Many a contemporary critic sitting in the pews likes to listen intently to the preaching wanting to catch each little misspoken phrase or small mistake and claim the „unbiblicality" of his preacher, seeing him as potentially wavering on the edge of heresy. He justifies his probing behavior by citing „noble Bereans" who „examined the Scriptures to see if things were so".

It is true that we ought not to accept heresy, therefore good, common sense and knowledge of the Bible is necessary while listening to (especially unknown) preachers. Also, it is important to listen to the Holy Spirit given to us to guide us, among other things. However, if we mercilessly scrutinize every word spoken from the pulpit, we are no Bereans. We are just critical carmudgeons, who overlook the vast majority of good and well spoken truths in order to catch the few unclear phrases which we are quick to deem unbiblical. Such behavior is destructive to our own souls just as much as it is destructive to relationships. Just consider what would happen if you consistently kept reminding your spouse of every error of speech he or she does. I reckon your marriage would soon be in hopeless disarray. Preachers are humans, too. They are not always razor-sharp and perfectly clear in their arguments and sometimes they don’t get everything right. Knowing this, we need to apply mercy while listening and stop blowing all small mistakes out of proportions. (Again, this is not about fundamental theological errors.)

What actually made Bereans noble? Let’s look at the text first:

The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived they went into the Jewish synagogue. Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so. Many of them therefore believed, with not a few Greek women of high standing as well as men.
Acts 17:10-12 (ESV)

Luke draws a comparison between Bereans and Thessalonians.
  • Thessalonians were ignoble as it took Paul, Silas and Timothy 3 weeks of argumentation and preaching in order to persuade at least some. The rest of the Jews simply refused to believe and did all they could in order to drive Paul & co. out of the city.
  • On the other hand, Bereans were more noble, because they received the word with all eagerness. (Does this sound like the critic we described before?)
  • Not only they received the word eagerly, but they also checked for themselves and confirmed it’s true.
  • As a result, many of them believed.
Simply put, the nobility of Bereans did not mean merciless scrutiny of each spoken word. The nobility was their eagerness to accept the word of God. They did not take much persuading. They heard, received eagerly, checked for themselves and believed. As much as this hurts my inner theologian, the emphasis is not on examining the Scriptures, but on receiving the word with eagerness. They are also commended for checking for themselves, so yes, let's emulate them in this as well. He who speaks the truth is not afraid of a review (the supposition is that if Thessalonians did this, they would have believed as well).

The bottom line is: if you want to call yourself a Berean, dear critic, please keep in mind that they first received the word with all eagerness.