The Bible teaches that the Word of God produces faith (Romans 10:17), but that is dependent on the reception of it by the hearer.  Sadly, the gospel is rejected by more people than not.  That is why the gate to destruction is so wide (Matthew 7:13).

While the world has rejected the Word of God, sometimes it is rejected by God’s children as well.  Every child of God accepted the gospel, resulting in a new birth (John 3:3-5), but what do we do with God’s Word after that original acceptance of it?  Do we gladly receive the teachings of the Bible, even when it goes against our own will?  The Bereans serve as a good example for us.

Acts 17:11 (ESV)
¹¹  Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.

We should all receive the Word with all eagerness.  This begins with recognizing that the Bible is inspired by God.  Every time you study the Bible, whether it be in your own personal Bible study or with other saints in one of the assemblies of the local church, never forget that it is not just the words of a man that you are hearing, but it is God’s inspired Word.  Some tend to deny this when they do not like what they hear.  This kind of rejection of God’s Word is nothing new.  Even those who heard the preaching of the apostles attributed their teachings to man rather than God.  This is why Paul was so happy when the saints at Thessalonica received his preaching as God’s Word (1 Thessalonians 2:13).

How do you receive the Word of God?  It is easy, when it comes to the preached Word, to allow people and personalities to play a role in our acceptance or rejection of it.  As great as Paul was as a preacher, some did not accept his teaching.  Why?  It was mostly because they did not like him.  This is made clear by the amount of time he had to spend defending his character against the assaults of those who rejected his teaching.

When we listen to the Word of God being preached, we must place more importance on the Word that is preached than we do on the preacher.  The Word of God is the Word of God regardless of who is preaching.  That is why Paul appreciated the preaching of the Word even when the preachers were questionable.

Philippians 1:18 (ESV)
¹⁸  What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice, 

When you hear God’s Word preached, you must examine it closely, making sure that it is in accordance with what the Bible teaches.  Once you know that it is, you should accept the truth no matter what.  You may not like it, but it is still God’s Word.  You might not like the preacher, but it is still God’s Word.  The only question is, how are you going to receive it?  When the Jews did not like what Stephen was teaching them, (even though it was the truth) they stopped listening (Acts 7:54-57).

If you are a Christian, it is good that you obeyed the gospel, but whenever you hear the Word of God, you must continue to eagerly accept it as God’s inspired Word.

As you wind down for the night, think about these things.