Walking With Christ

Acts 17:10-12  (10)The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived they went into the Jewish synagogue.  (11)Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.  (12)Many of them therefore believed, with not a few Greek women of high standing as well as men.(ESV)

The Bereans were praised not merely because they questioned what they heard.  They received the message eagerly, examined it carefully against Scripture, and responded when they found it to be true.

Testing alone doesn’t make us wise.  We can examine something dishonestly, ignore evidence we dislike, or keep questioning because accepting the answer would require us to change.

A test that can’t change our mind isn’t discernment.  It’s defense.

The purpose of testing isn’t to preserve doubt.  It’s to separate truth from error so that we can reject what’s false and hold fast to what’s good.  Honest examination must be willing to say, “I was wrong,” but it must also be willing to say, “This is true,” and live accordingly.