Study Guide: Test Everything by Scripture
Quotations are from the World English Bible (WEB); please check each one in your own Bible.
The Big Idea
The big idea: Our conclusion is that every teaching, ours included, is to be tested by the God-breathed Scriptures, as the Bereans tested Paul’s message.
Read Aloud
The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Beroea. When they arrived, they went into the Jewish synagogue. Now these were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so. Many of them therefore believed; also of the prominent Greek women, and not a few men.
— Acts 17:10–12
But you remain in the things which you have learned and have been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them. From infancy, you have known the holy Scriptures which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. Every Scripture is God-breathed and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness, that each person who belongs to God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.
— 2 Timothy 3:14–17
He answered them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. They worship me in vain, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ “For you set aside the commandment of God, and hold tightly to the tradition of men—the washing of pitchers and cups, and you do many other such things.” He said to them, “Full well do you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition. For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother;’ and, ‘He who speaks evil of father or mother, let him be put to death.’ But you say, ‘If a man tells his father or his mother, “Whatever profit you might have received from me is Corban,”’” that is to say, given to God, “then you no longer allow him to do anything for his father or his mother, making void the word of God by your tradition which you have handed down. You do many things like this.”
— Mark 7:6–13
Where We Stand
Scripture says
- The Bereans examined the Scriptures daily to test Paul’s message, and Luke calls them more noble (Acts 17:11). Believers are to test all things (1 Thessalonians 5:21).
- Every Scripture is God-breathed and equips the person who belongs to God for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16–17).
- Teaching human commands as God’s doctrine, and setting God’s command aside for tradition, are condemned (Mark 7:7–9, 13).
- One is our teacher, the Christ, and there is one mediator, Christ Jesus (Matthew 23:8; 1 Timothy 2:5).
- Christ gave teachers, and believers are to obey their leaders (Ephesians 4:11; Hebrews 13:17).
- Scripture does not list its books. It names the law, the prophets and the psalms, and sets Paul’s letters with the other Scriptures (Luke 24:44; 2 Peter 3:16).
We conclude
- Our conclusion: no teacher today, including us, stands above the check the Bereans gave an apostle (Acts 17:11; Galatians 1:8).
- Our conclusion: 2 Peter 1:20 speaks of where prophecy came from, not of who may read it (2 Peter 1:19–21).
- Our conclusion: because every Scripture is God-breathed and profitable for correction, any teaching may be tested by it (2 Timothy 3:16; Acts 17:11).
- Our conclusion: teachers serve the reading of Scripture and do not replace it (Acts 8:35; Ephesians 4:12–14).
- Our conclusion: hard passages call for care and growth, not for giving up the reading (2 Peter 3:16–18).
The Hard Questions
- Does 2 Peter 1:20 forbid ordinary believers to decide for themselves what Scripture means? See The strongest objection under The Bereans Checked an Apostle, and Scripture Calls Them Noble.
- Is testing everything by Scripture just one more human tradition (2 Thessalonians 2:15; 2 Timothy 2:2)? See The strongest objection under Every Scripture Is God-Breathed and Profitable for Teaching.
- Do we need a teacher, or an organization, to understand the Bible (Acts 8:30–31; Ephesians 4:11; Hebrews 13:17)? See The strongest objection under Jesus Put God’s Command Above the Tradition of Men.
- Is the faithful and wise servant of Matthew 24:45 a body of leaders that believers are to look to for their understanding of Scripture? See A second objection under Jesus Put God’s Command Above the Tradition of Men.
- Is Scripture too hard and too dangerous to read without an approved guide (2 Peter 3:16)? See The strongest objection under God’s Word Was Read to All His People.
- Which books belong in Scripture? See Which books belong in Scripture under Questions Answered.
- How far does the authority of church leaders and teachers reach? See The authority of church leaders and teachers under Questions Answered.
- Does teaching handed down outside Scripture bind believers? See Teaching handed down outside Scripture under Questions Answered.
Discussion Questions
- What did the Bereans do every day, and how did their checking end? (See The Bereans Checked an Apostle.)
- Why might eager welcome and careful checking belong together? (See What we conclude under The Bereans Checked an Apostle.)
- How does 2 Peter 1:21 shape the meaning of 2 Peter 1:20? (See the objection under The Bereans Checked an Apostle.)
- In Mark 7, what did Jesus say happens to God’s word when tradition is set above it? (See Jesus Put God’s Command Above the Tradition of Men.)
- What did Philip in Acts 8 and the teachers of Ephesians 4 aim to lead people to? (See the objection under Jesus Put God’s Command Above the Tradition of Men.)
- What is one teaching you have received that you have not yet checked in Scripture for yourself? (See Living It Out.)
Hope
Scripture was written to give hope: “For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that through perseverance and through encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.” (Romans 15:4). Then he said, “Now, brothers, I entrust you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified.” (Acts 20:32).
For the Leader
Allow about 45 minutes for one session. Read Acts 17:10–12 first, then 2 Timothy 3:14–17, then Mark 7:6–13. Invite everyone to open and check each verse in their own Bible.
© 2026 Elvis Lucas, Open the Text. Original: https://openthetext.com/series/the-good-news/01-test-everything-by-scripture-study-guide/
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