That very night the believers sent Paul and Silas off to Beroea; and when they arrived, they went to the Jewish synagogue. These Jews were more receptive than those in Thessalonica, for they welcomed the message very eagerly and examined the scriptures every day to see whether these things were so. Many of them therefore believed, including not a few Greek women and men of high standing. (Acts 17:10-12, NRSV)
I once worked in a church that had an Adult Sunday School class called “The Bereans.” Named after the Jewish believers, in Acts 17, they took great pride in being a class where every teacher came into the class knowing that every person was going to “examine the scriptures…to see whether these things were so.” Like that first community that welcomed Paul and Silas and their gospel message, this group both welcomed the gospel and tested all teaching according to the Scriptures. A mark of the church that has become the enduring measure of faithfulness to this day.
If the first characteristic of a true church is that the people are submitted to a continuity with the Apostolic tradition and a conformity to the Apostolic message, the second characteristic is that all instruction, even that which would come from an Apostle, must be examined in light of it’s conformity with the Bible. If A is for apostolic authority, ten B is for Biblical (“Berean”) faithfulness.
And I use the Berean moniker to indicate that it is not enough to be a people who hold on to a “statement of faith” that includes affirming the authority of the Scriptures, but that the Scriptures must be used “everyday” as the measure of all faith and practice. For the Bible to be authoritative, it must not only be esteemed, but used. Like a cookbook, a musical score or government constitution, the Bible is a “performative document”, a writing that is only fulfilling its purpose when it is being used and being used correctly and faithfully, producing faithfulness to God and God's mission in the world.
This is, of course, one of the markers of the Protestant Reformation. The Reformers believed that the church had strayed from the clear teachings and authority of the Scriptures and used the Scriptures to set things aright, even inspiring a break with the monolithic and seemingly unquestioned authority of the day.
While apostolic authority keeps continuity and insures submission to the work of the Spirit beyond one’s private and personal interpretations, Biblical faithfulness insures that all authorities must be “reformed and always reforming, according to the word of God” (to use a phrase near and dear to folks in my tradition.)
The second mark of the true church is that it must be faithful to the Bible. Its teachings and actions must be faithful to word of God as its measure. All personal interpretations and institutional proclamations must prove to be consistent with the Scriptures. No matter how strong, how authoritative, how institutional or charismatic, every group, every teacher, every leader, every prophetic uttering or seemingly Spirit-led call or urge must be submitted to the Scriptures as the only ultimate authority given to us.
If it’s not Biblical, it’s not Christian.
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