Now the Bereans were made of more noble character than the Thessalonians. For they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures daily to see if what Paul said was true.
~ Acts 17:11 ~

I will put the question bluntly: how often do we, as Christians, search the Scriptures to see if what someone is saying is true? When we hear anyone, of “authority” or not, say anything concerning Christ or claiming the truth, do we search the Scriptures to verify what they are claiming? Unfortunately, by looking at the state of our world and knowing our likeness to sheep, I would have to say that most do not. If we did, we would not be so easily led astray. This world is full of temptations, crawling with false “truths”, and “imitations” of God abound. We must be on our guard and carry our Sword so that we can stand firm and not be swayed. As much as we would like to believe sometimes, not everyone is trustworthy. And to be quite frank, most are more willing to be a snare at the feet of people than to put out a hand to build them up.
Now, we cannot just search the Scriptures only when a crisis arises, but we must search them all the time. For if our consciences have been watered down, and we do not know what the Scriptures say from daily reading, how will we know where to look? There are people who check for counterfeit money and do this for a living. They do not just go out and say, “well this looks like good money, and this looks false money” on their own understanding. They do not study what false money looks like either, because it changes so much. Instead, they study intensely what the true monetary bill looks like. They study the truth so they can see what is false when they do their work. That is what we must do also with the Word of God. For lies are presented in cunning ways, and only the truth can sift out what to trust and what to discard.
Therefore, let us be like the Bereans who searched the Scriptures daily to see if what Paul was saying was truthful. If we do this, not only will we know what the Truth is and what the lie is for our own benefit, but also so that we can point out the counterfeit and save others.

~ Rose