The Truth and The Lie

The Bible teaches us that there is one truth and there is one lie. (Romans 1:25) This one truth is that there is a God who is eternal and infinitely great, lovely, powerful, wise, holy and good. Because this is who He is, He is infinitely worthy of all the praise, honor, glory and power forever and ever. From eternity to eternity it’s all about Him. In between what has always been and what will always be is the here and now. We live this life on earth in the light of the glory and majesty of the one true God, the Creator of all things.

Since this is the truth, anything that distorts or denies this is a lie. Since our existence is because of Him and for Him, anything that suggests either subtly or overtly that this is not the purpose of our created existence is also a lie. These alternate descriptions and twisted presentations of the truth are countless and varied, yet they can all be summed up as one lie and attributed to the father of lies, Satan. (John 8:44) All of Satan’s attempts since the beginning have been aimed at robbing God of His worth by making Him appear to be less glorious and less beautiful than He actually is. This is his sole purpose in the world, and, even, in the church. My concern, then, is how can we expose the lie and set free those in the world caught in it’s deception and how can we identify the lie and awaken those in the church who are being led astray.

THE PROBLEM
In 2 Timothy 3:8, Paul writes to Timothy to remind him that these days will be filled with difficulty and this difficulty will come in the form of false teachers. These teachers will be opposed to the truth. Paul compares the false teachers to two men in particular, Jannes and Jambres. These are the names given to the magicians in Pharaoh’s court who opposed Moses. Paul is telling Timothy that these false teachers are like magicians! The way the magicians, Jannes and Jambres, opposed Moses was by imitating the signs that Moses did. The people and Pharaoh saw what Moses did and heard what he said and then turned and saw what the magicians did and heard what they said. As a result, they did not believe Moses because they were deceived by Jannes and Jambres. So here it is: today there are countless mis-representations of the truth; there are countless counterfeit and self-proclaimed gods; there are countless imitations of divine power. All of these serve to deceive people today into believing a lie.

THE SOLUTION
Now Paul presents to Timothy (and to us) the solution to the problem. He commands him to “Preach the word”. (2 Timothy 4:2) Every lie is eventually exposed by the truth. The way we will set free the captives and rescue the wandering is not by power or might or eloquence, but by the Spirit-empowered proclamation of the Word of God, which is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This preaching of The Word is the ONLY solution for a world living in darkness and the greatest way to protect the church from believing the lie. This is not just any word. It’s not the word of any man. This is the Word of God, breathed out, spoken from out of the very heart of God. (2 Timothy 3:16) It is inspired, and therefore, illuminating. We need to believe in the power of the Word of God. When He speaks, He acts. He speaks through His written Word through the spoken Word.

Husbands and fathers, though this passage is written to a pastor, you are the pastor or shepherd or overseer of your home. Subsequently, the greatest way to lead, protect and feed your family is through a consistent reading of and teaching from the Bible. Would you make no use of the greatest weapon in your arsenal in the thick of battle? The only way you and your family will be able to identify the lie is by teaching and holding to the truth. Pastor, (Senior, Associate, Youth, etc.) the greatest way to lead, protect and feed the souls entrusted to you is through the faithful preaching of the Word of God week in and week out. Nothing else will make a bigger impact. To think that something other than God’s Word will be better or make a bigger difference is to already begin to believe the lie. If we consistently and predominately preach sermons with the main "text" being from a movie clip (or a book, an idea, a real life illustration, a good thought, etc) and not from the Bible, then you and I are poor excuses for under-shepherds and we are being unfaithful to the Great Shepherd. We should either repent or resign. These things can supplement, but never replace. We will be held responsible for these souls and if we do not lead them, protect them and feed them FROM the Bible, the Word of God, we have abandoned the truth about God and exchanged it for a lie and handed those precious souls over to destruction. Just as the magicians could only imitate God’s signs and power up to a certain point, so also imitations of the truth have limitations. God’s power overcame the magicians and they could no longer match the true God and His awesome power. They were convinced, ashamed, and God overcame. The Word of God goes forth to destroy strongholds and false ideas of God. His Word reveals that He is above and beyond all earthly powers and lies.

THE URGENCY
Having established the problem and the solution, Paul describes the urgency of the matter. In 2 Timothy 4:1 Paul lists two big reasons that teaching the truth is critically urgent:
1. We preach before the face of God. We surely live before the face of God. As I said above, as pastors preach, the congregation is not the only one listening and watching - God is also. Husband, you love and serve your wife BEFORE the face of God. Father, you love and discipline your children BEFORE the face of God. We do not live to please men or ourselves. We live to please the God who created us and created us for Him. Seeking the glory of men will lead you down a path of substituting God for another god and the Word of God for the words and strategies and ideals of man. Paul’s main concern and his biggest joy was to be able to stand before the face of God and say that he was innocent of men’s blood. (Acts 20:26) But the reason he was innocent was because he did not shrink back from declaring to them the whole counsel of God! The faithful preaching of God’s Word will either be the grounds for our innocence or our guilt.

2. We preach because Jesus is coming SOON to judge the living and the dead. The days of difficulty that Paul described to Timothy are not over. They have increased and multiplied. But the focus lies not on the difficulty of the opposition by the lie to the truth, but on the reality that Jesus Christ is coming soon. While we wait for Him, we preach Him. While we long for Him, we point to Him. If the hurricane is coming you will secure the house. If the thief is approaching you will prepare yourself. Prepare your house. Prepare your soul. Prepare the hearts of those commended to you by God. The greatest preparations you can make are through the Word of God. Jesus’ coming is both glorious news and terrible news. We will be held responsible for the words we speak and the words we don’t speak; for the words we hear and the words we don’t hear and ignore. He is watching, He is coming. PREACH THE WORD!

THE CHALLENGE
Finally, the challenge to confronting the lie and holding to the truth is enormous. What we need to do and what we are called to do is not easy. It will cost you time, money, friends, family, possessions, reputation and, potentially, even your life. Do you believe in the truth? Meaning, do you believe that God is worthy of everything you are and have? Do you believe that He alone is worthy of worship and praise? Do you believe that all things exist by Him, through Him and for Him? Do you believe that His Word is the truth? That in it God has revealed to us everything we need to know about Him, us, this world and eternity? That from it we receive wisdom and guidance for how to live our lives? Paul says in 2 Timothy 4:3-4 that the truth will be opposed. Humanity has exchanged the truth about God for a lie. We have exchanged the lie about God for the truth, but this only by the riches of His grace in Jesus Christ. He has opened our eyes, our ears and our hearts by His word. The truth has made us free. Yet, this same truth is offensive and those who proclaim it will be rejected for it. This is in accordance with the promise Jesus made that so many choose to ignore: “If they persecuted me they will also persecute you.” (John 15:20) We must expect difficulty. But know for sure, that if you are faithful to God and to His Word, He will be faithful to you and to His Word.

Preach the word and hold to the truth. Live your life from the Word of God and He who is The Truth and The Word will reward you not only in this life, but in the eternal life to come.