THE LIVING CHURCH
Meditations in the Acts of the Apostles
Acts 17:10-15

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THE CASE of the people in Berea is wonderfully encouraging and instructive. Firstly we tend to take it for granted that preaching the Gospel will be tough and we will always meet with resistance and indifference. With the Bereans it was not like this at all. We are told that they were noble characters because they received the message of the Gospel with eagerness. This must have been an enormous encouragement to Paul and Silas after their recent experiences. Although it may be said that, more often than not, preaching and witness is not easy, yet sometimes we find people ready to hear and listen and they drink in the word of truth like water to a parched person. The Holy Spirit had gone before Paul and Silas in a mighty way, and the people were ready and eager to hear the Gospel. We can pray that this may happen in the situation that we may find ourselves, in our church, amongst our friends, at work and elsewhere.

Secondly the Bereans show wonderful wisdom. They are eager to hear the preaching, but also they desire to be sure it is the truth of God. So we read that they searched the Scriptures to make sure that what they were being taught was the truth of God. Their minds were open to receive, but they wisely made sure that what they heard was the right. There is no substitute for this. The Bible has been given us by God, and contains all things concerning the truth that God has made known to mankind. It is in the Bible we search for the truth, and this requires some hard work and diligence. What we may be sure of is that the earnest soul searching the Scriptures will find that God does not disappoint them. The Holy Spirit will open their understanding and their hearts to see and believe.

The Bereans found that what Paul and Silas taught them was the truth that they found in the Scriptures. Paul's teaching does indeed come from God. The Bereans presumably only had the Old Testament to search. The Old Testament speaks of Christ, perhaps not so fully as in the New Testament, but it is the same Christ and the same salvation that is found in the Old Testament as in the New. The preacher has no other message than God's truth contained in the Bible, and in the Bible properly understood in its plain and straight forward meaning. One Scripture must not be preached so that it contradicts the general teaching of the Bible.

Let us notice the courage of Paul and Silas. They had no means of knowing that the Bereans would be so prepared to receive the Gospel. Their recent experiences had been really bad, but this did not put them off or discourage them. However difficult the task is, we must never give up on sharing the Gospel, and must never be ashamed to confess Christ, and speak for him as opportunities are given us.

Satan will not leave us alone if we are faithful in witness. As soon as the Jews in Thessalonica heard of the way the Gospel was being received in Berea, they came to the town and sought to work up opposition to the Gospel. Though such constant opposition is hard to bear, it has an encouraging side. Satan would not be so busy against us if we were not truly doing the work of God. Churches where there is blessing and people being added to the church, will also be found to be churches where problems occur in a painful way. Satan will do all he can to upset the work and discredit it if he can.

Sometimes withdrawal is the wisest and best course. When the opposition started in Berea, the other believers sent Paul and Silas on to another city. The church was better able to function, when the focus of the hate of the opposition was not there. Paul had begun the work, and the church now could go on themselves. Paul's departure was not cowardice, but wisdom and caring for the believers in Berea.