TBC Notes: The Cost of Being a Berean

The Cost of Being a Berean

There are a host of things taking place in the world and the church today that can only be described as thoughtless at best. That term is actually a euphemism, a polite way of describing an era when the majority have taken leave of their senses. The Bible describes such conditions as madness, not in one’s right mind, lunacy, being beside oneself, and not being of a sound mind. That seems to be a general condition that has become fairly obvious, so much so that the publishers of the Oxford Dictionary selected “post-truth” as the word of the year because the concept seemed to be proliferating in 2016.

As that leaven has crept into the church it puts a Berean (one who tries to check out everything he’s being told or taught against the teachings of Scriptures) definitely at odds with much of what passes for Christianity, which is becoming less and less an advocate of biblical truth (2 Timothy:4:3-4 [3] For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; [4] And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.
See All...). Furthermore, steadfastness in God’s Word fosters opposition even when the believer’s only reaction is to not go along with false teachings or practices. Today it seems that the opposition is becoming more and more malicious.

Going clear back to the publishing of The Seduction of Christianity some 30 years ago, we here at TBC have weathered hostilities. At the time I found such disapproval surprising. Why? Because we were simply asking those who claimed to believe in the Bible to check things out according to what it teaches. And that includes the information they receive from us. Sound reasonable?

It should. Except we are in the climate of post-truth where irrationality reigns. Our latest example stemming from opposition to our articles on the Hebrew Roots Movement implies that we may be anti-Semitic. Sadly, there is no convincing otherwise those who make such veiled accusations. Yet for anyone entertaining such slander I recommend Dave’s book Judgment Day!, our production of Israel, Islam, and Armageddon, and not in the least the name of our ministry—the Bereans were not Christians, they were Jews.

While the Word of God exhorts us to count the cost in our service to the Lord, it also greatly encourages us: “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Corinthians:15:58Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.
See All...).

T. A. McMahon

Executive Director