As soon as it was night, the brothers sent Paul and
Silas away to Berea.
On arriving there, they went to the Jewish synagogue.
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.
Many of the Jews believed, as did also a number of
prominent Greek women and many Greek men.
When the Jews in Thessalonica learned that Paul was preaching
the Word of God at Berea, they went there too,
agitating the crowds and stirring them up.
Acts 17:10-13
In our Internet age, we are daily bombarded with all kinds of
threats, trojans, viruses and worms. For security protections and
precautions, we have to install some good antivirus and firewall
softwares. After the installations, we regularly update the
softwares by downloading the latest virus threat definitions and
lists. Before reading any emails or clicking any pop-up ads and
websites, we also do some due diligence to scan and verify them so
that our computers will not be infected or be corrupted.
In our day-to-day
transactions, we have this formal warning, "Caveat emptor,"
which means, "let the buyer beware." This is a warning to buyers to
check for themselves things, which they intend to buy, so they
cannot later hold the sellers responsible for the faulty conditions
of the items purchased. The Sale of Goods and Supply of Services Act
1980 extends the rights of consumers in this matter.
As we are
diligent in the physical matters, we also need to be diligent in the
spiritual matters. In Acts 17, we encounter a group of believers who
were very diligent.
The Bereans were
true seekers of God and His Word. When Paul, the authentic and
authorised apostle, shared the Word of God with them, they did not
just take the full dosage without checking the Holy Scriptures
themselves.
Though the apostle Paul was fully endorsed by the
Jerusalem Apostolic Council, they still found it necessary to
examine his teachings and doctrines themselves to find out whether
they were scripturally correct and true.
Paul was not disturbed or perturbed by their
attitudes. In fact, Paul highly regarded them, and commended them
for their excellent efforts. These Berean believers were not overly
critical or suspicious. In fact, they were of more noble character
than the Thessalonians.
This was attributed not due to their social
and economical status. It was about the nobility of their hearts and
attitudes towards the preaching of God’s Word. These Bereans had
love and reverence for the Holy Scriptures. Their minds were not
hardened by religious traditions and customs, or doctrinal and
philosophical opinions.
The Bereans were open to the
expositions of the Scriptures They had the readiness of mind to
receive the teachings of Paul. They were not sleeping or dozing off
when the apostle shared. They were hungry and thirsty for the pure
Word of God. And their hunger and thirst were satisfied! They did
not ignore the Word. They did not try to find fault with the
preacher. They did not argue with the Word of God. Their minds were
also not wandering in ten thousand directions. They listened to Paul
attentively, and took notes eagerly as Paul delivered the message.
They were
determined to know the truth of God. They simply received the Word!
When they went home, they searched the Scriptures. As diligent
students of the Word, they daily searched and checked the Bible to
find the truth for themselves. As a result, they found salvation in
Christ. They not only confirmed the teachings of Paul, but also
increased in faith, understanding, knowledge and wisdom.
These noble
Bereans had set a great example for us to follow. They received the
Word of God with all readiness of mind. Nothing delights a preacher
more than the privilege of preaching to a people who are ready and
eager to hear the teachings, and also who are willing to do some
studies themselves to find out more. The Bereans wanted to seek God
themselves about those issues at hand. They also had the Holy Spirit
living within them as their Helper and Teacher:
But the
Helper, the Holy Spirit,
Whom the Father will send in My name,
He will teach you all things,
and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.
(John 14:26)
Today, we are
living in the age where false teachers and prophets abound. Some of
these preachers are ministering in our local churches and pulpits.
There is also a great influx of their books, videos, audio tapes and
CDs in our homes. Many of their materials are easily accessible in
the Internet. Many of their teachings have attracted the attention
of gullible followers, who are constantly chasing after new
prophetic utterances and insights, fresh views of the Scriptures and
the latest powers of God.
We are truly living in the era
of disposable handphones. Every day, there are new models with
additional latest gadgets and features. The old are thrown away, and
the new are embraced.
This is what
the LORD says:
"Stand at the crossroads and look;
ask for the ancient paths,
ask where the good way is, and walk in it,
and you will find rest for your souls.
But you said, 'We will not walk in it.' " (Jeremiah
6:16)
The main reason,
why so many of these false teachers and prophets exist, is because
many of us are not seeking the LORD ourselves. We have taken the
full face value of the new teachings without searching the Holy
Bible ourselves.
We only desire to hear the interesting and exciting
things that others are saying about God. Basically, we are
disobeying the tenth commandment, which is against covetousness
(Exodus 20:17). We are coveting others’ things, giftings, powers,
anointings, experiences and ministries!
Many of these false teachers
and prophets are teaching their own revelations, dreams and visions
without any scriptural basis. The only way to know and expose them
is to check them in the light of the Holy Word of God. When they are
exposed, they are found to be unoriginal and very erroneous.
Thus says
the LORD of hosts:
"Do not listen to the words of the prophets
who prophesy to you.
They make you worthless;
They speak a vision of their own heart,
Not from the mouth of the LORD. They continually say to
those who despise Me,
'The LORD has said, "You shall have peace" ';
And to everyone who walks
according to the dictates of his own heart,
they say, 'No evil shall come upon you.' " (Jeremiah
23:16-17)
Some of the
common characteristics of these false teachers and prophets are
their tendencies towards:
-
Over-dramatization
-
Over-exaggeration
-
Over-emotionalism
-
Over-hysteria
We should be
exceptionally careful with them. Some of them actually think that
their teachings are irrefutable beyond any doubt. Some of them have
the audacity to claim that to check or verify them is to go against
the LORD Himself. They can be doctrinally dangerous, always treading
on marginal issues and trivialities!
Just because we are told in the church - “Do not judge”, “Touch
not the Lord’s anointed”, “You have a critical spirit if you do not
join in”, etc, etc. This is the very reason why Christians are often
the most gullible and easily deceived.
We need to realize that the Bible says to test the spirits and
warns very strongly that the last days will be a time of seducing
spirits and great deception. So if we don’t step out and be
vigilant, how can we become more alert to these things?
As many false
prophets and teachers have based
their teachings on their own self-acclaimed experiences, dreams and
visions, all of these self-proclamations need to be examined and
investigated. Some of their theological understanding and
interpretations of the Holy Scriptures are bizarre beyond
comprehension.
Some of them have caused much confusions and
divisions in the Body of Christ especially when their prophecies and
predictions did not come true. As a result, very often, they have
also brought much reproach to the testimony of the Gospel of Jesus
Christ.
It is therefore
of great importance that we begin to study the Scriptures ourselves,
and check them out. It is all right to check the apostles, prophets,
evangelists, pastors and teachers.
Paul, the true apostle of God,
was pleased when the Bereans checked him out whether he was actually
sharing the truth. True gold is unafraid of fire. In fact, it become
purer and of greater value after the tests! Such investigation into
the Word of God is commendable and encouraged.
False prophets
are those who falsely claim:
- to utter
revelations that come from God;
- to foretell
future events; and
- to have
God's power to produce miracles, signs, and wonders.
In the Bible,
false prophets fell into three general categories:
- those who
worshipped false gods and served idols;
- those who
falsely claimed to receive messages from the Lord; and
- those who
wandered from the truth and ceased to be true prophets.
A recurring
characteristic of the false prophets is that they often are found in
the employment of supernatural powers, and that they are always
speaking positive, pleasing and flattering words to their listeners.
Our Lord Jesus
had warned us about them:
Beware of
false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but
inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their
fruits.(Matthew 7:15-16)