By Joe Slater via Bulletin Digest
“They received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so” (Acts 17:11b, NKJV).
I’ve been hearing a saying that is new to me: “I have the receipts.” It’s a memorable way of saying, “I’m telling the truth, and I can prove it.” When you need to return that defective appliance, you can prove where you bought it by showing them the receipt.
Jesus tasked His disciples (that’s us) with spreading His gospel to all people throughout the world. As Paul fulfilled that commission in Berea, he proclaimed the truth to them. Unlike some in Thessalonica, the openminded Bereans gave Paul a fair hearing. But before accepting what he taught, they looked to see if he “had the receipts” (i.e. was his doctrine what the Old Testament Scriptures said about Messiah?).
We have no right to expect people to believe what we teach them unless we “have the receipts.” Modern American culture has bought heavily into the Oprah Winfree idea that everyone has their own version of truth: “Your truth, my truth, his truth, her truth, their truth, somebody else’s truth.” But what about “the” truth?
We owe it to the Lord and to our neighbors to know the Bible well enough to lovingly and kindly point people to God’s word, which is truth (John 17:17). Jesus said the truth will make people free from the slavery of sin (John 8:32). That being the case, we simply must “have the receipts”! If we don’t handle aright the word of truth, innumerable false teachers will be more than happy to lead our neighbors astray. Do you have the receipts?
Groveland, FL