Bereansearching Bible Studies

Introduction

In the first Century AD, the Bereans were a people in the town of Berea (now known as Véroia, in central Macedonia, in northeastern Greece). The Apostle Paul preached to the Jews in Berea in their synagogue as we read in Jesus’ Gospel of Salvation, just as he had done nearby in the town of Thessalonica as we read in Acts 17:2&3, “And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures, Opening and alleging, that Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead; and that this Jesus, whom I preach unto you, is Christ.”

Although some Jews believed, other Jews in Thessalonica resisted the Truth, and took great offense, such that Paul and his companion Silas were forced to flee to Berea, as we read in Acts 17:10-12, “¶And the brethren (of Thessalonica) immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming [thither]  went into the synagogue of the Jews. These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so. Therefore many of them believed; also of honourable women which were Greeks, and of men, not a few.“

God makes these promises in Jeremiah 29:12&13, “Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. And ye shall seek me, and find [me], when ye shall search for me with all your heart.”  Lamentations 3:25, “The LORD [is] good unto them that wait for him, to the soul [that] seeketh him.” And God instructs us in Isaiah 55:6, “Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return untothe LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.” Zephaniah 2:3, “Seek ye the LORD, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought his judgment; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the LORD’S anger.”

Searching the Scriptures to See Jesus

In John 5:39, Jesus specifically told the Jews of His day to “Search the scriptures (only the Old Testament in that day); for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me (Jesus Himself).“

In Proverbs 25:2 we are told, “[It is] the glory of God to conceal a thing (actually “word“): but the honour of kings [is] to search out a matter.” (again “word” from the same original Hebrew word, “dabar“) [For a more in-depth exposition of this verse, please see this post: “Hidden Spiritual Gem #1 from the Bible.”] Please consider then that John 1:1 tells us that “¶In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God.” and that Jesus Is The Word as we are also told in John 1:14, “¶And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.“

1 Peter 1:10, “¶Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace [that should come] unto you: Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.“

In Hebrews 11:6, we read, “But without faith [it is] impossible to please [him]: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and [that] he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”

In John 5:45&46, we read where Jesus said, “Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father: there is [one] that accuseth you, [even] Moses, in whom ye trust. For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me: for he wrote of me.“

Also in Hebrews 10:7, where God explains Psalm 40:7&8 as saying that the book (the Bible) is talking about Jesus, “Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me, [Jesus Christ]) to do thy will, O God.”

John 15:26, “¶But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, [even] the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:“

Revelation 19:10, “And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See [thou do it] not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.“

Jesus is the Spiritual Key to Bible Interpretation

The Road to Emmaus makes this clear

We should remember how in Luke 24:27 Jesus, on Easter Sunday shortly after His Resurrection, was walking on the road to Emmaus with two of His disciples who did not initially recognize Him, “And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.” Later on, in Luke 24:31, we read, “And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; …

This point is reiterated in Acts 3:18, “But those things, which God before had shewed by the mouth of all his prophets, that Christ should suffer, he hath so fulfilled.” Again in Acts 10:43, “To him (Jesus Christ) give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.” In John 1:45, “Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” In Acts 28:23, we read where the Apostle Paul “…expounded and testified the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus, both out of the law of Moses, and [out of] the prophets, from morning till evening.” Finally, in Romans 1:1-3, we read, “¶Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called [to be] an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God, (Which he had promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures,) Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord,…“

There Are Effectively Three Perspectives of Bible Interpretation

1. Historical/Grammatical/Literal: Reading the Bible from this perspective allows anyone to see and intellectually understand the true factual accounts of actual historical events exactly as they happened as God pre-ordained and then recorded precisely by His Holy Spirit. Simply being knowledgeable about Jesus and of all the other Biblical historical facts, contexts, and laws alone will not save anyone.
2. Moral/Legal: These are God’s perfect guidelines for happiness and peace with Him through obedience to His Will and not our own. Sadly though, mankind is sinful, and we cannot perfectly keep God’s laws. All men and women are therefore condemned to death in Hell, but Jesus is the only means of escape, as He was crucified, died, and went to Hell for the sins of all those who would believe on Him. Every human being, believers and non-believers, can and will benefit from heeding these precepts, but mankind, because of the Fall of Adam, by nature disobeys them. Our civil laws are premised on God’s Laws as found are given in the Bible along with just punishments, as explained in both Ecclesiastes 8:11, “Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.” and Ezra 7:26, “And whosoever will not do the law of thy God, and the law of the king, let judgment be executed speedily upon him, whether [it be] unto death, or to banishment, or to confiscation of goods, or to imprisonment.” These words were true 3000 years ago and still true today! Think of what a world we would have if everyone honored God and His Laws, such that there was no envy, theft, and murder! However, seeking salvation apart from Jesus (by trying to keep the law by doing good works) is impossible, and cannot, and will not, save anyone, because only Jesus could keep God’s Laws perfectly.
3. Spiritual: This perspective (a Messianic Gospel one) provides new and amazing insights into God’s Magnificent Salvation Plan wrought through, and pointing us to, the Person and Atoning Work of God’s Beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. Only by being made alive (quickened) by God The Holy Spirit, simultaneoulsy being gifted by God with the spiritual ears to hear and eyes to see, can a person know and love Jesus as Savior. Only by truly knowing and loving Jesus as Lord God and Savior (as given in God’s Word the Bible) is there eternal salvation from sin.

Conclusion: The Bible is God’s Handbook for Eternal Salvation by The Lord Jesus Christ

The overriding purpose and goal of the Bereansearching.com website is to bring Glory to God by Glorifying His Beloved Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, through the faithful teaching about Him from His Word the Bible. And this teaching is intended to be neither selective nor partial, but rather a teaching that draws from the entirety of the Bible, from beginning to end. This teacher sincerely desires to expound from the Bible solely by comparing scripture with scripture in accordance with 1 Corinthians 2:13, “¶Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.“

Moreover, the teaching found here is based on a different hermeneutic and understanding than most people are familiar with in our world today. Succinctly stated…The Old Testament is the New Testament CONCEALED, and the New Testament is the Old Testament REVEALED…and thus the whole Bible is really only all about Jesus Christ and God’s Magnificent Salvation Plan through Him!  (It has also been said, correctly, that the Old Testament is the New Testament CONTAINED and the New Testament is the Old Testament EXPLAINED.)

It is this teacher’s greatest desire that these words, written by the hand of the Apostle Paul, perfectly apply also to the labors found on this website: Colossians 1:25-29, “Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God; [Even] the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: To whom God would make known what [is] the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus: Whereunto I also labour, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily.“

So dear reader, may these Bible Studies be a blessing to you, and, if you have not done so already, PLEASE repent of your sins and cry out to God for His mercy through Jesus Christ, and He will show you mercy! Eternity is right around the corner for everyone.

For more on this topic, please see the BereanSearching Website Homepage.

POSTSCRIPT

Please consider this question…How is it, Why is it, that a man (Charles Spurgeon), living 150 years ago in England, could see and understand the Bible so clearly, and yet in our day, with all the technology available with which to search the scriptures, there is so little understanding of what the Bible teaches?

One has to wonder why are there so few who are even the slightest bit curious? The following sermon is from an evening devotional. May it be a blessing to all who take the time to read it.

“Search the Scriptures.”
“The Greek word here rendered ‘search’ signifies a strict, close, diligent, curious search, such as men make when they are seeking gold, or hunters when they are in earnest after game. We must not rest content with having given a superficial reading to a chapter or two, but with the candle of the Spirit we must deliberately seek out the hidden meaning of the word. Holy Scripture requires searching–much of it can only be learned by careful study. There is milk for babes, but also meat for strong men. The rabbis wisely say that a mountain of matter hangs upon every word, yea, upon every title of Scripture. Tertullian exclaims, “I adore the fulness of the Scriptures.” No man who merely skims the book of God can profit thereby; we must dig and mine until we obtain the hid treasure. The door of the word only opens to the key of diligence. The Scriptures claim searching. They are the writings of God, bearing the divine stamp and imprimatur–who shall dare to treat them with levity? He who despises them despises the God who wrote them. God forbid that any of us should leave our Bibles to become swift witnesses against us in the great day of account. The word of God will repay searching. God does not bid us sift a mountain of chaff with here and there a grain of wheat in it, but the Bible is winnowed corn–we have but to open the granary door and find it. Scripture grows upon the student. It is full of surprises. Under the teaching of the Holy Spirit, to the searching eye it glows with splendour of revelation, like a vast temple paved with wrought gold, and roofed with rubies, emeralds, and all manner of gems. No merchandise is like the merchandise of Scripture truth. Lastly, the Scriptures reveal Jesus: “They are they which testify of me.” No more powerful motive can be urged upon Bible readers than this: he who finds Jesus finds life, heaven, all things. Happy he who, searching his Bible, discovers his Saviour.”

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This entry was posted on April 8, 2025 at 10:00 pm and is filed under Bible Studies. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments. You can comment below, or link to this permanent URL from your own site.