Here is a factoid you might find interesting.
We find in Acts 17 the apostle Paul is run out of town after he preached to the folks there in Thessalonica. His next stop was a town called Berea. You’ll find the story in verse 1-11.
What happened in there caught my attention. When the Bereans heard Paul’s preaching, they opened their scrolls to verify what he told them was true.
Think about this a moment. Here was the great and saintly apostle – the same guy who ended up writing virtually half of the New Testament – yet the Bereans didn’t simply accept Paul’s words without first doing their homework. They checked out for themselves what Paul taught them, ‘examining the scriptures daily to see whether these things were so” (verse 11).
Application time: If the Bereans – whom the author of Acts identified as “more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica” – if the Bereans felt it prudent to authenticate what the great St. Paul taught them, how ought we behave when we hear or read what others tell us – whoever it is who tells us – about Christ and the gospel message?
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5 comments:
I love this story. For me, everything presented as truth (moral and spiritual) is run against what the Church teaches which is based on Sacred Scripture and Tradition. Anything that seems slightly off to me I ponder and investigate until I am able to identify the error or verify the truth. It's a lot of work, but thanks to the seven gifts of the Holy Ghost it's doable. All our lives must be spent in a Christ-centered pursuit of truth. When we do that, God never hides it from us because He never hides Himself from us. I appreciate your pointing out this really interesting story of the Bereans. They had great sincerity of heart that we can all imitate.
They had great sincerity of heart that we can all imitate.
to which I say a hearty amen.
You a make a good and valid point here Rich. There's so much being written by a variety of Christian types that it is getting very difficult to authenticate what to believe.
Thank you for your wisdom.
God bless you and yours.
Just bought your latest book Learning to Lean. Looking forward to its arrival.
God bless.
Thanks, Victor. I hope you find the book of use to your spiritual growth.
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