• About Us
    • Berea Movement
    • Berea Movement
  • Berea Movement
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1. The Berea Movement
  • The Berea Movement is the core ideal of Sungrak Church. This Berea Movement is based upon Acts 17 verses 11 to 12 which says, “Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so. Therefore many of them believed, along with a number of prominent Greek women and men.” All the activities of Sungrak Church are based upon this “Berea Movement.” This Berea Movement is a laity movement, for the New Testament saints to imitate the Bible. Simply, the basic idea of Berea Movement is for all the believers to take after the words of the Bible. Many churches follow doctrines, but for Sungrak Church, we refer to the Bible as the only guidance in our spiritual lives. The Berea Movement is a fresh proper approach to the Bible, to view the Bible in its proper context. The foundational teaching of this movement is the “Picture of God’s Will.” We don’t teach just a part of God’s revelation, but the whole picture. Many departments have been established within Sungrak Church to spread the Berea Movement, and the books that have been published from us are all based upon this movement.
 
2. The Model of Bereans
  • 1) Bereans are fair-minded.
  • We must receive God's word with eagerness and obey God's word. Understanding God’s word cannot be accomplished with our intellect; we must open our hearts to receive God’s word. Hence ‘fair-minded’ means to have an open mind that would not quickly judge. This humble attitude and open-mindedness toward God’s word are the characteristics of the Bereans.
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  • 2) Bereans examine the Bible day after day.
  • When Paul preached in the synagogue in Berea, people received the word with great eagerness. They diligently searched the Scriptures every day to see whether Paul’s message coincided with them. In this way, we as Bereans place great value on the Bible and examine it carefully.
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  • 3) Bereans build their faith on the Bible.
  • Bereans build their faith on the Bible. We acknowledge the works of the Holy Spirit which the Pentecostal movement emphasizes yet do not emphasize speaking in tongues as the first evidence of 'Baptism of the Holy Spirit'. Moreover, we reject mysticism or charismatic type movements, which stray from the teachings of the Bible.
 
3. Concepts of Berea Movement
  • Three key concepts make up Berea Movement: first of all, it is essentially a movement that believes Christians should resemble the Bible. Second, it is a layman’s movement, and third, a New Testament church movement. To understand Berea, we must understand these three concepts on the whole.
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  • 1) Movement to resemble the Bible
  • The Jews of Berea found in Acts 17 were noble and fair-minded. They received the word with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures daily to see if the word was true. Berea Movement advocates going back to the Bible, meaning the saints must believe in promises in the Bible, take after the model of faith as demonstrated in the Bible, and display the powers of God revealed in the Bible.
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  • 2) A layman’s movement.
  • As a layman’s movement, Berea Movement encourages lay participation, acknowledging that God’s power is given to all believers, as is written in the Bible. This is to expand the scope of activity and participation of lay Christians to the point that is laid out in the Bible. To achieve this, we must be New Testament-centered and acknowledge lay Christians’ freedom of faith. Also, we have to teach them the Bible to actually take part in the ministry.
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  • 3) New Testament Church movement.
  • Berea Movement is a New Testament Church movement as demonstrated in the New Testament. Therefore we reject ecclesiastical authority, church politics and humanism present in the churches today which conflicts with the model of the New Testament church. We adhere to the three principles : the absolute autonomy of individual churches, and the freedom of faith. Berea Movement therefore bears apostolic power.
 
4. Ideals of Berea Movement
  • 1) Reveal the Will of God through a theocentric approach.
  • Christian churches today are centered on doctrines and ecclesiastical authority, and predominated by humanism, pursuing human happiness and success rather than the glory of God. We believe we must follow the way of righteousness for the name of God (Psalm 23:3).
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  • 2) We testify of the universal endowment of God’s power.
  • The power of God that was present in the early church has faded away throughout Christian history, and even now most Christian denominations are limiting the works of the Holy Spirit. We believe that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8).
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  • 3) We administer baptism and make disciples.
  • Apostles gave baptism in Jesus’ name. Over the course of history, countless Christians endured all kinds of persecution and obeyed this commandment of Jesus in order to advocate immersion baptism. We believe it is our duty to baptize and make disciples of all the nations in obedience to the commandment of Jesus (Matthew 28:18-20).