dailywalkinthelight

A Daily a Walk in the Light of God's Word

Archives for October 2018

No King No Truth “Judges 21:25”

Today’s post may be a bit of a walk around the barn, but I hope you will indulge me a bit and stick with me on this walk because it is an issue that breaks my heart.  The issue is how we have come to use the word “truth.”

There has been an ever so subtle change in the way the word “truth” is used in the world today, and for me, it just really sank in these past couple weeks. Before then I stuck with the definition that I had grown up with

What is Truth Supposed to be In the World

My folks taught me the truth had only one meaning and I could find that in the dictionary.  It is very specific and based on known parameters.  The definition is pretty clear.

Truth noun

\ˈtrüth  \

plural truths\ ˈtrüt͟hz ,  ˈtrüths \

Definition of truth 

(Entry 1 of 2)

1a(1): the body of real things, events, and facts : ACTUALITY

(2): the state of being the case : FACT

(3)often capitalized : a transcendent fundamental or spiritual reality

b: a judgment, proposition, or idea that is true or accepted as true: “truths of thermodynamics”

c: the body of true statements and propositions

2a: the property (as of a statement) of being in accord with fact or reality

b: chiefly British : TRUE sense 2

c: fidelity to an original or to a standard

3a: sincerity in action, character, and utterance

b: archaic : FIDELITY, CONSTANCY

4: capitalized, Christian Science : GOD

in truth

: in accordance with fact : ACTUALLY

I find it interesting that the definition is very clear.  There is not really any wiggle room for opinion.  Truth is based on fact.

God’s Truth

God’s truth is the same but a bit more specific about the truth.  I think the first thing to consider is what he said in Genesis 1:1-2

Genesis 1:1-2 (ESV Strong’s)

1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

Then again in Exodus 3 when He spoke to Moses.

Exodus 3:14 (ESV Strong’s)

14 God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel, ‘I am has sent me to you.’”

First, in Genesis, he reminds us that He was, in the beginning, before there was anything.  He created the Heavens and the Earth.  When I read Genesis 1:1-2 I cannot fathom how awesome my God is.  He is greater than anything and brought out EVERYTHING from NOTHING.  Then to remind Moses, He tells him again.  He tells him that he is I AM.  When I think of that phrase and realize I can put any wonderful thing after that and it is God…  including truth, and If I was not sure of that in the Old Testament.  Jesus reminds me in the New Testament.

 John 14:6 (ESV Strong’s)

6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Now there is only one concession I must make… maybe two.

The Truth of God’s Word

We have to believe that the Word of God is absolute truth.  We have to believe that the Bible is, in fact, the inspired Word of God and is inerrant and infallible and the only source of absolute truth in this fallen world.

I do believe that to be true, and I do so by faith.  I do believe every word of the Bible is absolute truth.  There is only one reason.  It is Jesus.  I like how Peter puts it in his first letter.

1 Peter 1:3-9 (ESV Strong’s)

Born Again to a Living Hope

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, 9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

In all this is the truth; the one and only absolute truth, but that is not what the world wants today.

What the World is Calling Truth Today

This last week I was watching some TV, and throughout a week, I heard something that was kind of shocking.  People in the shows kept talking about “their truth” or “his truth” instead of “the truth.”  I know I have heard it before, but this week it was different.  The Holy Spirit just hit me with this thought that there is only one truth and that is “God’s Truth.”  A flood of scriptures came through my head, including those above, but the one that had the most impact came Judges 21.

Judges 21:25 (ESV Strong’s)

25 In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

It came while I was watching a hospital show with good-hearted doctors striving to save lives.  They all went the extra mile, and you had to cheer for them as they fought for every life.

The scene that was playing out was a Doctor talking to a reporter about a young man who was dealing with a brutal loss of his brother.  The doctor told the reporter that he needed to understand the young man’s “truth” to understand his struggle with this loss, and when he said that I stopped and thought of that passage in Judges.

The young man was not experiencing some different kind of truth.  He was hurt and broken.  He was “feeling” a loss.  The definition of feeling is much different than the truth.  Those feelings were valid and difficult and to help him a person had to try and look at these things from his point of view, but it did not change the truth or facts of this loss.  He had a hard life living in a battle zone of a neighborhood that changed how he reacted to things, but it did not change the truth of his loss or the pain of it.  It changed how he processed his feelings

The definition of feeling is much different than the truth.  Just look below.

feel·ing

/ˈfēliNG/Submit

noun

noun: feeling; plural noun: feelings

1.

an emotional state or reaction.

“a feeling of joy”

synonyms:    love, affection, fondness, tenderness, warmth, warmness, emotion, sentiment; More

the emotional side of someone’s character; emotional responses or tendencies to respond.

“I don’t want to hurt her feelings”

synonyms:    sensibilities, sensitivities, self-esteem, pride

“he had hurt her feelings”

strong emotion.

““God bless you!” she said with feeling”

2.

a belief, especially a vague or irrational one.

“he had the feeling that he was being watched”

synonyms:    suspicion, sneaking suspicion, notion, inkling, hunch, funny feeling, feeling in one’s bones, fancy, idea; More

an opinion, typically one shared by several people.

“a feeling grew that justice had not been done”

synonyms:    opinion, belief, view, impression, intuition, instinct, hunch, estimation, guess

“my feeling is that it is true”

3.

the capacity to experience the sense of touch.

“a loss of feeling in the hands”

synonyms:    sensation, sense, consciousness

“a feeling of nausea”

the sensation of touching or being touched by a particular thing.

“the feeling of water against your skin”

synonyms:    (sense of) touch, feel, tactile sense, using one’s hands

“assess the fabric by feeling”

4.

a sensitivity to or intuitive understanding of.

“he seems to have little feeling for art”

adjective

adjective: feeling

1.

showing emotion or sensitivity.

“he had a warm and feeling heart”

synonyms:    sensitive, warm, warmhearted, tender, tenderhearted, caring, sympathetic, kind, compassionate, understanding, thoughtful

“a feeling man”

 

The feelings were just as real and to understand how someone responds to the truth emotionally is critical, but that does not mean there are different truths, but different feelings about that truth.  In school, my teachers often had true and false tests.  I never considered improving my grade by arguing with my teacher that my answer may not have been her truth, but it was MY truth.  I may have felt I was right, but the facts were on the teacher’s side.

 

What’s the Big Deal?

So, what is the big deal if we call it a different truth or a different feeling.  Well, when we start saying there is no absolute to the truth than we give people the right to decide for themselves, and that sounds great, but it cannot be sustained.  People stop looking at issues objectively and begin to view everything emotionally and allow those feelings or emotions to define “their” own truth.

I consider all the things that are happening in the world today, and I see the Israel of Judges 21.

Judges 21:25 (ESV Strong’s)

25 In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

We have allowed the adversary to subtly manipulate our own language against us.

Closing Thoughts

I just look around everywhere and see a world that no longer accepts the fact that there might be absolutes.  They ignore the reality of it every day.  Physical laws exist; we have gravity, the sun, daylight and dark, but that is it.  There are no absolute truths related to people unless enough loud people agree that it is true.

The frightening thing about this is that it does not only affect people that do not believe in God or Jesus.  Believers lay themselves open to attack if they are not diligent.  God reminds us throughout His Word.

Paul in his letter to the Ephesians warns us in chapter six to put on the full armor of God because we are in a battle.  Peter in the fifth chapter of his first letter warns us that the devil prowls about like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.  All warn about false teachers, and this latest cunning manipulation of the word “truth” is yet another example.

Prayer

Lord, help me to hold fast to your truth.  Let me cling to your word and equip myself with your full armor.  I know Lord that I do not always see the reason for things, but I pray for strength and wisdom to always place my hope and trust in you. In Jesus name, I pray. Amen.

 

Wives and Husbands

Several weeks ago, in a men’s small group that I participate in we were studying 1 Peter chapter three.  Verses 1-7 pretty much consumed the whole hour.  In there Peter discusses the family order established by God.

It led to some interesting discussion on the topic.  For me, I think this issue is misused and abused by both men and women.  If we would look at it prayerfully, you can see that there is tremendous responsibility imposed on Husbands, Wives, and Children.

Each member has different responsibilities, and none are insignificant.

1 Peter 3:1-7

In First Peter chapter 3 begins with, “Likewise, wives, be subject to your own husbands.”  As soon as that verse is read some men chuckle and some women scowl.  Neither remembers the verses that ended chapter two and often as they read the verses that follow their focus is hindered by those first eight words.

Some men use these words to impose unjust authority.  Some women use these words create doubt in their own heart.  But when I read 1 Peter 3:1-7.  I do not see oppression, I see the power a Godly woman can have on the heart of a man, and because the verses begin with the word “Likewise” I know that the Lord preceded these verses with additional foundational wisdom.  But lets just look at chapter 3:1-7 first.

1 Peter 3:1-7 (ESV Strong’s)

1 Likewise, wives, be subject to your own husbands, so that even if some do not obey the word, they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives, 2 when they see your respectful and pure conduct. 3 Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear— 4 but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious. 5 For this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves, by submitting to their own husbands, 6 as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord. And you are her children, if you do good and do not fear anything that is frightening.

7 Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered.

Now when I read this I am humbled.  Peter wrote this letter to a group of people living under persecution and there seems to have been some divided households.  In verse one he tells women to be subject to their husbands.  He knows that not all believe, but he also knows that these wives can help turn their husbands to the Lord, by living a holy life.  I know this is true.

He tells the husband to be understanding and show honor to the women.  He calls them the weaker vessel, but they are not inferior to men they too are heirs.  Treating them as anything less will hinder our prayer life.

Reflections

I think about that passage in 1 Peter, and there is a great deal of responsibility that goes with it.  If you look back at chapter two in 1 Peter, beginning at verse 13 through the end of the chapter Peter outlines how we are to live in the world.  He uses the example of Christ Jesus, but he does not lump the family into this same group; he is very specific about the family.

This relationship was established by God.  It is not a relationship created by men, like governments, labor agreements, government institutions or laws.  God established it in Genesis even before the fall.

Genesis 2:24 (ESV Strong’s)

24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.

Jesus restated it when he answered the Pharisees question about divorce in Matthew 19

Matthew 19:4-6 (ESV Strong’s)

4 He answered, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, 5 and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? 6 So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.”

In this family, there is an order of responsibility and relationship.  Ephesians 5 spells it out as well.

Ephesians 5:22-33

In Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, he defines an order of things in the family as well.  It amazes me how clear and simple it is from verse twenty-two to thirty-three.

Ephesians 5:22-33 (ESV)

Wives and Husbands

22 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands.

25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. 28 In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, 30 because we are members of his body. 31 “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” 32 This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. 33 However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.

As I read this passage, one thing stuck me out of the gate.  It was in verse twenty-two. ” Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord.”  The word that struck me was own.  As I read it, I had to go back to Peter’s letter, and sure enough “own” was there as well.  God was not asking women to submit to all men, but he was asking them to submit to their own husbands.  But in Ephesians Paul adds more detail.

The Holy Spirit through Paul explains the relationship between husband and wife as one of love and respect.  Nowhere in this passage is there any malice or oppression.  The husband has final responsibility as the head of the home, but he can achieve nothing without his wife.  In this passage, Paul refers to Genesis as well in verse 31.   “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.”  He goes on in this passage to reveal this great mystery.  The fact that marriage is the model of Christ and the Church.

Just think on that for a minute.

Reflections

I look at Ephesians and 1 Peter and Colossians, and I am convicted.  Not because I mistreat my wife or do not love her enough.  I do love her more than I can fathom. We argue like any couple, but we work to resolve it in love and not mistreat each other.

I am convicted because of those times that I do not take the leadership role in my family and leave a tough decision for Pat.  I am convicted in those times that I do not take the protective role that I should take defending her as Christ defends the Church.

I am convicted when considering all that Jesus did for the church, (that being you and me), and as much as I love my wife Pat, how my efforts pale in comparison.

Closing Thoughts

As I ponder these things and consider that marriage is an example of Jesus Christ’s relationship with the church, it is humbling when we consider the squabbles that arise out of a few sentences because we do not take the time to consider the context and God’s intent.

Yes, there is an order to the home, just as there is between the church, (that being us again), and Jesus.  Without that order, there would be nothing but confusion and arguing.

But if this order is exemplified by Jesus and the church wouldn’t it also make sense to assume that we all might follow the example of Jesus while He was here on earth.

There is a passage in Matthew that I like.  It is Jesus’ reply to a mother’s request.  I think it well describes the kind of person we are to be in this world.

Matthew 20:25-28 (ESV Strong’s)

25 But Jesus called them to him and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. 26 It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, 28 even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

 We are not to lord over one another.  That is not His plan for us.  So yes, the Word of God defines an order to things.  It also defines a behavior; one of love and service.

I am thankful for God’s plan.  He gives us order and purpose in a world where there is none.  He teaches us to love and respect to fulfill the needs of one another.  I am thankful and praise God.

Prayer

Father, thank you for all your provision.  I praise you for the plans you laid out for us to follow and the example through Your Holy Word.  Father help us to see where we fall short in our responsibilities at home so that we may better serve you there first and glorify you. In Jesus name, I pray! Amen!

 

Connect with me

Theme by 17th Avenue · Powered by WordPress & Genesis