Search The Scriptures

John 5:39 Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.
Acts 17:11 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.

One of the biggest problems today is there is not enough searching the scriptures. It is because of this neglect that we have false religions, false doctrines, false teachers and unbelievers. This matter of searching the scriptures is far more important than many people, even believers realize. Let us examine the two instances in the Bible where we find this phrase.

In both places, these verses are referring to UNBELIEVERS.

In Acts, the unbelievers WANTED to search.
In John, they were WARNED to search.

In Acts, the preaching made them HUNGRY.
In John, the preaching made them HATEFUL – 5:18 …the Jews sought the more to kill him…

In Acts, the crowd was SERIOUS about the word.
In John, the crowd was SKEPTICAL of the word.

Christians are commanded to study the scriptures; II Timothy 2:15 “Study to shew thyself approved”

Greek word for STUDY is spoudazo which means to exert one’s self, endeavour, give diligence

Unbelievers are commanded to search the scriptures.

Greek word for SEARCH is ereunao which means ‘examine into’.

In John 5, Jesus is talking to a bunch of Jews that wanted to KILL him. (vs. 16,18) He turned and preached to them a powerful message, powerful enough to convince anybody that had an open mind. His message was very simply along these lines:

1. His Identity had been proven by his Person – vs.19-21
2. His Identity had been proven by his Power – vs. 24-30
3. His Identity had been proven by his Preaching – vs. 31-35
4. His Identity had been proven by his Proclamations – vs. 37-47

He told them that they THINK they have eternal life, but if they searched the scriptures, they would find out that they DID NOT have eternal life.

Their FALSE PROFESSION was based on an FALSE PERCEPTION of the scriptures!!!