"You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free," says the Scripture. When Jesus spoke of truth, Pilate replied, "What is truth?" The question of Pilate is precisely the same question people are asking today, "What is truth?" How do you know what is true? Is there absolute truth, that is, truth which never changes? Or, is truth relative? Is there truth which applies to all of us? Or, are we in the same position described in the last chapter of the book of Judges where it says, "In those days there was no king (or authority) in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes."
Man has always searched for truth, but in our century forces conspire to make this search meaningless. Some would have you believe that truth is relative. They would say that truth is a subjective thing, that you must find what is true for you. To them, there are no absolute truths, and if there is no absolute truth, then the search for truth becomes an experiment in futility. Without absolute truth, everything or nothing could be true. And if man, exercising his own limited wisdom, is left in his own power to discover the truth, what is called truth is only the collective ignorance of mankind.
If we have no absolute truth, we have no basis on which to evaluate what we hear. We are besieged on every hand by those who would tell us what to believe. How are we to know what is true? There should be a way for the average man or woman to evaluate what is right and what is wrong. And there is.
God has given mankind absolute truth in the form of the Scriptures — His Holy Word. The Creator God has provided His creation with a book that "has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth without any mixture of error for its matter." This book is "the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds and religious opinions should be tried."
In our text today, we see an illustration of what can happen when people correctly respond to the Word of God. Here we will find several principles which can enable us, not only to discover the truth, but to apply it to our lives.
Paul and Silas had been in Thessalonica preaching the Gospel to the Jews there. But some of the Jews were jealous and created an uproar. They stirred up the people so much that it became dangerous for Paul and Silas to remain there. So, the brethren hustled them out of town in the middle of the night and sent them to Berea. Of course, when they came to Berea, they continued preaching. They went immediately into the synagogue of the Jews. But the people they found in Berea were of a different sort than those in Thessalonica. We read in verse 11 that the people in Berea were of more noble character than the Thessalonians. Why were they more noble? The answer to that question is found in the way they reacted to the Word of God.
They Received The Word
Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness… (v. 11a)
The people in Berea were more noble because they received the message. Our text says that they received the Word with eagerness. There was an openness to the Word preached to them. They had an anticipation, an expectancy, that God might be speaking to them. And this is what set them apart. There was a readiness and receptivity to the Word of God. These are the characteristics which made them a cut above those who had just rejected the truth. And these are the characteristics which enabled them to hear from God.
There are many who come to church today without the expectation that God will speak to them. Perhaps coming to church has become merely a habit, and so, little thought is given to why we are here. Or, perhaps because of past experience in churches where the Gospel is not fully preached, nothing is expected. The unfortunate consequence is that generally, when nothing is expected, nothing is gained.
We need to come into this place with the expectation that God will speak to us. We need to come with an eagerness of mind, with an openness to hear what God would say. If these qualities are cultivated by us, they will place us in a position where we can hear the voice of God. God most certainly will speak to us, but only if we listen for Him. The still, small voice of the Holy Spirit can be crowded out by the clamor of the many voices of the world flooding our minds. That is why we must give time and concentration to listen for God to speak. We must focus in on Him. As we come to the services of the church, we must still our souls and eagerly anticipate an encounter with God.
Expectancy can be cultivated. I know it certainly can be hindered and lost. But you can cultivate expectancy by spending time with the Lord in prayer as you prepare to hear His voice. I wonder how many of you spent time in prayer for this service during the week or before you came this morning. Did you spend time in prayer asking God to speak to your heart and give you a word today? If you did pray for this service during the week or this morning, then you probably arrived here with a sense of anticipation about what God would do. You see, our services should be a culmination and celebration of a week in preparation.
Think of what is going on in this service today and the preparation behind it. There is preparation in the planning of this service. You see that preparation in the order of worship and the events scheduled. There is preparation on the part of the musicians. There is preparation on the part of the preacher. All of this preparation is pulled together to put together a service which will honor God and edify His people.
But there should also be preparation by those who attend. You must prepare yourselves by prayer to be in a position to hear from God when you come. Of course, much could be said concerning the need to prepare for our services by sharing with others, inviting them to church, and bringing them with you. When that is the case, we put these people in a place to receive Christ. Nothing is more exciting in a service than to see people come to Christ. That’s one form of preparation that needs to be done more. But, at the very least, if you would pray for God to speak to you, that sense of anticipation and expectancy would be cultivated in your own life, and you would be coming with a ready mind and a receptive heart. You, like the Bereans, will then receive the Word with eagerness.
They Researched The Word
Not only did the Bereans receive the Word, they researched the Word. They received the Word because they were of a ready mind. The researched the Word because they regarded the truth — …for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. (v. 11b)
These Bereans weren’t content with the word of man. The reasoning of mere mortals was not enough for them. They wanted a more sure word. They wanted a "thus saith the Lord." And so it says of them, that they searched the Scriptures daily to see whether what they were hearing was true.
It seems to me that this is the great need in our society today. People are tired of hearing the conflicting words of so-called experts, handing out so much pop-psychology passing for truth. But it is everywhere. And it is sickening to watch.
For the last few years, one of the fastest-growing types of television show has been the talk-show. These shows purport to give us information, truth, if you will, which will be valuable to us in living our lives and sorting out the important questions we face. In these shows, the hosts bounce from one person to another, trying to tap the collective wisdom of man. The shows are interesting because we all like to hear what other people think. But are these shows full of truth? Do these shows give us a sure word? Far from it! They certainly do not!
You see, it doesn’t really matter what the collected majority are saying or doing. We don’t need to ask, "What are others saying?" We need to ask, "What is God saying?" We need a sure word. We must have a way to know what is true. The Bereans knew how to find that sure word. They found it in the Bible. The Bible is God’s sure word to us.
We see that they examined the Scriptures daily. In the King James, it says they searched the Scriptures daily. The literal translation of that word is that they sifted the Scriptures. In other words, these Bereans poured over the Scripture, comparing Scripture with Scripture, evaluating the word they were hearing from the apostles by the absolute counsel of God’s Word. And that is precisely what we need to do.
What we see here is a strong statement for the priesthood of the believer. The priesthood of the believer is a doctrine we Baptists hold dear. It affirms several important truths. Firstly, the equality of all believers as priests before God. Secondly, the right of each believer to direct access to the Father. And thirdly, the responsibility of each believer to minister to others. As the priesthood of the believer relates to Scripture, it says that everyone can hear from God through His Word. And that is precisely what we see exemplified in this passage of Scripture. The Bereans searched the Scriptures because they knew they could hear God. You see, it doesn’t take a theologian to interpret the Word of God for you. God gives each of us the Holy Spirit to reveal it to our hearts.
This is why a high view of Scripture is so vital to our faith. Some would contend that a person’s view of the Scripture is unimportant. I contend that the priesthood of the believer depends on a high view of Scripture. You see, if the Scripture is not totally true, from beginning to end, then who will tell us what part is true? If the Scripture is "truth mixed with error" instead of "truth without mixture of error," then we need a priestly class to tell us what to believe and what not to believe. Someone once said, "The liberals who believe the Bible is inspired in spots also believe they are the only ones inspired to tell us where the spots are." It is precisely because the Bible is the inerrant Word of God that everyone can read it and hear from God. The priesthood of the believer depends upon a high view of Scripture.
But however high a view of Scripture you hold, if you do not read the Word of God, you will never know its truth. And people are not reading the Bible today. Less than 50% of Americans open the Bible in a given week. According to a Barna Research Group survey, 82% thinks "God helps those who help themselves" is directly from the Bible; 63% cannot name the four Gospels; 58% cannot name half or more of the Ten Commandments; 58% do not know that Jesus preached the Sermon on the Mount; 52% do not know the book of Jonah is in the Bible; and 48% do not know the book of Thomas is not in the Bible.
You must want to know that truth enough to read the Bible and search the Scriptures daily. If you do not, you will either just accept what someone else says is the truth and be led into error, or not hear what God is saying to you in the first place, and thereby fail to obey God. These Bereans searched the Scriptures daily. They researched the Word because they regarded the truth.
They Responded To The Word
Many of the Jews believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men. (v. 12)
These people received the Word because they were of a ready mind. They researched the Word because they regarded the truth. And, finally, they responded to the Word because they received the revelation.
Notice it says here in verse 12, that the result of their research was a response. It says, "Many of the Jews believed…" It was because of their research that they responded. They responded because they had received revelation through their study of the Word.
In Romans 10:17 it says, "So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ." When believers are encountered by the Word of God, the Bible teaches that faith comes birth in our hearts. The process is outlined in this passage in Romans. It begins with the Word. Notice it does not say, "faith comes by hearing the word," but rather, "faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word." The picture is not of simply the believer and his Bible. The picture is the believer, the Holy Spirit and the Bible. It is by the action of the Holy Spirit as we read the Bible, that we come to a place of spiritually hearing what God has to say through His Word. You see, you can hear with your physical ears and never hear with your spiritual ears. You can see with your physical eyes and never see with your spiritual eyes. As we open this Book, or hear it preached or taught, we should prayerfully ask God to reveal and apply its truth to our lives. As we do, the Holy Spirit will be faithful to speak to your heart the truth of the Word. He will apply it to your life. He will give you ears to hear. And as He does, faith will come to birth in your heart. You will not only understand the truth of the Word of God, you will be challenged and changed by it. Only then are we enabled to respond to the Word of God like these Bereans.
These Bereans responded to the Word because they received the revelation of God as they searched the Scriptures daily. The reason why they responded was that they were committed to put what they would hear from God into practice. You see, these Bereans wanted to hear from God so that they could live for God. So many people today want to hear from God before they decide whether they are going to obey what they hear. But they will never hear until they are willing to obey. You see, there is a moral element involved in hearing truth. Over and over, Jesus would say, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear." Not everyone has ears to hear. Only those who are willing to obey what they hear have ears to hear. In John 7:17 it says, "If any man is willing to do His will, he shall know of the teaching, whether it is of God, or whether I speak from Myself." A person must be willing to do God’s will in order to have discernment to hear from God. There is a moral element involved in hearing truth.
Are you willing to do His will once He has revealed it to you? That is the real question we need to answer. As I’ve said before, many want to know what the will is first, to see whether they like it or not. But we must be willing to allow the Word of God, applied by the Spirit of God, to change us into the image of God, into the image of Jesus Christ.
But in order for Him to do that, we must, like the Bereans, receive the Word because we are of a ready mind; research the Word because we have a regard for the truth; and respond to the Word because we have received a revelation from God and desire to obey Him.
If we would see the power of God in our lives, in our families, in our church, and in our world, we must proclaim and live by this sure Word. In it is life. In it is power. In it is light. In it is salvation. The Good News of God is found here, and we must proclaim it.
Karl Barth, one of the most prolific theologians to have ever lived, was once asked what was the most profound theological truth he had ever discovered. It is said that he thought for a moment and then replied, "Jesus loves me, this I know. For the Bible tells me so." He had been encountered by God in His Word. May we so be as well.
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