Eager Inquisitiveness

“Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.” (Acts 17:11)

Food For Thought: What a great congregation the new believers in Berea made. They were a pastor’s delight. They were driven by an eagerness to know God’s truth, yet their eagerness was no gullibility. Rather, it was a spiritual eagerness counterbalanced by an intellectual inquisitiveness. They were investigative by nature. Though they sensed what Paul was teaching was truth, they didn’t just swallow it hook, line and sinker; they went back to the Scriptures (in this case, the Old Testament) to see if Paul’s theology was spot on.

Luke, the writer of Acts, affirms the Berean believers as of noble character. In fact, he offers that affirmation in comparison to another group—the Thessalonica. They were anything but noble. They were not eager, nor were they inquisitive. They didn’t like what Paul was saying; they were intimidated by his scriptural logic; they were reactionary. Rather than digging into the scripture, they simply rejected Paul’s words and rioted, causing a great uproar in their city.

I wonder how Luke would describe American congregations today? Would he see Berean-type believers for the most part—churches that eagerly search for truth and investigate teaching to see if it aligns with Scripture? Or would he find Thessalonian-type churches—churches that are either closed off to spiritual revelation altogether on the one extreme, or on the other, churches full of gullible Christians who swallow the latest doctrinal fad hook, line and sinker?

For that matter, how would Luke describe you? Are you Berean-like? Are you eager and open to truth but ready to search it out and test it in Scripture? Or are you more of a Thessalonian? Are you so doctrinally set in your ways that you have never really gone back to the Bible to see what you believe for yourself? Do you receive teaching with eagerness, or do you think you already know it all? Or, on the other hand, when the latest doctrinal fad hits town (and like clockwork, a new doctrinal fad will be coming to a church near you), do you jump on the bandwagon without any scriptural hesitation?

I have a sense that most American churches and a significant percentage of Christians would fall into the Thessalonian camp these days. I don’t know about you, but I would rather be labeled a Berean. I want to be open-mind to the proclamation of God’s truth, yet ready to challenge what I hear by making it align with orthodox theology.

I hope to be a more noble believer! How about you?

By the way, I think preachers would preach better and churches would church better if there was more eager inquisitiveness in the pews!

Prayer: Lord, how blessed I am to have your Word. So many things compete for my attention these days, but on this day I reaffirm my commitment to be in the Bible every day. Before I allow anything else to fill my mind, I will meditate on Scripture; I will memorize it; I will allow it to thoroughly master me. So God, as I honor that commitment, I ask you to honor me by causing my mind to be saturated with your truth. And I also pray that you will give me a hunger for your Word that will grow stronger every day. May zeal for your Word consume me. Lord, may it be said of me that because of my eager inquisitive for the Word of God that I am of a more noble character.

One More Thing… “The Bible is meant to be bread for our daily use, not just cake for special occasions.” —Phillip Brooks

Great Cloud of Witnesses: On June 26, 1839, Scottish clergyman and missionary Robert Murray McCheyne wrote in a letter, “Joy is increased by spreading it to others.”