Being Berean
Then the brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea. When they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. 11 These were more [a]fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.
In my 30 years of ministry, I've never seen a time when we were more in need of Bereans in the Body of Christ. As we read in Acts 17, Bereans were people who paid attention to what was taught by religious, and we might assume, political/secular leaders as well. They then looked to the Word of God to be sure that what they were told was true could be verified by the Word which is THE Truth (John 17:17).
We've forgotten how to do this...or we just plain don't want to anymore.
I know this because I watch and listen. I watch what Christians do and listen to what they say. I hear them supporting people and ideas which scripture clearly condemns. I watch as they vote for people who support policies such as:
* Abortion on demand--even late term.
* National socialized healthcare policies forcing religious groups to help pay for such procedures.
* Anti-Israel/pro-Muslim policies such as the Iran nuclear deal.
* Globalist economic, foreign, and environmental policies despite clear warnings in the book of Revelation.
* Socialism/Communism despite the Atheistic and Darwinist roots of this type of polity and texts like 2 Thess. 3:10.
* Pro-Same-Sex Marriage despite several Old and New Testament scriptures.
* Gender Identity laws and teaching in our public schools despite Genesis 1:27, etc.
* Environmental policies often based on pagan worship of the earth or a goddess whom we must serve.
* Legislation permitting criminals to walk free with no penalty/bail despite biblical teachings about justice.
And much, much more....
For example, in the recent presidential election, a vote for the Biden-Harris ticket was a vote for all of these things. People may have disagreed with President Trumps use of Twitter or his prideful approach to press conferences, etc. Still, wisdom dictates a vote for policy vs. personality. Honestly, I'm not aware of a single policy supported by Mr. Biden that a committed Berean Christian could also support.
As such, a Berean who knows the scripture and looked closely at what each candidate posted as their policy/stance on major foreign, domestic, environmental, and other policies would see a stark contrast in the moral position each took. The inevitable conclusion would be NEVER to vote for Vice President Biden. And yet apparently many did. What saddens me is that thousands of Christians did.
Assuming they are sincere believers, this means one of three possible things are true:
1. They were unaware of the candidate's position on these issues.
2. They were unaware of what scripture teaches about these things.
3. Or, Both.
Bereans would search. First, they'd listen and research to see what potential leaders believed about these critical issues. Then, they'd compare those beliefs to what the Bible teaches. Again, sadly, many did not--they were not Berean in their approach.
As a pastor, I'm committed to helping people be Berean. I want to show them how to "deep dive" into scripture to truly understand it and, perhaps more importantly, how to apply it to everyday life--especially in critical areas like voting, family life, career, etc. I think "Being Berean" may just be the cure for most of the modern Church's and for that matter, society's ills.
To that end,
Pastor Joel
