When the Truth Bites You!

The above title isn’t in the text of the devotional, but that’s how it struck me…

Today we’re back with Stephen and Brooksyne Weber at Daily Encouragement. This couple have been faithfully producing their devotional material as a full-time job, combined with workplace chaplaincy. I was reading their work long before C201 started. As usual, click the header below to read this at source, where you’ll also find a picture of a relevant church sign, and a link to a worship song, Worship Forever, which was new to me.

When Truth Hurts

Listen to our message on your audio player.

“Have I then become your enemy by telling you the truth?”  (Galatians 4:16).

“If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:31,32).

As we’ve mentioned often on daily encouragement we are genuinely blessed by the messages we read on church signs and private yards throughout Lancaster and Lebanon County. We see a lot of them here in rural Pennsylvania. They can be thought-provoking and even humorous. Last week we passed the church sign in our lead photo in Bethel, PA which states, “If The Truth Hurts, Then It Is Working”.

For many years during the time I served as a pastor I had a small placard attached to the pulpit facing me as I preached with these words, “Sir, we would see Jesus”. It was visible as I stood in front of God’s people and preached every Sunday reminding me that it’s not me that the people came out to see, but Jesus, whom I solemnly represented. This is an extremely important truth for all ministers of the Gospel to keep in mind as they break forth the Word of Life.

The venerable J. Vernon McGee also used this phrase on his pulpit reminding him of his serious duty but he writes:

“There is another verse I wanted to place on the audience side of the pulpit, but I never had the nerve to do it. It is these words of Paul: “Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth?” As you know, many folk today really don’t want the preacher to tell the truth from the pulpit. They would much rather he’d say something complimentary that would smooth their feathers and make them feel good. We all like to have our backs rubbed, and there is a lot of back-rubbing from the contemporary pulpit rather than the declaration of the truth.”

McGee died in 1988 so it’s no telling how long ago he wrote this and it is even more true today in the age of “seeker-sensitive” churches where a cardinal rule is “don’t say anything that might offend someone”.

Bible teacher A.T. Robertson quipped, “It is always a risky business to speak the truth, the whole truth. It may hit and hurt”.

The phrase “truth hurts” means that the truth can be painful or uncomfortable to hear, especially if it conflicts with our beliefs, expectations, or desires. It can also increasingly conflict with popular culture.

In the daily text Paul is addressing a drift away from the truth among the Galatian believers. A few verses earlier he wrote,

“Formerly, when you did not know God, you were enslaved to those that by nature are not gods. But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more?” (Galatians 4:8,9).

Truth can hurt when it challenges our beliefs. These Galatians had been exposed to false teachings. They had been persuaded of certain beliefs by false teachers, hearing something, even something true, that contradicts those beliefs can be difficult to accept.

It can feel like a personal attack, and we may resist it because it threatens our sense of identity. This will be the case as our society becomes increasingly Biblically illiterate and rejects God’s ways and many become ignorant of God’s truths.

Earlier in the book of Galatians Paul writes,

“I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel” (Galatians 1:6).

Our sinful nature makes us prone to exchanging truth for a lie. In Romans 1:25 Paul wrote of those who “exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator“.

Today let us receive the truth, primarily the Gospel truth, even if it does hurt! Let us hear and heed our Lord’s words, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:31,32).

Daily prayer: Father, just as Paul wrote that he was astonished when Your followers were so quickly deserting the gospel of Jesus Christ and turning to a different gospel, we too are astonished and grieved when we see those who have walked with You in righteousness and truth turn to a counterfeit gospel, one that says Jesus is a way, not the way; another that says we are saved by our good works, by our name recognition, by how much money we give to charitable works and on and on the list grows.

We thank You for Christian friends, preachers, and Christian leaders who speak the truth even when it hurts. They don’t just go along to get along, but they stand on principle not seeking to be contrary but to be Christ honoring and obedient to that which is established in Your word. We want to abide in You so that we will abide in Your truth and do not fall prey to erroneous teaching. Keep us faithful, Jesus. Amen.

 

 

Misinformation: A Spiritual Warfare Tactic

^{NLT.John.8.44} For you are the children of your father the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies.

Today the most powerful nation on the planet (in terms of its military and economic forces) is having an election which will generate much rhetoric in the days to come. Things there are continually heating up and Christians are not immune to the divisions, in fact, sadly Christians are often at the heart of the tension and conflict.

Today we’re back with Norman Mitchell who writes at The Wild Frontier and while this appeared back in March, it so timely for this day. Click the header below to read where it first appeared.

Misinformation About Misinformation

More and more often, I’m hearing people refer to the current global environment as a “post-truth world.” It seems that the wholesale abandonment of truth is stronger now than at any other point in my lifetime and perhaps than what has occurred in several generations. If nothing else, global communications have enabled the propagation of lies at an unprecedented scale.

Deep fakes are pervasive. Truth is obscured by layers of deception. Information warfare is being employed around the clock—even by those who are ostensibly on your side. People from all quarters are mastering the technique of “admit nothing, deny everything, make counter-accusations.” At a minimum, their goal is to sow enough confusion that the masses doubt that truth can ever actually be determined. Any dissent is conveniently labeled misinformation, and dissenters are either shouted down, shadow-banned, de-platformed, or otherwise maligned.

Our society has largely fallen for the dangerous pseudo-philosophy that truth is subjective, which ultimately means that there is no truth. This self-defeating premise is particularly insidious, as people give up on truth and instead, begin surrounding themselves with like-minded people who share their ideology.

People disseminate disinformation (intentionally incorrect information) to bolster popular support for their agendas. They employ supposed fact checkers who, it seems, are just as agenda-driven as those who employ them.

On any issue, the global forum is quickly divided into two camps, each accusing the other of lying. Language, rather than evolving to describe new concepts with greater precision, is being intentionally co-opted and twisted to obfuscate issues and conceal agendas.

I’ve been frustrated for years with the lack of intellectual integrity within American institutional Christianity; but the secular humanists, for all their criticism of Christianity, are taking this dysfunction to a whole new level.

It’s not for nothing that in the Judeo-Christian tradition, the Devil was considered to be the father of lies. Paul warned Timothy about a time when people would “not tolerate sound teaching. Instead, following their own desires, they will accumulate teachers for themselves because they have an insatiable curiosity to hear new things. And they will turn away from hearing the truth, but… will turn aside to myths.” (Paul’s second letter to Timothy, NET Bible)

Humans have seen this madness play out many times throughout history, and our prophets have warned us about the perils of rejecting the truth. With a little bit of open-minded reasoning, it becomes self-evident that truth must be supreme over all else if we want humanity to survive with any modicum of civility. Yet, despite all the warnings, and despite the historical precedents, an anti-truth ideology is possessing the masses on a global scale. Apparently, some people just gotta touch the stove.

If a significant proportion of voices in government, social, and even religious channels are employing disinformation, how do we sort through the deluge of deceit? For those who still believe the truth is important, here are a few guidelines that may be helpful in avoiding being taken in by the lies and delusions which surround us.

1. Truth exists as an objective reality. Truth is that which stands on its own. It is neither changed by nor dependent upon one’s opinion.
2. Truth must be our highest objective, for it is only by confronting reality that we have any hope of finding purpose in life.
3. A true claim is generally independently verifiable.
4. Strive to perceive agendas. If someone makes a claim that serves an agenda, their credibility should be suspect. Is the claimant seeking truth above all else, or are they making the claim to achieve a short-term, personal benefit?
5. If you must lie to get people to side with you, you are automatically wrong.
6. If you shut down dissent by claiming that to dissent is wrong, you are automatically wrong.
7. If you must employ coercion to garner support for your cause, you are automatically wrong.
8. If you must resort to sophistry (smart-sounding, subtly deceptive language) to bolster your case, you are automatically wrong.
9. You should be willing to have your beliefs falsified. This doesn’t mean that you can’t hold convictions. It simply means that you have decided that you value the truth over your own beliefs.
10. Be skeptical. This is the foundation of critical thinking. Being skeptical or being a critical thinker simply means that you require sound evidence before believing a claim.

Now, more than ever, it is critical for us to be perceptive and wise. If we don’t decide here and now that truth is our ultimate pursuit, then I fear that we will watch the world around us disintegrate into self-destruction. And a lot of people are going to suffer.

The Unspoken Lie of Genesis 3

For those of you who became subscribers of C201 because of previous contact with my other blog, Thinking Out Loud, you may remember that we occasionally linked to Kuya Kevin, an American living in the Philippines. His real name is Kevin Sanders. We somewhat lost contact with him (my fault, not his) here after running three of his articles here at C201, but this week he landed back on my radar.

His blog is simply titled Pastor Kevin Sanders, and he’s been a pastor in El Paso, Texas (for our Brit friends, it’s right on the border with Mexico) for over 15 years and recently completed his DMin from Gateway Seminary. Clicking the header which follows will take you to his site to read this, which is encouraged.

The Lie Beneath the Lie

Most of us are familiar with the Genesis account of sin entering into the world. The serpent approached Eve and convinced her that the forbidden fruit was the key to realizing her own divine potential:

But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

Genesis 3:4-5

We know that was a lie: the act of disobedience brought death, not divinity.

But it seems to me there was a lie underneath that lie. It was just as subtle as the serpent that delivered it. This is a lie that assaults the very character of God. Here it is:

“God is holding out on you.”

Believing this lie can lead to at least two terrible outcomes.

The first is outright disobedience. Eve, then Adam took this route. They instantaneously learned a harsh lesson: God’s prohibitions are ultimately for our protection. They exchanged fruit for thorns, paradise for pain, life for death, and glory for dust. Consequence is a cruel teacher for those who disobey God.

The second is bitterness. This may not be outright, external rebellion against God, but it’s just as toxic for the soul. Perhaps the inward, hidden nature of bitterness makes it even worse (or at least harder to recognize) than outward rebellion. The older son’s heart, after all, seemed just as far from his father as those swine his prodigal brother had fed (Luke 15:11-32). Grace and bitterness do not tend to peacefully coexist in the same heart.

I feel I should expound on this second outcome because it is one I am more familiar with than I care to admit. There have been times I have entertained the lie beneath the lie and experienced the bitterness that follows.

Life disappoints us all at some point. Here are just a few examples that come to mind:

• That attractive man or woman that won’t pay any attention to you.
• That job or job promotion which should have been yours.
• That narcissist who has been blessed with so much talent and/or treasure (you, of course, would have used it all selflessly).
• That hardship or tragedy that your neighbor deserved more than you.

Sometimes we choose to interpret some of these disappointments as God holding out on us. We often look back and see how silly we were to think this way. We realize that God was, indeed, working for our good (Romans 8:28).

We should know better. I should know better–especially when I consider that God “did not spare His own Son” for my sake (Romans 8:32).

Lord, you have loved me perfectly and blessed me more than I will ever deserve. Forgive me for those times I have failed to trust You. May I always guard my heart against lies and bitterness.

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Second Helping: By the same author, The Advance of the Gospel in an Evil World

A Post-Truth World

This is our third time highlighting the thoughts of Geno Pyse, who writes at Geno Pyse and the Proclamation. He is the author of 16 books (!) including Christian Reflections in a Deflecting World. Click the header which follows to read this there, and also note the links at the end of this article to a recent two-part series.

Whatever Happened to Truth?

There was a time when truth was more valued. This isn’t to say people didn’t ever lie, but is was a shameful thing to be considered a liar. There was a time when, for many, a handshake was a good as one’s word. Today, many people’s word is as useless as a flimsy handshake.

The Bible says a lot about truth. We are told in Proverbs 23:23, “Buy truth, and do not sell it; buy wisdom, instruction, and understanding.” To buy, here, does not mean to purchase but to acquire, to obtain. Just as in the case when Jesus tells the church in Laodicea, “I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen” (Rev. 3:18). The Lord was not telling them to purchase what only He can give, but to receive, to trade in, to obtain what He is graciously willing to give.

But do we see much desire for truth today? Is not our day much like Isaiah’s, a time when, “Justice is turned back, and righteousness stands far away; for truth has stumbled in the public squares, and uprightness cannot enter” (Isa. 59:14)?

Deception is considered a valuable tool and virtue to many politicians, the press, and education system. Oh, they will not necessarily openly declare this, but they don’t need to. Many have built their entire careers on lying and “bending the truth.” The press has, for many years now, been propagating instead of journaling. The education system feels no shame in “reconstructing” history, and very few are compelled to examine the actual writings of our forefathers to glean truth.

Even much of the populace is fine with being lied to, as many applaud those doing the lying . Lies, deception, and twisting truth is acceptable if these will accomplish the desired goal. I’ve observed such behaviors even among some who profess to be followers of Christ. Underhanded tactics and turning a blind eye, acting as if Christ condones such deceptive polity done in His Holy name.

Jesus declares, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life” (John 14:6), and of the Father’s word, “Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth” (John 17:17). Yet, how many who profess His name so easily chuck the truth, lest it offends or makes one feel uncomfortable. Sadly, very few pastors are willing to preach the whole counsel of God (truth), lest they lose popularity or members of their congregation. So many parishioners simply want to be encouraged and patted on the back, not to be convicted and challenged so that they might become better persons. And many churches are endorsing ideologies that are grounded in falsehood, but again, the compromise of truth is deemed acceptable if it supports their desired goal.

The jettisoning of truth, however, comes with a cost. We are left with only cargo containing falsehood, and God is not to be found in what is false or deceptive. The Bible warns, “Let no one deceive you in any way. For [the day of the Lord] will not come, unless the rebellion [i.e., the apostasy] comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed” (2 Thes. 2:3).

Before the Antichrist ever comes onto the scene, there will first be a great apostasy—a departure from solid, orthodox faith.  This must be so, for there must be a populace ready to embrace this false, deceptive, evil messiah. This great deception will come as a consequence, and judgement, of people’s trampling of truth for the embracing of falsehood and unrighteousness.

“The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness” (2 Thes. 2:9-12).

We must not think unrighteousness merely includes rapists and murderers. No, but it includes religious people—even those who call themselves “Christian”—but who do not love the truth but believe and take pleasure in what is contrary to the truth.

So, what has happened to the truth? It has not gone anywhere. People can choose to abandon truth, but it can never truly be escaped. It might be beneath people’s feet and trampled with the dust, but no further. But make no mistake, when God comes for this priceless jewel and takes it away from a world that’s unworthy of it, how dreadful when all that’s left for the world is the fool’s gold it had so loved, embraced, and cherished.

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Here are the links I promised you in the introduction:

• A King and His Kingdom (Part 1)

• A King and His Kingdom (Part 2)

Also here’s an article you might find helpful:

• 6 Warnings of Living in the Last Days

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Ed. Note: One line from today’s devotional that really jumped out at me was “The press has, for many years now, been propagating instead of journaling.” In other words, manufacturing the news instead of reporting it. We need to be especially discerning in terms of where we get our “truth.”

Falling Prey to the Lies that Lead to Failure to Trust

Today we’re making a return visit with Ted Gosard who blogs at Jesus Community.

leaving (instead of living) the lie

Therefore hear the word of the Lord, you scoffers
who rule this people in Jerusalem.
You boast, “We have entered into a covenant with death,
with the realm of the dead we have made an agreement.
When an overwhelming scourge sweeps by,
it cannot touch us,
for we have made a lie our refuge
and falsehood our hiding place.”

So this is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone,
a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation;
the one who relies on it
will never be stricken with panic.
I will make justice the measuring line
and righteousness the plumb line;
hail will sweep away your refuge, the lie,
and water will overflow your hiding place.
Your covenant with death will be annulled;
your agreement with the realm of the dead will not stand.
When the overwhelming scourge sweeps by,
you will be beaten down by it.
As often as it comes it will carry you away;
morning after morning, by day and by night,
it will sweep through.”

Isaiah 28:14-19

I think it’s far more common than we imagine, just how we live in lies. And I’m thinking of Christians, too. Specifically I’m thinking of myself, included. Part of what got me thinking this way were two posts quoting Dallas Willard who says it quite eloquently in the details spelled out in Scripture (here and here).

We live lies in a multitude of ways. Essentially living in the truth is “truth in Jesus” and an important aspect of that is living in the Father’s care, so that we’re free to seek his kingdom and righteousness, not encumbered with any of the cares common to humanity, or part of our culture. That is so much more easier said than done.

When one is weighed down, maybe nearly stricken with panic, that’s a sure sign one is not living in the Father’s provision, or as it’s been called, his providential care. We’re failing to trust in God, at least not to the extent needed. We need to take our hands off so to speak, but through prayer, find our way into that peace that frees us up to seek first God’s kingdom and righteousness.

Patterns in our lives will have to be broken, and that can be hard. It will require effort by us, but an effort essentially to let go, and let God take over. We need to find his peace. Part of this is not just to be freed up to put first things first, but with the prior commitment to that.

As the text above tells us, life simply doesn’t work well when we make a lie our refuge. And God won’t let it work well for those who name his name, who profess faith in him.

This is something we need to strive to enter and remain, come what may. God has us, as we seek first of all to live in his care and love and will. Part and parcel of being followers of Jesus in and through him.