Acts 17:10-15

We should be more like the Bereans. I love how Scripture says that the Bereans were more open-minded and searched the Scriptures to see if what Paul was saying was true. How many times do we dismiss ideas that are contrary to our own? Are we teachable? There is a difference between being teachable and discerning versus being gullible and suspicious.

What makes people think they have learned all there is to learn? I know I certainly haven't. How about you? It is not what I know that concerns me—it is what I don't know, because we don't know what we don't know. The good news is that there is One who knows everything, and He has made Himself available to us. James tells us that if any of us lacks wisdom, we are to ask God. Consider his words in James 1:5-8:

“If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do.”

James makes an incredible promise here. God is not reluctant to give wisdom; He is generous with it. He does not shame us for asking, nor does He grow impatient with our questions. Instead, He invites us to come to Him in faith, trusting that He alone possesses the wisdom we need. The issue is not God's willingness to give—it is often our willingness to receive. Sometimes we ask for wisdom, but deep down we have already decided what answer we want. We are not really seeking God's mind; we are looking for His approval of our own.

Paul encountered that very attitude in Thessalonica. Many of the Jews were not interested in honestly examining the evidence before them. They had already reached their conclusion. Rather than allowing the Scriptures to shape their beliefs, they attempted to shape the Scriptures around their beliefs. When the truth challenged their traditions, they chose to reject the truth instead of reevaluating their position.

The Bereans, however, responded very differently. They listened carefully, searched the Scriptures daily, and allowed God's Word to be the final authority. They were neither gullible nor cynical. They exercised discernment. They understood that every teaching should be measured against God's Word, not against personal opinion or long-held tradition.

Paul later reminds us in 1 Corinthians that Christ Himself has become our wisdom. True wisdom is not simply accumulating more information or winning theological debates. It is found in knowing Christ and allowing Him to transform the way we think. The more we walk with Him, the more our hearts and minds become aligned with His.

The Truth has always been a divider of hearts. There is a difference between relative truth, which changes with culture and opinion, and absolute truth, which never changes because it is rooted in the very character of God. We do not create truth, vote on truth, or redefine truth. Truth simply is. As God declared to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM." His nature is the standard by which everything else is measured.

That is why fighting against the truth ultimately harms the one resisting it. Truth does not bend to accommodate us; rather, we are called to conform our lives to it. While that may be uncomfortable at times, it is also the pathway to genuine freedom, for Jesus said, "You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."

Thank God Paul refused to give up. Though his road was marked by rejection, persecution, and suffering, he never stopped proclaiming the Gospel because he knew the eternal value of what had been entrusted to him. May we have the same humility as the Bereans to search the Scriptures daily, the same courage as Paul to proclaim the truth faithfully, and the same willingness to let God's Word change us whenever it exposes an area of our lives that needs to be brought into alignment with Him. After all, the goal is not simply to be right, but to become more like Christ.