Church leaders are amongst the most respected people in Africa. They are highly regarded, valued, obeyed and respected. Spiritual leaders are often regarded as God’s chosen messengers; their authority is highly respected, their words and instructions are mostly accepted without question. While respecting church leaders is important, this culture of blindly obeying them create serious problems when their teachings aren’t carefully examined.
In many churches across Africa believers are actively encouraged to follow all instructions without questioning or testing what’s spoken. This subjects people to unquestionable obedience. And they follow every and any prophecy, revelation, vision, biblical interpretation and spiritual instruction that they receive as categorically true. This raises an important question. Should Christians accept every teaching from a pastor without examining it in light of scripture?
Whenever we’re taught we must test the message with scripture.
The Bible gives us a clear answer to that question through the example of a people called the Bereans. In Acts 17:11, the Bible praises the people of Berea for their careful approach to Paul’s teaching. For when the apostle preached to the Bereans, they didn’t simply accept his teachings. Instead, we read that they examined the scriptures daily to determine whether the message they’d heard from Paul was true. Their example provides a model for Christians everywhere. Whenever we’re taught we must test the message with scripture.
Who Were the Bereans?
Acts 17:10 says the Bereans were Jews living in the city of Berea. They heard the gospel message from Paul and Silas, receiving it without hostility. In fact, Luke reports that the Bereans received Paul’s preaching with eagerness. However their openness didn’t mean hearing uncritically. Nor did it lead to blind obedience. Going on this, we’re told that the Bereans were actually “more noble” than neighbouring cities who’d heard the same preaching. But why are they described in such a positive way? From Acts 17, the answer seems to be that their readiness to listen was combined with the carefully examining the scriptures to test what they heard.
The Bereans didn’t accept what Paul said based simply of who he was.
The Bereans diligently searched the scriptures to help them discern Paul’s preaching. By this time in the early church, Paul was already a famous missionary and a respected Bible teacher. Yet they didn’t gobble up his preaching, at least not before examining it in the light of God’s word. In other words, Paul didn’t have authority apart from the scriptures; so the Bereans didn’t accept what he said based simply on who he was. They only trusted Paul as much as what he preached was faithful to God’s trustworthy word in the scriptures.
With hindsight, their response is perhaps confusing. You and I know who Paul was. We know the impact that he made. His letters were canonised; he’s responsible for the largest portion of the New Testament. Paul was a powerful servant of God, personally appointed by the risen Christ. He also suffered tremendously for Christ. Despite all that the Bereans didn’t blindly accept his teachings; they examined them and tested them by the scriptures.
If Paul’s message as an apostle could be tested, then surely no man of God—no pastor or teacher today—should be considered above such examination.
Christians Must Test the Teaching They Receive
Some might argue that the Bereans are an isolated example rather than offering us a biblical principle. But that isn’t the case. The Bible repeatedly commands believers to examine all spiritual teachings carefully.
The Bible commands believers to examine all spiritual teachings carefully.
For example, 1 John 4:1 instructs believers to do just that. “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God.” This command acknowledges that not all spiritual claims originate from God. People may speak things that they claim to have received from God when they actually don’t. Some teachings may be false, misleading, or influenced by human ambitions. The only way to know whether something comes from God is if it aligns with scripture. At no point will a message from God contradict the Bible. The Bible is the authoritative word of God. Therefore anything claiming to come from God must agree with the Bible.
Similarly, 1 Thessalonians 5:21 encourages believers to “test everything; hold fast what is good.” We are responsible. We must become discerning. God calls his people to test everything. In this way testing teaching isn’t an act of rebellion against God; for it is obedience to our greatest spiritual authority, God himself.
The Dangers of Following Leaders Blindly
When believers fail to examine teachings in the light of scripture the church becomes vulnerable to serious errors. Spiritual abuse flourishes where blind obedience is encouraged and unquestionable loyalty to spiritual leaders replaces biblical discernment.
Those were the words of the enemy rather than God.
In Africa, we’ve seen preachers who claim to receive direct messages from God, some having what they call prophecies and other exaggerated supernatural claims. But when you pay close attention to their teaching you quickly see it for what it is: unbiblical. Since a man of God can never be questioned, people end up obeying unbiblical and dangerous teachings that cause great harm. Terrible teaching can even end in tragedy. For example, just recently a Kenyan preacher told his followers to fast until they died so that they could go to heaven. Had those believers tested those so-called words from God, they would’ve discerned that those were the words of the enemy rather than God.
Being a Berean Today
To be a Berean today is to cultivate a life shaped by scripture. It doesn’t mean becoming argumentative or disrespectful toward church leaders. Rather, it means taking personal and intentional responsibility for knowing and understanding the word of God. Read your Bible daily. Discernment grows when we read the scriptures and familiarise ourselves with the Bible rather than relying solely on sermons. Apart from the few days you attend church services and fellowship, you have many more days away from the church environment. These are days we can use to become further equipped.
The Berean posture calls believers back to the sufficiency of scripture.
We should compare sermons and teachings with the Bible. It’s wise to ask: Does this message align with the teaching of scripture? If something seems unclear or questionable, do further study before obeying it. Thus to be a Berean is to refuse to accept teachings blindly, no matter how compelling. In the African context, where spiritual authority is held in high regard, believers need to practice both humility and courage. We should listen with respect. Yet we should test everything against scripture.
In a time when many voices compete for attention, the Berean posture calls believers back to the sufficiency of scripture. It is a calling to be a people grounded not in slogans, fears, or personalities, but in the unchanging truth of the word of God.
