2 Timothy 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

Every Word of God has infinite value, to amend or depart from God’s Word isn’t wise.

In Acts 17:11, we’re instructed to learn from the Jewish Saints of Berea, who listened intently to the apostle Paul preach, then studied the old testament word of God, and compared it to the words he was preaching, to see if what was being preached was according to The Word of God.

When we apply this instruction, it benefits the body of Christ, and has a personal value to the Saint who applies it.

Growth comes from meditating on the Words of Life, which are able to save; (James 1:21 …and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls), and it produces fruit in the Saint to the glory of God; as a tree planted by waters, we’ll bear fruit in season for the Master to come into His garden and partake of the fruit, and for the Saints to be encouraged and blessed in the sweet ways of Christ, as we build up each other in love.

Applying diligence in, assessment.

For a period of approx. 5 years, I worked in Extra High Voltage switch yards around Tasmania, abrasive blasting and re-coating switching, measuring and transformer equipment, which were temporarily disconnected from 110,000 and 220,000 volt transmission lines, then reconnected for distribution of power to the State Electricity Grid, and later through the National Electricity Grid.

During the induction and training process, prior to receiving authority to work in the yards as a “Recipient In Charge” of a permit to work, I had been told “never trust someone else’s word that the equipment is safe to work on, your life/safety is your sole responsibility, and that needs to be imparted to your employees and other permit recipients also.”. I was told, that in the EHV yards, there had recently been 2 deaths of higher trained government employees who had not assessed the environment meticulously. So before each job commenced, I would walk through the yard with the Recipients on my permit, to physically check every aspect of the Isolation and Earthing of the equipment we were to work on. It’s not that I had any mistrust of the Permit Issuing Officer; in fact, I had great respect for him, but I would not rest my life on his word, because I knew that he also was fallible like me.

Regardless of how much I respect any man who preaches from God’s Word, I rest my salvation and doctrine on Gods Word, not on the delivery of what is claimed to be it by any man, and I receive The Word with all readiness, but test his words subject to God’s Word.

1Co 14:29 Let the prophets speak two or three, and let the other judge.

Acts 17:10-11

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

  • From the Morrish Bible Dictionary:

    Berea: City of Macedonia, visited by Paul, where he found some Jews who were more noble than those of Thessalonica, inasmuch as they tested by the scriptures what Paul preached: to which is added “therefore many of them believed.” Sopater was of this city. It is now called Kara Verria, on the eastern slope of the Olympian range.  Acts 20:4.

  • From Matthew Henry Commentary on Acts:17:

    Paul and Silas removing to Berea, and employed in preaching the gospel there, v. 10. They had proceeded so far at Thessalonica that the foundations of a church were laid, and others were raised up to carry on the work that was begun, against whom the rulers and people were not so much prejudiced as they were against Paul and Silas; and therefore when the storm rose they withdrew, taking this as an indication to them that they must quit that place for the present. That command of Christ to his disciples, When they persecute you in one city flee to another,intends their flight to be not so much for their own safety (“flee to another, to hide there”) as for the carrying on of their work (“flee to another, to preach there”), as appears by the reason given–You shall not have gone over the cities of Israel till the Son of man come, Matt. x. 23. Thus out of the eater came forth meat, and the devil was outshot in his own bow; he thought by persecuting the apostles to stop the progress of the gospel, but it was so overruled as to be made to further it. See here,

    1. The care that the brethren took of Paul and Silas, when they perceived how the plot was laid against them: They immediately sent them away by night, incognito, to Berea. This could be no surprise to the young converts; For when we were with you (says Paul to them, 1 Thess. iii. 4), when we came first among you, we told you that we should suffer tribulation, even as it came to pass, and you know. It should seem that Paul and Silas would willingly have staid, and faced the storm, if the brethren would have let them; but they would rather be deprived of the apostles’ help than expose their lives, which, it should seem, were dearer to their friends than to themselves. They sent them away by night, under the covert of that, as if they had been evil doers.

    2. The constancy of Paul and Silas in their work. Though they fled from Thessalonica, they did not flee from the service of Christ. When they came to Berea, they went into the synagogue of the Jews, and made their public appearance there. Though the Jews at Thessalonica had been their spiteful enemies, and, for aught they knew, the Jews at Berea would be so too, yet they did not therefore decline paying their respect to the Jews, either in revenge for the injuries they had received or for fear of what they might receive. If others will not do their duty to us, yet we ought to do ours to them.

    1. The good character of the Jews in Berea (v.11): These were more noble than those in Thessalonica. The Jews in the synagogue at Berea were better disposed to receive the gospel than the Jews in the synagogue at Thessalonica; they were not so bigoted and prejudiced against it, not so peevish and ill-natured; they were more noble,eugenesteroi—better bred.
    2. They had a freer thought, and lay more open to conviction, were willing to hear reason, and admit the force of it, and to subscribe to that which appeared to them to be truth, though it was contrary to their former sentiments. This was more noble.
    3. They had a better temper, were not so sour, and morose, and ill-conditioned towards all that were not of their mind, As they were ready to come into a unity with those that by the power of truth they were brought to concur with, so they continued in charity with those that they saw cause to differ from. This was more noble. They neither prejudged the cause, nor were moved with envy at the managers of it, as the Jews at Thessalonica were, but very generously gave both it and them a fair hearing, without passion or partiality; for,(1.) They received the word with all readiness of mind; they were very willing to hear it, presently apprehended the meaning of it, and did not shut their eyes against the light. They attended to the things that were spoken by Paul,as Lydia did, and were very well pleased to hear them. They did not pick quarrels with the word, nor find fault, nor seek occasion against the preachers of it; but bade it welcome, and put a candid construction upon every thing that was said. Herein they were more noble than the Jews in Thessalonica, but walked in the same spirit, and in the same steps, with the Gentiles there, of whom it is said that they received the word with joy of the Holy Ghost, and turned to God from idols, 1 Thess. i. 6-9. This was true nobility. The Jews gloried much in their being Abraham’s seed, thought themselves well-born and that they could not be better born. But they are here told who among them were the most noble and the best-bred men–those that were most disposed to receive the gospel, and had the high and conceited thoughts in them subdued, and brought into obedience to Christ.They were the most noble, and, if I may so say, the most gentleman-like men. Nobilitas sola est atque unica virtus–Virtue and piety are true nobility, true honour; and, without these, Stemmata quid prosunt?–What are pedigrees and pompous titles worth?(2.) They searched the scriptures daily whether those things were so. Their readiness of mind to receive the word was not such as that they took things upon trust, swallowed them upon an implicit faith: no; but since Paul reasoned out of the scriptures, and referred them to the Old Testament for the proof of what he said, they had recourse to their Bibles, turned to the places to which he referred them, read the context, considered the scope and drift of them, compared them with other places of scripture, examined whether Paul’s inferences from them were natural and genuine and his arguments upon them cogent, and determined accordingly.Observe,

      1. The doctrine of Christ does not fear a scrutiny. We that are advocates for his cause desire no more than that people will not say, These things are not so, till they have first, without prejudice and partiality, examined whether they be so or no.2. The New Testament is to be examined by the Old. The Jews received the Old Testament, and those that did so, if they considered things aright, could not but see cause sufficient to receive the New, because in it they see all the prophecies and promises of the Old fully and exactly accomplished.

      3. Those that read and receive the scriptures must search them (John 5. 39), must study them, and take pains in considering them, both that they may find out the truth contained in them, and may not mistake the sense of them and so run into error, or remain in it; and that they may find out the whole truth contained in them, and may not rest in a superficial knowledge, in the outward court of the scriptures, but may have an intimate acquaintance with the mind of God revealed in them.

      4. Searching the scriptures must be our daily work. Those that heard the word in the synagogue on the sabbath day did not think this enough, but were searching it every day in the week, that they might improve what they had heard the sabbath before, and prepare for what they were to hear the sabbath after.

      5. Those are truly noble, and are in a fair way to be more and more so, that make the scriptures their oracle and touchstone, and consult them accordingly. Those that rightly study the scriptures, and meditate therein day and night, have their minds filled with noble thoughts, fixed to noble principles, and formed for noble aims and designs. These are more noble.

Matthew 5:22

The Interlinear Bible (Hebrew-Greek-English: Jay P. Green) and KJV, are consistent in translation as follows: “But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, You fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.”

Original Greek Text

An important distinction to establish, is the difference between two words that are spelled similarly in English, but are different in Greek, this then clarifies the application of what in English would seem to be the same word, but isn’t in it’s original. Strong’s Concordance provides the original Greek meaning of each, and their distinct number:

angry G3710, as in Matthew 5:22
Original: ὀργίζω
Transliteration: orgizō
Phonetic: or-gid’-zo
Thayer Definition: to provoke, to arouse to anger.
to be provoked to anger, be angry, be wroth
Origin: from G3709
Part(s) of speech: Verb
Strong’s Definition: From G3709;
to provoke or enrage, that is, (passively) become exasperated: – be angry (wroth).

anger G3709, as in Ephesians 4:31 “Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:”

Original: ὀργή
Transliteration: orgē
Phonetic: or-gay’
Thayer Definition: anger, the natural disposition, temper, character movement or agitation of the soul, impulse, desire, any violent emotion, but especially anger, wrath, indignation. anger exhibited in punishment, hence used for punishment itself
of punishments inflicted by magistrates

Origin: from G3713
Strong’s Definition: From G3713; properly desire (as a reaching forth or excitement of the mind), that is, (by analogy) violent passion (ire, or [justifiable] abhorrence); by implication punishment: – anger, indignation, vengeance, wrath.

Elements of the whole:

  • angry (G3710) with his brother without a cause:

    There are many occasions where there is just cause to be angry at a brother; Christ displayed anger toward Peter when He rebuked him, saying: “get behind me, Satan:  you are an offence unto me“.

    The Word doesn’t say “we’re not to be angry”, it says that when we’re angry, we’re not to sin (Ephesians 4:26), or to let the sun go down on our anger.

    There’s a place for anger, and it’s to work for the glory of God. When Christ turned over the tables of the money changers in the temple, He drove them out, not with “kind words”, He overthrew the tables of the money changers, and the seats of them that sold doves, and said they’d made the house of prayer into a den of thieves! He was angry in preservation of the rights of His Father.

    The emotion of anger, needs to be subject to God, otherwise anger (G3709) can quickly present, this fleshly anger is opposed to the spirit: Gal 5:17 “For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other..”. The flesh can be angry without a cause, and we need to bear this in mind, because the flesh is constantly trying to participate in our lives each day, it’s of a similar evil character that was evident in Peter when Christ rebuked him, but if we judge it in ourselves, and don’t make provision to fulfil it’s lust’s, then we won’t be judged: 1 Corinthians 11:31 “For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.”. There’s a wrath of God which is in man for His glory, just as it was in Christ in the temple and as He spoke to the Pharisees, as distinctly different from the wrath of man, which is fleshly, evil and has no place in God’s kingdom and is going to be left in the grave.

    James 1:19-20 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: For the wrath of man doesn’t work the righteousness of God.

  • shall be in danger of the judgment:

    Here is a stern warning, there’s a danger of judgement; this gives notice that judgement may occur subject to God’s determination.

    An example of “pre-judgment grace, is  what some may be familiar with, in having been “pulled over” by a police officer and having pleaded a case to request or reduce the penalty of a speeding fine, where the officer can determine on the day, whether to apply grace, rather than writing a fine and/or submitting the judgement to a higher authority. God recognises there are occasions of “cause” for anger, and they’re to be managed according to scripture.

Godly self discipline, bears fruit, but fear of man leads one into darkness. To choose to fear God rather than man, means to test what is said by every preacher, regardless of respect due, and to cleave to the truth of the written Word of God which has been preserved by His mighty hand, for the strengthening of the Saints “that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.” Ephesians 5:26-27

As David said in 2 Samuel 24:14

“…let us fall now into the hand of the Lord; for his mercies are great: and let me not fall into the hand of man.”






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