Yes — searching the Scriptures is vital because it protects believers from being misled and is the only way to confirm what is taught.
Les Feldick consistently points to the Bereans, who searched the Scriptures daily to verify Paul's teaching. He urges people not to simply trust a preacher, a denomination, or even him, but to open the Bible and see whether these things are so. If a teaching can't be found in the Word, he says, run from it.
Acts 17:11 — Directly answers the question by commending the Bereans for searching the Scriptures daily to verify Paul's teaching.
2 Timothy 2:15 — Commands believers to study God's Word and rightly divide it, showing that personal searching is God's design.
The Bible praises the Bereans for not simply accepting what they heard. Acts 17:11 says, These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so. The Bible presents this daily searching as a noble and commendable practice. Scripture also commands personal study rather than passive listening. Second Timothy 2:15 says, Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. The same epistle warns that the unlearned and unstable twist the Scriptures to their own destruction, which makes careful searching necessary.
Les Feldick teaches that no teacher, denomination, or preacher should be accepted on authority alone. He repeatedly tells people, What does your Bible say? If a teaching cannot be found in the Bible, his advice is to run from it, because the Word of God is the only thing we have to go by. He applies the Berean example directly to his own ministry. He says he does not expect people to simply accept what he teaches; he expects them to search the Scriptures to see if he is right or wrong. He warns that those who twist the Scriptures bring destruction not only on themselves but on those who listen to them, and therefore believers must come back to the Book. Les also stresses that searching the Scriptures is not just for clergy. He says people do not need a great theological education to comprehend the Word; God wants every believer to become a student who studies, not just reads, and to rightly divide the Word of Truth.
Les says that instead of arguing with a teacher, the response should be to search the Scriptures. He tells callers What does your Bible say? and warns that if a teaching cannot be found in the Bible, you should run from it. This is exactly what the Bereans did: they received Paul's word with readiness of mind and then searched the Scriptures daily to see whether those things were so.
Les warns that the unlearned and unstable twist the Scriptures, and when they do, they make it another gospel and bring the anathema of a righteous God upon themselves and their listeners. He says this is why we have to come back and search the Scriptures, and why Peter tells us to get back to the writing of Paul.
Les says people do not need to be highly educated or have a great theological education to comprehend the Scriptures. He points to the Dark Ages as the time when the church pulled Scripture away from the common man. God, he says, wants every one of us to become students and to study, not just read, and to rightly divide the Word of Truth.
What Must I Do to Be Saved? Acts 16 Explained
of program. Now we're on Gentile ground. We're under grace. Back here we're on the Kingdom program, still under the Law. Nobody has said a word about stopping temple worship. Nobody has said a word that you're no longer under the Law. But now, this is all Paul knows, you're not under the Law, you're under grace. And so to the Philippian jailer, who is a Gentile, Paul can say, "...believe.
The Berean Example
Les points to the Bereans as the model because they heard Paul teach and then went home to search the Scriptures daily to verify what he said.
What Does Your Bible Say?
Les's stock answer to questions is to ask what the Bible says, and he warns that if you cannot find a teaching in your Bible, you should run from it.
Check the Book Before Disagreeing
Les tells people not to claim he is wrong until they check out the Book, because his teaching is totally reliant on the Word.
Don't Go by the Preacher
Les says you do not go by what the preacher says or by what he says; you must search the Scriptures to see whether he is right or wrong.
Twisting the Scriptures Destroys
Les warns that unlearned and unstable people twist the Scriptures to their own destruction and to the destruction of those under them, which is why searching is essential.
Everyone Can Study
Les teaches that no great theological education is needed; God wants every believer to study and rightly divide the Word of Truth.
Leave Denominational Blinders
Les urges people to remove denominational blinders and not depend on what they have always heard, but to search the Scriptures and be able to disagree on biblical grounds.
Acts 17:11: These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.
This is the key passage Les uses to show that even the apostle Paul's teaching had to be checked against Scripture.
2 Timothy 2:15: Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
Les uses this verse to show that every believer is called to study the Bible, not just read it.
2 Peter 3:16: As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.
Les quotes this warning to explain the danger of twisting the Scriptures when people do not carefully search them.
He tells them to search the Scriptures and ask What does your Bible say? If they cannot find a teaching in their Bible, he says they better run from it, because the Word of God is the only thing we have to go by.
No. He says he does not claim to have all the answers and expects people to search the Scriptures to see if he is right or wrong. He even says not to go by what the preacher says.
Les teaches that God wants everyone to become students of the Book and study to show themselves approved. Without that personal searching, people can be led astray by tradition, denomination, and teachers who twist the Scriptures.
Watch the Teaching: What Must I Do to Be Saved? Acts 16 Explained