Wednesday, June 24, 2015

Scripture Q&A (Part 1) - What is Truth?

Jesus answered, "You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world--to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice." Pilate said to him, "What is truth?" (John 18:33-38a)

For the moment, I'm skipping toward the end of the book of John to bring us to a crucial question that Pilate asked Jesus, "What is truth?" That's actually an excellent question we should all ask ourselves.

What is truth? How does one "bear witness to the truth?" What does it mean to be "of the truth?" What does it mean to listen to the voice of Jesus? How did Jesus fulfill His purpose for being born?

All excellent questions. You probably know the circumstances of John 18. The Jews put Jesus on trial, a mock trial, and determined that He needed to be killed. They literally made up accusations at the trial to find Him guilty of anything. (Matthew 29:59-62) They certainly weren't seeking His answers, or the truth.

Caiaphas said it was better that one man should die than the whole nation of Jews perish (John 11:50, 18:14). They got nowhere in the trial with false accusations. But, when asked directly, they heard it from Jesus' own mouth that He claimed to be the Son of God, which Caiaphas used to declare Him a blasphemer, conclude the trial, and swiftly exact and deliver punishment. (Matthew 26:63-66)

Even though they picked up stones to kill Him lots of times before, this time they thought they were justifying themselves before the people by pretending to go through the proper process of condemning a man to death. What an amazingly awful spin the Sanhedrin put on the situation for political gain! Their strongest motivation was to protect their self-righteous authority over the Jewish nation. The refused to accept this Jesus for who He said he was.

So, what exactly is truth according to Scripture? We've already learned that we can find the definition and boundaries of truth in Scripture (see "Why Scripture?"). It must be some pretty important information if Jesus said bearing witness to the truth was His whole purpose for being born and coming into this world. In living this purpose He was ultimately condemned to death by crucifixion.

So, how do we seek out the truth, discover it, and assimilate it? We start with humility.

Before we crucify Christ (again), disregard Him, assume we already know the truth (whether believer or not, church-goer or not), before we get our understanding from human wisdom, or settle for shallow answers to deep questions, let's humble ourselves and simply let Him tell us. After all, He is the Word and the Word was God (John 1:1). He rewards those who diligently seek Him (Hebrews 11:6). Let us find rest in His response. As the context of the verse in the subtitle of this blog says...

At that time Jesus declared, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:25-30)

Tuesday, June 16, 2015

Now We Know Where to Get Answers

And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. (Hebrews 11:6)

Scripture makes it clear that it is the one and only source for the truth that is God's reality. It is literally His words. It also makes the formula for coming to the full knowledge of the truth plain and simple: 1) believe He exists, and 2) believe He rewards those who seek Him. And He wants both...

[God] desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. (1 Timothy 2:4)

Humans simply won't have "ears to hear" (spiritual information) if they don't believe He exists. He is incredibly patient and knows how much truth we can understand and assimilate.

He will meet us wherever we are in our walk with Him, or even if we don't yet know Him at all. If we create capacity for His thoughts, He will faithfully fill it.

How does one create capacity? Simple, with humility. Be teachable. If you have the attitude of, "Oh, I know that already," we're telling Him to stop talking because we're not listening.

What will He fill this capacity with when we listen? Knowledge of Himself, Christ, and truth, slowly and gently, and eventually His deepest thoughts, which were actually meant for our glory before the ages. Let's earnestly seek what He wants to give us: Himself!

But [among the mature] we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. (1Co 2:7)

How does one seek Him? Diligently. What does that look like? At first, it just looks like showing up to hear His words in Scripture. Then, He has much to say and it takes time, so be consistent in showing up and with the intention to learn. Finally, we sharpen our focus as His thoughts start to become our thoughts as we are transformed.

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. (Romans 12:2)

Now that we know where He is, where His wisdom can be found, we can approach Scripture like a treasure hunt, because that's what it is. This is where the fun begins. We can ask Him all sorts of questions if we approach His word with humility (teachable) and faith (trusting He will tell us the answer). In fact, I would strongly suggest if you think you already know the answer to basic questions, think again. The depth and richness of His word may surprise you.

In the next series of devotions, we'll start looking at some of these questions. I hope you join me on this wonderful journey into the relationship of a lifetime, an eternal lifetime...

And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. (John 17:3)

Tuesday, June 2, 2015

Why Scripture? (Part 7) Rest

Jesus said to him [Thomas], "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. 
(John 20:29-31)

Have you ever read those real-life warning labels that clearly show the manufacturer is trying to avoid, or has already encountered, a lawsuit that defies common sense? On an iron, "Do not iron clothes while wearing them." Or hair dryers, "Do not use while sleeping." I think most people wouldn't think to use those appliances in the ways the warning labels state. Nevertheless, and sadly enough, unfortunately, those labels are there for a reason. In case you didn't think of this scenario, don't do it!

Perhaps that's a bad analogy, but it's close enough for now. Scripture contains spiritual information that we do not have otherwise. We need to be taught these things. We cannot go to a different source to learn what the word of God has to teach us.

Here's a better analogy. Let's say you want to learn a computer skill, such as SQL (Structured Query Language) for use with a relational database. (If I'm already losing you due to technical terms, relax. The ride is over shortly.) The point is, you need to learn about SQL from material that teaches SQL. It doesn't help much to read a book about a person that benefited in his career by learning SQL. Nor can you learn SQL by studying books on lawn mower engine repair. It doesn't even help to get a real good book on SQL, read the introduction and say, "Oh, I don't think I need to read this carefully. I already know what the author is going to say."

In the same way, God has thoughts He wants to communicate to us. If we want to hear those thoughts and not someone else's, we need to go the Source, and we need to go with a teachable attitude. I hope we see clearly that Scripture is that Source. If not, review Parts 1 through 6 of "Why Scripture?" and leave a comment to ask questions or engage in discussion.

There are two points I want to leave here.
1. Scripture is the word of God, just as it claims to be, and contains His thoughts which are not ours.
2. Only Scripture reveals His thoughts, and He wants us to know them and pursue them.

Consider these next verses...

In the one from Isaiah, clearly His thoughts are not ours. They are higher than ours. Without the help of the Spirit of Truth, we cannot grasp them. They are foolishness otherwise.

In the other, God has freely given to us what we need to be guided into all truth. Truth here means God's reality, not our reality. Weird things happen when people try to stuff God's reality into ours. It doesn't work. Why fight it? Instead, let's grow in understanding of His reality.

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8-9)

Yet, for the church (with some underline and comment to help out)...

But, as it is written, "What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him"-- [that is, supernatural things] these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. For who knows a person's thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. (1 Corinthians 2:9-12)

So, before moving on, let's check in with ourselves. Are we persuaded to turn to Scripture as the source of truth, God's reality, church-age defining spiritual information, as God's very own words, and to let it be our ultimate authority? Yes? Maybe? Sort of?

Well, fortunately, God doesn't require that you are 100% convinced just yet in order to benefit from His love and grace for us. He knows it's a learning process, but He will reward those who diligently seek Him (Hebrews 11:6). As you dig deeper, in humility, He will reveal even more truth to you, and your soul will recognize His words as spiritual as you become sanctified by the truth and transformed by the renewal of your mind. But first things first! For now, let's just rest a moment and allow these lessons to sink in.