That very night the believers sent Paul and Silas to Berea. When they arrived there, they went to the Jewish synagogue. And the people of Berea were more open-minded than those in Thessalonica, and they listened eagerly to Paul’s message. They searched the Scriptures day after day to see if Paul and Silas were teaching the truth. As a result, many Jews believed, as did many of the prominent Greek women and men. (Acts 17:10-12)Some people will believe anything you tell them. It is not that they are stupid or anything, it is just that sometimes they are lazy.
In the Middle Ages, illiteracy was common. Because of this, no one read the Bible. In fact, there was usually only one Bible in the entire town. And to make matters even worse, it was in Latin, which no one but Catholic Church priests read or spoke and it was chained to the pulpit.
As a result, people pretty well had to take the word of the clergy as to what God said. The clergy had their own special interpretation of the Bible which was many times just plain wrong.
So most people held wrong views of the Bible and, consequently, of God. All because they couldn’t read.
Of course, I believe the Spirit worked in his church anyway. But not being able to see what God had said hurt them.
Today, most people can read. But wrong views still predominate. Why? Because, just like in the Middle Ages, they do not read for themselves.
In the town of Berea, when Paul and Silas preached, people checked them out to make sure they preached what God had said and not just their own opinions.
It was not that they viewed them as untrustworthy, it was that they felt their relationship with God was more important than giving some men their absolute trust.
Nothing makes me happier when I preach than to see people looking up what I quoted for themselves. I know and I believe that I am preaching the truth. But they need to know and believe that they are hearing the truth.
Our relationship is with God. When we listen to people and take them at face value, unless we have a long and trusted relationship with them, we court danger. I have heard people that everyone told me were great in the scriptures. But when I heard them, with just my own knowledge, I knew they were wrong.
Others, on the other hand, listened to them and bought into the error they were preaching. All because they did not check it out themselves.
I am not advocating suspicion or disrespect. But we are responsible to God ourselves for what we do.
Check it out yourself.
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