Acts 17:11 “These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.”
My question is based in the fact that many people trust what they have been taught concerning the scriptures. Parents, friends, preachers and teachers have taught us many things concerning God’s word. How many times have you searched the scriptures to see if what you had been taught was true?
Is it really reasonable for you to take a person at their word just because they are someone you love and respect? Is it fair-minded to take a preacher or “pastors” word for what the scriptures mean just because they are supposed to be the educated authority on them? You are not being disrespectful of the one doing the teaching when you verify their subject matter. You are not impugning the sincerity of a loved one when you investigate what is being taught. The Berean brethren had the inspired apostle Paul teaching them, yet they did not feel it was unreasonable to search the scriptures on their own to verify “whether these things were so.”
There is so much misinformation concerning the scriptures floating around in the world today. How can one know that what they believe is correct? Why do so many people blindly follow what they have been taught? Are you really being fair minded when you just sit there and not investigate the scriptures for yourself? No, you endanger yourself of becoming one of the blind that is led by the blind into a pit (Lk 6:39). You only become fair-minded when you are willing to spend the time in the scriptures to test what you have been taught.
Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Don’t be afraid to challenge what is taught when you discover it is was in error. The apostle Paul commanded the Thessalonian brethren to “Test all things; hold fast what is good.” (1 Thess 5:21). Make sure that what is taught fits the whole context of the passage sighted. Make sure that what is taught does not contradict the greater context of all scripture. Verify it and verify it again. Your soul is worth the effort of being fair-minded!
The challenge for you is to become a genuine truth seeker (Jn 4:23-24) because God is seeking such people to worship Him. Don’t take any man’s word when he talks to you about being saved because he might contradict what is taught in God’s word. Ask for book chapter and verse in God’s holy script to verify it. It is not unreasonable to want a bible subject to be verified by scripture. An honest teacher will also not object to your need for verification. They will gladly open their bible with you and show you what is stated in the text.
Mt 7:21-23 says, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’” As harsh as this text sounds there will those who have thought they were serving the Lord properly but have in actuality been living in sin. Don’t be one who thought they were saved. Don’t be one who thought they were doing the right thing in His name. Test what you believe. If it can withstand the test of the scriptures then keep moving onward and upward. If what you believe and practice fails the test of scripture change today. The last thing you want to hear is “depart from Me…”
Your soul is too valuable to not be fair-minded!