THE BEREAN PROCESS “How you can ensure that you are in a good church.”

By Todd Tillinghast

Many Christians struggle with questions like these as much as anything else concerning their faith:

{     “Am I in the right church?”

{      “Is this a good church?”

{      “Is the Pastor teaching the word of God correctly?”

{      “How do I find a good church?” 

Unfortunately, this issue of finding a good church has caused many Christians to become disenchanted with Christianity and in many cases stop going to church altogether.  First of all we must remember that it is important that we continue to meet together (Hebrews 10:24,25) for the very reasons listed in these verses.  When we meet together we stir each other up to love and good works.  When we meet together we are expressing the Body of Christ. But how does one find the right Church?  Maybe you are currently in a church that makes you feel uncomfortable and would like to know how to be sure that it is a solid Bible teaching church.  Or maybe you currently aren’t attending a church and are looking for one.  In the Bible we see an example of a thriving, Bible centered church in Berea.  We also see demonstrated by the Bereans the means by which one can know that they are in the right church.  

In Acts 17: 1-15 we have the account of two churches.  And these two churches were indeed very different.  But what is it that delineated the Church of Thessalonica from the church at Berea?  Why was the church at Berea so much more successful than the church at Thessalonica?  What was different?  Was it the preacher?  No, Paul and Silas were the preachers in both locations.  Was it the message?  No, the message was also the same, the gospel.  Maybe it was the process.  No, we see that in both vs.2 and vs. 10 Paul and Silas employed the exact same approach as “was their custom” in all the cities where they planted churches. They went to the Synagogue of the Jews first.  So what was the difference? 

Well in vs. 11 we see the delineating factor.  The Bereans were the difference.  The fact that they were more fair-minded than the Thessalonians is what made all the difference.  Now the reason why they were more fair-minded was not due to any form of cultural superiority or social-economic distinction between the two groups.  Both groups were Jews.  Likewise it wasn’t because the Bareans had any kind of intellectual or even spiritual edge.  They needed the gospel to be saved just like everyone else.  Let’s take a look at what set them apart.

1.  They received the word in all readiness.  Vs.11 

This speaks for itself but I will allow Commentator John Gill to unpack this idea in his own words… “This they did with all readiness, as an hungry man receives his food, and greedily feeds upon it, or as a man ready to perish receives and lays hold on anything that offers for his safety.”  That’s intense.  That’s beyond just showing up to church and settling into the weekly ritual.  That’s saying I’m here to learn, I’m hungry for the word.   Is that the attitude that you and your fellow parishioners have at your church?  

Now notice here that it doesn’t say they received Paul readily.  It doesn’t say anything about Paul.  It says that they received the word readily.  They had a reverence for the Old Testament and when anyone began to talk about it they adopted the attitude of listening out of respect for the truth.  

2.  They searched the scriptures daily.  Vs.11 

They listened to Paul and Timothy and allowed them to have their say but they didn’t just take their word for it.  They went home and “searched the scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.”  Why did they do this, so that they could find a reason to discredit Paul and Timothy?  That is not implicit in the text.  They did it because they were truth seekers and they wanted to know the truth.  Now if they had found something that was not true they would have had grounds to dispel Paul and Timothy.  But their reasons would have been more fair-minded than the reason the Thessalonians had in vs.5 to insight a mob in an attempt to throw them into prison or worse to stone them.  The Thessalonians’ reason was envy.  They envied Paul and Silas.  All too often we focus on the messenger rather than the message.  If we are truth seekers and if we love the word of God then how we receive it shouldn’t matter.  What matters is that it is correct.  All too often we get into personality conflicts in the Church over leadership issues and envy issues because we are too focused on man and gifts rather than on learning and growing in the word of God.  This works both ways.  If we immediately become suspect or envious of all leaders who have influence we may miss an opportunity to receive some very good teaching.  We have here in this account a process of accountability that can hold all parties involved to the same standard.  The truth is the standard.  If the person preaches and teaches the truth and we have verified it ourselves then we should receive what they say with all readiness.  If they do not then we are not obligated to listen to them or allow ourselves to be influenced by them.  We also need to be careful that our motives are not driven by envy of anyone who seems to have more influence than we do or who seems to be more gifted than we are.  Let the word and its truth be the litmus test for who we allow to teach us and who we do not listen to. 

3.  Are there new believers coming into the church?  Vs.12. 

The next verse tells us the result of the Berean’s response to the word being preached.  Many of them believed.  Not just Jews but prominent Greeks as well.  Evangelism is a foregone conclusion when the truth is being preached and received correctly in any place.  The truth sets people free.  When people are abiding in His word (Searching the scriptures daily) and the unadulterated, undiluted truth is being taught then people will be set free.  (John 8:31, 32)  This is exactly what happened in Berea.

4.  Is there controversy?  Vs.13

“The Jews from Thessalonica came and stirred up the crowds.” One indicator that the truth is not being diluted is when it causes a certain amount of controversy.  If someone isn’t getting upset and if there isn’t any disagreement and or healthy debate taking place within your congregation the chances are the truth either isn’t presented or it is unrecognizable amidst a mixture of tolerance soaked ideas and liberal theology.  Christ understood this implicitly when He shockingly reveals in Mathew 10:34-36 that He came to bring a sword.  The truth divides as much as it unites.  It creates clear delineations and makes it obvious where people stand on issues.  This is the nature of truth.

While certainly not an exhaustive list these principles should give us a clear idea of whether or not a church is a good one. Certainly childcare, location and other preferential issues are important.  But if the truth is not being taught, the people are not abiding in the word and there is not an agreed upon accountability process between the teachers and the congregation then all the preferential items don’t matter.  On the other hand, one could endure a longer commute or even less than perfect sounding music in order to be involved with a group of truth lovers who work it out and live it out as a community.  Remember, according to our text today the difference between a good church and bad one is not the preacher or the message but whether the people are Berean in their attitude towards the word or not.  That’s good news, because that means having or finding a great church begins with you.