Home

Learning from the Holy Bible

What does it mean to be a Christian? On the surface, the answer is simple: a Christian is a person who "belongs to Christ." But at a deeper level, being a Christian is so much more. A Christian is someone who has dedicated their lives to following Jesus Christ, shunning immorality, and striving to obey God out of gratitude for salvation. But is there another aspect that we are missing?

The Journeys of St. Paul the Apostle
The Book of Acts tells the story of St. Paul the apostle preaching the Gospel throughout the Mediterranean, creating the world’s first Christian communities. The names of these Greek cities – Corinth, Thessalonica, Galatia – are well known as the titles of St. Paul’s famous letters preserved in the New Testament. But one of the less famous places St. Paul preached is a city called Berea – and this short story holds an important lesson for us.

Open-Minded with an Open Bible
Contrary to some of the headstrong people St. Paul encountered, the people of Berea were “open-minded” and “welcomed the message very eagerly”. The reason? Because they “examined the Scriptures every day to see whether these things were so” (Acts 17:11). They became Christian believers, not due to blind faith. They heard St. Paul’s sermons and through their daily study of the Bible, they became convinced of the truth of the Gospel.

Learn to Read the Bible Attentively
To be a Christian is to be like the people of Berea, a thorough reader of Scripture. The Bible is not a newspaper that can be perused nonchalantly. It deserves to be read attentively, and deeply. The only way to encounter the deep riches found in Scripture is to set aside your translation and return to the original languages Aramaic and Greek.