Being A Berean

Have you ever prayed to a statue?

Have you ever lit a candle for a dead person?

Have you ever done repetitious prayer?

Have you ever confessed your sins to a man and expect that man to forgive your sins?

Well, I have done these and many other religious acts. I was born and raised Catholic. I went to a Catholic school and a Catholic church. In fact, for a long time I did not know that there were other religions out there. The Catholic way was all I knew.

I was deceived.

I do not hesitate to tell people that I was deceived because I was. Yes, they pulled one over on me. I was born and raised up this way and I did not know any better.

Then in my early 20’s I realized that I was going to hell. The Catholic church taught me that I had to be good in order to go to heaven when I died, and I wasn’t good, in fact I knew that I was a bad person.

Anyway the Lord called me and ended up going to a church that rightly divides the scripture. I then realized that I did not have a Saviour and I trusted Christ as my Saviour.

Right after I got saved my wife and I were having a discussion and Mary, the woman that gave birth to Jesus, was brought up. Now I was raised Catholic but my wife was raised Baptist.

In the discussion I told my wife that Mary was a virgin her entire life. My wife told me that that was not so because Mary had other children. I did not believe her. I was taught that Mary was a virgin her entire life and that is what I believed.

So she dusted off her bible and eventually found the scriptures in Matthew 13 and showed them to me which says,

“55 Is not this the carpenter's son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?

56 And his sisters, are they not all with us? Whence then hath this man all these things?”

I was dumbfounded. This was not what I believed. I knew the bible was the word of God but yet my beliefs did not match the bible.

I was in a pickle.

Well, I came to the conclusion that I needed to make a decision. I needed to either believe what I believe or I needed to believe what the bible said. What I believed and what the bible said did not match.

I chose to believe the bible.

I realized that I had been deceived by the Catholic church. They taught me things that were not true according to the holy scriptures. So what I did, I took everything I knew about God or everything I thought I knew about God and trashed it.

And then I told myself, “I’m starting over.”

I dumped everything I believed and started over with a fresh clean slate.

I don’t know why, but I was like a sponge. I wanted to learn as much as I could about God and his Son the Lord Jesus Christ. I just could not get enough of the holy scriptures and it is all I wanted to talk about.

I was blessed by the Lord by him allowing me to go to probably the only Grace church in Louisiana at the time, and it was called Berean Bible Fellowship. It was actually right across the street from where I lived. The pastor, brother Obed Kirkpatrick, was very instrumental in my salvation and my guide through the holy scriptures and to him I will be ever grateful.

When I first got saved I didn’t know beans about the bible. I did not know what the first book was nor did I know what the last book was. I asked brother Obed what a Berean was, and he informed me and gave me the scripture from Acts 17 what a Berean was.

“10 And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews.

11 These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.”

He told me a Berean was someone who listened to a person speak with all readiness of mind and then searched the scriptures to see if that person was telling the truth or not.

This made perfect sense to me. I was born and raised Catholic and I was taught many, many things that I found out were wrong according to the scripture. The people in the Catholic church were very nice and sincere about what they believed and I was taught to believe them and respect them. But the truth of the matter is that I was misguided by people that did not follow after the holy scriptures.

So being a Berean sounded really good to me. I had been deceived in the past by nice sincere people and in order for me to not allow that to happen again, I would have to take measures to prevent it from happening and being a Berean fit the bill.

But I did learn something from the experience. I learned that even though people are very sincere about what they believe, they can still be off base when it comes to matching that belief against the holy scriptures. Even fellow grace believing, nice as they can be, Christians, can be incorrect when it comes to the holy scriptures. So through this experience I have learned not to believe man, but rather to believe the holy scriptures.

Soon after I got saved, I started going to bible conferences. They were a great opportunity for me to hear different preachers speak on different things. But I soon learned that not many people are true Bereans. As in many religious denominations many people are just followers and not true Bereans.

I do not say this in any harmful way, for we should not defraud our brethren in any matter, but failing to be a Berean can cause division in the body of Christ.

Let me give you an example:

Back in the 1800’s this guy named Joseph Smith comes along which as you know is the founder of the Mormon church. He tells people that God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ appeared to him and told him many things and he became a prophet of God.

Now instead of people searching the scriptures to see if he was telling the truth or not, many people just believed him at his word and he started gathering followers.

Now instead of just believing Joseph Smith, if they would have tested what he had to say against the holy scriptures the Mormon church would have never gotten off the ground. If they would have been Bereans and tested his teachings they would have found these scriptures: In John 1 it says,

“18 No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him."

And in 1st Corinthians 15 it says,

“8 And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.”

From these scriptures we see that no man hath seen God at any time and that the apostle Paul was the last one to see the Lord Jesus Christ. If the people that Joseph Smith taught would have searched the scriptures to see if he was telling the truth or not they would have found these scriptures to show that Joseph Smith was incorrect about what he was teaching, but instead they just believed him.

If they would have brought these scriptures to his attention they would have stopped him cold in his tracks, but instead they believed him and followed him and the Mormon church came into existence and now the Mormon church, as many other denominations, is causing division in the body of Christ.

Division is caused by man. God did not make division, man did. Men following men causes division in the body of Christ. In 1st Corinthians 1 it says,

“10 Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.

11 For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you.

12 Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ.

13 Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?"

Paul explains to us that division is caused by men following after men. Instead of holding the head, which is Christ, many people put men up on a pedestal and show favoritism towards these men and lift them up higher than they should be. In 1st Corinthians 4 it says,

“6 And these things, brethren, I have in a figure transferred to myself and to Apollos for your sakes; that ye might learn in us not to think of men above that which is written, that no one of you be puffed up for one against another.”

Lifting up men can cause us to be puffed up one against another. Some people may say that they follow this person and some say that they follow that person and it causes division in the body of Christ. It even causes division outside of the body of Christ, and keeps lost people confused.
This problem has been in effect for nearly 2000 years. Even today we have people that claim they are Methodist, Mormons, and Jehovah’s Witnesses. These people are saying that they are followers of John Wesley’s teachings, Joseph Smith’s teachings and Charles Russel’s teachings. This causes division.

Today we have something as many people refer to as the Grace movement. (I do not know why it is called this, people have been preaching salvation by grace for almost 2000 years.) It is commonly referred to this way about brethren that rightly divide the word of truth. Even today in this Grace movement we have division among ourselves and it is the same old problem of men following men.

You would think that people that claim that they have the truth would be a close knit group of people, but we are just as divided as many denominations. Once again, this is caused by men following men.

But today it is just different men. Today we have followers of men such as O’Hair, Stam, Bullinger and many others and once again there is a division problem.

I can’t stop people from following men. All I can do is show them the problems it causes.

Because I was so deceived by men in my past, I have learned not to take a man’s teaching for granted but rather to be the Berean that I should be and test the teachings against the holy scriptures.

When the Lord called me into the ministry, I myself, as every other preacher should do, studied the word of God. As we grow in understanding of the Lord’s will, we teach the things that we have learned.

Now I came across a situation many years ago, that I needed to learn how to test my own teachings to make sure that they were correct with the word of God. In Colossians 2 it says,

“18 Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshipping of angels, intruding into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind,”

Can a man vainly puff up something in his fleshly mind? Yes he can. I’m a man, I have a fleshly mind, so obviously I can puff up things in my fleshly mind also.

So as I read and studied I needed a method to determine whether or not I was puffing up something in my mind or if the Lord was trying to show me something.

As I was reading and studying the holy scriptures and it seemed that my eyes were being opened to something new, I had to make absolutely sure that it was not me puffing up something in my mind, but it was truly the Lord trying to show me something.

So the Lord laid on my heart the method that I have used for many years in being a Berean:

I try to prove the teaching wrong.

When I come across something in the holy scriptures that I feel my eyes are being opened to it, I have learned to try and prove it wrong by the holy scriptures. When I read and study and something new appears I try to prove it wrong by the holy scriptures. This is how I test myself.

But I also use this method to test the teachings of others that I listen to.

If I can prove a teaching wrong by the holy scriptures then it is wrong and needs to be adjusted to match the scriptures. But if I can’t prove it wrong by the holy scriptures then it is a good possibility that the teaching is correct.

Many people in order to test a teaching try to prove the teaching correct. I have learned that this method will not always give you the best results. For instance, let’s say that you hear a teaching from a teacher that believes that water baptism is necessary for salvation and he gives you these scriptures:
Matthew 3

“13 Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him.

14 But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me?

15 And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him.

16 And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:

17 And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

Mark 16

“15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.

16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.”

Acts 2

“38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.”

And the preacher goes on to say:

“Jesus got water baptized, and the scripture says that you need to be water baptized to be saved and you can’t get the Holy Spirit until you get water baptized. If Jesus had to do it then so do you”

So what would you do to try to prove this teaching correct? You would use the same scriptures that this preacher used and avoid all the scriptures that go against it.

But what would you do to try to prove this teaching wrong? You would search the scriptures to find other scriptures that go against this teaching and compare spiritual things with spiritual and rightly divide the scriptures.

You see the problem here is that many people in order to prove a teaching correct, they use the same exact scriptures that the preacher used to prove it correct and of course they will come to the same conclusion.

I have seen many people take notes during bible study over the years and write down the scriptures that a preacher used during a teaching. When they go back and study they take the same scriptures that they were given and go over them and guess what? They come to the same conclusion as the preacher and in their eyes the teaching is correct.

But what if they were to try to prove the teaching incorrect? What if they were to search the scriptures and look for scripture that goes against the teaching?

Well, to a lot of people that is too much work., and they will not bother to do so. They will just take the preacher’s word for it.

But just taking the preacher’s word for it is not being a Berean. That is being a follower, and once again, this is what causes division problems.

I have found it amazing that some people call themselves Bereans and they do not test any teachings at all. They go to a church that rightly divides the scriptures and so they claim to be Bereans because the preacher told them that is what the church does. But in all actuality, they themselves are not Bereans because they do not search the scriptures to see if what they are told is true or not.

Another phenomenon I have found is preachers that claim they are Bereans and claim that the people in their churches are Bereans, but they do not want the people in their church to listen to just anyone. They want the people in their church to listen just to the doctrine they teach. They do not want them to:

…receive the word with all readiness of mind, and search the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.

They do not want their people to hear doctrine different from what they teach. In other words, they don’t really want their people to be true Bereans.

This confuses me. They teach people to be Bereans, but they don’t want them to hear any teachings outside of what they believe. How can you possibly be a true Berean if you do not take what someone has to say with all readiness of mind and search the scriptures to see whether it is true or not?

This is one reason I am a oddball grace teacher. I encourage the people in our church to listen to other people with all readiness of mind and then search the scriptures to see whether it is true or not. I teach my people to be true Bereans, not fake ones.

I have nothing to fear, nothing to hide and nothing to lose by teaching my people to be true Bereans. If a teacher is not teaching his people solid enough to feel comfortable with them being a true Berean, then that preacher needs to get on with the program. If he is scared to allow his people to listen to others that teach differently, then he is not grounding his people in the truth very well.

This type of preacher has some underlying reason that he does not want his people to be a true Berean. It might be pride, it might be fear of losing his members, it might be because he is not absolutely sure that what he is teaching is correct, or it might be something earthly like finances: if the people leave their money goes with them.

Nevertheless, there are many preachers such as this. They teach their members to be Bereans, but they don’t want them to hear any doctrine outside of what they teach. Go figure.

So let’s get into the nitty gritty of what being a true Berean is like. First of all, you have to be willing to listen to anyone with all readiness of mind. If you are not willing to do so then it is not possible for you to be a Berean for that is what a Berean does.

If you have a few favorite preachers you like to listen to and you tend to avoid others, then you are not a Berean. You are a follower, especially if it is just one preacher you listen to. You have to be willing to listen with all readiness of mind.

Now the second part of being a true Berean is searching the scriptures and seeing if what you are told is true or not. Once again, if you just go back over the same scriptures that the preacher gave you then you will come up with the same result as the preacher did. This is not a real testing of the teaching against the scriptures.

A real testing is to search the scriptures and see if there is scripture that goes against what was being taught. If there are scriptures that go against what is being taught then the teaching cannot possibly be correct. Let’s look at this chart:

On this chart we see a preacher and he uses scripture A, B and C to prove his teaching. Now student #1 uses the method to where he takes notes and goes back over scriptures A, B, and C to see whether it is true or not. By going over scriptures A, B, and C he comes to the same conclusion as the preacher and confirms that the teaching must be true.

But student #2 uses a different method and searches the scripture and he finds scripture X, Y, and Z and they do not match the teaching. His conclusion is the teaching is in error because he found scripture that goes against the teaching. Scriptures A, B, and C seem to at first to confirm the teaching but when he throws in X, Y, and Z it proves that the teaching is in error.

So what we have here is two different methods of searching the scriptures to test a teaching to see whether it is true or not. The method used by student #1 will always give the same result as what was being taught. Method #2 can confirm the teaching to be true by not finding any scriptures that go against it, or it can confirm the teaching to be false by finding scriptures that go against it.

In John 10 it says,

“35… and the scripture cannot be broken;”

If a teaching breaks scripture, then the teaching cannot be totally correct and needs to be adjusted.

Therefore the method used by student #2 is the better method for finding out whether a teaching is true or not. Method #2 requires a lot more work and study time but the results are far more accurate than method #1.

The method used by student #1 usually leads to the student being a follower of the teacher, because his method can never prove the teaching wrong therefore the teacher in his eyes is always correct. And when a student sees his teacher is always correct, they let their guard down and just end up believing whatever the teacher teaches and ends up being a follower and not a true Berean. And when you have people following men, this leads to division in the body of Christ.

So through the years I have found the absolute best way to be a true Berean is to take what a teacher has to say with all readiness of mind then search the scriptures to try to prove it wrong. If I can’t prove it wrong, then there is a really good chance that the teaching is correct.

Another thing I have noticed over the years is that many preachers avoid certain scriptures to make their teachings stick. They have to do this because the scripture goes against their teaching.

For instance, there is a very popular grace teaching out there that declares during the first century if you believe Peter’s gospel you go into the new covenant church (kingdom church) and if you believe Paul’s gospel you go into the body of Christ. This view is held by many grace preachers, but there are certain scriptures that go against this.

In 1st Corinthians 12 it says,

“27 Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.”

So Paul tells the Corinthians that they are members of the body of Christ. But watch what Paul says in chapter 15,

“1 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;

2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.

3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;

4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:

5 And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve:

6 After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.

7 After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles.

8 And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.

9 For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.

10 But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.

11 Therefore whether it were I or they, so we preach, and so ye believed."

So what we have here is that the apostle Paul tells the Corinthians that they are members of the body of Christ and then he also tells them in verse 11 that it did not matter whether it was him or the apostles that preached to them as long as they believed.

This scripture goes contrary to the teaching so I have seen many preachers intentionally avoid this scripture.

Here’s another one: There is a teaching out there that the body of Christ will have an eternal heavenly inheritance so there are a few verses they have to avoid to make their teaching stick. In 1st Thessalonians 3 it says,

“13 To the end he may stablish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints.”

Paul is telling us here that the Lord Jesus Christ will be coming back with all his saints, but the teaching will not allow this for the teaching declares that the body of Christ saints will not come back with the Lord but rather stay in the 3rd heaven for all eternity. And in Ephesians 1 it says,

“10 That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:”

Since the teaching declares an eternal heavenly inheritance for the body of Christ and an eternal earthly inheritance for the new covenant church, they have to avoid this scripture because it says that all things in Christ will be gathered together. The teaching declares an eternal separation of things in Christ so this scripture goes against this teaching therefore this scripture has to be avoided.

If a scripture has to be avoided to make a teaching hold up, the problem is not the scripture, the teaching is the problem. The teaching cannot allow the scripture to be broken. If the teaching breaks scripture, the teaching needs to be adjusted so that it does not break scripture.

There are many teachings out there where many scriptures have to be avoided because the teaching does not line up with the scripture.

So what does it take to be a true Berean?

1. Believe the scripture means what it says, as it says it, where it says it, WHETHER YOU UNDERSTAND IT OR NOT! If you believe it means what it says, the understanding will come later. If you don’t believe it means what it says, the understanding will never come.

2. The scripture cannot be broken. If a teaching breaks scripture, it is not the scripture that is the problem, it is the teaching that is the problem and the teaching needs to be adjusted so that it does not break scripture.

3. Be willing to hear ANYONE with all readiness of mind. Keeping your focus on one man will only allow you to understand what that one man understands. This will seriously limit your understanding of the word of God, and more than likely you will end up being a follower of a man’s teachings.

4. Actually search the scriptures to see what you are taught is true or not. By using only the scriptures the preacher gave you in his teaching, you will always come to the conclusion that the preacher is correct. If you try to prove his teaching wrong by using other scriptures, you will come to the conclusion that his teaching is wrong if you find scriptures that do so, or you can prove the teaching correct if you can’t find any scriptures that go against it. This is the best method.

The name Berean is just a name tag. To be a true Berean takes a lot of work searching the holy scriptures to find fault in a teaching.

So my closing words on this matter is: be a true Berean. Take what you hear and actually search the scriptures to see whether it is true or not. Do not take what a man has to say about a subject, but rather place your heart on what the scriptures have to say about the subject.

Many believers in the past have failed to be true Bereans and have ended up being followers of men, which causes division in the body of Christ. You do not want to be one of these people at the judgment seat of Christ.

For Preachers:

Here are a few questions that you might want to ask yourself.

1. In being a Berean, what method do you use to test a teaching to see if a teaching is true or not? Do you use the same scriptures as the preacher you heard the teaching from or do you try to find scriptures that go against the teaching?

2. When you are reading and studying and in your mind you come across a thought or concept or teaching, do you try to prove yourself correct or do you try to prove yourself wrong?

Proving yourself correct is easy, all you have to do is avoid all the scriptures that go against your teaching, and like magic, it seems that what you are teaching is correct. But in doing so, there may be many other scriptures that are broken by what you are teaching.

3. When you teach a certain subject, are there scriptures that you know that you intentionally avoid to make your teaching stick? If so, why do you avoid these scriptures?

If a teaching is correct, scriptures do not need to be avoided at all, in other words, everything will line up. God meant what he said and said what he meant. If your teaching does not line up with the word of God, the word of God is not the problem, your teaching is the problem. Your teaching needs to be adjusted to line up with the word of God.

I have also seen preachers do this: when a scripture is brought up by someone that goes against their teaching that the preacher usually avoids, I have seen the preacher say that that scripture does not really mean that but it means something else. For instance: in Colossians 2 it says,

“13 And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;”

This scripture clearly states that Paul says that there were 2 things that made the Colossians dead:

1. Their sins.

2. The uncircumcision of their flesh.

I have seen preachers take this scripture when they are confronted about it and say the uncircumcision of their flesh was really a spiritual uncircumcision rather than the uncircumcision of their flesh. In other words, they try to make it say something else than what it really says.

Why?

Because it does not match their teaching. So what happens is they usually avoid this scripture when they are teaching on that particular subject.

Instead of avoiding these scriptures, tackle these scriptures head on and see why they do not match your teaching. It is very possible that your teaching has to be adjusted to allow the scripture to line up.

Example:

For over 20 years I taught that Paul was the first one to know that Christ died and paid for sins and that Peter and the other apostles learned this by the apostle Paul.

But there was always a few scriptures I avoided when I taught this, and they always bugged me. We know for a fact through many scriptures that before the cross the apostles did not know that Christ was going to die, much less die and pay for sins. But after the cross in Luke 24 it says,

“44 And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me.

45 Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures,

46 And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day:

47 And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.”

So I asked myself, “If someone were to ask me why Christ had to suffer and rise again the third day, what would I tell them?”

The answer was always, “Christ had to suffer to die and pay for our sins and be raised again the third day.”

But yet I was teaching that the apostles did not know this but rather this information was given unto the apostle Paul. So I kept asking myself, ”What scriptures did the Lord Jesus open their understanding to?”

Did Jesus teach Peter and the apostles that he died and paid for sins?

I kept telling myself, “No. This was revealed unto Paul."

But the scriptures kept bugging me. Every time I taught that Paul was the first one to know, Luke 24 kept running through my mind. So I finally prayed about it and asked for wisdom concerning the matter, which is something I should have done many years ago.

The answer came one day as I was reading Acts 8. Starting in verse 26 it says,

“26 And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert.

27 And he arose and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship,

28 Was returning, and sitting in his chariot read Esaias the prophet.

29 Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot.

30 And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest?

31 And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him.

32 The place of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth:

33 In his humiliation his judgment was taken away: and who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken from the earth.

34 And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man?

35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus.”

I know I had read this passage several hundred times before but it just dawned on me that Philip was reading out of Isaiah 53 and telling the eunuch that it was talking about Jesus.

So I asked myself, “Who told Philip that Isaiah 53 was referring to Jesus?”

I then realized that Paul was not even saved yet but Philip was going over scripture about Christ dying for sins with the eunuch. I came to the conclusion that when Jesus said,

“44 And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me.

45 Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures,

46 And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day:

...I finally realized that Jesus told the apostles that he had died and paid for sins and opened up their understanding to the scriptures – even Isaiah 53. Then the apostles told others such as Philip who told the Ethiopian eunuch that Isaiah 53 was referring to Jesus how that he had to suffer to die for our sins and be raised again the third day.

This was confirmed to me once again as I read 1st Corinthians 15 for the umpteenth time,

“1 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;

2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.

3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I ALSO received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;

4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:"

In verse 3 Paul said, “…that which I ALSO received…”

So I asked myself, “If Paul ALSO received it, who else got it?”

It was very clear to me that the apostles received it in Luke 24 when Jesus opened up their understanding to the scriptures why he had to suffer and be raised again the third day.

Which makes perfect sense when Paul says in 1st Corinthians 15:11,

“11 Therefore whether it were I or they, so we preach, and so ye believed.”

Paul said it didn’t matter whether it was himself or the apostles that preached it to them as long as they believed.

So after testing my own teaching, I realized that Paul was not the first one to know that Christ died and paid for sins. I had to adjust my teaching to allow the scriptures to fit.

I do not avoid Luke 24 anymore, but rather include it into my teaching about Christ dying for sins and show that the apostles knew it before Paul ever did because that is exactly what the scriptures say. Christ dying for sins was the foundation for the gospel of the circumcision as well as the gospel of the uncircumcision. Two separate gospels – one foundation, the death, burial and resurrection of Christ for the payment of sins.

So if you are a preacher, and you also have scriptures that you intentionally avoid, I encourage you to go over these scriptures, test your teachings and try to prove your teachings wrong rather than trying to prove them correct and make adjustments to your teachings where necessary.

You will see that this is absolutely the best method for being a true Berean.