The word "truth" does not hold much value in today’s world. The search for an absolute truth has been abandoned for this new idea of "embracing mystery" as Rob Bell, pastor of Mars Hill Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan, says. Bell is one of the leading pastors of the emerging church movement. The emerging church has adopted the beliefs of the postmodernist movement, which dismisses any claim of an absolute truth. John MacArthur's book Truth War deals with this battle of truth in our world. He says, "Postmodernism suggests that if objective truth exists, it cannot be known objectively or with any certainty. That is because (according to postmodernists), the subjectivity of the human mind makes knowledge of objective truth impossible." This is true. The human mind is subjective to our thoughts, feelings, and bias. We view the world based on those things. But is it not ironic that a postmodernist would say that is "true?" As MacArthur says, "Uncertainty is the new truth."
Though the human mind may be subjective, the Word of God is the exact opposite. God's Word is TRUTH! I put an exclamation point there for a reason. It is not subjective to what we as humans think about it. It claims itself to be true. God has given us objective truth in spite of our subjective minds and He wants us to the truth He has revealed to us (Deut. 29:29). Absolute truth is now looked down upon as arrogant and intolerant. Some people probably think God is arrogant and intolerant because in fact God is about Himself and He does not tolerate sin in our lives. That is why He sent His son to die on the cross: to bring glory to His name and free us from sin so that we may have fellowship with Him.
The prophet Isaiah makes one of the boldest statements about God's word. He says in Isaiah 40:8, "The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever" (NASB). David says likewise in Psalm 119:160. "The sum of Your word is TRUTH, and every one of Your righteous ordinances is everlasting." As the church we need to stand upon these promises and preach truth to a world that denies its very existence. But as Paul says in Ephesians 4:15 we are to speak the truth in love. As a whole the church does not do this very well. We have come off as arrogant and intolerant. God's Word is not meant to be taught in such a way, rather it should be taught with humility and love.
You might be wondering why I chose "Truth Wins..." as my blog title. First off the title came from a sticker that a local church gives out that simply says, "LOVE WINS" in black and white. I just swapped love for truth. I have noticed a trend in the Christian world that I see as having potential dangers. This trend is focused on love; loving others for who they are. That is a great thing. People need to be loved. We all want to be loved. But it seems that while people are showing others the love of Christ they have forgotten to share the truth of Christ as well. I could be completely wrong but this is merely my view of the situation. Loving people in spite of their sin is exactly what Jesus did but He did not only love them. He spoke the truth about their sin and that they needed to turn from them. In John 8 Jesus tells some Jewish converts, "If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." Jesus is the Word as John 1 tells us and the Word contains His commands which lead us to salvation. Don't get me wrong loving the lost is great, but loving people does not get them into Heaven. They have to be set free from their own sin by the truth. The truth is Jesus as John 14:6 says. They need to know that there is only one way and one life and that is through Jesus Christ, who being God does not tolerate sin either. I believe that first we need to love the lost and then, in love, tell them the truth of Christ so that it may set them free from their sin. Ultimately it is the truth of Jesus that sets us free.
Truth Wins...
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