Examine the Scriptures

Paul went to different regions throughout what is now known as Europe. He preached the gospel in the synagogues in the towns that he visited. This group was in Berea. It says they were more noble in character than the Thessalonians. They received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures to see if what Paul said was true. They didn't just take his word for it.

That is a very good model for us, as well. We need to do the same. I think the church had gotten into trouble by not examining what someone says. We need to do what it says in 1 Thessalonians 5:21: Test everything. Hold onto the good. We are warned in 1 John 4:1: …do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. We are told in 1 John 4:2: This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God. In other words, every teaching must be in agreement with the gospel in order to be true.

Once we determine if a teaching is not true, we can do what it says in 2 Corinthians 10:5: We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. This holds true for thoughts that are in your mind, as well. If you examine your thoughts, you may see that what you have been thinking and believing is not of God—it is not true. You can take those thoughts and make them captive to Christ.

If we intentionally examine what we are being taught and what we are thinking and believing, we can have an effective life—because we will be believing what is true and we can act on that truth.