Truth and the Interpretation of Scripture

Three Reasons We Need To Consider Truth And Interpret Scripture - Part 8

Transcript: AI Transcript

Professor: John Weaver

Subject: Apologetics

Genre: Sermon

Dictation Name:

Date: 2022-06-13

Synopsis: In this eighth message of a series on learning biblical truth, Pastor John Weaver teaches from Acts 17:1-13 how to teach biblical truth by following the Apostle Paul's example. He emphasizes that Paul reasoned out of the Scriptures, opened them by explaining and interpreting, and alleged by setting his teaching alongside Scripture for verification. Weaver argues that duty is based on doctrine, and that logical, scriptural reasoning is essential for effective communication of truth. He warns that even the best teaching will not guarantee universal acceptance, as seen in the mixed responses to Paul and Jesus, but the goal is to shut people up to the Word of God.

[John Weaver] 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.

[John Weaver] 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. Uh, so look in Acts chapter 17, beginning with verse one.

[John Weaver] Now, when they had passed through amphibolus in Apollyona, they came to Thessalonica, where was a synagogue of the Jews. And Paul, as his matter was, went in under 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 within thee, 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.

[John Weaver] And they troubled the people, and the ruler of the city, when they heard these things. 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.

[John Weaver] 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 to 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.

[John Weaver] 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.

[John Weaver] 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 in that of which we're ignorant. It's impossible to be obedient that which we do not know and understand. That's why the Bible says in Proverbs 23 and 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 and verse 10, I believed, therefore have I spoken. So we not 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. The point I'm trying to make is this.

[John Weaver] Duty is based upon our doctrine In first Corinthians 15 in 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 for as much 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. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be you always steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, for as much as you know, your labor is not in vain in the Lord. Now let's stop. When the Apostle Paul said, therefore, 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.

[John Weaver] 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. 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?

[John Weaver] I've preached for 57 years. I've never been written up in Time Magazine as the pastor of the year. I've never even 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.

[John Weaver] 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? Because of Bible doctrine, because 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 1st Timothy chapter 1. Let's go to 1st Timothy chapter 1. I want you to see this. The Apostle Paul is teaching and he makes a tremendous statement to Timothy in 1st 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.

[John Weaver] Neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions rather than the godly edifying which is in the faith so do. Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart and of good conscience and a faith unfeigned.

[John Weaver] Now let me ask you a question. He says in verse 5, now the end of the commandment is, where's 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 a 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 a 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 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.

[John Weaver] First of all, he stops at Thessalonica in verses 1 through 9. Secondly, he stops then at Berea in verses 10 through 13. And thirdly, he stops at Athens in verses 17 through 34. And then when you get to chapter 18, he moves on to Corinth and he stays there for 18 months.

[John Weaver] 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 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 chapter 17 beginning there with verse 18 you'll see that their indifference was based upon not only unbelief but bad Philosophy. Look in Acts chapter 17, if you would please, verse 18.

[John Weaver] 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. Others, some, 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?

[John Weaver] 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. 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 and 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 noticed these next words, as his manner was.

[John Weaver] The Lord said he did this everywhere. 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 dialogomai, 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. 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. I mean, it's just an opinion. You may safely. Disagree with an opinion, because an opinion is an opinion. But you cannot 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. 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, look, 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 and 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. Mm-hmm. 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 But when divers were hardened believe not but spake evil of that

[John Weaver] 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.

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to notice if you would please verse 8 again, Acts 19 verse 8. And he went in the synagogue and spake boldly for the space of three months, disputing and persuading the things concerning the kingdom of God.

[John Weaver] 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 spake boldly for the space of three months, disputing and persuading the things concerning the kingdom of God. Now watch verse nine. 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 tyrannous. 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 while 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. I Have 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 on Acts chapter 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?

[John Weaver] 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.

[John Weaver] 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've 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 kind of a joke. You've got to have three points in 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 Numbers chapter 2 in verse 21 when the Bible says and Balaam arose early and Saddle 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 Saddle rape 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 and 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 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 needs have suffered and risen again from the dead and that this Jesus whom I preach unto you 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 Scriptures?

[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 dienogel. It literally means to open by dividing asunder, to drawing asunder, to open thoroughly that which has been closed, such as the opening the eyes of the blind or the opening 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. 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. Now, go back to Acts chapter 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.

[John Weaver] 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. What's wrong with you? Well, they said we thought Jesus Christ was the Messiah, but he was crucified besides all this It's a 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.

[John Weaver] 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, 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 dianoigo, but I want you to know it literally means the same thing. It means to unfold that 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 into 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? Well, 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, Mark, chapter 7, beginning there with verse 34. In fact, let's begin reading verse 32. And they bring on 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, Ethaphatha, that is, be opened. Same word, denargo, 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're interpreting the scripture, you're 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 chapter chapter 8 beginning there of verse 7. Nehemiah chapter 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. Okay, we'll start with the phrase and the Levites right in the middle of verse 7. What's this? And the Levites cause 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 the 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 in the synagogue and began to teach And this is how he taught. So watch it. In verse two, he reasoned out of the scripture and with the scripture. In verse three, he opens, but now he does something else. Opening and alleging that Christ must needs have suffered.

[John Weaver] Now follow it with me. And risen again from the dead and that this Jesus whom I'm preaching to you is Christ.

[John Weaver] Now most of us have never really grasped what this word allege means. I could say, well, I'm alleging that Steve stole one of my pistols. 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 paratithamein. Para is a preposition which literally means alongside of. Tithemi is a verb which means to cause to stand. So actually the word paratithemi 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 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.

[John Weaver] 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's 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 sit before them. to Paratith Amein. And they did set them before them, Paratith Amein. And they had a few small fishes, and he blessed and commanded to set them before them, Paratith Amein.

[John Weaver] Now, let me ask you something. He had the fish, and he had the bread, and he break 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 chapter 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 one in 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 opened, 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 Scriptures, as look for yourself. It's one and the same.

[John Weaver] 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 chapter 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. But watch this, but the Jews who believed not moved with envy.

[John Weaver] took unto them certain lewd fellows of the baser sort, and gathered a 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 Apogite, and a woman named Demarius, 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.

[John Weaver] Many therefore of his disciples when they heard this said, this is a hard saying, who can hear it? When Jesus knew in himself that his disciples murmured at it, he said to them, doth this offend you? What and if you shall see the Son of Man ascend 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.

[John Weaver] 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 unto you, that no man can come unto me except it were given 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 you go away also?

[John Weaver] 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 six. 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." Let me tell you something. I've already said it. I'll say it again.

[John Weaver] Duty is ours and the consequences are 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] In other words, 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. so when it comes to teaching and preaching we cannot shuffle texts 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.

[John Weaver] you you you

Three Reasons We Need To Consider Truth And Interpret Scripture - Part 8

John Weaver | YouTube

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	YouTube
Media ID	JEFjWsZ27lY
Subject	Apologetics
Course	Truth and the Interpretation of Scripture
Genre	Sermon
Date	2022-06-13
Dictation Name
Book	Book 065: Three Reasons We Need To Consider Truth And Interpret Scripture — Chapter 8
Source Timed Segments	78

Formatted Transcript

Introduction and Context

Weaver introduces the message as part of a series on learning biblical truth and reads Acts 17:1-13 to set the context of Paul's missionary journey.

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 one.

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. 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. 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 to 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.

The Importance of Bible Doctrine

Weaver stresses that most Christians are ignorant of Bible doctrine, and that wrong doctrine leads to wrong conduct, because duty is based on doctrine.

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 in that of which we're ignorant. It's impossible to be obedient to that which we do not know and understand. That's why the Bible says in Proverbs 23 and 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 and verse 10, "I believed, therefore have I spoken." So we not 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.

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. The point I'm trying to make is this. 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 you always steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, for as much as you know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord."

So now listen to that again.

Scripture Reading — 1 Corinthians 15:58

"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?

Doctrine as the Foundation for Steadfastness

Using 1 Corinthians 15:58, Weaver shows that the doctrine of the resurrection is the basis for steadfast, unmovable service, not external motivations.

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.

Scripture Reading — 1 Corinthians 15:58

"Therefore, my beloved brethren, be you always steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, for as much as you know, your labor is not in vain in the Lord."

Now let's stop. When the Apostle Paul said, "Therefore," 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. 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 even 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 labor is not in vain in the Lord. How do I know that? Because of Bible doctrine, because of biblical doctrine, the resurrection of the dead. My duty is based upon my doctrine. Bible doctrine.

The Command to Teach No Other Doctrine

From 1 Timothy 1:3-5, Weaver explains that the end of the commandment to teach sound doctrine is love from a pure heart, good conscience, and unhypocritical faith.

Now, I want you to turn to Acts 17, but I want you to turn to 1st Timothy chapter 1. Let's go to 1st Timothy chapter 1. I want you to see this. The Apostle Paul is teaching and he makes a tremendous statement to Timothy in 1st 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 the godly edifying which is in the faith so do. Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart and of good conscience and a faith unfeigned."

Now let me ask you a question. He says in verse 5, "Now the end of the commandment is," where's 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 a 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 a 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. 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.

Paul's Method: Reasoning out of the Scriptures

Weaver examines Acts 17:2, showing that Paul reasoned (dialegomai) out of the Scriptures, meaning he logically connected thoughts and argued from Scripture alone.

First of all, he stops at Thessalonica in verses 1 through 9. Secondly, he stops then at Berea in verses 10 through 13. And thirdly, he stops at Athens in verses 17 through 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. 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 chapter 17 beginning there with verse 18, you'll see that their indifference was based upon not only unbelief but bad philosophy. Look in Acts chapter 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. Others, some, 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 concerning 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 and 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."

The Lord said he did this everywhere. 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. 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. I mean, it's just an opinion. You may safely disagree with an opinion, because an opinion is an opinion. But you cannot 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 and Disputing

Weaver demonstrates that the same Greek word is used for 'reasoned' and 'disputed' in Acts 17-19, indicating Paul's method involved logical argumentation and persuasion.

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.

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. "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, look, 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 and 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.

Scripture Reading — Acts 18:4, 19

"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." Mm-hmm. 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 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.

Now, I want you to notice if you would please verse 8 again, Acts 19 verse 8.

Scripture Reading — Acts 19:8-10

"And he went in 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 spake boldly for the space of three months, disputing and persuading the things concerning the kingdom of God." Now watch verse nine. 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.

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.

Opening the Scriptures

Weaver explains that 'opening' (dianoigo) means to expound, explain, and interpret Scripture thoroughly, not merely reading it, as seen in Luke 24 and Nehemiah 8.

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 while 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. I have truth presented as a whole truth becomes an untruth. We have to learn to present the whole truth in a logical, consistent manner.

Let me give you an illustration. Suppose I told you today that I'm going to teach on Acts chapter 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've 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 kind of a joke. You've got to have three points in 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 Numbers chapter 2 in 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 at the well have with Balaam and 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 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, "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 Scriptures? 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 the eyes of the blind or the opening 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.

Scripture Reading — Luke 2:23

"As it is written in the law of the Lord, every male that openeth,"

it's the same word,

Scripture Reading — Luke 2:23

"the womb shall be called holy unto the Lord."

Now, go back to Acts chapter 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. "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, 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." 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 written. Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into 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? Well, 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.

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, Mark, chapter 7, beginning there with verse 34. In fact, let's begin reading verse 32. "And they bring on 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 said unto him, Ephphatha, that is, be opened." Same word, dianoigo, 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're interpreting the scripture, you're 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 chapter 8 beginning there of verse 7. Nehemiah chapter 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. Okay, we'll start with the phrase "and the Levites" right in the middle of verse 7. What's this? "And the Levites cause

Scripture Reading — Nehemiah 8:7-8

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.

And no one opens a scripture unless he expounds and explains the 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

Weaver defines 'alleging' (paratithemi) as setting one's teaching alongside Scripture for comparison, so that hearers can verify it matches 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 in the synagogue and began to teach. And this is how he taught. So watch it. In verse two, he reasoned out of the scripture and with the scripture. In verse three, 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 "allege" means. I could say, well, I'm alleging that Steve stole one of my pistols. 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 paratithemi. Para is a preposition which literally means alongside of. Tithemi is a verb which means to cause to stand. So actually the word paratithemi 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's 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." Paratithemi. "And they did set them before them," Paratithemi. "And they had a few small fishes, and he blessed and commanded to set them before them," Paratithemi.

Now, let me ask you something. He had the fish, and he had the bread, and he break 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 chapter 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 opened, 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 Scriptures, as look for yourself. It's one and the same.

Mixed Responses to Faithful Teaching

Weaver notes that despite Paul's and Jesus' exemplary teaching, many rejected the message, showing that results are God's responsibility, not the teacher's.

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 opened, 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 Scriptures, as look for yourself. 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 chapter 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. But watch this, but the Jews who believed not moved with envy."

"took unto them certain lewd fellows of the baser sort, and gathered a 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 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 heard this said, this is a hard saying, who can hear it? When Jesus knew in himself that his disciples murmured at it, he said to them, doth this offend you? What and if you shall see the Son of Man ascend 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 unto you, that no man can come unto me except it were given 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 you go away also?"

"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 six. And what did they say? "This is a 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 are 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: The Seriousness of Preaching

Weaver quotes Spurgeon to emphasize that preaching must be earnest and scriptural, not a game, and that the goal is to shut people up to the Word of 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." In other words, 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. So when it comes to teaching and preaching we cannot shuffle texts 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 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.

Study Guide

Major Themes

The Primacy of Bible Doctrine

Summary: Weaver argues that ignorance of doctrine leads to wrong conduct, and that duty must be based on sound doctrine.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'most Christians are absolutely totally ignorant of Bible doctrine' and 'if our doctrine is wrong, then our lives are going to be wrong as well.'

Logical, Scriptural Reasoning in Teaching

Summary: Effective teaching requires reasoning out of and with Scripture in a logically connected manner, not presenting disconnected truths.

Evidence: Weaver explains that 'reasoned' (dialegomai) means 'to mingle thought with thought' and that Paul's method was to argue logically from Scripture.

Opening Scripture through Exposition

Summary: To 'open' Scripture means to expound, explain, and interpret it thoroughly, giving the sense and understanding, not just reading it.

Evidence: Weaver cites Luke 24:32 and Nehemiah 8:7-8 to show that opening involves causing understanding, and defines dianoigo as 'to open thoroughly.'

Alleging: Aligning Teaching with Scripture

Summary: Alleging (paratithemi) means setting one's teaching beside Scripture so hearers can verify its biblical accuracy.

Evidence: Weaver says, '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.'

Sovereignty of God in Results

Summary: Faithful teaching does not guarantee acceptance; many rejected Paul and Jesus, but the teacher's duty is to proclaim truth and leave results to God.

Evidence: Weaver notes that after Paul preached, 'some mocked, and others said, We'll hear thee again,' and that 'duty is ours and the consequences are God's.'

The Seriousness of Preaching

Summary: Preaching must be earnest and scriptural, not a game of cleverness, as emphasized by Spurgeon's quote.

Evidence: Weaver quotes Spurgeon: 'If we play at preaching, we have chosen an awful game... We must be serious as death in this solemn work.'

Key Arguments

Conduct is based on doctrine

Summary: Weaver argues that wrong belief inevitably leads to wrong action, and obedience is impossible without understanding.

Evidence: He states, 'anyone who believes wrongly, you can mark it down, is going to act wrongly' and cites Proverbs 23:7.

Steadfastness comes from resurrection doctrine

Summary: Using 1 Corinthians 15:58, Weaver contends that the doctrine of the resurrection, not external incentives, produces steadfast service.

Evidence: He asks, 'What's going to make someone steadfast?... Is it games, gadgets, gimmicks...? And the answer is no... It is Bible doctrine.'

The goal of teaching is to shut people up to Scripture

Summary: Weaver asserts that proper teaching leaves hearers accountable to God's Word, whether they accept or reject it.

Evidence: He says, 'The whole object of preaching is to shut people up to the Word of God.'

Paul's method is the model for all teaching

Summary: Weaver demonstrates from Acts 17:2-3 that Paul's manner of teaching—reasoning, opening, alleging—should be emulated by all teachers.

Evidence: He notes, 'Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three Sabbath days reasoned with them out of the Scriptures.'

Half-truths become untruths

Summary: Weaver warns that presenting a half-truth as the whole truth distorts the message and fails to communicate truth logically.

Evidence: He states, 'A half-truth presented as the whole truth becomes an untruth.'

Scripture References

Acts 17:1-13

Context: Weaver reads the passage to set the context for Paul's teaching in Thessalonica, Berea, and Athens.

Proverbs 23:7

Context: Cited to support that conduct is based on thinking: 'As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.'

Psalm 116:10

Context: Quoted to show that speech and action flow from belief: 'I believed, therefore have I spoken.'

1 Corinthians 15:58

Context: Used to argue that steadfastness in the Lord's work is based on the doctrine of the resurrection.

1 Timothy 1:3-5

Context: Explained to show that the command to teach no other doctrine aims at love from a pure heart and good conscience.

Acts 17:2-3

Context: Central text for Weaver's teaching on Paul's method of reasoning, opening, and alleging.

Acts 17:17

Context: Shown to use the same Greek word for 'disputed' as 'reasoned' in verse 2.

Acts 18:4, 19

Context: Cited to show Paul's consistent practice of reasoning in the synagogues.

Acts 19:8-10

Context: Used to illustrate that Paul's disputing and persuading led to all Asia hearing the word.

Luke 2:23

Context: Referenced to explain the meaning of 'opening' (dianoigo) as used for the firstborn opening the womb.

Luke 24:25-27, 32

Context: Shows Jesus expounding the Scriptures and the disciples' hearts burning as He opened them.

Mark 7:32-35

Context: Illustrates 'opening' as causing the deaf to hear, paralleling spiritual understanding.

Nehemiah 8:7-8

Context: Demonstrates that reading distinctly, giving the sense, and causing understanding is biblical preaching.

Mark 8:6-7

Context: Shows the use of paratithemi ('set before') to illustrate alleging as setting teaching beside Scripture.

Acts 17:4-5, 32-34

Context: Highlights the mixed response to Paul's preaching—some believed, others mocked or rioted.

John 6:60-68

Context: Shows that even Jesus' teaching caused many disciples to leave, illustrating that results are not the measure of faithful teaching.

Historical References

Charles Haddon Spurgeon

Context: Weaver quotes Spurgeon on the seriousness of preaching and the danger of treating it as a game.

The Reformation principle of sola scriptura

Context: Weaver mentions sola scriptura as the principle that Scripture alone is the authority for faith and practice.

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: This Spurgeon quote underscores Weaver's point that preaching must be earnest and scriptural, not a display of cleverness.

A half-truth presented as the whole truth becomes an untruth.

Significance: Weaver uses this aphorism to stress the need for complete, logical presentation of biblical truth.

Duty is ours and the consequences are God's.

Significance: This statement encapsulates Weaver's teaching that teachers are responsible to proclaim truth, not to control results.

The whole object of preaching is to shut people up to the Word of God.

Significance: Weaver defines the ultimate goal of preaching as leaving hearers accountable to Scripture.

Discussion Questions

Why does Weaver argue that most Christians are ignorant of Bible doctrine, and what are the consequences of this ignorance?

Context: Weaver claims that ignorance of doctrine leads to wrong conduct and inability to live holy lives.

How does the doctrine of the resurrection provide a foundation for steadfast service according to 1 Corinthians 15:58?

Context: Weaver explains that knowing our labor is not in vain because of the resurrection motivates unwavering service.

What does it mean to 'reason out of the Scriptures' and why is logical connection of thoughts essential in teaching?

Context: Weaver defines dialegomai as mingling thought with thought and argues that disconnected truths fail to communicate.

In what ways does 'opening' the Scripture go beyond simply reading it, and how can we practice this in our own study?

Context: Weaver uses Luke 24 and Nehemiah 8 to show that opening involves expounding, explaining, and applying the text.

How does the concept of 'alleging' (paratithemi) help ensure that our teaching remains biblical and accountable?

Context: Weaver explains that alleging means setting our teaching beside Scripture for verification.

Why did Paul and Jesus experience rejection despite their perfect teaching, and how should this affect our expectations in ministry?

Context: Weaver points to Acts 17 and John 6 to show that faithful teaching does not guarantee acceptance.

Applications

Base your teaching on Scripture alone

Summary: Weaver urges teachers to reason out of and with Scripture, not personal opinions or traditions, so that hearers are confronted with God's Word.

Evidence: He states, 'Paul was not teaching his pet peeves... He was teaching out of the scriptures.'

Present truth logically and thoroughly

Summary: Weaver calls for messages where thoughts are logically connected and the whole truth is presented, avoiding half-truths.

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

Expound and explain Scripture, don't just read it

Summary: Weaver teaches that opening Scripture means giving the sense and causing understanding through exposition, explanation, and application.

Evidence: He cites Nehemiah 8:8 as the model: 'they read... distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand.'

Set your teaching alongside Scripture for verification

Summary: Weaver encourages teachers to explicitly show how their teaching aligns with the Bible, so hearers can see it is biblical.

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

Leave results to God

Summary: Weaver reminds that teachers are responsible to proclaim truth faithfully, but the response is between the hearer and God.

Evidence: He says, 'Our responsibility is to teach the whole Word of God. What people do with it is between them and the Lord.'

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T13:27:14Z

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T00:29:53Z

Clean Transcript

Three Reasons We Need To Consider Truth And Interpret Scripture - Part 8

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

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.
#1 | 0:00 to 0:11 | cleaned
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 one.
#2 | 0:27 to 0:44 | cleaned
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. And whom Jason hath received, and these all do contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, one Jesus.
#3 | 0:44 to 1:49 | cleaned
And they troubled the people, and the ruler of the city, when they heard these things. 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.
#4 | 1:49 to 2:16 | cleaned
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 to 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.
#5 | 2:16 to 2:53 | cleaned
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.
#6 | 2:53 to 4:03 | cleaned
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 in that of which we're ignorant. It's impossible to be obedient to that which we do not know and understand. That's why the Bible says in Proverbs 23 and 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 and verse 10, "I believed, therefore have I spoken." So we not 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.
#7 | 4:03 to 4:55 | cleaned
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. The point I'm trying to make is this.
#8 | 4:56 to 5:39 | cleaned
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, for as much 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?
#9 | 5:41 to 6:27 | cleaned
Is it games, gadgets, gimmicks, promotions, praise, awards, contests? And the answer is no, it's none of those things. It is Bible doctrine.
#10 | 6:28 to 6:45 | cleaned
Now listen, let me quote again, 1 Corinthians 15, verse 58. "Therefore, my beloved brethren, be you always steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, for as much as you know, your labor is not in vain in the Lord." Now let's stop. When the Apostle Paul said, "Therefore," 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.
#11 | 6:45 to 7:30 | cleaned
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. 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?
#12 | 7:31 to 8:00 | cleaned
I've preached for 57 years. I've never been written up in Time Magazine as the pastor of the year. I've never even 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.
#13 | 8:02 to 8:26 | cleaned
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? Because of Bible doctrine, because of biblical doctrine, the resurrection of the dead. My duty is based upon my doctrine. Bible doctrine.
#14 | 8:26 to 9:02 | cleaned
Now, I want you to turn to Acts 17, but I want you to turn to 1st Timothy chapter 1. Let's go to 1st Timothy chapter 1. I want you to see this. The Apostle Paul is teaching and he makes a tremendous statement to Timothy in 1st 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."
#15 | 9:02 to 9:39 | cleaned
"Neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions rather than the godly edifying which is in the faith so do. Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart and of good conscience and a faith unfeigned."
#16 | 9:40 to 9:56 | cleaned
Now let me ask you a question. He says in verse 5, "Now the end of the commandment is," where's 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."
#17 | 9:57 to 10:44 | cleaned
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.
#18 | 10:44 to 10:54 | cleaned
"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 a faith unfeigned."
#19 | 10:55 to 11:09 | cleaned
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 a 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.
#20 | 11:10 to 11:59 | cleaned
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. 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.
#21 | 12:00 to 13:12 | cleaned
First of all, he stops at Thessalonica in verses 1 through 9. Secondly, he stops then at Berea in verses 10 through 13. And thirdly, he stops at Athens in verses 17 through 34. And then when you get to chapter 18, he moves on to Corinth and he stays there for 18 months.
#22 | 13:12 to 13:38 | cleaned
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. 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 chapter 17 beginning there with verse 18, you'll see that their indifference was based upon not only unbelief but bad philosophy. Look in Acts chapter 17, if you would please, verse 18.
#23 | 13:38 to 14:26 | cleaned
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. Others, some, 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?"
#24 | 14:26 to 14:57 | cleaned
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." 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 and 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."
#25 | 14:57 to 15:46 | cleaned
The Lord said he did this everywhere. 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.
#26 | 15:46 to 16:26 | cleaned
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.
#27 | 16:26 to 17:33 | cleaned
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.
#28 | 17:33 to 18:05 | cleaned
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. 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.
#29 | 18:06 to 18:48 | cleaned
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.
#30 | 18:48 to 19:23 | cleaned
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. I mean, it's just an opinion. You may safely disagree with an opinion, because an opinion is an opinion. But you cannot 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.
#31 | 19:24 to 20:37 | cleaned
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.
#32 | 20:38 to 21:16 | cleaned
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. "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, look, wow, Gary and Steve had a disputation. When you hear that word, you think, wow, they got in an argument. It was very heated.
#33 | 21:17 to 22:09 | cleaned
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 and 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. "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." Mm-hmm. 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 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.
#34 | 22:10 to 23:35 | cleaned
Now, I want you to notice if you would please verse 8 again, Acts 19 verse 8. "And he went in the synagogue and spake boldly for the space of three months, disputing and persuading the things concerning the kingdom of God."
#35 | 23:35 to 23:58 | cleaned
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.
#36 | 23:58 to 24:15 | cleaned
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 spake boldly for the space of three months, disputing and persuading the things concerning the kingdom of God." Now watch verse nine. 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.
#37 | 24:15 to 24:36 | cleaned
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.
#38 | 24:37 to 25:27 | cleaned
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 while they believed or not, the whole of Asia heard the Word of God.
#39 | 25:28 to 26:02 | cleaned
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. I have truth presented as a whole truth becomes an untruth. We have to learn to present the whole truth in a logical, consistent manner.
#40 | 26:02 to 26:37 | cleaned
Let me give you an illustration. Suppose I told you today that I'm going to teach on Acts chapter 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?
#41 | 26:38 to 27:15 | cleaned
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.
#42 | 27:15 to 27:54 | cleaned
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've 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 kind of a joke. You've got to have three points in 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 Numbers chapter 2 in 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 at the well have with Balaam and saddling an ass?
#43 | 27:54 to 28:12 | cleaned
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 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.
#44 | 28:12 to 29:41 | cleaned
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 Scriptures?
#45 | 29:41 to 30:06 | cleaned
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 the eyes of the blind or the opening the ears of the deaf. It means to rouse someone to the understanding of doctrine.
#46 | 30:06 to 30:43 | cleaned
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 unto the Lord." Now, go back to Acts chapter 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.
#47 | 30:44 to 31:27 | cleaned
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. "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.
#48 | 31:28 to 32:49 | cleaned
"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, 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."
#49 | 32:50 to 33:26 | cleaned
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 written. Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into 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? Well, 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.
#50 | 33:26 to 33:51 | cleaned
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, Mark, chapter 7, beginning there with verse 34. In fact, let's begin reading verse 32. "And they bring on 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."
#51 | 33:52 to 35:04 | cleaned
"And he spit and touched his tongue. And looking up to heaven, he sighed and said unto him, Ephphatha, that is, be opened." Same word, dianoigo, 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're interpreting the scripture, you're showing them what the scripture actually means.
#52 | 35:05 to 35:41 | cleaned
So if you will look very quickly in your Bibles to the book of Nehemiah, Ezra, Nehemiah, look at Nehemiah chapter 8 beginning there of verse 7. Nehemiah chapter 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. Okay, we'll start with the phrase "and the Levites" right in the middle of verse 7. What's this? "And the Levites cause 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.
#53 | 35:41 to 36:29 | cleaned
And no one opens a scripture unless he expounds and explains the 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.
#54 | 36:30 to 37:34 | cleaned
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 in the synagogue and began to teach. And this is how he taught. So watch it. In verse two, he reasoned out of the scripture and with the scripture. In verse three, he opens, but now he does something else. "Opening and alleging that Christ must needs have suffered."
#55 | 37:34 to 37:56 | cleaned
Now follow it with me. "And risen again from the dead and that this Jesus whom I'm preaching to you is Christ."
#56 | 37:57 to 38:28 | cleaned
Now most of us have never really grasped what this word "allege" means. I could say, well, I'm alleging that Steve stole one of my pistols. 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.
#57 | 38:28 to 38:36 | cleaned
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 paratithemi. Para is a preposition which literally means alongside of. Tithemi is a verb which means to cause to stand. So actually the word paratithemi 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.
#58 | 38:38 to 39:14 | cleaned
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.
#59 | 39:15 to 39:56 | cleaned
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."
#60 | 39:57 to 40:54 | cleaned
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's 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." Paratithemi. "And they did set them before them," Paratithemi. "And they had a few small fishes, and he blessed and commanded to set them before them," Paratithemi.
#61 | 40:54 to 41:15 | cleaned
Now, let me ask you something. He had the fish, and he had the bread, and he break 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 chapter 17.
#62 | 41:16 to 42:11 | cleaned
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 opened, 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 Scriptures, as look for yourself. It's one and the same.
#63 | 42:12 to 42:42 | cleaned
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.
#64 | 42:42 to 43:55 | cleaned
I want you to look in Acts chapter 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. But watch this, but the Jews who believed not moved with envy."
#65 | 43:56 to 44:33 | cleaned
"took unto them certain lewd fellows of the baser sort, and gathered a 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 Areopagite, and a woman named Damaris, and others with them."
#66 | 44:35 to 45:15 | cleaned
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.
#67 | 45:15 to 45:47 | cleaned
"Many therefore of his disciples when they heard this said, this is a hard saying, who can hear it? When Jesus knew in himself that his disciples murmured at it, he said to them, doth this offend you? What and if you shall see the Son of Man ascend 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."
#68 | 45:47 to 46:26 | cleaned
"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 unto you, that no man can come unto me except it were given 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 you go away also?"
#69 | 46:26 to 46:53 | cleaned
"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 six. And what did they say? "This is a 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.
#70 | 46:54 to 47:21 | cleaned
Duty is ours and the consequences are 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.
#71 | 47:21 to 47:53 | cleaned
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."
#72 | 47:54 to 48:47 | cleaned
In other words, 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."
#73 | 48:47 to 49:23 | cleaned
"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. So when it comes to teaching and preaching we cannot shuffle texts like cards, and we cannot make a game out of it, and it cannot be just our own cleverness.
#74 | 49:23 to 50:00 | cleaned
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.
#75 | 50:01 to 50:41 | cleaned
May we repent of our sins and trust only in Him. In the name of Jesus Christ, we ask and pray. Amen.
#76 | 50:43 to 52:04 | cleaned
May we repent of our sins and trust only in Him. In the name of Jesus Christ, we ask and pray. Amen.
#77 | 52:06 to 52:14 | cleaned
you you you
#78 | 52:31 to 52:32 | cleaned

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T13:27:14Z

Three Reasons We Need To Consider Truth And Interpret Scripture - Part 8

John Weaver | Freedom Ministries

In this eighth message of a series on learning biblical truth, Pastor John Weaver teaches from Acts 17:1-13 how to teach biblical truth by following the Apostle Paul's example. He emphasizes that Paul reasoned out of the Scriptures, opened them by explaining and interpreting, and alleged by setting his teaching alongside Scripture for verification. Weaver argues that duty is based on doctrine, and that logical, scriptural reasoning is essential for effective communication of truth. He warns that even the best teaching will not guarantee universal acceptance, as seen in the mixed responses to Paul and Jesus, but the goal is to shut people up to the Word of God.

Introduction and Context

Weaver introduces the message as part of a series on learning biblical truth and reads Acts 17:1-13 to set the context of Paul's missionary journey.

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.

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. 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. 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 to Paul at Berea, they came thither also and stirred up the people.

The Importance of Bible Doctrine

Weaver stresses that most Christians are ignorant of Bible doctrine, and that wrong doctrine leads to wrong conduct, because duty is based on doctrine.

Scripture Reading — Proverbs 23:7

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

Scripture Reading — 1 Corinthians 15:58

"Therefore, my beloved brethren, be you always steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, for as much as you know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord."

So now listen to that again.

Scripture Reading — 1 Corinthians 15:58

"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?

Doctrine as the Foundation for Steadfastness

Using 1 Corinthians 15:58, Weaver shows that the doctrine of the resurrection is the basis for steadfast, unmovable service, not external motivations.

Scripture Reading — 1 Corinthians 15:58

"Therefore, my beloved brethren, be you always steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, for as much as you know, your labor is not in vain in the Lord."

The Command to Teach No Other Doctrine

From 1 Timothy 1:3-5, Weaver explains that the end of the commandment to teach sound doctrine is love from a pure heart, good conscience, and unhypocritical faith.

Paul's Method: Reasoning out of the Scriptures

Weaver examines Acts 17:2, showing that Paul reasoned (dialegomai) out of the Scriptures, meaning he logically connected thoughts and argued from Scripture alone.

Reasoning with Scripture and Disputing

Weaver demonstrates that the same Greek word is used for 'reasoned' and 'disputed' in Acts 17-19, indicating Paul's method involved logical argumentation and persuasion.

Scripture Reading — Acts 18:4, 19

"And he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath and persuaded the Jews and the

Now, I want you to notice if you would please verse 8 again, Acts 19 verse 8.

Scripture Reading — Acts 19:8-10

"And he went in the synagogue and spake boldly for the space of three months, disputing and persuading the things concerning the kingdom of God."

Opening the Scriptures

Weaver explains that 'opening' (dianoigo) means to expound, explain, and interpret Scripture thoroughly, not merely reading it, as seen in Luke 24 and Nehemiah 8.

Scripture Reading — Luke 2:23

"As it is written in the law of the Lord, every male that openeth,"

it's the same word,

Scripture Reading — Luke 2:23

"the womb shall be called holy unto the Lord."

Scripture Reading — Nehemiah 8:7-8

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.

Alleging: Setting Teaching Beside Scripture

Weaver defines 'alleging' (paratithemi) as setting one's teaching alongside Scripture for comparison, so that hearers can verify it matches God's Word.

Mixed Responses to Faithful Teaching

Weaver notes that despite Paul's and Jesus' exemplary teaching, many rejected the message, showing that results are God's responsibility, not the teacher's.

Conclusion: The Seriousness of Preaching

Weaver quotes Spurgeon to emphasize that preaching must be earnest and scriptural, not a game, and that the goal is to shut people up to the Word of God.

Three Reasons We Need To Consider Truth And Interpret Scripture - Part 8

John Weaver | YouTube

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	YouTube
Media ID	JEFjWsZ27lY
Subject	Apologetics
Course	Truth and the Interpretation of Scripture
Genre	Sermon
Date	2022-06-13
Dictation Name
Book	Book 065: Three Reasons We Need To Consider Truth And Interpret Scripture — Chapter 8
Source Timed Segments	78

Lecture Guide

Outline

Introduction and Context: Weaver introduces the message as part of a series on learning biblical truth and reads Acts 17:1-13 to set the context of Paul's missionary journey.
The Importance of Bible Doctrine: Weaver stresses that most Christians are ignorant of Bible doctrine, and that wrong doctrine leads to wrong conduct, because duty is based on doctrine.
Doctrine as the Foundation for Steadfastness: Using 1 Corinthians 15:58, Weaver shows that the doctrine of the resurrection is the basis for steadfast, unmovable service, not external motivations.
The Command to Teach No Other Doctrine: From 1 Timothy 1:3-5, Weaver explains that the end of the commandment to teach sound doctrine is love from a pure heart, good conscience, and unhypocritical faith.
Paul's Method: Reasoning out of the Scriptures: Weaver examines Acts 17:2, showing that Paul reasoned (dialegomai) out of the Scriptures, meaning he logically connected thoughts and argued from Scripture alone.
Reasoning with Scripture and Disputing: Weaver demonstrates that the same Greek word is used for 'reasoned' and 'disputed' in Acts 17-19, indicating Paul's method involved logical argumentation and persuasion.
Opening the Scriptures: Weaver explains that 'opening' (dianoigo) means to expound, explain, and interpret Scripture thoroughly, not merely reading it, as seen in Luke 24 and Nehemiah 8.
Alleging: Setting Teaching Beside Scripture: Weaver defines 'alleging' (paratithemi) as setting one's teaching alongside Scripture for comparison, so that hearers can verify it matches God's Word.
Mixed Responses to Faithful Teaching: Weaver notes that despite Paul's and Jesus' exemplary teaching, many rejected the message, showing that results are God's responsibility, not the teacher's.
Conclusion: The Seriousness of Preaching: Weaver quotes Spurgeon to emphasize that preaching must be earnest and scriptural, not a game, and that the goal is to shut people up to the Word of God.

Major Themes

Key Arguments

Conduct is based on doctrine

Weaver argues that wrong belief inevitably leads to wrong action, and obedience is impossible without understanding.

He states, 'anyone who believes wrongly, you can mark it down, is going to act wrongly' and cites Proverbs 23:7.

Steadfastness comes from resurrection doctrine

Using 1 Corinthians 15:58, Weaver contends that the doctrine of the resurrection, not external incentives, produces steadfast service.

He asks, 'What's going to make someone steadfast?... Is it games, gadgets, gimmicks...? And the answer is no... It is Bible doctrine.'

The goal of teaching is to shut people up to Scripture

Weaver asserts that proper teaching leaves hearers accountable to God's Word, whether they accept or reject it.

He says, 'The whole object of preaching is to shut people up to the Word of God.'

Paul's method is the model for all teaching

Weaver demonstrates from Acts 17:2-3 that Paul's manner of teaching—reasoning, opening, alleging—should be emulated by all teachers.

He notes, 'Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three Sabbath days reasoned with them out of the Scriptures.'

Half-truths become untruths

Weaver warns that presenting a half-truth as the whole truth distorts the message and fails to communicate truth logically.

He states, 'A half-truth presented as the whole truth becomes an untruth.'

Scripture References

Acts 17:1-13: Weaver reads the passage to set the context for Paul's teaching in Thessalonica, Berea, and Athens.
Proverbs 23:7: Cited to support that conduct is based on thinking: 'As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.'
Psalm 116:10: Quoted to show that speech and action flow from belief: 'I believed, therefore have I spoken.'
1 Corinthians 15:58: Used to argue that steadfastness in the Lord's work is based on the doctrine of the resurrection.
1 Timothy 1:3-5: Explained to show that the command to teach no other doctrine aims at love from a pure heart and good conscience.
Acts 17:2-3: Central text for Weaver's teaching on Paul's method of reasoning, opening, and alleging.
Acts 17:17: Shown to use the same Greek word for 'disputed' as 'reasoned' in verse 2.
Acts 18:4, 19: Cited to show Paul's consistent practice of reasoning in the synagogues.
Acts 19:8-10: Used to illustrate that Paul's disputing and persuading led to all Asia hearing the word.
Luke 2:23: Referenced to explain the meaning of 'opening' (dianoigo) as used for the firstborn opening the womb.
Luke 24:25-27, 32: Shows Jesus expounding the Scriptures and the disciples' hearts burning as He opened them.
Mark 7:32-35: Illustrates 'opening' as causing the deaf to hear, paralleling spiritual understanding.
Nehemiah 8:7-8: Demonstrates that reading distinctly, giving the sense, and causing understanding is biblical preaching.
Mark 8:6-7: Shows the use of paratithemi ('set before') to illustrate alleging as setting teaching beside Scripture.
Acts 17:4-5, 32-34: Highlights the mixed response to Paul's preaching—some believed, others mocked or rioted.
John 6:60-68: Shows that even Jesus' teaching caused many disciples to leave, illustrating that results are not the measure of faithful teaching.

Historical References

Charles Haddon Spurgeon: Weaver quotes Spurgeon on the seriousness of preaching and the danger of treating it as a game.
The Reformation principle of sola scriptura: Weaver mentions sola scriptura as the principle that Scripture alone is the authority for faith and practice.

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.

This Spurgeon quote underscores Weaver's point that preaching must be earnest and scriptural, not a display of cleverness.

A half-truth presented as the whole truth becomes an untruth.

Weaver uses this aphorism to stress the need for complete, logical presentation of biblical truth.

Duty is ours and the consequences are God's.

This statement encapsulates Weaver's teaching that teachers are responsible to proclaim truth, not to control results.

The whole object of preaching is to shut people up to the Word of God.

Weaver defines the ultimate goal of preaching as leaving hearers accountable to Scripture.

Discussion Questions

[Question]

Why does Weaver argue that most Christians are ignorant of Bible doctrine, and what are the consequences of this ignorance?

[Context]

Weaver claims that ignorance of doctrine leads to wrong conduct and inability to live holy lives.

[Question]

How does the doctrine of the resurrection provide a foundation for steadfast service according to 1 Corinthians 15:58?

[Context]

Weaver explains that knowing our labor is not in vain because of the resurrection motivates unwavering service.

[Question]

What does it mean to 'reason out of the Scriptures' and why is logical connection of thoughts essential in teaching?

[Context]

Weaver defines dialegomai as mingling thought with thought and argues that disconnected truths fail to communicate.

[Question]

In what ways does 'opening' the Scripture go beyond simply reading it, and how can we practice this in our own study?

[Context]

Weaver uses Luke 24 and Nehemiah 8 to show that opening involves expounding, explaining, and applying the text.

[Question]

How does the concept of 'alleging' (paratithemi) help ensure that our teaching remains biblical and accountable?

[Context]

Weaver explains that alleging means setting our teaching beside Scripture for verification.

[Question]

Why did Paul and Jesus experience rejection despite their perfect teaching, and how should this affect our expectations in ministry?

[Context]

Weaver points to Acts 17 and John 6 to show that faithful teaching does not guarantee acceptance.

Applications

Format deepseek deepseek-v4-pro structured study JSON | Source Commentary.net transcript enrichment

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T00:29:53Z