"Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so."
Acts 17:11
The Berean Jews were eager to hear Paul preach. Their hearts and minds were open to what he had to share. But they didn't take what Paul said lightly. They examined it with the truth of Scripture -- the Old Testament. The word examine in the original Greek is Anakrino -- meaning to investigate, inquire into, scrutinize, sift, question; specifically in a forensic sense of a judge to hold an investigation, to interrogate. In other words, the Bereans were a serious lot when it came to spiritual teaching. When they learned what Paul taught was true, many of them became believers. It is good to listen to preachers, but we must be as noble-minded as the Bereans and test the words we hear with Scripture. Dig in, study it for ourselves in context and discern if what we have been taught is, indeed, true. U.S. Treasury agents are trained to recognize counterfeit currency by spending hours studying the real notes. They become so familiar with true currency, that false ones are easily recognized. The more time we spend in the Bible, the more truth we will learn and, consequently, the more able we will be to detect false teaching. "For [the Bereans], the Bible was not just a pretty book of poetry or mystery or nice spiritual inspiration for thoughts-for-the-day. It was a book of truth, and that truth was there to find out." -- David Gruzik
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