“He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.” (James 1:18, NIV84)
Does truth really matter? Isn’t it alright for you to have your truth and for me to have my truth? Can’t we be the definers of what truth is? Those three questions sound fair enough. They feel like valid questions. But to which side of us? Our sinful nature or our “new creature” nature? I am convinced that Adam and Eve (during their temptation) would have said that absolute truth did not matter, and that it was fine for them to be definers of truth. Hence, Satan came to the garden and asked, “Did God really say?” He tempted them to believe that there was no such thing as absolute truth. Listen to Satan’s next words, “You will certainly not die.” He tempted Eve to leave the absolute truth that God provided and to define a new truth for herself. What was the outcome of abandoning the truth? They died!
But that is not how the story ends. God loves us so much that He found a way to save us and redeem us back to Himself. He sent Jesus into the world to proclaim His absolute truth to us and to die on the cross as our substitute so that we might find forgiveness in His grace. This is the truth! There is no changing or altering this truth! Our new birth is rooted in the Word of Truth that communicated the Gospel to our hearts, minds, and souls. We are born again because God’s Word is absolutely true, and that Word has created faith in our hearts and provides the direction and power for our daily life. Satan will tempt us to doubt and redefine these truths, but we must resist and reject his attempts. We must understand that the salvation of our souls is in the balance. When we face the three questions above, we must aptly reply “yes!” to the question of whether truth really matters. We must answer “no” to the ideas that we can be the definers of our own truth, and that you can have yours, and I can have mine.
Today, may we ponder that the concept of truth is as important as our salvation itself.
Peace!
Pastor Tom
www.firmlyrooted.church
