I was part of a group conversation the other day, and one friend was adamantly stating a point without tolerating any question that it was true. In fact, it was not. What was being said with such vigor was exactly wrong. This was no fine gray line or splitting of hairs about truth. The fact actually would have been easy enough to look up online. What was being said was outrightly false, but it was said with the conviction and determination of the truth.
I must admit I have shot out my own strong opinions stated with the force of fact, so this incident has made me rethink the way I present myself when voicing my personal opinions, known facts, and, indeed, my faith.
My friend thought what was said was true. They would never have intentionally led someone down the wrong path with a lie, but had I not been there, and had I not said something, this falsehood might have influenced the others present and even have been repeated as truth in future conversations.
The statement was not a huge consequential matter, but the truth is the truth, and we should not let truth die a slow death because people rail against it with loud, angry voices.
I say this not because my friend was loud and angry (although they were unwavering and forceful in their speech) but because I see this everywhere around me.
Falsehoods said with loud, unquestioning voices can convince those who do not recognize the lie, nor know the truth.
Truth matters a great deal, and even more so when we are speaking about our faith.
I worked for an attorney that belonged to a cult church.
He had been raised nominally in the Christian church and remembered enough words and phrases from those years that when he was approached by these nonbelievers, he felt right at home with them.
They used familiar sayings reminiscent of his youth but none of which were fully true.
Brad and I would discuss these nontruths and half-truths, and I would ask him to look into the Bible and read for himself the actual language, but he would not. He enjoyed the comfort of the false teaching, and he was not going to be swayed by the truth.
As the Apostle Paul said to Timothy, “The time will come when men will not tolerate sound doctrine, but with itching ears they will gather around themselves teachers to suit their own desires.”
The time of which Paul spoke is here.
We might all agree that the truth isn’t always the most pleasant thing to hear. Consider when the accountant tells us we owe an amount for taxes considerably more than we anticipated, or when a child says they want to lead a lifestyle divergent from what they have been taught, or even a friend saying that we seemed to have gone different ways and they no longer wish to be a part of our lives.
But even uncomfortable truth is still truth. It behooves us all to know and seek the truth, especially God’s truth.
When I think of our individual knowledge of general truth, I believe that, according to our professions or interests, we each have specialized truth in particular areas. This is why we do not go to a medical doctor for legal advice or vice versa. When we seek God’s truth, the truth of the creator of the universe, we’d be wise to go to the source – His Word, the Bible.
We should know God’s Word well enough that we can discuss agreements with other Christians about the basics of our beliefs. We would be wise to know more than just the foundational facts of Christianity so that we can easily discern God’s truth from Satan’s lies.
Our small group studies the Bible, and we come from different backgrounds and are at different levels of knowledge and walks in our faith.
When someone seeks an answer to a Biblical question, anyone that might have the knowledge may respond. If the reply seems more of an opinion than based on God’s Word, we are all permitted to question where that answer is in Scripture, so that we keep each other accountable and we do not unintentionally create false doctrine.
To know the truth of Scripture, we must be reading and absorbing the knowledge in the Bible. Otherwise, we won’t recognize the lie when we hear it proclaimed loudly and with aggressive force (or even when we hear it sweetly whispered in our ear), and too late we may realize we have been following the path of the great deceiver rather than that of Jesus.
Jesus said to those who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, you are truly My disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:31-32.
Let us make a concerted effort this year to know God’s truth, so we will be able to discern it from a lie when we speak and when we hear it spoken. We should know that of which we speak.
ED. NOTE: Amy Patsch writes from Ocean City. Email her at writerGoodGod@gmail.com.
