March 2025 Newsletter

Originally published January 1, 1994

And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews. 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.

—Acts 17:10-11

As we approach the end of our second year as a ministry, we think it worthwhile to review two basic questions people often ask regarding the work of The Berean Call: “What exactly is a Berean?” and “What does TBC do?”

Although we’ve covered many aspects of those questions in various issues of our newsletter (and, in general, The Berean Call is an ongoing reflection of our work), we thought it might be helpful to our readers if we addressed “what we’re about” in some depth.

Luke writes in Acts 17:10-11 that the Apostle Paul, having left Thessalonica and recently arrived in the city of Berea, preached in the synagogue of the Berean Jews. Paul’s encouraging experience with the Bereans caused Luke to commend them. He wrote that they were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica because they received the Word of God from Paul “with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily” to know whether or not what he had to say was true.

The purpose of this ministry is to call believers in Jesus Christ to be like the Bereans. They not only had a heart to hear the things of God but, more importantly, were able to discern what was truly of Him because they regarded the Scriptures as the authority in ascertaining the truth of what they were hearing. The Bereans practiced what Isaiah preached: “To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them” (Isaiah 8:20).

TBC’s chief concern is the spiritual welfare of the body of Christ, and in particular, the encouragement of biblical discernment. We believe the times reflect the necessity of our calling. Even a cursory review of what has taken place in the church during the last 25 years will reveal a fierce undermining of “the faith which was once delivered unto the saints” (Jude 3). You might even say that the Bereans of Paul’s day “had it easy” compared to this generation. In those days the opposition to truth was in the secular world around them—it had not yet infiltrated the church under the guise of a more enlightened or advanced Christianity. While there were pressing pagan influences as well as some heretical teachings and practices here and there, they weren’t subjected to anything like the flood of false beliefs, teachings, and practices surging in on the tidal wave of today’s Christian media.

There are three closely related statements by Christ to His disciples which have created much controversy over their interpretation: 1) "And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven" (Matthew 16:19, 18:18); 2) "Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching [concerning] any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven" (Matthew 18:19); and 3) "Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained" (John 20:23).

Islam teaches that on the “last day” (which literally cannot come until Muslims have murdered all Jews on earth) all Muslims whose good deeds outweigh their bad deeds will enter Paradise. Following the example of their prophet Muhammad, killing non-Muslims, especially Jews, is among a Muslim’s best deeds. Dying in the process of killing any non-Muslim in jihad is the only assurance of Paradise that Islam offers. This is the tragic lie that motivates suicide bombers in Israel, Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere to deliberately target defenseless women and children.

A few years ago, I was in a major supermarket and I was shocked by what I heard coming from the store's sound system. “Shocked” doesn't describe my reaction unless you can find abundant joy in the term. What I was hearing were words like these: "I need Thee; O, I need Thee; Every hour I need Thee! O bless me now, my Saviour, I come to Thee."

To my utter delight, that hymn was followed by other ones also glorifying Jesus. Wow! I wouldn't have been surprised to see the fruit and vegetables section "celebrating" His birth. After all, He's their Creator! I spent a good part of the morning that day listening to the hymns that I'm sure I heard dozens of times. But this time I couldn't help but focus on what the spiritual lyrics were teaching.

As you know, hymns, unless they are directly from the Scriptures, are not inspired (God-breathed). Nevertheless, they do teach biblical truth and comfort when they are indeed true to His Word. What the Lord put on my heart for this newsletter is to share with you some of my favorite hymns and I'm sure you'll be blessed by how they glorify our Savior.

November 2024 Newsletter

I recently received a newsletter from a ministry which contained the exhortation: “The Bible says there is a season for everything. This is our season to fight hard—to battle back—to win."

The timeliness of their statement could not have been better fitting with the main point of this TBC article. We without doubt are in the “last days” (possibly even the last hours) battle before Jesus returns. Scripture warns us that Satan knows his time is short (Revelation 12:12) and he's unleashing every wrathful and wicked device he has upon "the inhabiters of the earth."

Therefore, we need every insight we can find in God's Word that sheds light on how we are to "fight the good fight of faith" (1 Timothy 6:12). In this article, we're featuring a man of God who embodies the qualities sorely needed in the church today. His name is Nehemiah, the son of Hachaliah, who wrote most of the Book named after him. He certainly made himself aware of the times, and the Holy Spirit gave him tremendous insights in what the children of Israel ought to do regarding a variety of very difficult conditions.

For example, when Nehemiah first became aware of the dire circumstances "concerning the Jews that had escaped" and were living in Jerusalem, his reaction was: he "sat down and wept... and prayed before the God of heaven…." Furthermore, he humbly confessed "the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against thee: both I and my father's house have sinned" (Nehemiah 1:2-6).

Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils. —1 Timothy 4:1

In my two previous TBC articles this year (Mar and Apr ’06), I addressed the destructive influence psychological counseling is having on the evangelical church. Simply put, the church has turned from God’s Word to man’s bankrupt theories in attempting to resolve mental, emotional, and behavioral problems. The greater part of the church no longer believes what the Scriptures proclaim: that God, in His Word, has given us “all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue” (2 Peter 1:3). The results, sadly, are what one might expect: there is often little statistical difference between those who profess to be Christians and those who do not, regarding the number of divorces, the reliance upon psychological counseling theories and methods, living together outside of marriage, illegitimate childbirth, pornography, sexual and physical abuse, and so forth.

Best remembered for its remarkable tower, Genesis 11 tells us this was more than just an upright structure; it was a city assembled with a cause.

“Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens,” reads the famous chapter. “Let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.”

Originally published June 1, 1993

An altar of earth thou shalt make unto me.... And if thou wilt make me an altar of stone, thou shalt not build it of hewn stone: for if thou lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast polluted it. Neither shalt thou go up by steps unto mine altar, that thy nakedness be not discovered thereon.

—Exodus 20:24-26

...[L]et us build us a city and a tower [of Babel], whose top may reach unto heaven….

—Genesis 11:4

No two tenets of faith could be more opposed to one another than those presented above. On the one hand, we have God's rejection of any human effort to buy salvation or His favor. If man is to come to God, it must be solely by His grace and His provision, not by any human work. On the other hand, we see man's flagrant repudiation of God's prohibition against self-effort, and his arrogant attempt to build a tower that would enable him to climb by steps of his own making into heaven itself.