A GOOD EXAMPLE

Newsletter 199 - June 27, 2010

Acts 17:10-15 (King James Version)

10 And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews. (Acts 1:15, Acts 17:6, Acts 17:14-, Acts 17:4, Acts 17:13, Acts 20:4, Acts 17:1-)

11 These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so. (Acts 17:1)

12 Therefore many of them believed; also of honorable women which were Greeks, and of men, not a few. (Acts 2:47, Mark 15:43, Acts 15:50)

13 But when the Jews of Thessalonica had knowledge that the word of God was preached of Paul at Berea, they came thither also, and stirred up the people. (Acts 17:1, Acts 17:10, Acts 17:20)

14 And then immediately the brethren sent away Paul to go as it were to the sea: but Silas and Timothy abode there still. (Acts 1:15, Acts 17:6, Acts 17:10, Acts 15:22, Acts 17:4, Acts 16:1)

15 And they that conducted Paul brought him unto Athens: and receiving a commandment unto Silas and Timothy for to come to him with all speed, they departed.(Acts 15:3, Acts 17:16, Acts 17:21, Acts 18:1, 1 Thessalonians 3:1, Acts 17:14, Acts 18:5)

Witness at Berea

In these postmodern times people have learned to live in a culture of lies, half truths, theories, and suppositions so long that they have a problem with accepting truth. When the Bible states a simple truth, they are suspicious and either, reject it and refuse to even read it, or look at it for reasons so that they can reject it. They have been so often taken advantage of that they can’t accept anything based on truth, faith, or love. When they hear the Christian gospel's call to faith, they do not quite know how to respond. Luke helps us through an example based on a most unexpected place: the "off-the-beaten-path" city of Berea. The people of Berea were different than those of the near by big city of Thessalonica.

The city at Thessalonica, which had a population of some 200,000 people, had a synagogue. As was his habit, Paul went first to the Synagogue, where he hoped to find a people whom God had prepared for the acceptance of Jesus through the fulfilled prophecies of the Old Covenant. Some there did believe including a many Greeks and several of the leading women from the Synagogue, but the Jews, jealous of his success, incited a riot. The result was that he was forced to move on somewhere else..

A People of Noble Character

He and his companions traveled west-southwest some twenty miles and then headed south another thirty miles further to Berea. This strategic withdrawal into the third district of Macedonia and to a city that was described as being "off the beaten track" As is so often the case, this was not a defeat, but was God’s way of leading them to a place that was ready to hear the truth.

The Berean Jews and God-fearers were described as having a more noble character, with open minds willing to learn and evaluate this new message fairly

This noble character manifests itself in two ways. There is great eagerness (literally, "all eagerness") to receive the message. Yet the people's enthusiasm is not gullibility, for they subjected Paul's message, the word of God, to thorough study. Daily they met to examine the Old Testament Scriptures to see if the gospel declarations square with them (compare Acts 17:2-3). Their investigation to get at the truth is admirable. (Luke 23:14; Acts 24:8). The result is that a large number of Jews and Greeks, prominent women as well as men, probably both God-fearers and pagans, believed the message and were saved (compare Acts 20:4; Rom 16:21).
To become believers, we must eagerly accept the gospel message, comparing scripture with scripture.

To be a believer also means to test the gospel's truth claims. When the Jews in Thessalonica heard Paul's evangelistic activity in Berea, they came and used the same public-disturbance tactics used earlier, with similar results (Acts 17:5). They shake up (saleuo, used literally of earthquakes at Acts 4:31; Acts16:26) and stir up the crowds (Acts 15:24; Acts 17:8). Possibly because the Berean Christians realized that the Thessalonian Jews have the ear of provincial authorities, they decided that in their situation "discretion is the better part of valor." Before any arrests and judicial action can be taken they courageously spirit Paul away toward the coast.

This second withdrawal will prove to be another advance: Not only does Paul leave behind a newly planted church to be nurtured by Silas and Timothy, but his escape will take him to Athens, the center of Greco-Roman culture and Greek religion. Paul's progress is like wildfire: try to stamp it out in one place and it crops up in another. David Livingstone's words could well have been his: "I am prepared to go anywhere, so long as it is forward" (Barclay 1976:129).

If Paul and the Bereans engage in a ruse, heading to the coast but then turning south to approach Athens by land, then the Bereans' "accompanying" involves providing protection and care as well. (compare Joshua 6:23, 2 Chronicles 28:15).

To be a believer means having not only noble character that commits itself to the message but also a courageous soul that commits itself to the messenger, and to all who are part of the body of Christ. (Acts 16:15, Acts 16:33-34, Acts17:4, Acts 17:7). Post moderns have as hard a time with long-term commitments in relationships, as they do with bowing to the authority of a divine message. In both cases Luke's presentation of the Bereans' example gives them hope. By the power of the Spirit anyone can have what it takes to believe. (Acts 2:42-47, Acts 16:14)
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RESOLVE TO READ THE BIBLE THROUGH AGAIN IN 2010\

JUNE

27th. Sunday – 1 Kings 18, Acts 19:1-20, Psalm 78:21-30
28th. Monday – 1 Kings 19:1-20:21, Acts 19:21-41, Psalm 78:31-39
29th. Tuesday – 1 Kings 20:-21:29, Acts 20, Proverbs 15:27-33
30th. Wednesday – 1 Kings 22, Acts 21:1-16, Psalm 78:40-55

JULY

1st. Thursday – 2 Kings 1, Acts 21:17-40, Psalm 78:56-72
2nd. Friday - 2 Kings 2, Acts 22, Psalm 79
3rd. Saturday – 2 Kings 3, Acts 23, Proverbs 16:1-15
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THIS WEEK'S SCRIPTURE

“These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether these things were so.”

Acts 17:11

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Where Do We Come From?

A little girl asked her mother, 'How did the human race begin?' The mother answered, 'God made Adam and Eve and they had children and so all mankind began with His creation.'

Two days later the girl asked her father the same question. The father answered, 'Many years ago there were monkeys from which the human race evolved.'

The confused girl returned to her mother and said, 'Mom, how is it possible that you told me the human race was created by God, and Dad said they evolved from monkeys?'

The mother answered, 'Well, dear, it is very simple. I told you about my side of the family and your father told you about his.'

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