In 2
Thessalonians 2:10 Paul writes of “those who are
perishing because they refused to love the truth and
be saved”. As Jesus prayed to the Father just before
the cross, he asked for his apostles that God would
“Sanctify
them in the truth; your word is truth”(John 17:17).
We are told that the Bereans were more
“noble-minded” because they were,
"examining the
Scriptures daily"
to
see if what they were being taught was true (Acts
17:11). It is God who desires all men to be saved
and to come to the knowledge of the truth (1 Timothy
2:4). A lover of the truth is a person who wants to
know the truth, believe the truth and live by the
truth whatever that truth may be.
In one episode of
Gilligan's Island
several of the castaways were having an argument.
When one made a point for his case Gilligan would
say, "That's true." When another would make a point
that was diametrically opposed to the earlier one
Gilligan would say, "That's true." Many people in
real life are like Gilligan—they have no convictions
of their own and agree with the last opinion they
heard.
Somewhere I read this little piece of
advice: "Don't be so open-minded that your brains
fall out. Don't be so narrow-minded that your ears
rub together." Some are so open-minded that they are
constantly vacillating. They tend to agree with
whatever they heard or read last. These folks are
"tossed here
and there by waves and carried about by every wind
of doctrine" (Ephesians 4:14). The
prophet Elijah became frustrated with God's people
when he asked,
"How long will you hesitate between two opinions? If
the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow
him." But the people did not answer him a word.'"
(1 Kings 18:21). Then there are others who are
convinced that there is no possibility that an
opposing view may have merit. Their precious opinion
or tradition is more important to them than the
truth. They often
"do not understand
what they are saying or the matters about which they
make confident assertions" (1
Timothy1:7). “This is what I’ve always heard and
believed” is closer to being their anchor than “What
does the Bible say?”
To be able to discern truth we must have
a fixed reference point. For the Christian that
reference point is the Bible. Not our opinions,
interpretations or traditions, but the Book. The
Bible is not the object of our faith but it is the
source of our faith. If our beliefs square with
Scripture, fine and well. If they do not, they need
to be seen for what they are: traditions of men that
may need to be abandoned. There may be items in your
belief system that you cherish and promote. But what
if they are not biblical? Do you love the truth so
much that you will let go of these things? There may
be practices and beliefs of others that you have
dismissed because “we don’t do that”. But what if
they are biblical? Do you love the truth so much
that you will embrace them, or at the very least not
condemn others if they do?
The truth is something we can discern
and know. The apostle John wrote, “Beloved,
do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to
see whether they are from God, for many false
prophets have gone out into the world”(1 John 4:1).
You
can know the truth and you can know that you know
it. But we need to always guard against confusing
our opinions and interpretations with the certainty
of God's Word.
"The sum of Your word is
truth, And every one of Your
righteous ordinances is everlasting." (Psalm
119:160)
God bless you,
Brad Fry
