We have a friend who began a Bible study in her community. A woman we’ll call “JoAnn,” heard a clear gospel for the first time and was wondrously saved. She was over-joyed and continued to grow through these studies. One day JoAnn asked twice if it was wrong to pray to Mary. Several grounded believers shared with her Scriptures that demonstrated Mary was only human and needed a “Savior” (Luke 1:47), that the Lord Jesus taught the principle that prayer was only to be directed to God the Father (Matthew 6:9), and that the Lord describes Himself as a jealous God (Exodus 34:14) who will not share His glory with another (Isaiah 42:8; 48:11). But JoAnn ignored these truths and clung to her practice of praying to Mary saying, “It makes me feel so good.”

How do you respond to truth from the Scripture that may conflict with established practices in your life? The marvelous testimony of the believers at Thessalonica was, “…when ye received the Word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the Word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe” (I Thessalonians 2:13). You might say these sincere believers were on a journey searching for God’s truth and were ready to obey whatever instructions the Lord gave them. It produced great changes in their lives too. They had previously worshipped false gods but had “…turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God” (I Thessalonians 1:9). They had come to embrace the concept that the Scriptures were “the Word of truth” (Psalm 119:43; II Corinthians 6:7; Ephesians 1:13; II Timothy 2:15). That meant any practices that conflicted with God’s Word were error and to be immediately abandoned. These believers at Thessalonica were searching for the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth from God’s Word. Other Christians had joined them on this journey. The believers at Berea were called “noble” because “…they received the Word with all readiness of mind, and searched the Scriptures daily, [to see] whether those things [they were learning] were so” (Acts 17:11). The obvious implication is that they were not just searching for information in the Scriptures to inflate their egos with mere knowledge. They were searching for truth from God to transform their lives.

How will you respond to Scriptural truth that conflicts with something in your life? Let it be with immediate obedience.