Some People Who Studied, Part 1

While it is easy to find reasons in scripture for studying God's word, and it is not too hard to find commandments to study God's word, sometimes we neglect to look at Biblical examples of men who took the time to study the scriptures. By looking at these individuals, we can learn much about how we should go about studying, what our motivation in studying is, and how we should make application from that study. Let us take a few moments to consider some of these people.

The Bereans (Acts 17:11)
Perhaps the most well known of those who studied the word of God, the Bereans are described as being “more noble” than the Thessalonians, who almost universally rejected the gospel preached by Paul. Instead, the Bereans opened the scriptures and sought to see if what Paul taught was true and accurate.

The example they set for us is one of always comparing what is being taught with what is said by God. They hungered for what was right, and so regularly and frequently they opened the word and sought the truth of things. It is an example that we should be diligent to follow.

The Jews (John 5:39)
Christ states that the Jews searched the scriptures in search of eternal life. And it is true that such is found in the word of God. The problem was that the Jews that Christ was speaking to failed to apply it. Although they searched the scriptures, they failed to understand what was said in them, and so found themselves rejecting the Messiah that they had been looking for. The example they set for us is one we should avoid. While they studied God's word, they did so with their own ideas, seeking proof for their idea of what things should be like. In so doing they were not able to understand what God actually had said, failed to make application, and in the end, failed to gain the eternal life that they sought in the first place. We must always strive to study God's word not to prove what we think or back up our conceptions, but to see what God's word actually says.

King Agrippa (Acts 26:26-27)
While it is possible that Agrippa never diligently studied, we see that Paul notes some things that implies that he did. It is noted that Agrippa would have known of Christ, but also that Agrippa believed the prophets. And of course, that is hard to do without some time spent studying the prophets.

Sadly, King Agrippa does not set a good example for us today. Although he knew of the Christ and of the prophets that spoke of the Christ, he rejected the gospel as inconvenient. He valued his earthly position more. When we study, we must be sure to place proper importance on the things we find in the scriptures. There can be nothing more important to us than the Lord, and what He has said.