When Something You've Believed for Years Is Challenged

Suppose someone explained to you that a popular description used by the majority of Christians was misleading. They gave you proof that such a description was not found in Scripture. They showed you that a Greek word used to support this description was not correctly translated.

Suppose they told you that there’s substantial evidence to believe that this description was introduced into culture by an atheist psychologist and wasn't used by Christians until the 1960’s. Suppose they showed you how the description led to serious misunderstandings for both believers and unbelievers.

But suppose this description had always been part of your Christian vocabulary. Your parents used it. The person who led you to the Lord used it. Your pastor and Bible study leader use it. And you'd never heard anyone refute it. 

When you googled it, you found that some Bible teachers refuted it, but hundreds of Christian sites used the description.

Studies show that very few people will give up a long-held belief, no matter how much evidence proves it's wrong (National Library of Medicine).

Do you know what description I’m talking about? If you’re a long-time Bible Love Note’s reader, you might remember previous devotions about it. 

But this is my question today: Are you a noble Berean type Christian whose goal is correctly handling God’s Word or are you someone who calls Berean Christians “picky and legalistic”?

 

I'll share the description tomorrow. But please take time to prayerfully and carefully read through the passages below.

 

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This highly popular and passionately defended description is one that I cover in my book Lies in Disguise. In my book it is prayerfully, carefully, and concisely presented so you can not only understand it yourself, but you can explain it to others. And just as you find in my Bible Love Notes devotions, my book is filled with Scripture references - the true basis for any and all beliefs we hold as Christians. Find out more about Lies in Disguise HERE. And please carefully and prayerfully read through the Scriptures below before tomorrow's devotion.

Acts 17:11-12:  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.

2 Timothy 2:15: Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.

 

2 Timothy 4:3-4: For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.

Colossians 2:8: See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ.

1 Timothy 6:20-21: Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to your care. Turn away from godless chatter and the opposing ideas of what is falsely called knowledge, which some have professed and in so doing have departed from the faith. Grace be with you all.