Take a closer look
In our evening congregation over the past term, we have had a weekly Q& A time - A Question and Answers time from the Bible passage of the day. You can find them in our updates -we type up the answers the following day. For this week's Q & A, see the Q & A update on Daniel 5 here. Or on the youtube stream here at time stamp 1:15:00 Q & A livestream
I think we all enjoy it because it's great to take a closer look at things when we can. It's good to ask questions. It affirms us in our faith and sharpens us in the way we interact with God's word. I am especially encouraged by the desire of many poeple to interact with non-believers in our world.
Questions are good.
In Acts 17, Paul is moving along from place to place and receiving mixed responses. Some throw him out, others try to kill him and still others chase after him and drive him away. But the Bereans are amazingly different - they ask questions.
Acts 17:10-12
10As soon as it was night, the believers sent Paul and Silas away to Berea. On arriving there, they went to the Jewish synagogue. 11Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. 12As a result, many of them believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men.
This is the time to ask questions. This is the time to ensure that we are being taught correctly from God's word. There are many people of course who do not give the Bible any credibility as a book of theology or history. But there are, sadly, many professing believers today who also do not give the Bible the rightful place as the inspired Word of God. This even includes leaders in God's church.
We should consider it pure joy and privilege to be able to ask questions of our leaders, knowing that the immovable truth is found in the word of God, not in human hands or voices. We trust our leaders to speak the truth, but sometimes they make mistakes. Sometimes through simple human error. Other times by putting themselves above the authority of God.
I will say to you as a leader in God's church, that I am encouraged when people pick up on mistakes that may occur from time to time in my own Bible teaching. I am far from perfect and I am thankful for those who mention these errors. (Thankfully, I think they are usually minor and they are certainly unintentional!) We must never shy away from striving for the truth from God's Word. And we should always be wary of leaders and teachers who do not like to be questioned or challenged. Humans make mistakes. And we need to admit them.
But at a time when we have even Australian Bishops in the Anglican Church not holding to the truth of the Bible's teaching, we must be even more on guard for false teachers. They deliberately lead people away from the Scriptures into their own self-made truth. They are to be called out and challenged.
Let's not be shy in asking questions and taking a closer look. Let's be like the Bereans - eagerly examining the Scriptures each day.
Prayer
Father, thank you for the truth of your Word. Thank you for the Bible teachers in our Church. Please be with them as they share your truth in our Church. Help us to ask questions that sharpen our understanding of your Word. Lead us by your Holy Spirit into the truth always. And please protect your church from the false teachers that are seeking to lead people away from your truth.
[Take some time now to personally pray by name for the Bible teachers in your life. Perhaps your parents, or your Scripture teachers, Sunday School teachers, Bible study leaders, pastors, preachers, and others. And give thanks for your teachers of the past.]
Amen.