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Three Reasons We Need To Consider Truth And Interpret Scripture - Part 9

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• Your Bibles, if you would, to Acts chapter 17. And I want to just simply read verses 1 through 3, and then we're going to read verses 10 through 13. Notice, if you would, verses 1 through 3, Acts 17.

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• "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."

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• Now skip down to verse 11, talking about the Bereans. Let's read verse 10: "And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea, who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews. These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so. Therefore many of them believed; also of honorable women which were Greeks, and of men, not a few. But when the Jews of Thessalonica had knowledge that the word of God was preached of Paul at Berea, they came thither also, and stirred up the people."

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• Now, we've been looking at this truth on how to study and how to learn biblical truth for a number of weeks. This is the final message where I'm actually coming down to how to learn biblical truth. There's been very little preaching in the pulpits of America today, especially using Paul's methodology, that he mentioned there in verses 2 and 3. When he reasoned out of the Scripture, of course, reasoned with the Scripture, he opened the Scripture, that is, he explained as well as expounded. And then, of course, he alleged, he took what he said, said it alongside of the Word of God so that they could see that what he was saying was exactly that which the Bible also said. Let me also remind you of the outline of Acts chapter 17. Paul, of course, was on his second missionary journey. He made three stops.

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• There was opposition to the gospel in Thessalonica. There was interest in the gospel in Berea. And there was indifference to the gospel at Athens. So let me try to stimulate your thinking by asking a question. And I think you will understand the importance of this question just momentarily. But here's the question. Why, humanly speaking, was there interest in the Gospel in Berea when there was opposition to the Gospel in Thessalonica and indifference to the Gospel in Athens? Now, another way to ask that question would be this.

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• Why did the Bereans respond positively while the other groups responded negatively? So the answer that usually is very quickly available and very quickly given is that it is because of the sovereignty of God. And certainly I believe in the sovereignty of God. The Bible does teach in Proverbs 16 and verse 1 that the preparation of the heart in man and the answer of the tongue are from the Lord. And I certainly know that God must work in our hearts. He must prepare our hearts. And I know that God is sovereign, but let me ask this question again. Why, humanly speaking, was there interest in the gospel in Acts chapter 17 at Berea and not in all of these other places? So it's true then that God is sovereign. It's true then that God must work in our hearts. But I want to point something out before I actually get to Acts 17. If you'll turn quickly to 2 Thessalonians, and look in chapter two, beginning there with verse 13. Second Thessalonians chapter two and beginning there with verse 13.

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• Notice what the word of God says. Second Thessalonians chapter two and verse 13. The apostle Paul writes this: "But we are bound to give thanks always to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth." Now watch verse 14: "Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ."

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• Now obviously when you look at verse 13, we have the biblical doctrine of election. Because he said, "But we are bound to give thanks always to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation."

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• Now the word elect or election or its equivalent occurs 73 times in the New Testament. So you have to believe something about the doctrine of election or you have to tear 73 passages out of the Bible. I want you to note something. Election is the foundation of salvation. But it is not salvation in and of itself. Moreover, election does not negate the means of salvation. Rather, it guarantees those means.

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• So if you look back in verse 13, he says, "But we are bound to give thanks always to God for you, brethren, beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth." Now watch verse 14: "Whereunto he called you by our gospel to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ." So it's true that no one will ever be converted apart from the sovereignty of God. It's true that no one will ever be converted apart from God's eternal election. It's also true that no one will ever be converted apart from the Holy Spirit of God. But it's also true that no one will ever be converted apart from belief of the truth. So the Bible tells us in verse 14, whereby He called you to our gospel. So these people who were chosen were sanctified by the Spirit. They believed the truth. They were actually called by the gospel. So let me go back and ask this again.

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• Why, humanly speaking, did the people in Berea respond positively when the other people did not? Well, let me try to answer that for you. And so if you will turn back in your Bibles to the book of Acts chapter 17, and let's begin reading there with verse 11, and notice if you would this truth. He says, "These were more noble than those in Thessalonica." Let's stop right there. These were more noble than those in Thessalonica. So here the Bible is telling us that there is a certain thing that is required to actually believe the truth and receive the truth and to learn the truth, and that is, we must have a noble character.

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• Now, let me explain that term. The Greek word for noble is the word eugenes. It is translated in our Bibles as noble or nobleman, and it also means that someone is of a noble family, a noble birth, but it also equally means someone with a noble mind. The interesting thing is about the word noble, the root word is eugenes, that is where we get our English name Eugene from. And so the name Eugene actually means noble. Now the word eugenes only occurs three times in the New Testament.

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• The first one, if you will look with me, is found in Luke chapter 19, verse 12. And of course in this, our Lord is being represented as a nobleman, and he is going to receive a kingdom. So in Luke chapter 19 and verse 12, here's what the Bible says. Watch carefully. Luke 19 verse 12: "He said therefore, A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return."

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• Now, this indeed is a picture of Christ, but you must remember there were plenty of noble persons in the Bible, plenty of people who were well born and well bred that certainly did not receive a kingdom. So our Lord here is pictured as a nobleman who goes and stands before a king, who is interrogated, who is found to be honest, righteous, full of integrity, then of course he's given a kingdom and consequently he's to go back and rule for the king. So this is the first time the word is used. It was actually translated as a nobleman.

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• Now the second time you will find it in 1st Corinthians chapter 1. I want you to turn there and look at verse 26. 1st Corinthians chapter 1 and verse 26. Notice if you would what the Bible says. It's the same word, eugenes. Watch it. First Corinthians 1 and verse 26: "For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called." And then he goes on to say, "But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty." So he says, not many noble are called. So when the word noble is used here, it means certainly that or someone who is well bred. If we were in England, we would say to the manor bred or to the manor born.

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• So this is the thing. Today, we would just simply say someone in high society. So he's clearly then talking about someone who would be of aristocratic birth, someone who was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. He says, not many of those are called. Some may be, but not many. So the third time this word occurs is found in Acts chapter 17 and verse 11. And so clearly then it does not mean these people were noblemen, each and every one of them. It certainly does not mean that they were high born and high bred and aristocrats in and of themselves. But what it does mean is that these individuals were noble minded. "These were more noble than those in Thessalonica." And of course, we're going to see this word explained as we get on into this verse. So, clearly then, we're talking about someone of a noble character. Now, let me explain what I'm talking about.

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• In this passage, they're hearing the Apostle Paul preach. And they're probably hearing things that they had never heard before, never even considered before. And so here's what they're doing: they hear the Word of God. Remember now, Paul was reasoning out of the scriptures, he was reasoning with the scriptures, he was opening it, that is he was explaining, he was interpreting, and then he was alleging, he was putting what he said right beside the Bible so they could see that. And so when they heard what the Apostle Paul was saying, they had the character to say, "Wait a minute. If what Paul is saying is right, then I'm wrong. I've just never heard it explained like this. I'm going to have to stop and think this thing through. I've just never heard it like this." In other words, these people had a noble character. The old Puritans had a saying, which I really like.

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• They said, and they asked, "How many would be wise if they did not already think themselves so?" And that is true. How many would be wise if they did not already think themselves so? So what the Bible is telling us here is a noble character, someone who is honest with the scripture. And so we have to have some integrity, we have to have some character, we have to have some honesty. You remember our Lord said in the parable in Matthew chapter 13, it was that good ground hearer who received the word in a good and honest heart.

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• And so this is what we're talking about here. We may not ever understand every scripture. We may not even agree with every scripture at first, but at least we would have to have the integrity to say, "That's what scripture says."

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• Now I told you, but I'm going to repeat it, just in light of this, because years ago I heard Lester Roloff preaching on the radio on his Family Altar program. And he was dealing with Ephesians chapter one. And I knew that Lester Roloff was not a scholar, but he was a dear, dear saint of God. I knew that he was not a theologian, and I knew that he probably did not understand the doctrine of election. And so when he read Ephesians chapter 1 and verse 4, that God chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world, Lester Roloff said this: "Folks," he said, "I don't understand the doctrine of election. He said, I don't have the ability to teach the doctrine of election. The Bible says that God chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world, and I believe it."

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• So, he was absolutely honest with Scripture. In other words, he couldn't explain it, he didn't understand it, he couldn't teach it, but he knew that was exactly what the Bible says. So, if you have a noble character then, that means that you're at least willing to be honest with Scripture. You know, the Bible says in 1 Corinthians chapter 8 and verse 2, "And if any man think that he knoweth any thing, he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know."

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• So go back to that old Puritan quote. How many would be wise if they didn't already think themselves so? Unhappily, here's what is happening. Most Christians are like those Jews in Thessalonica. The Jews in Thessalonica did not like what the Apostle Paul was preaching. They didn't agree with what the Apostle Paul was saying. So if you look back in your Bibles to Acts chapter 17 and verse 5, look what they did.

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• Just to show you these people did not have a noble character. In Acts 17 and verse 5: "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." Skip down to verse 13. Watch this.

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• Now that's what they did in Thessalonica. In verse 13: "But when the Jews of Thessalonica had knowledge that the word of God was preached of Paul at Berea, they came thither also, and stirred up the people." Isn't that astounding? Here are people from one city traveling to another city just to stir up trouble because they didn't like what the Apostle Paul was preaching. They didn't agree with it. They didn't believe it. Unhappily, even most Christians are not willing to listen to the Word of God. They're not willing to be taught the truth. They're not willing to hear anything that opposes that which they have been raised with.

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• The truth of the matter is, if we're going to ever learn truth, we must have an honest heart. We must have integrity. We must be willing to submit to the Word of God and not fight against it and not resist it.

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• Now, I understand that God does not give the same amount of light to everyone. Neither does He give light at the same time. So when there is indeed a disagreement concerning a passage, if we're Christians then we can agree to disagree as Christians. We do not have to fuss and fight and maul each other. No. I never will forget seeing a cartoon one time and I thought how appropriate.

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• The pastor was showing a man around the church building and they passed a room where two men were in there fighting. I mean they had black eyes, they had scratches, their clothes were torn, their hair was pulled, and the pastor said, "Oh never mind them, they're just having their weekly discussion over the doctrine of election." Well, that's unhappily the way a lot of people discuss things. They do not discuss them as gentlemen at all. They do not even understand the biblical doctrine of illumination, which means that God must open our eyes, God must teach us. So the amazing thing to me is these Jews, man, they were just willing to cause trouble, not just in their hometown, but they were willing to travel to Berea as well to stir up trouble.

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• In other words, listen to this: wrong, wicked thinking always leads to wrong, wicked conduct. Let me say it another way. Wrong, wicked, heretical, erroneous doctrine always leads to wicked and wrong conduct. Let me show you. I want you to turn in your Bibles very quickly, hold in Acts 17, but look in your Bibles to the book of Isaiah chapter 1. Isaiah chapter 1, and let's begin reading there with verse 16. Isaiah 1 verse 16. Look at what God says.

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• Many people quote one part of this without even using all of it. So in Isaiah 1 verse 16, God says, "Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil; learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow." Now watch in verse 18: "Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord."

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• "Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool." Do you understand that one cannot reason with God until he ceases to do evil and learns to do well? That's what God is saying. God is saying, put away the evil of your doing. Learn to do well. Follow my commandments. Do what I'm telling you.

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• You remember what David said in Psalm 66 and verse 18: "If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me." So if we just merely regard it, God's not going to hear us. If we're actually doing it and committing it, then very clearly we're not going to be in any position to reason with God. If you will turn right over to the book of Amos, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, and look, if you would, at Amos chapter five, you'll see this again. Amos chapter five, beginning there in verse 14. Amos five, verse 14: "Seek good, and not evil, that ye may live: and so the Lord, the God of hosts, shall be with you, as ye have spoken. Hate the evil, and love the good, and establish judgment in the gate: it may be that the Lord God of hosts will be gracious unto the remnant of Joseph." Notice it says hate the evil, love the good. You can't love the good till you hate the evil.

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• You cannot seek the good until you cease seeking that which is evil. That's why the Bible says in Proverbs 21 and verse 30, that there is no wisdom nor understanding against the counsel of the Lord. No. It's useless to argue with God. It's useless to try to debate with Him or resist Him. Where are those Jews from Thessalonica? They're dead. They're gone. They're condemned because they resisted God and resisted the Gospel. It takes honesty and it takes integrity and it takes character to say, "God is right, I am wrong."

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• And let me put it to you another way. It is absolutely hypocritical, and I would add sheer blasphemy, for one to cry to God for truth, when at the same time he's refusing to relinquish that which is erroneous and wicked and wrong. God is never ever going to give us truth until we come to the realization that, "Look, Lord, I'm wrong. You're right. Your word is right."

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• I want to bow to it. I want to submit to it. I'm going to say you are right. I will justify you rather than justify myself. So when you look back in Acts chapter 17, you're going to understand that the very first reason these people received the word of God was they had a noble character. Let me show you the second reason. Look in Acts 17 verse 11: "These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that"—so this phrase "in that" explains their nobility, which obviously was not a noble birth. It had to be a noble character. Notice he said, "These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind." So let me just stop right there.

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• Here's a second thing that we must have in order to learn the truth. We must not only have a noble character to say God is right and I'm wrong. We must have a ready mind.

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• Now the interesting thing is, when the Bible talks about readiness of mind, it's from the Greek word prothumia, which is translated in our Bibles as forwardness of mind, readiness of mind, a ready mind, and a willing mind. It also speaks of zeal and eagerness and passion. And here's why. The Greek word prothumia is made up of two Greek words: pro is a preposition which actually means to or toward, and thumos is the Greek word for passion. So literally, the word readiness there means to have a passion toward something. So the second characteristic that we need to learn truth is we must have a passion toward the Word of God.

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• Now let me tell you how this is used. You remember that passage in Romans chapter 1 and verse 15 where Paul said, "So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also." The word ready there is prothumia. So he says, "So as much as in me is, I have a passion to preach the Word of God to you which are at Rome also." I want you to turn over your Bibles to 1 Peter, notice 1 Peter if you would please, chapter 5, and let's begin reading there with verse 1. 1 Peter chapter 5 verse 1, and I want you to see this, this might help you understand something. 1 Peter chapter 5 verse 1, the Bible declares as Peter is writing, he says, "The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed." Now look what he tells these elders, these pastors: "Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind."

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• So he says, you've got to feed the flock of God. You have to take the oversight thereof. No one has to force you to do it. You must do it willingly and not just for money. No, no, no. But for a ready mind. Would you like to know what the word ready is there? It's the same word that is translated as readiness in Acts chapter 17. It means a mind that has a passion toward the Word of God. It means someone that is excited, someone that is zealous toward the Word of God. Now, I don't know if you've ever noticed this or not, but it is politically and socially correct to have a passion about anything and everything except the Word of God and of course the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. Have you ever thought about how people spend money, hours, and efforts just to attend a ball game?

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• They will sit for hours on hard benches, cheer until their throats are absolutely sore, and endure all kinds of weather. And then other folks just can't sit in church one hour without complaining. And yet when you look at the ball games, they're sitting on hard benches. There is no air conditioning. They're hot. The benches are not padded. And it doesn't upset them how long the game goes on. And if the game goes into overtime, they're happy. But you let a preacher preach about 10 or 15 minutes longer than most folks think he's supposed to.

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• And then you've got problems. I never will forget years ago, I was preaching in a little South Georgia town. The pastor was not there that day. I was filling in for him. And he normally stopped at 12 o'clock. And he had arranged for me to have dinner that day with a family in his church, because I was to preach there that night and I was just going to spend the afternoon at their home. Well, I preached till I got through.

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• It was, I don't know, 15 minutes to one, something like that. Well, when I got home with this lady and her husband, she let me know right quickly that I was going to eat burned roast beef because she had cooked that to be ready at 12. And I went way past 12. Well, the point I'm trying to make is, she actually came to get out. She didn't come to get in. But you know, this is the same thing with hunters and fishermen.

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• It's not just ball games. I mean, I've known hunters and fishermen will get up way before daylight and do all kinds of weather and go out and hunt all day and sit in and do all kinds of pain and mosquitoes and bugs and come home empty handed. And they still never, ever complain. But you sit in church longer than you think the pastor ought to be preaching and there's usually always a problem. You know why? Because people just do not have a passion for the Word of God. And anytime someone really gets a passion for the Word of God,

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• everyone else thinks he's gone off on the deep end. He's a lunatic. He's crazy. Oh, Vance Havner said it like this. He said, "Christians have been subnormal for so long that when one gets normal, everyone else thinks he's abnormal." And that's about the truth. That is the way it goes.

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• Now, to show you someone who had a passion to preach, consider the Apostle Paul. In Acts chapter 20, the Apostle Paul preached until midnight. You know the only thing that stopped him? Eutychus fell out of a window and killed himself. When you read Acts chapter 20, Paul quit preaching, went down, raised Eutychus from the dead, then went back and the Bible says preached until the break of day. The only reason I don't preach all night is I can't raise folks from the dead. It's hard enough to keep them awake while I am preaching, to Brother Gary. But notice if you would, how in the world would most people respond today if the pastor preached three or four hours? You know, I hear people say, "Well, what I'd like to do is go back to horse and buggy days. Just one sermon." Yeah, I would too. I'd like that because here's what they did.

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• They got up before daylight. They fed all their animals. They got in the horse and buggy with a picnic dinner, came to church. The preacher preached several hours. Then they had a picnic dinner. Then he preached again. Then he let them go just in time to get home so they could do chores again, feed all the animals. And then the family sat around at night and they catechized their children. And they meditated and asked questions on everything the preacher said.

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• We don't have anything like that today, I can assure you. No.

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• Now, you remember, Ezra was already a scribe in the Law of Moses. David said it like this in Psalm 119 in verse 97: "O how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day." So if you and I are to love the truth, if you and I are to learn the truth, we have to have a ready mind toward it. We have to have a passion toward the Word of God, toward the preached Word of God as well. Have you ever stopped to think that the Christians that have been faithful to church, faithful to preaching all of their lives should be theologians? They should be able to be scholars. But the truth is most of them let everything slip and let everything go. If you and I are going to learn truth, we have to have a mind that's eager and passionate toward the Word of God. Now you're going to say, "Pastor, that's just not normal." Really? Normal according to whom? If you look back in your Bibles to Acts chapter 13, Acts chapter 13, let's begin reading there with verse 13 and read through verse 16.

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• Then I'm going to show you something. Look in Acts chapter 13 verse 13: "Now when Paul and his company loosed from Paphos, they came to Perga in Pamphylia: and John departing from them returned to Jerusalem. But when they departed from Perga, they came to Antioch in Pisidia, and went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and sat down." Now watch. "And after the reading of the law and the prophets the rulers of the synagogue sent unto them, saying, Ye men and brethren, if ye have any word of exhortation for the people, say on. Then Paul stood up, and beckoning with his hand said, Men of Israel, and ye that fear God, give audience." I've always said I'm going to preach on this. I never have. I was going to preach on the mistake of a great rabbi. Can you imagine asking the apostle Paul if he had anything to say? Well, let me show you what he did. He only had something to say. In verse 17, he says, "The God of this people of Israel chose our fathers, and exalted the people when they dwelt as strangers in the land of Egypt, and with an high arm brought he them..."

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• He starts giving the people a history lesson which they should already know. And he continues, and if you'll skip down to verse 39, watch what he says. He's giving all this history. In verse 39, he comes to Jesus Christ, and he says, "And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses. Beware therefore, lest that come upon you, which is spoken of in the prophets;

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• Behold, ye despisers, and wonder, and perish: for I work a work in your days, a work which ye shall in no wise believe, though a man declare it unto you." Now watch verse 42: "And when the Jews were gone out of the synagogue, the Gentiles besought that these words might be preached to them the next sabbath." In other words, "Paul, you've got to promise that you're going to come back and preach again. We're not going to let you go until you promise." "Okay, I'll come back." Watch the next verse. "Now when the congregation was broken up, many of the Jews and religious proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas:

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• who, speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in the grace of God." Wow. So they had just gotten out of the synagogue. They just got a promise he's coming back. That's not sufficient. They're following him, asking questions, wanting more. And so he turns around and teaches them on preservation. He said, "You got to continue in the faith." Wow. I'm just simply pointing out the fact that these people were serious. Look in verse 44: "And the next sabbath day came almost the whole city together to hear the word of God." Wow. Wow. You see, these people had a ready mind. They wanted truth. They were eagerly seeking truth. You know, in First Thessalonians chapter two and verse 13, the Bible tells us what an eager mind and a ready mind really is.

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• Because there the apostle Paul said this: "For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe." So let me say something. As long as I'm expounding, explaining, and applying Scripture, that is the Word of God. That is the Word of God. If I'm giving my own opinion, and my pet peeves, that is not the Word of God. So, when the Apostle Paul reasoned out of the Scriptures, reasoned with the Scriptures, opened the Scriptures, and alleged with the Scriptures, they weren't sitting back saying, "Well, that's just what Paul thinks. That's Paul's opinion." No, no, no. They received it as it is in truth, the word of God, because that's exactly what it was. Now go back to Acts chapter 17.

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• Look again at verse 11. He says, "These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind." Here's the next thing: "and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so." So, they not only had a noble character, they had a ready mind, and they had a heart to search the Scriptures. Here's the practice: they searched the Scriptures.

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• Now, let me tell you something that you need to understand. Searching the Scriptures is not opening a concordance and saying, "Let me see how many times this word appears." You might need to know that, but that is not searching the Scriptures. When the Bible says they searched the Scriptures, the Greek word is anakrino. The word ana is a preposition which is usually translated as unto or up or upwards. Krino means to judge. Literally, the word means to judge into, to judge upward, or to discern. In other words, this word is a forensic word.

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• It is a term of the law courts. It means to examine a witness thoroughly. You will find the word used in 1 Corinthians 9 and verse 3 when the Apostle Paul said, "Mine answer to them that do examine me is this." Well, what were they doing examining the Apostle Paul? They were trying to find something wrong with him. They were scrutinizing him. They were going into detail, tearing him apart. You'll find the same word in Luke chapter 23 and verse 14 when Pilate said concerning Christ, "I have examined him, and find no fault in this man." I've examined him. I've thoroughly gone over this. It means a close examination.

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• So, in light of this, you have to understand that searching the Scriptures is not just simply running references with a concordance. You are actually discerning the intent and the truth of the passage. Now watch this. Here's the period. They searched the Scripture how often? Daily. They were not off and on. They were not up and down. It was not something every now and then. No, no, no. They searched the Scriptures daily.

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• Now let me tell you, I'm all for reading the Scripture through in a year. If you can read the Bible all the way through in a year, wonderful. I'm for reading the Bible however you can read the Bible. But I will tell you this, I had rather read one verse and be able to discern it and understand it than read 40 chapters and not have any idea what I just read.

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• So this is what he's talking about. They're searching the scripture. Let me show you. I want you to turn back in your Bibles to the book of Proverbs chapter 2. Look in Proverbs chapter 2. Here it is. Proverbs chapter 2. And let's begin reading there with verse 1. Watch this. I'm going to emphasize certain things with my voice. So watch. He says, "My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee; so that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding; yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding; if thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures; then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God." So understanding and finding is a result of receiving, hiding, inclining, applying, crying, lifting up your voice, and seeking and searching.

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• So this is what it means when it says they searched the Scriptures daily. Have you ever considered this? One of the reasons you and I do not really retain so much is because it never really cost us anything. If I spend 20 hours working on a message and you hear it within an hour, you haven't put anything into it. And you can say, "Well, that was a good message," but then it's gone.

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• But you know something, when you do the digging and when you do the searching, you don't let it go. It's not an easy come, easy go. You have dug through the scriptures. You have discerned, you have done the work. It now has value to you. I remember as a teenager, when I was at home and my dad bought a brand new 1958 Ford. Man, that thing was fast.

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• I could peel rubber and I did. I laid some of it down. Didn't bother me. I thought it was fun. But when I got older, and I had to buy the tires, I didn't peel off anymore, Steve. I wanted that rubber right on that tire. I didn't want it left on the road somewhere. And in other words, the point I'm trying to make, once you do the searching and you do the work, all of a sudden it means something. That's why the Bible in Proverbs 23 and verse 23 says this: "Buy the truth, and sell it not." Buy the truth and sell it not. That's why the Word of God says in Proverbs 25 and verse 2, that it's the glory of God to conceal a thing, but it's the honor of a king to search the matter out. Now, I want you to go back to Acts chapter 17.

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• I want to show you this, because I ask you, when I begin this message, why, humanly speaking, was there reception of the gospel in Berea when there was opposition in Thessalonica and indifference in Athens? Well, here it is. Look if you would in verse 11 now. "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."

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• "Therefore many of them believed." Why did they believe? Because they used the means that God ordained. They had a noble character to say, "I'm wrong, God's right." They had a mind that was eager to the word of God. And they actually searched, they discerned the scriptures. Therefore, many of them believed. Now, the reasons they believed: they had the noble character, they had the ready mind, they searched the scripture. And the answer is, therefore, many of them believed.

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• Now, let me show you something else. I began last week with showing you Paul's methodology. If you look back in Acts 17 in verse 2, the Bible says, "He reasoned with them out of the Scriptures." You remember that. He reasoned out of the Scripture. He reasoned with the Scripture. He opened, that is, He explained. He interpreted. And then He alleged, and the word paratithemi means he took what he said and placed it right beside the Bible so they could see exactly what Paul was saying was what the Bible said. Now, listen carefully. The way to learn biblical truth is exactly the same way that you teach Bible truth. So when Paul was reasoning out of the Scripture and reasoning with the Scripture, these Bereans said, "Wow, he's right, I'm wrong." That's a noble character. Then the Bible said, they received it with readiness of mind. They had a mind eager toward that as he was opening the Scriptures. And then when he placed what he said right by the scripture so they could see it, guess what?

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• They took what he said and searched the scriptures daily to see if what he said was what the Bible said. In other words, you learn the scripture the same way that you teach the scripture. If you would notice verse 12, here is a blessed result of the preaching and teaching of the Word of God and searching: "Therefore many of them believed." But here is a beneficial result in verse 13: "But when the Jews of Thessalonica had knowledge that the word of God was preached of Paul at Berea, they came thither also, and stirred up the people." You say, "How in the world can opposition now be beneficial?" Because opposition will ground you in the faith. Opposition will separate the wheat from the chaff. Opposition will say, "Look, I know what I found. I know what I believe. I know what I saw in the Scripture. I am not changing."

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• So let me ask you a question. What in the world can the devil do, or the world do, or the flesh do, or anyone do with someone who has bought the truth and refuses to sell it? This is the only way you can explain the martyrs. When they were being burned at the stake, they had opportunity after opportunity to recant. They said, "We will not recant and we will never recant." Why? Because they had bought the truth and they refused to sell it. Now, let me mention this again by way of application. First of all, there will never, ever be any growth in knowledge and in truth until we relinquish error and sin.

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• That's exactly what he said in Isaiah chapter one and in Amos chapter five. So if we want truth, we've got to be willing to let go of what grandpa said and aunt Tilda said and the way I was raised. We've got to come to the point where we're going to submit ourselves to the word of God. That's why the Bible says that we're to grow in grace, even in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Now, let me point something else out. Listen to this one. Where there is no receiving of truth with a ready mind, where there is no noble character, where there is no searching of the scripture, there will never, ever be any real conviction for truth. Do you understand that conviction comes from the fact that I know what the Bible says? I know it. If it is not ours, there's never ever going to be any conviction. That's why our Lord quoted Isaiah 29 in Mark 7 and Matthew 15, when he said, "Their fear toward me is taught by man, not by the word of God, not by the Holy Spirit."

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• That's why most people easily and quickly forsake the truth and forsake the Word of God, just like Demas forsook Paul. Because there's no conviction. None whatsoever. Let me point this out as well. Wherever truth is embraced, wherever truth is believed, wherever there's a real, genuine conviction of truth, you're always going to have opposition. Always. You had it in Acts 17, verse 13. You had it in Acts 17, verse 5. There's always going to be opposition. The apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians 16, verse 9, "For a great door and effectual is opened unto me, and there are many adversaries." So let me put it to you like this. The doors of opportunity swing on the hinges of opposition.

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• You can't move without producing friction. So whenever you have noble character and a ready mind and a searching of the scripture and you have deep convictions of the Word of God, inevitably there's going to be opposition. Because we're going to find out if you have really genuinely bought the truth, if it is yours. Here's the last application: no one will ever learn truth apart from the Word of Truth. Someone tells me they want truth, not unless they read the Bible, not unless they study the Bible. Our Lord said in John 17:17, "Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth." Peter said, "Desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby." We will never know truth apart from the word of God. We will never ever do what is right apart from the Word of God. We will never ever live a holy life apart from the Word of God. The Bible is our foundation and the Bible is our sole authority for faith and practice.

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• If we want the truth, we must endeavor to try to master this book. We will never accomplish it in this life. But we must do like these Bereans. We must search the scripture daily. How do you learn truth? The same way you teach truth. You have to make sure that it's out of the scripture that is explained. You have to make sure that you put what you say along beside the word of God so that everybody can see it's one and the same. Then those that hear must be noble enough to say, "The Bible's right. I'm wrong. I've got a mind willing to find out and I'm going to search those scriptures to see if what that preacher said is true." So the way to learn truth is the same way you teach truth. We'll never ever learn truth apart from the word of truth and the Son of God who is truth incarnate. Let's pray.

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• Father, we thank You today in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ for Your grace, for Your mercy. We're thankful for Your truth, Lord. And ask, Father, that You would enlighten our minds, illuminate us, grant us understanding, and grant, Father, that Your will would be done in each life. In Thy name we pray. Amen.

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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T16:13:23Z