Being called a Berean comes from Acts 17:10-11. In verse 11 it says that those from Berea (hence, the Bereans) were nobler than the people in Thessalonica because “they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.”

So, when we say that someone is a “Berean” we mean that they do two things: (1) They have an open mind and willingly receive the Word of God when it is taught to them and (2) But then, they check out what they were taught by comparing it with the Scriptures.

Both aspects are important. Some people are so closed minded that they will not even listen to anything that questions what they belive as truth. Others are so gullible that they accept whatever is told them without ever checking it against what the Bible says. Both extremes are to be avoided.

A Berean is one who has a balanced viewpoint. Listen to what someone has to say, be eager to learn the word of God more perfectly. We realize that we have not learned it all. But then, we take what we have heard and compare it with the Bible. Then, if both match, we have learned something and increased our knowledge of God’s Word, rightly divided.

Act 17:10-11 Acts 17:10-11 (NKJV) 10 Then the brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea. When they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. 11 These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.

The Bereans always tested everything they heard concerning Jesus Christ with the written Word of God – nothing was left open to opinion, speculation, a “mission statement” or by some organization’s “bylaws”. This is the way I study the Word of God. With discernment, I study the Word of God “rightly divided” as laid out by the pattern set down by the Apostle Paul (2 Tim 2:15) – in the Dispensation of Grace delivered to him by the risen Lord Jesus Christ. The present dispensation of Grace supersedes any prior doctrine pertaining to the practices of faith.

See also: Wikipedia: Bereans