Checking It Out
Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so. Acts 17:11 NASB
Examining the Scriptures – Are you Berean? Ah, you say, “But of course. I make sure that what I believe is supported by the Scriptures.” But that’s not quite what the question asks, is it? You see, the Bereans had a different Scriptures than yours. They only had the Tanakh. So for the Bereans, if what Paul was saying wasn’t found in the Tanakh, then it wasn’t true. So let me ask again. “Are you Berean?” Have you confirmed that everything you believe and everything you hear and are taught is fully supported by the Torah, the Prophets and the Writings?
How about these gems? One-time baptism for the remission of sin? Where do you find the Scriptural justification for the idea in the Tanakh? Human sacrifice for forgiveness? Same question. Where is it in the “Scriptures”? The replacement of circumcision with a spiritual attitude of the heart? Or how about the necessity of asking Jesus to be your personal savior? Where is that in the Tanakh? Have the instructions for living given by God to Moses been replaced? Where does it say that? Is the Church the new Israel? Where? Has God changed His mind about Israel? Show me those verses. Did Paul preach the necessity of conversion to Christianity? Where would the Bereans find that? The Trinity? Could you defend this doctrine from the Tanakh alone?
The Greek verb is anakrino. It means, “to judge before.” In other words, thorough examination before determination. If you want to know what is true, you have to work at it, carefully, meticulously, diligently, rigorously. Repeating someone else’s thought isn’t sufficient.
You see the problem. If those who heard Paul’s message based their examination of its truth on what they knew in the Tanakh, we should be able to do the same. Paul didn’t appeal to the Gospels or the letters in order to justify his claims. He appealed to Scripture and the only Scripture he had was what Christians call the “Old Testament.” That means we should be able to defend what we believe from this document alone. If our beliefs depend on statements in the “new” Testament and could not be justified without the material from the “new” Testament, then we are importing ideas that Paul could not and would not have used. And that means we have a religion that wasn’t like his.
So maybe we have to be Berean and start rethinking where our ideas really come from. Maybe we need to ask about one-time baptism or circumcision or the sinner’s prayer or communion every Sunday, or even Sunday itself. Maybe we just haven’t been Berean enough and we’ve ended up with a religion we were taught rather than a faith we discovered.
Topical Index: Berean, examine, Scriptures, anakrino, Acts 17:11
What can one say but amen, you are spot on.
~ and beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, He explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning Himself ~ (Luke 24.27)
The Rest of the Story
Our inspired Bible is divided into two halves, the Old Testament (or better yet- Covenant) and the New. The difference between the two? It is the Incarnated Christ. In the Old(er) Covenant- the Messiah (the Christ) was foretold, – in the New(er) the prophecy (He will come) is fulfilled. In the Old(er) Covenant, the Lamb is presented in shadow. In the incarnation of the Messiah- the promise of the Lamb is presented in substance, – God is (now) not only “with us”- He is “one of us”- a human.
Blasphemy? God incarnated? God, the virgin-born son of God,- Yeshua haMashiach, the Anointed- King of all kings?- born in a barn in Bethlehem?
Yes. It is so. Are you listening? “in order that the scriptures (The Tanakh -the Torah, the Prophets and the Writings) might be fulfilled!
And?
And He fulfilled every single “reference” to Himself (uh.. how many were there?- over three hundred?) “perfectly!” Yes, please do. Study. Study for yourself and please.. prepare to be amazed! And be prepared to agree with John the Immerser- “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world”. Friend, the (long-promised) Messiah has come.
And?
And God has given unto Him a Name. A Name which is above every name. (it is written!)
And?
“bow the knee”
Why?
~ “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!” ~
And?
~ and has redeemed us unto God- by His blood ~
Redeemed! – Restored! – Renewed! – Rejoicing!
I will bless tHis Name- forevermore!
It is very interesting, is it not, how the OT has been gradually made of little value in today’s “church.” We have gone to an “every man does what is right in his own eyes” way of thinking about things.
I do not know more than one or two humans that look to the OT to confirm or deny something they are questioning regarding God. By life long habit I rarely think to do this first. What a sad state of affairs. God was very gracious to inspire these instruction (if you will) for us and we have been taught to pretty much disregard them except for the 10 Commandments minus one or two! We make the fatal error of following men of higher education who stand behind a pulpit in some main stream church and entertain us. Such base creatures we can choose to be even thinking we do well in the realm of religion. Been there done that.
The good news here (as Skip has pointed out so well with lots of bonus questions) is that we can change course.
What a great post for me this morning as I personally am moving thru a very difficult season in life and beginning to refocus my vision. Belonging to this or that church is not where the answer lies. I have known of people always on a continual search for the “perfect” church and they are always disappointed. The answer lies with seeking out the Father and allowing Him to teach me (and you). This world offers a lot of goodies to distract us and I am no less guilty than anyone reading this of enjoying the goodies.
Heard a song on the radio yesterday that had a small gem contained within the lyrics….”this is not my permanent home.” That changes things for me to remember that this is not my permanent home and I am just passing through. Called to be salt and light while I am here and to love and be obedient to the Father’s will and to love others. Daily trying to be owned by no one other than my Father. (Skip has an great post on that.)
Shalom
REGARDING THE SCRIPTURES:
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding.” Pr 3:5
LEAN ON GOD’S POWER:
“Jesus answered and said to them. “You are
mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures nor the
power of God.” Mat 22:29
LET THE TEACHER TEACH YOU:
“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father
will send in My name, He will teach you all things
and bring to your remembrance all things that I
said to you.” Jn 14:26
TEST ALL THINGS:
“Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies.
Test all things; holdfast what is good. Abstain from
every form of evil.” 1 Thes 5:19-22
“If you want to know what is true, you have to work at it, carefully, meticulously, diligently, rigorously. Repeating someone else’s thought isn’t sufficient.”
I hear you, loud and clear, but wonder where I should start. The last couple of years I have spent a lot of time studying your and Bob Gorelik’s teachings. I’ve been drawn to them because you both go back to the original texts and meanings. But…since I don’t know Hebrew I have to take your word for it…and that’s not sufficient. Do you have any suggestions of how to or where to begin this careful, meticulous, diligent, and rigorous study?
Sure start with the recommended reading list on my web site. Only about 30,000 pages there. Then, as soon as you’re up for it, start a conversation with a rabbi about how he understanding the Tanakh.
With gratitude, a thankful heart, to the Lord for His faithfulness to you Skip, and for enlightenment from you after years of hunger, and being fed a mixed bag of junk food. No wonder I appreciate truth and how to find it. Thank you for passing on His faithfulness to we the hungry..
Ingela, here is what my wife and I have done. When Skip mentions someone’s name, or quotes someone’s teachings, we get books and articles written by those people. Mark Nanos. Abraham Joshua Heschel. Those are just two we’re reading now. Skip also has a recommended reading list on his website. Perhaps that would help you.
Where does the Septuagint fit in as we try to learn what the Torah has to say to us?
The LXX helps us back into the Hebrew of the gospels and some of the rest of the NT by showing us the assumptions of the Jewish authors. The NT Greek does not follow the Classical Greek but rather the kind of Greek influenced by rabbinic thought in the LXX.
Search the Scriptures -(the Tanakh- the written word) – the Scriptures point to Me! (the Living Word!) (John 5.39)
In Genesis He’s the Seed of the Woman
In Exodus He’s our Passover Lamb
In Leviticus He’s Our High Priest
In Numbers He’s our Cloud by Day, and Our Pillar of Fire by night
In Deuteronomy He’s the Prophet like unto Moses
In Joshua He’s the Captain of our Salvation
In Judges our Judge and Lawgiver
In Ruth He’s our Kinsman Redeemer
In Samuel He’s a Trusted Prophet
In Kings & Chronicles He’s our Reigning King
In Ezra He’s our Faithful Scribe
In Nehemiah He is the Re-builder of the broken down walls of our lives
In Esther He’s our Mordecai
In Job He’s our Dayspring from on High
In Psalms He’s Our Shepherd
In Proverbs & Ecclesiastes He’s Our Wisdom
In the Song of Solomon He’s the Lover of our soul
In Isaiah He is our Prince of Peace
In Jeremiah He’s the Righteous Branch
In Lamentations He’s the Weeping Prophet
In Ezekiel He is that wonderful four-faced man
In Daniel He’s the fourth man in the fiery furnace
In Hosea He’s the Faithful Husband married to the backsliding bride
In Joel He’s the Baptizer of the Holy Ghost
In Amos He’s our Burden Bearer
In Obadiah He comes mighty to save
In Jonah He’s our Resurrection Hope
In Micah He’s the Babe born in Bethlehem
In Nahum He’s the Avenger of the Lord’s Elect
In Habakkuk He’s God’s Evangelist
In Zephaniah He’s Our Savior
In Haggai He’s the Restorer of God’s Lost Heritage
In Zechariah He’s the Fountain Opened for Uncleanness
In Malachi He’s the Son of Righteousness rising with healing in His wings!
He’s Abel’s Sacrifice
Noah’s Rainbow
Abraham’s Ram
Isaac’s Well
He’s Jacob’s Ladder
Moses’ Rod
David’s Sling
The Bright and Morning Star
The Lilly of the Valley
Fairest of ten thousand
the Rose of Sharon
the Honey in the Rock
The Desire of the Bations
He’s the My Wonderful Counselor
My Everlasting father, Mighty God
Prince of peace! And the Government of my life and your life rests on His Shoulders
He is Yeshua Ha Meshiach, The Son of The living God! His Name is Jesus
This is His Book, His story written all about Him and completely for His glory!
Thanks Thomas and Skip. I’m actually already doing this – reading/listening to people Skip mentions and getting books from his reading list. It’s quite a journey. I listen to some rabbis on Chabad.org too, but starting a conversation with one would be difficult, as much as I would love to. I think the nearest synagogue is 200 km from where I live.
OK, so start a Torah study group or just a Shabbat fellowship on Fridays or a family get-together to talk on Saturday. Hard to do the study and see the facets on your own.
Again, as I read all of what you have placed before us Carl, I salute you.
I don’t know HOW I have gotten so far along without being able to read ,write or understand Hebrew and the Greek. I am very thankful though that when I read truth.. my heart leaps.
I am learning but it is slow and easy and CHRIST to me is the Centre of all attraction.
Thank you for what you bring to the table each time you share.
And thanks Skip for all that you are led to be and to do concerning the scriptures.
Again, I glean a bit here and a bit there as I do not have the depth yet but am looking forward as the LORD GOD Almighty leads in the direction and instruction of HIS KINGDOM in me and in the world to come.
I am keeping on… and trusting that IF I go off the rails; that HE will be most kind and help me back up in the USELESS mode .
THANK YOU again Skip .
Excellent! Thanks!
Shalom Skip……I have a brother in the faith of about 42 years now and he has come to the conclusion that Yahushua did not die for our sins. He asks, “Where in the Tanak is it written. Where in Torah?” I mentioned Dan. 9:26 and Isa. 53, but he said that is the nation Israel. I do not believe that, but I was wondering if you have anything else from the Tanak. He now believes that no man can die for another’s sins. He’s was an elder in the House Of Yahweh for 23 years and now thinks this way.
If you can help, please do.
YHWH bless you. Margaret
This reply needs some thought. But I am in Tiberius at Galilee tonight and dead tired. Give me some days. please.