A Faith That Studies

Read Acts 17:10–15.

Early on in Billy Graham’s preaching ministry, his belief in the Bible was challenged by a friend. Billy, not being a theologian or a scientist, didn’t know what to think. But he knew one thing: he couldn’t go on preaching the Bible as absolute truth if he had any doubts about it.

One night, while staying at Forest Home Camp in California, Billy snuck away to the woods for some time alone. He sat on a stump, his Bible in his hands, and prayed, “There are many things in this Book I do not understand.” But then Billy held up his Bible and said, “Father, I am going to accept this as Thy Word—by faith! I’m going to allow faith to go beyond my intellectual questions and doubts, and I will believe this to be Your inspired Word.”

This true story from the life of Billy Graham is often held up as a model for the rest of us to follow. Simple faith is wonderful—and it’s certainly necessary when we open up God’s Word—but there’s another example I think we should follow: the Bereans.

In Acts 17, Paul and his companions entered the synagogue in Berea and shared the gospel. Not only did many of the Bereans accept this new teaching, but they also “examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true” (v. 11). In other words, they did the work to make sure the Bible itself was their standard of truth—and so should we. Simple faith is a good start, but let’s dig deep to make sure every teaching we hear lines up with the Word of God.

“One of my great regrets is that I have not studied enough. I wish I had studied more and preached less.”
—Billy Graham