You Can Search the Scriptures for Yourself

Arthur J Licursi

Have you ever noticed how few actually “search the Scriptures” for themselves. Rather they take what their church or others say or write to suffice. This is always a dangerous way to establish the elements of your faith. “Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.”(Acts 5:29)

Don’t depend upon your clergyman to interpret the Scriptures for you. See for yourself what God says in His Word. For “every one of us shall give an account of himself to God,” (Romans 14:12). It won’t be enough in that day to say, “My church, minister or my priest told me so and so.” You are responsible to search the Scriptures for yourself, to see whether these things are so.

Jesus said every believer is capable of hearing the Lord’s words written in His book; “Jesus said, Whoever is of God listens to God. [Those who belong to God hear the words of God.] ..." (John 8:47a AMP).

Yes, we should perhaps read other books and listen to preaching and teaching, but then also the Holy Spirit within us may, or may not, anoint that information to our heart as truth. The indwelling “Spirit of Christ” is our truth detector. Thankfully, every believer has the unction or the indwelling “Spirit of life in Christ Jesus” to bear witness to “the truth” when we read and hear it. John wrote of genuine believers;

“But you have been anointed by [you hold a sacred appointment from, you have been given an unction from] the Holy One (Jesus Christ), and you all know [the Truth] or you know all things.” (1 John 2:20)
“But as for you, the anointing (the sacred appointment, the unction) which you received from Him abides [permanently] IN YOU; [so] then you have no need that anyone should instruct you. But just as His anointing teaches you concerning everything and is true and is no falsehood, so you must abide in (live in, never depart from) Him [being rooted in Him, knit to Him], just as [His anointing] has taught you [to do].”(1 Jn 2:27 AMP)

God has revealed Himself and His plan of salvation in His written Word, but then we are responsible, each one for himself, to study the Scriptures. “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15 KJV). When Our Lord was on earth, He encouraged and challenged His audiences to “Search the Scriptures” for themselves (John 5:39).

When the rich man begged Abraham to be allowed to go and warn his five brothers about the horrors of hell, Abraham replied, “They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.” And when the rich man urged that a word from him would be more effective, Abraham answered, “If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead” (Luke 16:29-31).

The greatest example of those who actually “searched the Scriptures” for themselves, was the Bereans, to whom Paul had preached.

“And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea : who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews. ¹¹ These (Bereans) 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.” (Acts 17:10-11)

Why don’t you search the Scriptures, especially the epistles of Paul, the Apostle “for ye Gentiles” (Eph 3:1)? Paul wrote, “For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am THE Apostle of the Gentiles…” (Rom.11:13a). We learn in Paul’s epistles of the “mystery (God’s secret plan now revealed) among the Gentiles which is Christ in you the hope of glory” that the ascended Lord Jesus revealed to Paul for us today.

Paul tells us how it is that it is through Christ’s death alone, on Calvary’s cross, that we can be save.

“In (Christ) Whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace” (Eph.1:7).

“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: ⁹ Not of works, lest any man should boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9)