“Our problem lies in the fact that we try to make the Bible fit our lives instead of making our lives fit the Bible.”
I had the privilege this weekend to lead a group of college students through the first 4 and 1/2 sessions of something called The Truth Project and we can’t be more excited about finishing it. This bible study, produced by Focus on the Family, is so intense and intentional, that you must be trained to teach it. In The Truth Project, Dr. Del Tackett walks the participants through a 12 tour study of the Truth of God and Jesus Christ in an effort to lead its students to a true Biblical worldview. Through this study, participants explore primary doctrine like Veritology: What is Truth, Who is Man, and Who is God. It looks at such biblical pillars like history, ethics, philosophy, and science; as well as taking a comprehensive tour of the social order that God put in place when He created the world. It tackles traditional worldviews, it challenges the scientific theories that attempt to disprove creation, and it thoroughly dismantles Darwin’s idea of evolution. Needless to say, this study is intense and extremely challenging even to those who have been brought up in church. This is my fourth time through The Truth Project and it continues to challenge me each time I lead it. This weekend was no exception as God laid a major revelation on my heart and impressed on me the need to write about it and share it with you. The subject and concept is very elementary, but one that we have an intense struggle. Tonight I want to talk about the problem with the truth.
The truth hurts. How many times have we heard that in our lives. Now, usually it is someone’s way of trying to smooth over something very pointed and hurtful they just said about you. Nevertheless, the phrase has more than just a hint of truth to it. The truth actually does hurt and that is probably why we have such a hard time facing it or admitting to it. You see truth is nothing more than reality and the reality is that we are sinful by nature. That is why there is evil in this world. I often get asked why a loving God would create evil. Well, that is simple…he didn’t. What God did is He created choice and we chose poorly. Considering that God is truth and therefore ultimate reality, it is not difficult to see where and why we fall short of His Glory. The problem, however, lies in the fact that we aren’t ready or willing to acknowledge the truth about ourselves. Oh, we don’t mind helping a friend battle the demons in their closet, but when it comes to our own skeletons, we tend to get offended when we are the one people are trying to help. You see we don’t like our sins mixed in with someone else’s sin. We try to convince ourselves that our sins aren’t quite as bad as other sins. More often than not, especially in Paul’s writings, he presents a list of sins or behaviors that should be avoided and chances are we fall into that group somewhere.
So, if we are willing to admit that we may sugarcoat our own lives a bit, how do we avoid allowing it to happen? This is the revelation given to me this weekend. It all comes down to truth. You see the ultimate truth, the ultimate reality in life is God and God has chosen to reveal himself to us in two very distinct ways: through His creation and through His word. The latter is where we need to focus. Our problem lies in the fact that we try to make the Bible fit our lives instead of making our lives fit the Bible. We try to find short verses, often taken out of context (don’t get me started on Phil. 4:13), in order to fit the way we live. We are constantly seeking for God’s permission to live the way we want to without giving up the worldly comforts, habits, and vices that make us feel good. Instead of seeking His permission to live our own way (which He is NOT going to give), we should seek the truth found in His word and adjust our lifestyles according to that truth. I have often told the students in my ministry that they should never compromise their beliefs UNLESS those beliefs are contrary to the truth of God. For many of us, it may be time to re-evaluate whether or not our beliefs match up with God’s truth. Perhaps when we do that, we can start loving the way God loves, living the way God created us to live, and achieving a truly biblical worldview- how God intended it to be.
In Christ Alone,
Rev. Bro. Coach
For more information about The Truth Project, visit their website http://www.thetruthproject.org
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