As soon as it was night, the believers sent Paul and Silas away to Berea. On arriving there, they went to the Jewish synagogue. Now 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. As a result, many of them believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men.
Acts 17:10-12 

Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.
1 John 4:18-19

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Awestruck, I gazed up at the sky outside Fairbanks, Alaska. My tripod was set up, and I was marveling at the intense colors the camera could capture beyond what my eyes could see. The man next to me said, “That’s because we don’t have cat eyes. Cats can see all these colors because they have great night vision.”

The next morning, back at the hotel,  I remembered the statement about cat eyes from the night before and looked it up online to fact-check. My research indicated that cats have better night vision than humans, but they cannot see as many colors as humans because cats have more rods (better low-light vision) but fewer cones (less color) than humans. They don’t see as many colors, and the colors they see are less vibrant. The online summary compared it to human color blindness, with reds appearing green. He knew cats could see better at night for hunting, but he was actually way off.

The Bible admonishes us to read and study the Scriptures for ourselves. We are to practice discernment with what we hear and read when other people interpret Scripture. I have been in several different small groups and have experienced a precious conversation regarding various verses. It is a privilege when someone describes how they understand a Bible verse or how it comforted them or challenged them. As I participate in the discussion with an open mind, my understanding is always expanded. Frequently, we each contribute to difficult Scripture with what we had heard from a previous pastor. Then we wrestle with these ideas together, attempting to comprehend the complete and full truth of what God is speaking to us at the moment.  

The example was set by the “Jews of noble character” when they “examined the scriptures” to see if Paul was correct. Note, they did it “with great eagerness”. 

Yes, discernment regarding Scripture takes some energy and concentration. If the precedent is set by these Berea Jews, then we are expected by God to joyfully read and discuss the Word.

Next Steps

Paul and Silas were in great danger, so the Thessalonian believers helped them escape at night. They sent them to Berea. Fortunately, the Jews there were receptive to the Gospel. They listened to Paul’s explanation that Jesus was the Messiah and examined the Scriptures to verify its truth. The most effective way to identify false teaching is to study Scripture. If you don’t already, consider reading your Bible daily.