GodThoughtsWired!   Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Evangelizing the Church in the Age of Delusion

DUPED!

Resurrecting the Spirit of the
Bereans in the Age of Delusion

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Who are the "Bereans?"  And  what does it mean to"resurrect their spirit?"  Let's start with the biblical text,

"Now these (the Bereans) were more
noble-minded than those in Thessalonica,
for they received the word with
great eagerness, examining the
Scriptures daily to see whether 
these things were so."
Acts 17:11, bold mine

There are three key elements that make up the"spirit of the Bereans."

1.  "They were noble-minded."  That is to say they had great strength of character.  Literally, they were not easily "duped."  Why?

2.  "They received the word with great eagerness."  They were hungry for the word of God.  They were "proactive" in their quest to know God and therefore sought Him dilligently.

3.  "They examined the Scriptures daily."  The Bible was their ultimate source of guidance and understanding.  They used the Word of God as their "decision making grid" and only followed leaders whose words and actions were in line with biblical teaching.

In other words, they put into practice the admonishon of Jesus in John 7:24,

"Do not judge according to appearance,
but judge with righteous judgement."

"Resurrecting the Spirit of the Bereans" is our only hope to keep from being "DUPED!" in this Age of Delusion.