Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. Jn 17:17
Yes I do affirm the authority of scripture. As a Christian I must accept the full Word of
God. There may be times that something
that is taught is difficult for me. If I
do not submit to it and instead start down a path of self-determination then I only
accept those teachings that I agree with.
Truth then becomes what I determine it to be.
I also do not believe in the authority of my ideas about
scripture. In fact, elevating the authority
of my ideas is no different than self-determination. It is simply a more sophisticated version of believing
what I want to believe. Too often we
elevate our own authority and with an error in thinking, claim “inerrancy” of
our thoughts because our thoughts are about the Bible. We mistakenly apply the doctrine of inerrancy to our thinking because our thinking (or we believe our thinking) is informed by the Bible. As our mind is conformed to the truth of Scripture,
we can make the claim of maturity of our thoughts. As we apply the truth of Scripture, we can claim
maturity of action. But to jump from maturity
to inerrancy of our own thoughts or actions is prideful leap into self-determination.
That is why love becomes such an important consideration
when looking at what people are teaching about the bible. It is a built-in truth detector of God’s
word. Consider:
If I speak human or angelic tongues but do not have
love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of
prophecy and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all
faith so that I can move mountains but do not have love, I am nothing.
3 And if I give away all my possessions, and if I give over my body in
order to boast but do not have love, I gain nothing. 1 Co 13:1–3
Notice speech without love is noise (i.e. lacking meaningful
truth). Prophetic words, knowledge, and
faith without love is to say “I am nothing” (i.e. lacking internalized
truth). Charity and sacrifice without
love is worthless action (i.e. lacking truth in action). Don’t gloss over this. Love is the central reality of the claim of
truth. If it is removed then the
remaining religious system collapses into a pile of nothing.
So when I or others make some claim of truth I encourage you
to consider whether evidence of love is behind it. Without love you might be
considering and contemplating “Nothing” which is a fruitless endeavor.
One quick side note. It is possible that someone who has a
different point of view from you is loving.
Don’t miss this. Love is not
simple affirmation of what you believe.
This is a serious mistake in our modern culture. Failing to affirm others’ “realities” or “truth”
has become to be seen as an unloving act.
This error throws the world into chaos since not everyone can be true. At some point even the most generous and accepting
person will come to something that they say is not true. This affirm at all cost
ultimately destroys truth for the sake of being accepting. In the long run this may be the most unloving
thing you can possibly do to or for another person. For example, we know that affirming
self-detractive behavior is enabling.
When we knowingly enable another’s path to destruction, we certainly
cannot claim love.
If you find love then you can proceed to evaluate the claim
of truth. Is what being expressed
meaningfully true? Do they evidence that
they believe the truth they are speaking? Finally looking at their action do they act as
if what they say is true. In summary, love is a divine test of integrity. Does what they lovingly say (verse 1), match
what they lovingly believe (verse 2), match what they lovingly do (verse 3)? Ultimately
it is loving integrity that gives authority to what has been spoken about God’s
word. That is why Jesus reserved his
most forceful criticism to those that lacked this loving integrity (See Matthew
23:1-36).
One caveat. We are all on the path toward perfection if we
choose to love God and love others (see Matthew 22:34-40). However, we are not yet perfected.
For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror, but
then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I will know fully, as I am
fully known.1 Co 13:12
Integrity is a measure of the fullness of Christ in our
message, beliefs, and actions. However,
perfection is evidence that we have passed from this life to eternal paradise.
So on this side of death let’s give one another a huge amount of grace. When we do we will evidence that God’s love
is in us.
But God proves his own love for us in that while we were
still sinners, Christ died for us. Ro 5:8
May God Richly Bless You
~BJ
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