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What is Truth?
By Jim Staley
Everyone has some sort of passion. Whether
it is a sport, hobby, work, person or
a million other things, everyone has
a passion. Many times our natural passions
that God gives us to enjoy His creation
overshadow what our true inward passion
should be. Which is God. And God is
truth (Is. 65:16). Every believer should
have a passion for truth. And thus is
the point of this website. But before
we can develop a passion for truth,
it will be necessary to define what
“truth” actually is. The following definition
is from dictionary.com on the word "truth":
-
Conformity to fact
or actuality.
-
A statement proven
to be or accepted as true.
-
Sincerity; integrity.
-
Fidelity to an original
or standard. \
-
Reality; actuality.
a) Often Truth That, which is considered
to be the supreme reality and to
have the ultimate meaning and value
of existence.
By looking at what the
dictionary says about “truth”, you can
quickly see that even the dictionary
has been slanted to reflect the times
in which we live. For instance, numbers
two and three are politically, socially
and culturally correct finding their
proofs within the minds and opinions
of society. Where numbers one, four
and five are all connected to FACT,
REALITY, and ORIGINAL STANDARDS. This
is extremely important to understand
if one is going to pursue “truth”. If
you do not define doctrine, beliefs
and theology by the REALITY of the FACTS
set within the ORIGINAL STANDARDS and
templates from which they were written,
all sorts of man-made doctrines and
traditions will undoubtedly be created.
And today we are seeing the results
of just that with our over 600 different
denominations and sects of Christianity,
all claiming to have their versions
of the truth.
Truth must be defined
only by the original intent of the author.
Anything less ends in tragedy. But truth
sets men free! And truth is what will
set men free from the carnage of religion.
The dictionary definition goes on to
say “Truth is a comprehensive
term that in all of its nuances implies
accuracy and honesty.”
This statement begs
the question, ‘Is everything that
we believe “accurate and honest”’?
Veracity is adherence to the truth:
“Veracity is the heart of morality”
(Thomas H. Huxley). But my favorite
quote is by Charles Seymore who says,
“We seek the truth, and will endure
the consequences”. Many times the
consequences require us to put down
or alter sacred beliefs that we once
held dear to our hearts in order to
become more biblical in our theology.
Are you willing to lay it all down for
the sake of the truth? Before you read
any articles on this website or attempt
to study the bible for yourself, you
must first be willing to put down every
thought, belief and practice that is
currently counted to you as true if
the end result of your study proves
otherwise. Any other attitude is pure
“religious” and will stunt your growth
in the Lord.
I John 5:6 says that the “Spirit
is truth”. So if God is truth and
the author of all truth, then let’s
make some interesting observations.
Let me start by asking a few questions.
Is there any truth about man, nature,
or even the universe that did not come
from God? No. Everything that is true
about a man is true because God made
it true. Everything true about nature
or the universe is true because God
made it true. So, if that is true then
let’s go one step further. Is all SPIRITUAL
truth from God? Is every single doctrine,
theory, belief, idea, and set of theologies
that are TRUE from God?
The answer is a resounding
YES! So, if all in the universe that
is true is from God, then He logically
must OWN all truth. That means that
we, as human beings from whatever religious
background, do NOT own truth. We can
embrace truth. But we cannot own it.
It is not ours to own. This also means
that wherever truth is found, and from
whatever source, it must be embraced.
Whether is be from a Muslim, Mormon,
Jehovah’s Witness or Non-Denominational
Christian, it doesn’t matter.
If this fact is
true, then why as Believers do we seem
to “label” things in such a way as to
prevent us from even looking at any
other “truths” but those that we call
our own? As Rob Bell (pastor of Mars
Hill Bible Church in Michigan) says
that labeling some things “Christian”
tends to make us devour those “Christian”
things without critical thinking. While
completely discarding those items that
we deem “non-Christian”. The facts are
that there are many things that are
“Christian” that are not true. And many
things that are labeled “non-Christian”
that are very much true. The time has
come for us to be concerned not about
race, color or religion, but TRUTH!
We are so concerned about what we can
and cannot read, think, watch or do
that the average Believer never matures
in the area of discernment. Instead
of being led by the Spirit of God, we
are told what to wear, watch, read,
think and believe.
This line of thinking
has produced an immature and powerless
generation of so called “Christians”
that do little more than embrace traditions
and pews every Sunday morning, instead
of embracing the truth in whatever form
it comes and then taking that to the
world without apology. To be honest,
I am embarrassed to be called a “Christian”.
I would much rather be called a Believer.
The bottom line is this: Christianity
does not hold all of the answers in
scripture and we would be doing well
to be humble enough to admit that. But
most will not because they are more
attached to whatever denomination that
they come from than the truth. We have
become so arrogant as Christians that
we have bought into the idea that we
are the only people on earth that have
all of the answers!
Even further, whole
denominations within Christianity believe
they are the only ones that have all
of the answers. And to go even further,
there are individual churches that believe
that unless you go to their church and
believe what they believe, you can’t
possibly be right with God because THEY
have the right answers. If we think
we have all the answers, then we stop
asking questions. And if we have stopped
asking questions then we have stopped
learning. And if we have stopped learning,
then we have stopped growing. Keep your
hands light and your eyes open.
I encourage you to be
like the Barians of the New Testament
who sought out every single claim that
Paul made before they would make it
their own. If you find yourself within
an environment that does not welcome
questions and doctrinal challenges than
get out as fast as you can, because
that group of people have fallen into
the deadly pit of pride. And God HATES
pride. If leadership forgets that they
are still “sheep” like the rest of us,
it is not long after, that spiritual
pride develops and creates a cancer
among God’s people.
Too many times I have
seen godly men and women approach leadership
in a church about a truth that they
have found, only to be shot down like
a Japanese airplane during World War
II. THE most damaging thing to the “church”
of God is for its leaders to not seek
the truth but to propagate their own
agendas instead. They are too busy with
their sermons, programs, visiting the
sick and planning church picnics to
take truth seriously or even recognize
that there might be a problem.
Now, I’m not saying
that every minister is like this. But,
on the whole, if you approach a minister
with a topic that drastically alters
a church doctrine and you can prove
it beyond a reasonable doubt, most ministers
will not re-teach that to the congregation
for fear of losing their agendas, reputations,
offending someone, or even their jobs!
Whatever happened to preaching the truth
the way it is and letting the truth
offend like it was created to do? Without
offence, there is not conviction. And
without conviction there is no repentance.
And without repentance there is no change.
And without change we are dead in our
sins. And so the church lies dormant
for a lack of humble LEADERSHIP THAT
WILL HEAR, SEEK AND SPEAK THE TRUTH!!
(In that order, by the way).
Heb. 6:1 Therefore leaving the
principles of the doctrine of Christ,
let us go on unto perfection; not laying
again the foundation of repentance from
dead works, and of faith toward God,
{principles…: or, word of the beginning
of}2 Of the doctrine of baptisms, and
of laying on of hands, and of resurrection
of the dead, and of eternal judgment.
Is there ANY denomination that can say
with all authority that they understand
even these basic six foundational truths?
How can we think we know anything? I’ve
never met anyone within Christianity
that can even explain the doctrine of
“baptisms” much less the resurrection
of the dead! How far have we fallen
from humility? It is high time that
we recognize where we are at and make
every attempt to regain what the locust
have eaten over the last 1800 years!
Why are people leaving
the organized “church” left and right?
Because, in most cases, there is no
depth. There is nothing there that is
truly feeding their soul. They are tired
of hearing the same old, regurgitated
messages over and over and over again.
They want something deeper. What they
don’t realize that they want is TRUTH.
The truth is the only
thing that sets us free. And the bondage
of religion is set in the concrete of
man-made doctrines and traditions. Nothing
is more refreshing than hearing truth…the
kind of truth that offends you at first.
But then releases you from the chains
that have been holding you down for
so long? Do you feel somewhat “burnt
out” in you life? Do you feel like you
are not really going anywhere but in
circles? Maybe, deep down, your spirit
struggles with depression, a bit of
anger or resentment. Do you feel like
you are not reaching your full potential
in Christ?
If you answered “yes”
to any of these, the answer can only
be two things: Either you have sin in
your life or you are embracing something
that is not true. I have found out over
time that most of the time, it is the
latter. Whether it is a friendship that
is at stake or a belief that is at stake.
Neither are put down with ease. It takes
a brave soul with his full trust in
the Almighty that is willing to leave
all behind to follow Him.
Twelve men did once.
The same twelve men even laid their
traditions and beliefs aside to follow
a man that called himself the “way,
the TRUTH, and the life”. And they changed
the world. I’m afraid that if the same
Jesus walked down the beach once more,
he would be hard pressed to find just
one person that would be willing to
lay all his current traditions and ways
of thinking aside for just one chance
at truly experiencing the power of the
Almighty God.
I believe that there are two fundamental
precepts that are needed for growth
in every believer. First is humility.
And second is a “passion for truth”.
Both must be present. For to have a
passion for truth without humility is
like a plant that receives no water
or it’s like digging for buried treasure
without a shovel. The two go hand in
hand. I encourage you to check your
life right now and ask yourself if you
are humble enough admit you don’t have
all of the answers. And then ask yourself
how much you desire to know truth and
embrace it when it’s found. After God
brought humility into my life. He then
developed in me a desire to know truth.
It was then, and only then, that I felt
a release of my spirit to truly BE the
church. And not merely just attend it.
It was on that very lonely road of discovery
that Jesus met with me personally to
fill my spirit with joy that I have
never experienced in all my “saved”
years.
Evangelize, Evangelize,
Evangelize!
If we were to be really
honest, this is all we are really good
at. We learned it in our first day of
Sunday school when we sang “Jesus loves
me” and “Jesus loves the little children”.
We are told from then on to tell everyone
about Jesus and witness to as many as
you can. Now, don’t get me wrong. This
is true. BUT…the fact that Jesus wants
the world to be saved is not the ONLY
truth. I believe we have generally been
stuck on this fact for over 1800 years!
And I believe Paul, if he were alive
today, would call us babies that are
still sucking our mama’s milk! We say
that we know doctrines. But virtually
all of our beliefs have been passed
down from generation to generation without
the slightest examination of any of
them.
And if that wasn’t enough,
the doctrines that we do aspire to say
are true, have been interpreted using
Greek logic and a Greek mindset instead
of utilizing the Hebrew culture and
the Hebrew mindset in which they were
written. A Greek mindset tends to read
the scriptures with “self” in mind with
the idea of looking for God to speak
to our current situation through the
scriptures.
The Hebrew mindset reads
the scriptures looking for the raw truth
of the meaning. And then adjusts their
thinking and way of life to that meaning.
As Christians, we tend to read our truths
into the scriptures and search for verses
that support our presuppositions, rather
than search the scriptures through Hebrew
glasses and take the pure truth of the
Word of God and let it transform our
lives.
Is evangelism important?
Absolutely. But when they get “saved”,
they must then be taught. But what happens
most of the time is that what they are
taught is what to wear, how to talk,
how to act, etc…Whatever happen to allowing
the Holy Spirit to bring conviction
on someone and just continue loving
on and teaching them the pure truths
of the Word in the meantime?
We have become a society
of religious rules and traditions and,
in my opinion, are not far off from
the false piety of the religious leaders
of the first century. Acts 15 says the
following about the problem of what
to do with the Gentiles that were coming
to God: 19 "Therefore I judge that
we should not trouble those from among
the Gentiles who are turning to God,20
"but that we write to them to abstain
from things polluted by idols, from
sexual immorality, from things strangled,
and from blood.21 "For Moses has had
throughout many generations those who
preach him in every city, being read
in the synagogues every Sabbath."
The Council in Jerusalem
had ruled that they should not put to
much on the Gentile converts at once
because they are going to hear Moses
(the Law) taught in the synagogues every
Sabbath. The Believers in the first
century put an emphasis on knowing the
scriptures (the Old Testament. There
was no New Testament at that time.)
Because of this there was great balance
when sharing the gospel to the Gentiles.
Today, it is possible to go an entire
year without hearing even one real teaching
on the Old Testament. Why? Because to
the Greek, what is old, is obsolete
and boring. And what is new is fresh
and exciting. To the Hebrew, what is
old is reliable, proven and worthy for
all doctrine, teaching and reproof.
We have lost the value of two-thirds
of our Bible and so we have lost the
value of two-thirds of our faith. By
returning to the richness of our heritage,
we will no doubt recapture the foundation
of our faith. But in the process grow
deeper in our relationship with the
Almighty Father.
Slow Down To Go Fast
One of the things that
I love to do in my past time is race
dirt bikes. In the beginning when I
was learning I would go as fast as I
could in the hopes of doing well. But
in all my zeal, I constantly found myself
crashing and the slower riders would
eventually catch up. All I seem to do
is go fast, crash, use up a bunch of
energy, get up, go fast, crash, etc…only
to feel in the end demoralized, physically
and emotionally wiped out and wondering
why I “like” to put myself through this
kind of misery.
Does any of this sound
familiar to real life? Sometimes we
are so busy (sometimes doing ministry)
going a million miles an hour 24 hours
a day, 7 days a week that we never slow
down to reevaluate things, ideas and
places that we are at in life. We never
actually get into the rhythms of life
as they were meant to be lived. And
joy only comes through celebrating the
seasons and rhythms of life. There is
a time to plant and a time to harvest.
But there is also a time to rest from
our work. Why is it that we tend to
be consumed with planting and harvesting
day after day, year after year without
the slightest thought to the fact that
there is a pattern and a rhythm to planting
and harvesting in order to produce a
good crop? You cannot plant tomatoes
in the winter. There will be no crop.
But because we are western, Greek thinking
Christians, we can’t imagine not doing
something for God. We don’t realize
that He is pleased with our obedience,
not our sacrifice (works).
There was a time in
my life when for no apparent reason,
God called me out of the church that
I was attending. There was no logical
reason for this and I fought Him for
months before giving in to the voice
of the Holy Spirit. We had no idea where
we were going. We only knew that we
were supposed to go. Only a week later
did I meet a very special group of Believers
that met in a house once a week to discuss
the scriptures. It was a Bible study
like none other that I had ever been
to. Some knew Hebrew. Some brought laptops.
Others brought brief cases full of books.
But each with the intent of hashing
through the scriptures to find answers
to hard questions. Rarely did two people
agree but there was great harmony amongst
all of us.
This is where God had
chosen to teach me how to really study
the scriptures. We were ridiculed for
not being in a “church” and many of
our so-called friends abandoned us because
we no longer went to their church. To
many, I’m sure that it looked that because
we were no longer in an organized “church”
doing “ministry”, that we were not growing.
But in reality, it was in that time
of incredible slowing down that my family
was healed of deep wounds and I began
to see exactly what God wanted to do
with my life.
When you are in a race,
sometimes it is helpful to actually
slow down, get into a smooth rhythm
and in the end you will find out that
you were actually going faster than
you thought you were. Sometimes we just
need to SLOW DOWN to go fast. The point
is that it is impossible to get burned
out if we are taking on the yoke of
Christ. He says that His yoke is light.
If you find yourself
exhausted in your spiritual life, then
you most likely have taken on a yoke
that is not of Christ. Here in the west
we have created an unbiblical paradox
that it is weak to slow down or pause
to learn the will of God. That as a
Christian we are somehow just supposed
to know the will of God all of the time.
What is wrong with stepping back and
getting alone with our Savior and humbly
admitting that we don’t know His will
but we are going to seek His face on
the issue?
This is the rhythm that
I have been talking about. This is the
time between the planting and the harvesting.
The time of regrouping and rethinking
and analyzing the patterns of our life
to make sure they line up with His patterns
and rhythms that He has set for us.
I believe this way of living would produce
much greater results for the kingdom
as well as bring joy to our souls in
the process. God is in the process of
showing me that this is part of the
reason why He wants us to rest at the
end of the week. It is a kind of “reset”
button that recharges us and keeps us
in His rhythms so that we might enjoy
life to the fullest and be of greatest
benefit to Him. Today, we are so caught
up in the idea that we have to be doing
something for God 24/7 and that the
people need more programs, events and
more evangelism training that the people
(and especially leaders) of God get
stressed out and full of anxiety of
how to please Him. I believe that if
we will just SLOW DOWN, seek His face
and His truths, and enjoy the life that
he has put before us THAT DAY; we will
automatically be doing what He wants
us to do.
I believe that there are only two categories
of people on planet earth. There are
leaders and there are followers. And
this truth finds itself in churches
all across the world. If you are a spiritual
leader, then woe to you as James chapter
3 says, “For you will be judged more
strictly”. Why? Because, we as leaders
have been commanded to “feed His sheep”.
And depending on what kind of food we
give the sheep is directly connected
to the results of their spiritual growth.
If we feed them the truth of God’s Word
mixed with nothing else, then they will
be freed of all snares and bondages
that inhibit them from serving our Lord
in every physical, emotional and spiritual
capacity known and unknown to man. If
we knowingly or unknowingly feed God’s
sheep any part of a lie, we not only
will be held accountable for not “rightly
dividing the word of truth”, but will
be held in serious contempt for allowing
the sheep that God gave us to protect
to be held in bondage by the enemy through
doctrines and commandments and traditions
of men.
Jesus said it is better
for a millstone to be hung around our
necks and for us to be drowned in the
sea, than for us to cause a little one
to stumble (Mat. 18:6). Now, of course
no one purposely teaches their children
lies. But as parents, we are ultimately
responsible for what our children learn.
Why? Because all children grow up to
be adults. And those adults will teach
their children whatever they were taught.
So here is the question.
If we as leaders teach
our children in Sunday school from the
time that they can speak, all that we
have been taught from OUR leaders without
one time examining those doctrines and
traditions, and those children grow
up unknowingly inheriting some lies
and some truth, will those children
not only be stumbling as children but
also as adults? Can someone stumble
and think they are walking straight?
Absolutely. Ask any police officer that
has pulled over a intoxicated driver
and made him walk a straight line. That
drunk will swear up and down that he
walked in a straight line. Or better
yet, ask anyone that does not know God
personally if they think they are going
to heaven. Most will say yes and not
even know the requirements that God
has set forth for attaining eternal
life. The point is this: We better be
telling the truth, the whole truth and
nothing but the truth... Or so help
us God.
If you are a leader,
then it is your responsibility to properly
feed the sheep the pure milk and meat
of God’s Holy Word. It is not an option.
It is a command. And He takes His truth
seriously. In Proverbs 30:5-8 Solomon
says, “Every word of God is pure; He
is a shield to those who put their trust
in Him. 6. Do not add to His words,
Lest He rebuke you, and you be found
a liar. 7. Two thing I request of You
before I die, 8. Remove falsehood and
lies far from me…” So, when judgment
comes to the household of faith, do
not be surprised if He comes to those
in leadership first asking for account
of every word that proceeded out of
our mouths. And at that time, we will
not be able to say, “I thought that
it was true”, for it is our clear responsibility
to “study to show ourselves approved,
rightly dividing the Word of Truth”
(2Tim. 2:15).
All scripture SHOULD
compliment itself and NOT contradict
itself. If we are going to call ourselves
teachers of a "Jewish" book, written
by Jewish authors about a Jewish Messiah,
then we better start interpreting it
from the Hebraic culture and perspective
and STOP interpreting it from the Greek,
Hellenistic, Western religious American
perspective of what we think words,
thoughts, phrases, and doctrines mean
and START defining them by what the
authors original intent was! It is through
this line of thought that I believe
ALL the scriptures will agree, and not
until then. THEN, and ONLY then, we
will be "rightly dividing the Word of
Truth."
On the other hand, if you find yourself
more of a follower (which we all are
in some form or another) it is also
your responsibility to make sure that
the food you are given is pure. For
too long the people of God have blindly
accepted everything that has come from
the pulpits. And because of this, the
people of God have become blind. We
have even become blind to the point
that we don’t even recognize the truth
when we see it. It is time for all of
God’s people to pull out their magnifying
glasses and start closely examining
every part of their lives. I believe
that it is about time to start sifting
through every single doctrine, belief
and tradition and willingly remove every
spot and wrinkle that we can find so
as to BE the pure and holy bride that
Christ Himself seeks. So as you continue
in your journey of life, I encourage
you to take time right now to ask God
to give you an unbiased heart into all
truth and the strength to obey Him no
matter what the cost.
In Conclusion, we have found that all
truth is from God no matter what the
source and we are to embrace truth wherever
it is found. And that truth is most
accurately found within the context
of a Hebrew mindset and not the Greek.
We found that the two most important
things needed for healthy, spiritual
growth are humility and a passion for
truth. We also discovered lastly that
life is best enjoyed when we live life
in the rhythms that it was meant to
be lived in. That slowing down and retreating
for a time to be with the Lord can in
most cases be the most healthy thing
that we can do.
By recognizing that
"the beginning of knowledge is knowing
that we know nothing", and if we pursue
God through the rhythms and patterns
that He set before us; Not only is truth
easily found, but it carries with her
understanding, discernment, wisdom,
joy, life and an abundance of what the
Hebrews call "Shalom" (peace). And last
but not least, our beliefs and traditions
are serious. Either we are believing
and practicing truth, or we are believing
and practicing lies. Or a mixture of
both.
It is the leader's responsibility
to weed through the lies to find the
truth to feed God's people. And it is
everyone's responsibility to not accept
everything that they hear from anyone,
but to be a Berean and search the scriptures
daily to see if it is true. And by doing
this we will all most certainly grow
closer to our God, Yahweh, and develop
in the process a
PASSION FOR TRUTH!
Jim Staley
Originally written-7/05/04
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