Bereans – Moment to Moment (Bible blog)

Testing what we hear

In this day and age, we can get information from just about anywhere. Radio, TV, and especially the internet has made it easy to get news and hear opinions coming from every possible angle.

This is also true concerning our faith. People from pastors to laymen write and speak out their views of God and the Bible, and can attract great followings. But how often do we test what we hear?

Unless we test what we hear, we can easily be swayed by those who really don’t deserve our trust.

We see this with many of the people who lived in Thessalonica and Berea. Many of the enemies of the gospel found it quite easy to stir up the crowds against Paul and his companions.

Why? Because the crowds didn’t test what was said. Instead, they simply believed the lies that were told to them.

But even the people who believed Paul’s message didn’t always test what they heard. Luke compared the believers in Thessalonica and Berea by saying,

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)

Think about this a moment. Paul was one of the greatest of the apostles. And yet Luke, through the Holy Spirit, praised the Bereans for not simply believing what Paul had said, but for checking that what he said matched scripture.

If the Bereans checked out what Paul said, shouldn’t we be doing the same with our pastors? Shouldn’t we be doing the same with the Rick Warrens, Joel Osteens, John Pipers, Joyce Meyers, and Billy and Franklin Grahams of the world?

(I personally have my reservations on two of these names. I’ll leave you to test their teachings with scripture to figure out who. :))

The problem with too many people is that they don’t check out what they hear. They simply believe because someone sounds good or makes them feel good.

The result? They end up by being blown around by every wind of teaching and away from the path God has for us. (Ephesians 4:14)

Let us not be that way. Let us not miss the path God has for us because we fail to test what we hear. Instead, as the apostle Paul says, let us,

Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil. (1 Thessalonians 5:21-22)

Sermon on the Mount: Testing those you listen to

After Jesus tells us to go through the narrow gate that leads to salvation, he gives us a warning.

Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. (Matthew 7:15)

People often associate prophets as those who issue out predictions of the future. But true prophets of God did much more than that. They confronted people with the words of God.

You see this throughout the Old Testament. People like Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel.

You also see in the Old Testament many of the types of people Jesus warns against here. People who looked good. Who sounded good. Who seemed spiritual. But who spoke words straight from hell, leading people down the broad road that leads to destruction.

Unfortunately, there are people like this in the church today. People who claim to speak the words of God but corrupt the very words he says.

The question then becomes, “How do we tell the true prophet from the false prophet when they look so alike.”

Jesus tells us the answer.

By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?

Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit.

Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them. (Matthew 7:17-20)

In short, we need to test the fruit that they produce. There are two types of fruit that prophets and teachers produce.

The fruit of their lives is one. Are they living the things they teach? Or are they mere hypocrites.

This is not to say that they must be perfect in order to teach. But they should be continually growing and maturing in their faith. And hopefully, as they speak, they are honest about what their areas of struggle are.

But there’s another kind of fruit. The fruit of what they teach. What is coming out of their mouths? Is it consistent with the Word of God? Or is it not?

As teachers, they are responsible to teach the Word accurately. To study to show themselves approved, workmen who don’t need to be ashamed, accurately interpreting the Word of truth. (2 Timothy 2:15)

But as hearers of the Word, we are to test what they teach.

That is what the Bereans did in the book of Acts. They did not simply listen to the words of Paul. They tested it by what scripture said when they went home.

And when they found that what Paul said matched up with scripture, they believed. (Acts 17:11-12)

We ought to do the same. Test what the teachers and pastors say. And if their teaching matches what scripture teaches, accept it, and obey. If not, reject it.

Many teachers today claim Jesus as their Lord. And most do. But some will come before Christ someday saying,

Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles? (Matthew 7:22)

But Jesus will reply,

I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers! (Matthew 7:23)

And unfortunately, those who blindly followed these teachers will be swept right along into hell with them.

Why? Because they never tested what they were taught.

How about you? Do you test what you hear? Do you test what you read? Or do you just blindly follow?