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The Transfer of Truth |
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By Evangelist Richard Bradley Assistant Editor, Truth Matters |
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1Timothy 3:1-15, “These things write I unto thee, hoping to come unto thee shortly: But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth” (KJV).
One of our great preachers, a champion for the truth, was Dr. Boyce Blackwelder. On one occasion as the resource leader for the Craigsville Ministers Retreat, Craigsville, WV, he made a tremendous statement that has stuck with those who heard him. He said, “The man who loves the God of Truth will automatically love the ‘truths’ of God.” What a powerful thought. In the context of that statement he said that he was not talking about those red light/green light truths. His illustration was when the light is red we are supposed to stop, that is truth, but it is not “the” truth! When the light turns green we are to proceed. That is truth, but it is not “the” truth.
There are many truths in the world besides God’s Truth. There is natural truth; there is the truth of science; there is the truth of history. While all these may be important to some degree, they must all give way to the greater truth—the “Truth of God.” The definite article placed before the word “truth” indicates that, if everything else we believe to be true should prove indeed to be true, they would all still fade when compared with the importance of God’s truth.
What then do the words “the truth” mean? They indicate all that is wrapped between the covers of the Book we know as “the Bible.” The saints of all ages have purified their souls with that truth: 1 Peter 1:22, “Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren” (KJV).
I fail to understand how anyone’s heart can be right who rejects or opposes “the truth.” What God says in His inspired Word is surely obligatory upon us all as His children to believe and accept as essential to our spiritual maturation, our well-being, and happiness. I cannot over-emphasize the vital importance of truth. The gospel which God has revealed is so essentially “the truth” that there is nothing false about it, nor is there anything of insignificance contained within it.
While some may not agree with me, I believe that it is grievous sin to imagine that there can be any fallacy in the utterances of an infallible God contained in a Holy Spirit-inspired canon such as the Bible. My position is, let everything that we put stock in be as a lie; let what men assert be swept away; and let God’s Word be the determining factor and the bottom line in all our lives and living.
Romans 3:4, “God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged” (KJV).
God’s Truth is one. Have you ever noticed, in the great summary of Bible doctrines, that as surely as you believe one facet you must believe all the rest? One doctrine so leans upon the next, and that upon the next, through all the others, that, if you deny one, you must deny the whole. Some professing believers are what I call “Cafeteria Christians.” They think that they can believe three out of five points of the Gospel and reject two as unimportant or unnecessary. That is impossible.
God’s truths are intertwined and linked, one to another, forming an unbreakable chain. There are many links, but one truth and one system of truth. It is with this Gospel chain that we are more than able to bind Satan out of our lives and to live victoriously and confidently in the here and the hereafter (Revelation 20:1-2).
Many today within the professing church believe that the standard is archaic, too high, too strict. So a mixed message is the result, with many seeking to modify and modernize some of the established teachings and truths for which our pioneers stood. In some sectors the cry goes out to temper/soften the message. Lower the bar to make it more “user friendly” and appealing to today’s religious shoppers.
Tone down the message on “heart purity” or “complete sanctification” evidenced by holy living. Tone down the message on worldly/social amusements and involvement. Tone down the message against “sect Babylon” with all of its divisive denominations and man-made systems. Tone down the message on social drinking. Tone down the message on sexual sins and perversions. Tone down the message on responsibility and accountability. Tone down the message on ethics, individual and ministerial.
We cannot do so, because we can never gather people to God and His church if we set up arbitrary standards and uncertain teachings. We must align our teachings with the cornerstone of truth. To do anything less is to invite certain defeat. God will always honor His truth, for truth is Who He is. The very essence of His character and nature is Truth.
Illustration: A perfectly straight line can be projected around the entire world with modern instruments. When it returns to its point of origin, it will terminate at the precise pinpoint from which it started. It then could be projected around the earth a second time and it would form only one single line, no wider and no narrower than the original line, for the second line would fall directly upon the first.
The same is true of eternal truth. If there is the slightest variation as the line of truth moves through time, by the time it passes through a few generations, who can know how far away it will be from where it began. If the line is any wider, it is because there has been a variance somewhere along the line. That which is true in the natural laws of physics is true in the spiritual laws of eternal truth. Truth is an eternal principle that cannot be changed or it ceases to be truth. It becomes false when altered in the least degree. It is precisely at that point that responsibility to God and to the great cloud of witnesses that have preceded us falls squarely upon our shoulders as the present generation of bearers of truth. We must dedicate ourselves to the faithful proclamation and passing on these precious “truths of God” to the generation that follows us.
We cannot move or manipulate established truth to suit our situation. Instead, we must bring our situation to conform to established truth. That ought to be the attitude and desire within the heart of every child of God. Let us not strive to change God’s truth to suit our way of life or our hidden agendas. Instead, let us earnestly contend to change our lives, in any way necessary, to conform to the truths of God’s Word.
The CHURCH and the TRUTH
1 Tim. 3:15, “. . . that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth” (KJV).
There is a sense in which “the truth” is the pillar of the church, for the church is built on truth. God Himself maintains His own truth; it is not committed to the hands of mortals to maintain it apart or aside from God. While God lives, His truth can never die or change for God cannot die or change.
The church is designated by God to support and maintain the truth. While God Himself is the ultimate pillar and ground of His truth, yet in this world He is pleased to make His church the instrument of maintaining it firmly through its ministers.
Our Bible is a blood-stained book. The blood of martyrs is on the Bible. The blood of translators and confessors is there as well. The pool of water in which you were baptized is a blood-stained pool. The doctrines which you preach and teach have been bought with the blood. Swords have been drawn to slay the confessors of these truths, and there is not a single truth which has not been sealed by Christ’s blood and the blood of martyrs. Do we dare be remiss in faithfully maintaining “the Truth” and spreading it abroad? We are duty bound by blood to preserve it pure for our children and our grand-children. It is our responsibility to be faithful to the church of God, the bride of Christ, whereof every blood-washed one is a member. We must continue to be the pillar and ground of the truth.
Jude 3, “Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith [truth] which was once delivered unto the saints” (KJV).
Jude reminds us that it is our solemn obligation, as believers, to seek after the truth, and after finding it to stand up for and on that truth. The wise man of Proverbs said, “Buy the truth, and sell it not” (Proverbs 23:23). Jude tells us that we are to “contend” for it. This statement pre-supposes that the faith is being attacked. That was the case in the year A. D. 66 when Jude wrote this epistle. Verse four tells us: “For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ” (KJV).
That is still true today. As Acts 20:29-30 and 2 Corinthians 11:15 remind us, we should be concerned about the forces at work, politically and religiously, inside the community of the professing church who are doing the work of the enemy. This is why it is the clear duty of every believer to contend for the faith. The very best defense of the faith, or “the truth,” is its proclamation, for it will stand on its own. “Truth” does need faithful and fearless proclamation.
For what are we to “contend”? The answer is: “The faith [truth] once for all delivered to the saints,” the “pillar and ground of the truth.” Notice we are not to contend for the teaching of some interpreter or paraphraser; but rather, we are to contend for the original faith, or the whole body of revealed truth which is contained in the whole of the inspired Word of God.
Second: It is unique in its content. There is no other faith. This is the one and only faith, it is “the truth.” Jude is careful to use the definite article as he speaks of the faith.
Third: It is complete in its revelation. It is “the faith, the truth,” once for all delivered. It does not come in installments. It is the complete and final revelation. It can never need any addition or revision, for it is complete and it is forever settled and will never change. With the closing of the canon of Scripture, God completed the revelation of His truth.
Fourth: It is holy in its nature. It was given by a holy God, through the agency of the Holy Ghost, to holy men and it is appropriately called the Holy Scriptures. It is given for the purpose of producing holy people who practice holy living which leads men to the holy city, “which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.” We are to hold the line in the proclamation of “the truth” which has been passed to us from those who have gone before us, and we are reverently and faithfully to pass “the truth” on to those who are following us.
Why are we to “contend for the faith (truth)”? Because it is under attack. Today all of the great foundational truths of the Christian Faith are being attacked and denied by a nominal, liberal church community along with counterfeit religions. How can we be silent when our faith is under attack, and when theologians and false prophets are trying to rob “the faith” of its supernatural origin, power and glory. How are we to contend for “the faith”? Earnestly. There must be action. We are to “contend earnestly” but not “furiously.” We must pass “the truth” on enthusiastically and earnestly (with love, passion and compassion) by living it, by proclaiming it, and by suffering for it.
The Word of God By Clara M. Brooks
By the word of God the worlds were made, Refrain: More to be desired than honey sweet, Thy eternal law is my delight, Stream of life from heaven, crystal pure, Select Hymns, p. 237 Gospel Trumpet Publishing Co., 1911
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