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Are You Noble-Minded?
"Now these 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). On Paul's second missionary journey, he came for the first time to preach the gospel of Christ in the regions of Macedonia and Achaia (modern Greece). He preached the gospel in the great cities of Philippi and Thessalonica, but when persecution arose he moved on to the city of Berea. At this place, the above remarkable statement is made about the Jews who heard the word of God proclaimed. Luke records that they were more noble-minded than the audience in Thessalonica. Notice the reasons given for this noble attitude:
1. The text says "they received the word with great eagerness". Literally, the word eagerness means, "a rushing forward". As one would rush forward to greet and hug an old friend, these noble-minded individuals "rushed forward" to eagerly receive the word of God. But although they were eager, the next phrase teaches us that they were in no way gullible.
2. Secondly, the text says that they were "examining the Scriptures daily, to see whether these things were so". The word examined means to sift," or "to make careful and exact research". These individuals were searching for the truth. They were sifting through the word of God as an archaeologist sifts through the dirt at an ancient tell. An archaeologist does not use a bulldozer to uncover the remains of civilizations long buried. He carefully and patiently examines every inch of dirt to find the valuable treasures that are waiting to be discovered. The Bereans were sifters, carefully examining the word of God. They had the Old Testament Scriptures, and when Paul and Silas came preaching Jesus, and they carefully examined the Scriptures to make sure that these things were so.
Are you noble-minded? Do you carefully compare what you are taught by religious teachers with the revealed will of God found in the Bible?
