Contending For The Faith...

"... And if someone asks you about your Christian hope, be ready to explain it," (cf. 1 Pet. 3:15).
"If you don't stand firm in your faith, then you will not stand at all" (Isaiah 7:9, HCSB).

"Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage--with great patience and careful instruction.  for the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine.  Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear" (cf. 2 Tim. 4:2-3, NIV). 

"TELL ME YOUR CERTAINTIES; I HAVE ENOUGH DOUBTS OF MY OWN!" -JOHANN WOLFGANG VON GOETHE 

NB:  I'm focusing on the essential doctrines that make up orthodox Christianity, not keeping one's faith in them unto salvation, nor faith in faith as if faith saves, when only Christ saves--it's the object of the faith that matters.  The faith has been delineated in several creeds, but then again Christianity is not about believing a creed but knowing a Person.  

Augustine's dictum to be on the same page as much as possible in the Spirit is appropriate for a day of sects and dissension or contention in the church:  "In essentials, unity; in nonessentials, liberty; in all things, charity."  That's why the church body shouldn't be ignorant of its teaching and have a working knowledge of the doctrines of the particular church and even a refresher course might help to keep these things focused and in mind--what they stand for as a church with a church mission and statement--"Without vision the people perish," (cf. Prov. 29:18, KJV).

Paul had already condemned sectarian spirit by rebuking the carnal Corinthians for taking up partisan politics in the church: "I am for Paul; I am for Peter; I am for Apollos; I am for Christ."  Nothing so divides a church like partisan politics, even government politics, because people have their own personal loyalties in these matters and some will die for them because they are invested in tribalism or that they only believe what their tribe tells them is true.  In other words, they've closed their minds and won't even listen to plain facts that might change their minds.  Socrates said that the first step to learning is to admit our ignorance; i.e., we cannot think we know it all or have a monopoly on the truth.

Now contending doesn't mean we are to be contentious!  When the Reformation happened, contention arose because the Catholics declared tradition to be of equal authority as Scripture; therefore, the split became permanent by this Counter-Reformation at the Council of Trent in 1545-63.  There is dialogue called godly controversy which is essential, and ungodly controversy that generates more heat than light and isn't worth the adrenaline.  We must never forget that it's evil to sow discord among brethren and God hates it (cf. Proverbs 6:19).  If we cannot live in peace we ought to separate and not cause dissension, a work of the flesh.

We all have our pride and some people will never admit they're wrong, admitting all people have a basic need to be right, but their religious faith is especially vulnerable to this.  The cause of this chain of events may be church rivalry or a competitive spirit of when people tend to play the "let's compare" game (cf. 2 Cor. 10:12) and take sides, not realizing that all the members of the church body should be on the same side and even on the same page spiritually.

Paul said that he was engaged in declaring and affirming the gospel (cf. Phil 1:7), while Jude said he was contending for the faith or defending it (cf. Jude v. 3).  There are certain nonnegotiables that we cannot compromise in our faith that make it orthodox faith and there are doctrines that are gray areas and open to discussion. Some doctrines are essential to orthodox Christianity such as the inerrancy of Scripture, the deity of Christ, and the Trinity.   We ought to fight for our convictions in the sense of being able to defend them and stand up for what we believe, declaring and showing our true Christian colors and not standing on the sidelines,  but we don't die for the doctrine of adult baptism where sincere believers disagree.  We don't just want a faith we can live with but one we will die for.

Instead, we understand there are honest quarrels in the faith and we must stick to our guns and not compromise but keep the main thing the main thing and remember what's essential and that we have much more in common than we disagree on:  we agree to disagree and carry on, going forward without being disagreeable, contentious, judgmental, or divisive: this may call a believer out of his comfort zone to serve where he disagrees with something but they must learn to do it love not because they on the same page on everything, for even mates or spouses don't agree on everything--we leave room for disagreement of opinion, noting that there's a place for opinion and then there's a place for church dogma or teaching.

There are gray areas per Romans 14:1: pick your battles!  We ought to be in a church that we feel we can serve in and be in basic harmony and union with its teachings, fellowship can only happen where there's an agreement to base it on.  Our fellowship ought to be based on the personhood or personage of Christ in the Spirit.

I have heard on good authority from Pastor Neil Johnson of my church that we ought to triage our spiritual disagreements.  It is inevitable to disagree and we must be prepared.  It is said that you hold opinions, but convictions hold you, and I know that we don't just want a faith we can live with but one we will die for.  If we have nothing worth dying for, what's the point?  That's like saying if you won't die for your convictions or integrity you may have none!  It is said that we must be willing to die for Christ and our confession in Him, but fight for the faith that is essential for its teachings, and discuss and leave options to agree or disagree on gray areas (cf. Romans 14:1) where we are open-minded and willing to keep the door open to talk without being dogmatic.  In other words, there's a time to build bridges and a time to erect walls!

Sometimes believers just come from different necks of the woods and need to get to know each other before they feel comfortable or at ease; but beware that we become too at ease in Zion that we become complacent and think we've "arrived," and don't need the body by becoming a solitary saint or spiritual Lone Ranger.  No one in the body is a rock or island that is completely independent of the rest--we all need each other on some dimension or level and we are meant to complement each other just like a spouse does.  When we keep our eyes focused on Jesus, we don't get sidetracked by issues anymore that don't matter in the grand scheme of things, but welcome the brother even if he errs and doesn't see the big picture or the whole truth as Priscilla and Aquilla took Apollos aside to straighten him out and teach him the Word of God more accurately (cf. Acts 18:25). 

They say that every challenge is an opportunity and every opportunity is a challenge!  But sometimes we fail to live up to the challenge and take the easy way out and fall short of the goal; we don't want any wasted opportunities to win over our brothers in Christ by gently leading them to a knowledge of the truth, perchance God grant them repentance (cf. 2 Tim. 2:25).  Today we have too much fanaticism and tribalism in the church whereas believers adhere to a "my-way-or-the-highway" mentality and are not willing to "cross the aisle" of church dogmatics to the point of being ultra sectarian or on the verge of being a cult where a church thinks they are right and everyone else is wrong because they have a monopoly on the truth: we must KEEP THE MAIN THING THE MAIN THING!

Note that the Ephesian church had its doctrines orthodox but had left their first love!  If we do not have love, our doctrines matter little.   We must prioritize our doctrines and realize that God loves all believers, not just those who are of us: the only one who can say that if they are not with Him they are against Him is Jesus.  We ought to pick our battles and not fight over something that has little at stake or we have nothing to gain: some believers even quarrel about the meaning of words in Scripture (cf. 1 Tim. 6:4)!  The man of God must not quarrel! (cf. 2 Tim. 2:24).

For some people it's difficult to admit they are wrong and to be humbled because of spiritual pride; let's beware lest we also become victims of our own spiritual pride!   We must be willing to go in the direction of the facts and truth as revealed--in the Bible.  Of all people, I have no right to condemn a believer of another church because of disagreement because I have been there and done that in my spiritual journey to know the Lord: we are all on the road to the Celestial City and are at different stages of maturity and I can see how God opened my eyes a little at a time to more accurate teachings.

We must learn to doubt our doubts and keep the faith!     CAVEAT:  Dr. Harry Ironside said there should be caution, "Beware lest we mistake our prejudices for our convictions."  I see more of danger for those who don't know what they believe and are ill-prepared to defend their faith in the open marketplace of ideas or the public square and forum.  In sum, it's much better to be at peace with our brethren than to just be right or orthodox--orthopraxy or ethics matter too.   Soli Deo Gloria! 

Defender Of Faith...

The UK's crown prince has a notion to change the motto of the sovereign from F.D. or, defender of THE faith, to defender of faith!  Instead of keeping the faith, it's keeping faith per se!  This disembowels the theology of the church because faith doesn't save, Christ does!  It's the object that matters, not the amount.  People can be sincerely wrong!  In other words, we don't have faith in faith but faith in Christ, even if it's mustard-seed-like.  Faith is seen as the channel that acquires it, grace the source that applies it, and Christ the means that accomplished it.

Faith is an abstract word that can more easily be seen than described.  People who observe us may proclaim:  "Now that's what I call faith!"   That's because true faith expresses itself, it has a testimony to share!   I'd rather exercise it any day than know its definition!  We see someone's faith by their deeds, not because they tell us they have faith.  Abraham was counted faithful because he obeyed. We must be obedient to the faith (cf. Acts 6:7; Romans 1:5; 16:26; 2 Thess. 1:8).  That implies there's no easy-believism and justifies lordship salvation.

Samuel told Saul, "To obey is better than sacrifice" (cf. 1 Sam. 15:22).   Dietrich Bonhoeffer said, "Only he who believes is obedient; only he who is obedient believes."  They are linked and the only test of faith is obedience, not ecstasy, religious experiences or highs, visions, or dreams, or private messages from God.  God doesn't want our achievements either, but our obedience!  Faith is the way to offer ourselves up as living sacrifices--We are not called to martyrdom and the more we suffer doesn't mean we are holier.  Therefore, "stand firm in the faith" (cf. Isaiah 7:9, HCSB).  As believers, we are primarily people "on a mission." 

What is faith then?  It is the gift of God that opens our hearts when the Spirit woos and quickens our spirit.  "This is the work of God, that you believe..."  It is composed of Fiducia, Assensus, and Notatia in Latin, and therefore it has a volitional, emotive, and cognitive element. The elements are confidence, trust, and knowledge.  We must believe the right creed concerning Christ without heresy.  But spreading the Word or the gospel message isn't disseminating a creed but presenting a Person.

We trust God with confidence and faithfulness as we proceed from faith to faith or grow in it.  As we are saved by faith, so ought we to continue in it (cf. Col. 2:6).  We progress in maturity from one faith to another (cf. Romans 1:17).  We may get a spiritual encounter that makes us "high" on the mountaintop but God won't leave us there, He tests our renewed faith as if by fire because it's more precious than silver or gold.  Do we walk by faith or by sight (cf. 2 Cor. 5:7)?  Once we have it we realize faith goes beyond reason, not against it. 

Saving faith is not storybook faith or mere head belief, but in the heart; it's not childish, but childlike, not simplistic, but simple!   Faith is not gullibility and doesn't commit intellectual suicide, but is based on evidence and sound reasoning, and intellectual integrity.  We are not called to believe despite the evidence nor to be irrational.  We have good, sound reason to believe and should defend the faith as Jude called it to contend for the faith (cf. Jude 3).  Faith without evidence or knowing why is blind faith!

Dead faith doesn't save, we must desire to live it out (cf. Romans 7:18) and show it to the world--to give it away!   Works validate faith and without them faith is suspect.  We are not saved by works, though; but not without them either!  The formula of the Reformers was that we are "saved by faith alone, but not by a faith that is alone."  CAVEAT:  Faith that is easy isn't worth much; there must struggle to give it merit--it's a choice a decision of the will.

There are two vital, juxtaposed factors to faith we must never forget:  faithfulness and repentance.  Faith and faithfulness go together and one can distinguish them but not separate them, likewise with repentance--don't divorce them.   Therefore they say there is no genuine repentance without saving faith and vice versa, or we come to God by penitent faith and/or believing repentance.     Soli Deo Gloria!

Refuting Error And Polemic Technique

Gen. George S. Patton wrote a book, Patton's Principles: A Handbook for Managers Who Mean It.  The point he makes is that we need to pick our battles and not get into disputes for no good reason when we have nothing positive to gain.  If we have everything to lose and nothing to gain, avoid it!  Some arguments generate more heat than light, and subsequently, aren't worth the adrenaline. 


The Bible says that God's servant must not be quarrelsome, and forbids us to be contentious, argumentative, judgmental, or divisive; the strategy of the devil is to divide and conquer and we need not be ignorant of his schemes.  We must learn the art or discipline of agreeing to disagree, and to disagree without being disagreeable!  Some people avoid all arguments like the plague, but an argument is simply showing someone his error or falsehood.



There are rules of debate and etiquette to keep arguments civil and under control, so as not to alienate and do irreparable damage to the relationship:  they say you shouldn't ever talk politics or religion, according to the American maxim, but how do we ever arrive at truth without doing that?  Truth is not relative but absolute and we need to be devoted to the truth; the unbeliever rejects the truth, but he who is of the truth hears God's voice--Jesus came to bear witness of the truth and truth came through Him, the personification of it.  A good lawyer can argue both sides of the case and knows the arguments pro and con, but we also hone our skills at learning and speaking by the principle that "iron sharpens iron" (per Proverbs 27:17). 


We all tend to be opinionated and some people don't want to understand, just express opinions, but just as we hold opinions, convictions hold us and we would consider laying down our lives for them.  We all have a right to our own private opinions, but not to fabricate our personal facts. The Bible doesn't forbid controversy, just godless controversy.  A point in fact:  John Stott wrote a book, Christ the Controversialist, to show that he didn't shy away from hot topics and wasn't afraid to upset the apple cart and the security of the Pharisees' turf, so as to make them jealous of His fame and popularity. We must not avoid controversy because it's not an option; to avoid it is to avoid Christ and the truth, letting heresy take over the church.   



We must aggressively confront heresy and confute those in opposition to sound doctrine--a good deacon can defend the faith and confront heresy, even smelling false doctrine a mile away, as it were. Edmund Burke said, "All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing." Let's not lose by default because we conceded and didn't come to the rescue and aid of our errant brothers.  The truth of the Bible is fully defensible and we need to be equipped to rightly divide the Word of Truth and to study to show ourselves approved unto God, as workmen without shame (cf. 1 Tim. 2:15).


Republicans insist there's no "evidence" of a cover-up; there's plenty of it, but they don't know what evidence in a court of law is:  it doesn't necessarily mean "proof" but only an argument or case to consider in making the decision of guilt or innocence.  There is often evidence pro and con in every case.  There is evidence of a cover-up because Trump told the Russians that he got rid of the "crazy nut job" to ease the pressure on the Russia issue.  He also admitted to Lester Holt on TV that the reason Comey was fired was an attempt to end the Russia investigation (by intimidation).  


Obstruction of justice, by the way, doesn't have to be successful, to be considered obstruction, all one has to do is make the attempt, even if it fails.  It isn't just one staff member that's under suspicion, but eighteen and there is evidence according to the FBI of a cover-up, and this implies there's a crime to cover up!  As they say, where's there's smoke, there's fire.  Soli Deo Gloria! 

Defending Christian Worldview

"O Timothy, guard the deposit entrusted to you. Avoid the irreverent babble and contradictions of what is falsely called "knowledge," for by professing it some have swerved from the faith. Grace be with you." (1 Tim. 6:20-21, ESV).

"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" (Rom. 12:2, ESV).

"My people perish for lack of knowledge" (cf. Hosea 4:14).

"For lack of knowledge My people go into exile" (cf. Isa. 5:13).

Our worldview, which outshines all others, the terminology taken from the German Weltanschauung, is our outlook or worldview (i.e., the sum total of convictions [e.g., is there such a concept as sin, a God, life after death?], ideas [philosophy and interpretations], beliefs [religious], values [patriotism?], but not opinions--note: you hold opinions, but convictions hold you!) and our worldview concerns our viewpoint in toto on life, our view of God, man, and the relationships and duties they owe each other--on reality in general. How do we make sense of the world when we encounter ideas whose time has come? It also answers the basic questions of life: Where did we come from or who are we? What is our purpose and meaning in life? What is wrong with mankind and how can we solve his dilemmas? And where are we going, or what is our destiny. Athanasius said that the only worldview that Christ will fit into is the one where He is the starting point! "Christianity is Christ," according to John Stott, "all else is circumference!" If we take God out of the equation, we head into natural catastrophe and disaster--our lives become chaotic with no purpose or aim, busy, but to no avail, going nowhere.

The Bible is basically our Owner's Manual to guide us to do God's will on earth. We are basically here "to glorify God and enjoy Him forever" (cf. Isaiah 43:7; and The Westminster Shorter Confession of 1646). The only worldview that gives dignity to man is the Christian one, for we see man as in the image and likeness of God, though tarnished by sin, it's still there and we are not dumb animals (cf. Job 18:3). If you see yourself as a grown-up germ or descended from blue-green pond scum or algae, it will affect your self-esteem and worldview. Teach man he's an animal and he will act like one! We become disoriented from God's design without God in the reckoning, as Alexander Solzhenitsyn said, "Men have forgotten God." The word "purpose" is a dirty word to secularists, who deny that there is meaning and purpose in life, which is true without God in the picture and the end result of futile speculation and a fool's errand searching trying to "find oneself" or one's purpose in life.

We have a purpose in being here to do God's will: rule or subdue the earth; be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth; fulfill the Great Commission, and be lights in the world representing Christ doing good deeds in His name. We don't own anything, but are only stewards of God's blessings. We were designed to know God! However, culture has run amok in its abandonment of God and taking Him out of the reckoning. God sets the agenda and to disobey His will is called sin--of which is the root of the problem.

And so man rebelled against the loving God and chose his own way over God's wisdom and provision--he chose not to trust God; we do the same thing and only duplicate that sin and folly. We are not victims of circumstances or of nature and are not pawns of our genes and we can blame no one but ourselves since we are all born in sin and all have fallen short of God's glory and ideal. This was called the Fall and we all dittoed that sin and are individually responsible to God and it's a cop-out to blame anyone for our own faults and shortcomings or sin. The crux of the problem is that sin has entered the innocent world that God created.

God's remedy is the cross whereby He paid the price to redeem us and set us free from our sins. We are at the mercy of God because He is a God of justice and will judge all sin. What we need, is not an educator, nor an economist, nor a scientist, but a Savior to stand in the gap and put a hand on both us and God in reconciliation. God has solved the sin problem by the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus!

It is a challenge to live up to a Christian worldview because the whole world has become secularized and people want us to privatize our faith. The Bible is not passe or obsolete, but relevant to all our problems! The biggest problem is what Jesus said, "You are wrong because you do not know the Scriptures, nor the power of God," cf.. Matt. 22:29. The Bible has all the answers to man's dilemmas, and his chief enemies are the devil, the sin nature in himself, and the world system. Equipped with Scripture, we will know what God thinks, get our thinking straightened out and have a Christian worldview, so necessary to defeat the devil's world. The world has fallen for Satan's lies and is deceived, and we are to preach the gospel so that they can know the truth and the truth will set them free (cf. John 8:32).

Ideas and worldviews have consequences and affect how we live. "If there is no God," Dostoevsky said, "all things are permissible." Atheist mathematician and philosopher Bertrand Russell said, "Unless you assume a God, the question of life's purpose is meaningless." Hamlet summed it up in Shakespeare's Macbeth: "[Life is a] tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing," This is the bleak outlook and belief system without God in the picture. Will Durant, the famed humanist historian, said the biggest issue of our day is whether man can live without God. George Bernard Shaw said that no nation has survived the loss of its gods. The Bible has something to say about every major academic discipline and they all find their origins in Scripture. Modern man basically believes that science can solve our problems and has given up hope in religion as the solution. It takes faith to believe this! Secular Humanism is the prevalent worldview academically and socially, whereby the theme is "Down with God, up with man!" The deception of this worldview is that it strives for good without God! They see "man [as] the measure of all things" (in Latin homo mensura), and refuse God as the "moral center of the universe" with transcendent laws.

And the Postmodern era has become rather skeptical of the existence of absolute, transcendent truth, and posits all truth as being relative; relative to what? Saying truth is relative, with no Truth with a capital T; we can know nothing for certain, an epistemology of skepticism--it's a contradiction in terms and is itself a truth claim of no truth! Actually, the only truths they are really concerned about as being relative are the ones related to Christianity. This philosophy is in sharp contradistinction to the Bible's claim of propositional, incarnated, and absolute truth with no wiggle room for disagreement. The Bible says that the fear of the Lord is the beginning point of all knowledge (cf. Prov. 1:7). All knowledge begins in faith, it's not just Christians who have faith, they just don't put faith in science as the sole arbiter of absolute truth.

What Secular Humanism does is deify man and dethrone God-man has wanted to make a name for himself ever since the tower of Babel (cf. Gen. 11:4). Their two main presuppositions are that evolution is unquestioned scientific fact and that the supernatural doesn't exist--they believe science has undermined the Bible! Christians are called to show their colors, be "Daniels," stand up and be counted, and be informed and show discernment: Men who "understood [interpret] the times, with knowledge of what to do," as it says in 1 Chronicles 12:32.

C. S. Lewis summed it up for our marching orders: "We must not remain silent and concede everything away [and lose by default]." That means our faith is defensible in the market square and open marketplace of ideas and we need not privatize it. We are in the world, but not of it (cf. John 15:19) and there is a war of "isms" going on, but Sir Francis Bacon said, "Knowledge is power!" (Cf. Prov. 24:5). R. C. Sproul, influential theologian, said it well: "With God we have dignity and without God we have nothing."

In sum, it is written: "In the beginning God..." meaning that we start with God and explain creation, we don't start with creation and explain or explain away God! In sum, Christian worldview outshines all others and had the best explanation of reality. Soli Deo Gloria!

All Truth Is God's Truth...

NB: WHERE YOU BEGIN VIRTUALLY DETERMINES WHERE YOU'LL END UP.

But the truth that Postmodernists just want to maintain is that the truths of Christianity are only relative or that some things may work for them and therefore be true for them (someone's truth has no power over you and you cannot judge another person's truth). They claim that one person's truth doesn't matter to another and their truth has validity for them. Like they say in the catchphrase: "That may be true for you, but not for me!" People often confuse what's true and truth: facts may be true and we speak the truth when we don't lie, but no one can "know the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth," like they demand in court, except God. Scripture is the fulfillment and revelation of truth and is the only source of divine truth and can be called "Truth." We can know the truth, Jesus is proof! Jesus said that he who is of the truth will listen to Him (cf. John 18:37), and He came to bear witness to the truth (ibid.). Pilate spoke like a typical Postmodernist and asked, "What is truth?" (v. 38), only not waiting for an answer--is it opinion or feeling?

To Rome, "might made right," (the Iron Rule); there was no universal truth. This refers to objective truth, meaning it's true regardless of doubt or affirmation, and no matter who says it or believes it, regardless of culture, context, or time. Postmodernists deny any possibility of knowing this kind of truth in their "hermeneutic of suspicion." They even go on to say that even if it did exist, we wouldn't communicate it adequately and understand it for sure. Don't confuse truth with "scientific fact" and "justified belief" or knowledge: e.g., that the earth was flat or the sun revolved around the earth, was justifiably believed in the past!

Augustine declared: "All truth is God's truth," Thomas Aquinas added, "All truth meets at the top!" Christians are, above all else, seekers of the truth (cf. 2 Thess. 2:10) and have experienced the truth to set them free (cf. John 8:32). We are responsible for the truth that God gives us and "speaking the truth in love" to another (cf. Eph 4:15, NIV), that means we are sensitive in its appropriateness, tactfulness, application, and timeliness. Wherever we encounter truth, it's because God ordained it as being the source of all truth, God Himself--whether in pure science (and this discipline could've only arisen due to the Christian worldview and the first scientists were Christians!) or in applied sciences, such as political science (just governance), sociology (society and groups), psychology (what makes us human? the study of behavior), biology (what is life?), law (what is just law?), ethics (how do we then live?), economics (who do we produce the most?), philosophy (how do we know something?), theology ("queen of sciences"--studying and knowing God), or history (recording the past using research and evidence). We all have a point of view that reflects on our interpretation of reality--not believing in God or that "God is dead" [or irrelevant and unbelievable], as Nietzsche proclaimed, is equated with there being no absolute truth as a consequence.

If we don't believe absolute truth exists, then we will not believe in a God of Truth with a capital T. There is absolute truth because Jesus came to bear witness of it and is the incarnation or personification of it. But there is no absolute belief! If they insist truth is relative, ask relative to what? We don't all agree as to our interpretations of the truth or the facts. And we have a right to our own opinions, but not to fabricate our own truths or make up so-called "alternative facts." Truth can be defined as what corresponds to reality and this is called the Correspondence Theory of Truth, but Postmodernists deny this and that we can even know an objective truth valid for everyone and all the time. They are, therefore, atheists by consequence, because, if there is no universal truth, there can be no God--at least there's no God's eye view of it or metanarrative (grand story of reality). Truth to them is what works for them or suits their fancy. In pragmatism, the test of an idea is not whether it's true, but whether it works--the results! Things that aren't true can work!

We must realize that all knowledge is contingent and it takes a leap of faith to know anything. And exists something besides matter/energy in the cosmos--intelligence! Scientists are people of faith as much as Christians; they have just accepted a different set of presuppositions to put their faith in. Scientists and science have been wrong before, and are not infallible nor inerrant--but limited. But with God there is nothing contingent; He knows all from the most trivial to the most profound and He chooses not to reveal everything to us, but to remain a God of mystery. Just like the first words of Scripture in Gen. 1:1 ("In the beginning God"), we must begin with God to know anything for sure and explain everything from there (just as Prov. 1:7 (NKJV) says, "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge...").

He knows what lies in the future as well as the past, because everything is present with God, and He also knows all possibilities (past, present, and future), or anything that makes sense at all. Christianity is the only faith based on truth. Our faith is revealed because we could know nothing apart from revelation. This is the God we represent and we are to be dedicated to searching for and knowing the truth.

Christians have nothing to fear from the truth because we serve the God of Truth and in Him is no lie, for He cannot lie. Our faith is based on facts, not fable, fiction, myth, legend, or tall tale--but sound historically accurate narrative of eye-witnesses telling the truth with corroboration, and without collusion, and the veracity of their accounts is evidenced by their willingness to die for them, when they were in a position to know if it was the truth or a lie. Many will die for a lie, but they won't die for a known lie. NB: "THE ONLY SYSTEM OF THOUGHT THAT CHRIST WILL FIT INTO IS THE ONE WHERE HE IS THE STARTING POINT." --ATHANASIUS 

In Defense Of Truth...

"Truth forever on the scaffold, wrong forever on the throne." (James Russell Lowell, 1844, The Present Crisis)

By definition, truth is that which corresponds with reality (The correspondence theory of truth articulated by John Locke), or more directly AND BIBLICALLY that which God decrees or is concordant with Him.

"I do not write to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it and because no lie comes from the truth" (1 John 2:21, NIV).

"All truth is God's truth." (Augustine) and "All truth meets at the top."(cf. Aquinas). 

"THEY REFUSE TO  STAND UP FOR THE TRUTH." (CF. JER. 9:3). 

There comes a time in our testimony that we must stand up for the truth and be counted as a test of our faithfulness. Jesus is the epitome of truth and all truth is God's truth, Jesus revealed Himself as its ultimate source. The trouble with truth is that no one person has a monopoly on it and we all need each other to arrive at truth per se (not abstract, but personified in Christ)--no one's cornered the market. What's wrong with cults is that they have just enough truth to be dangerous; they have an element of truth and inoculate people from the real thing, because of having error mixed with the truth so as to deceive. There's no such thing as pure evil--it's just a perversion or distortion of truth and good.

People go by what rings true for them personally for basically four reasons: it's true because it's believable or they believe it; it's true because their fellowship or group believes it; it's true because they want to believe it, and it's true because they have a vested interest in it. This is due to our bias and everyone has a bias; there's no such thing as perfect objectivity outside God. We all need to examine our motives and check facts because our faith is fact-based and our God is fact-based.

We must not dodge the "no-truth-premise" by insisting truth is only relative either. This is a "self-refuting statement" and cannot possibly be true or it contradicts itself--is that statement relative too? To the Postmodern, truth is but a "short-term contract." But Christians are hungry for the truth and love the truth; it's the rejection and hatred of truth that marks the unbeliever (cf. Rom. 2:8; 2 Thess. 2:10). One sure sign of a believer is his devotion to truth. Remember, Jesus promised the truth will set us free from this confusion (cf. John 8:32). There is Truth with a capital T! Truth, according to the Bible, is absolute, universal, and objective, meaning it applies to all, all the time, everywhere, and is true regardless of whether believed or not!

It is said that we cannot know the truth, and this would be true had not Jesus revealed it, the trouble is not in knowing truth, but that we have rebelled from it and are seeking rationalization to justify ourselves. Differing worldviews all posit certain "truths" and make truth claims that only their truths are true--they are all unified that Christianity is a lie. "No lie is of the truth," according to 1 John 2:21. However, there is a reliable truth that we all can put faith in.

The catchphrase that something "may be true for you but not me" is also fallacious. Some people refuse to accept truth in essence because they think it gives others power over them, and they claim no one's in a position to know what's true for them. People claim that our Christian claims are irrelevant, but God's truth marches on and is vindicated. Why do they all despise our truth? We all act like there's truth because there is truth! All Christians ought to devote themselves to the pursuit of truth with a passion. We all ought to be known as lie detectors and purveyors of truth!

As Christians, we are ambassadors for truth because we belong to the truth" (cf. 1 John 3:19) for Christ came to bear witness of the truth, and grace and truth came through Him, being full of grace and truth (cf. John 1:7), and all who hear Him are of the truth. And the church is known as the "pillar and ground of truth (cf. 1 Tim. 3:15). When they insist that it's merely our interpretation, we insist that truth is absolute and universal and can be communicated. Zechariah 8:19 exhorts us: "... Therefore love truth and peace.'" Soli Deo Gloria!

The Assault On Truth

"TRUTH forever on the scaffold, WRONG forever on the throne."--James Russell Lowell, The Present Crisis, 1844" TRUTH is that which corresponds with [describes] REALITY."--John Locke (now known as the correspondence theory of Truth)
"To begin learning, you must admit your IGNORANCE."--Socrates
"...as the TRUTH is in Jesus" (Eph. 4:21, NKJV).
"... Everyone who is of the TRUTH hears My voice" (John 18:37, NKJV).
"... [B]ecause they refused to love the TRUTH and so be saved" (2 Thess. 2:10, ESV).
"Politics without PRINCIPLE ."--one of the seven deadly sins that will destroy society per Mahatma Gandhi
"These six things the LORD hates, Yes, seven are an abomination to Him: A proud look, A LYING tongue..." (Proverbs 6:17-17, NKJV).
"Only simpletons believe EVERYTHING they're told" (Proverbs 14:15, NLT).
"If the FOUNDATIONS are destroyed, What can the righteous do?" (Psalm 11:3, NKJV).
"No nation has ever survived the loss of its gods."--George Bernard Shaw
"The simple believe ANYTHING..." (Proverbs 14:15, NIV). (ALL EMPHASIS MINE.)


Who would ever think that someday the very notion of truth would come into the debate, not just not knowing what it is like Pilate, but denying it exists--this is Postmodernism! There is no universal belief, but there is universal truth.
NB: WE LIVE IN THE POST-TRUTH ERA NOW POLITICALLY.

Pres. Trump has told at least 118 outright lies in less than a year in office, according to an investigative report team of The New York Times, while Obama told a mere total of 18 combined in his two terms--not exaggerations, nor differences of judgment or opinion, mistakes, or misspeaking, but proven lies with evidence! For example, he claimed to have signed more bills than any president except one in his first year (which is a big fat lie); however, he delegitimizes the "mainstream press," because they didn't cover this so-called fact, or, in reality, a lie of his. He claimed that 3-5 million illegal aliens voted for Clinton to give her the popular vote with no basis in fact or evidence to substantiate it. 

 Yet despite these prevarications, his base hasn't yet realized that our president is a congenital, habitual, boldfaced, shameless, pathological liar and the truth is not in him--he will even prevaricate about easily verified data that can be Googled! What's more, he repeats his lies and refuses to correct them or own up to them. The joke around the Beltway being circulated is that George Washington said, "I cannot tell a lie," Richard Nixon couldn't tell the truth, Jimmy Carter promised not to lie, but Donald J. Trump cannot tell the difference! It is even said of Trump that he lies even when the truth will do and won't do him any harm.


Basically, his base relies on FOX News and his Twitter feed for their information and news flashes and to be informed of the latest news cycle, twisted in favor of the president's viewpoint. If you only rely on one source of input or worldview you'll lose your discernment! FOX News is unapologetic about the president and refuses to criticize him, even if he is patently wrong. Breitbart News is the president's propaganda machine armed by his self-proclaimed "wingman," Steven Bannon, a right-wing party hardliner, called a "white nationalist" and a spokesman in his media for the "alt-right," which is set against the establishment GOP. Trump resents a free press and strives to discredit it, realizing it inhibits his power and authority and is a wannabe despot who is only limited by our governmental system of checks and balances, which he wants to destroy and discredit because he doesn't want restraint on his agenda, power, and authority.


How is it that the public tolerate such lies coming from the top? Some even know it and are unconcerned or apathetic, even thinking it doesn't matter. Pragmatism is not concerned with truth, but what works, or results, as the effectiveness of an idea or policy. People just believe in what "works" for them! We live in the age of Postmodernism, whereby truth is individualized and relative to a situation, person, or time: "You've got to change with the times!" \

Everything is in a state of flux. The citizenry doesn't know what truth is any better than Pilate, who asked Christ at his trial: "What is truth?" People are simply clueless and think truth is unknowable, and you cannot claim to speak for it. Our president has the so-called bully pulpit to propagate his dangerous ideas and notions, and more than that, we have a bully in the pulpit! He spends a large portion of his time insulting various constituencies politicians and opponents he deems his enemies in a paranoid mindset.


Joseph Goebbels, the "notorious chief of Nazi propaganda," believed in telling big lies or whoppers and frequent lies to fool and brainwash or condition the common man, in his ignorance (Scripture says the simpleton believes anything in Prov. 14:15) --a large section of Trump's base is uneducated working-class folks who don't know how to fact-check, or do any research. They are mostly highly gullible and don't think for themselves or make up their own opinions--but are just sponges of the conservative media and radio hosts (they're also called ditto-heads). These naive people buy into the lies of the alternative universe of Trump politics. Trump couldn't be truer to the ideas of Joseph Goebbels, "notorious chief of Nazi Propaganda, because he is engaged in propaganda himself, telling lies over and over again until they get accepted, even big lies a la Goebbels, and never admitting error or that it was a lie, and to this day he has never admitted being wrong or apologized for it. The president sees it as a sign of weakness to say, "I'm sorry!" or "I was wrong!" Never before has any president been able to lie with such impunity and unchallenged by his partisans.


In the final analysis, education is going from an unconscious to a conscious awareness of your ignorance, and Trump doesn't seem to gain anything by O.J.T. and his learning curve is extremely low. As Socrates said, you will never arrive at the truth, unless you admit you could be wrong! No one has a monopoly on wisdom or truth and doesn't need feedback, rebuke, or correction by others at times when he makes mistakes--if you've never made a mistake, you've never made anything, goes the proverb. In modern terminology, truth has become "a short-term contract," and, even if knowable, not communicable--denying universal and objective truth (true whether believed or not), there's no Truth with a capital T! In sum, it's the truth that's under siege and Christians must not stand in the sidelines, (1 Tim. 6:12, NKJV, says, "Fight the good fight of faith..."), but make their stand clear and declare their Christian colors, even if it means going solo: The true statesman will stand for the truth, declare his colors, and let the chips fall where they may in a posture of moral courage. (By definition: Believing something doesn't make it true, and not believing it doesn't make it false or wrong.


CAVEAT: Just like the emperor who wore no clothes, many of the leaders of the GOP know in their hearts that Trump is a liar, but for the sake of self-preservation and survival instinct, and because they want to look out for Number One; Job One is protection of party reputation and their job security. They refuse to acknowledge this because it would be political suicide, as they are also afraid of Trump's base, and in effect, they are his ENABLERS and are equally guilty of dismantling our democracy and its foundations under the rule of law, the US Constitution being the supreme law of the land.


Two germane verses from the Word come to mind: "Oh, that they were wise, that they understood this, That they would consider their latter end!" (Deut. 32:29, NKJV). "The foundations of law and order have collapsed. What can the righteous do?" (Psalm 11:3, NLT).

I deplore the reality that the day has finally arrived for politicians to be more concerned with public opinion than the truth and/or principle; how can a man call something crooked, if he has no idea what straight is? The truth does matter, whether we realize it or not, Jesus said in John 18:37, NKJV, "... Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice." As a word to the wise is sufficient: Paul depicts unbelievers as those "who suppress the truth" (cf. Rom. 1:18) and who "reject the truth" (cf. Rom. 2:8; Titus 1:14). He also says they "exchange the truth of God for a lie" (cf. Rom. 1:25). Their judgment draws nigh: "because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they may be saved ... that they should believe the lie" (2 Thess. 2:10-11, NKJV). We can only hope if perchance God may do a work of grace in their conversion: "... Perhaps God will change their mind and give them a knowledge of the truth" (2 Tim. 2:25, CEB).


Knowing this, one realizes that the truth is the antiseptic of error and wrongdoing and we must never give up fighting the "good fight" (cf. 1 Tim. 6:12; 2 Tim. 4:7) for Him who came to bear witness of the truth (cf. John 18:37). Paul tells Titus that the "acknowledgment of the truth ... accords with godliness" (Titus 1:2, NKJV). One should never feel he has a monopoly on the truth, has cornered the market, or closed his mind to new ideas whose time has come--no one has all the truth! Note and apply Paul's admonition: "And if the bugle gives an indistinct sound, who will get ready for battle?" (1 Cor. 14:8, ESV). Those of us who know what to do should declare our colors and take our stand, as the immortal words in Esther 4:14, NKJV, say, "... Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?"


There is a condition to finding truth: "Science says to sit down before the facts as a little child, be prepared to go up every preconceived notion, be willing to be led to whatever end Nature will lead you, or you will know nothing." Finally, bear in mind, in the search for ultimate truth, the immortal axiom of St. Augustine: "All truth is God's truth," and similarly of St. Thomas Aquinas, "All truth meets at the top." Soli Deo Gloria!

A Time For Polemics...

The church is "the pillar and ground of the truth"  (1 Timothy 3:15, NKJV).

"... Everyone who is of the truth hears my voice"  (John 18:37, NKJV).

"When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all the truth..." (John 16:13, HCSB).

"Let a man so consider us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God"  (1 Cor. 4:1, NKJV).

"... Whenever you come together, each of you has a psalm, has a teaching [doctrine], has a tongue, has a revelation, has an interpretation.  Let all things be done for edification:"  (1 Cor. 14:26, NKJV).
EMPHASIS MINE! 

Polemics is defined as denouncing heresy, or of refuting it and standing up for sound doctrine.  "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine [teaching]"  (2 Timothy 4:3, NKJV). There is a growing postmodern camp in the church that denies that we have gotten orthodoxy right yet and that we can be dogmatic about anything in the Bible, that truth per se is up for grabs, including the gospel message. Postmodernism teaches that truth is a "short-term contract" and that what's true for you, may not be for someone else (aka relativism).  The church got the idea that truth is negotiable and up for grabs and the notion that it's only relative to the postmodern worldview that is prevalent in academia.

In the name of ecumenicity, the truth is compromised and watered down and even deemed unknowable. Are we just trying to be "inclusive" as politicians strive to be?  Another explanation for this contempt and cavalier attitude for the truth is the "seeker sensitive" atmosphere permeating evangelical churches.  Should we domesticate or tone down the truth to make it more appealing to the unchurched?  This is known as "contextualizing" Christianity. Is there a paradigmatic shift against dogma?  Are they reinventing or revamping the church?  This issue is whether sound doctrine is too arcane and abstruse for the typical churchgoer, or necessary for maturity.  It all reverts to what Satan said to Eve: "Hath God indeed said...?" (cf. Gen. 3:1).  The question has plagued mankind since Pilate asked Jesus, "What is truth?"  (Cf. John 18:38).

Jude exhorts us to "contend for the faith" in an age when it is unpopular to teach doctrine and to stick to the application of the Bible, like the social gospel, which is a misnomer, and an excuse to turn stones into bread.  Paul boasted in his swan song of 2 Tim. 4:7 the following:  "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith."   Satan opposes sound doctrine and we confront his Anfectung (German for "attack," as Luther termed it), when we stand up for the truth. The problem with most believers today is that they don't think the truth is worth studying, and they certainly wouldn't die for it.  We must never compromise what we believe to maintain a conscience:  "So I always take pains to have a clear conscience toward both God and man"  (Acts 24:16, ESV).

Why do you think Paul said they are "always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth"(2 Tim. 3:7, ESV).    A Christian is one who loves the truth and seeks the truth, as incarnate in Christ, the Truth itself.  Truth is knowable and we are to ascertain it to best of our ability because "truth matters" and as Augustine said, "All truth is God's truth," and Thomas Aquinas said, "All truth meets at the top."  If a heretic is found in the church we are to take action:  "This testimony is true. Therefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith."  An example of heresy to be denounced is easy-believism, also known as cheap grace.  Pastors are exhorted above all:  "But as for you, speak the things which are proper for sound doctrine"  (Titus 2:1, NKJV).

Remember:  Doctrine is teaching and usually refers to the church's stand on issues or their dogma. We have received sound doctrine from centuries of scholarship and no one today, no matter how gifted, can defy and refute all the learning available to us via commentaries and other sources.  We don't have to start from scratch every generation!    Why do we need doctrine?  "... [T]hat he may be able, by sound doctrine, both to exhort and convict those who contradict [error]"  (Titus 1:9, NKJV).

Now we are not to be nitpicky or to split hairs, because there are gray areas, and room for disagreement indisputable or questionable doctrines--church fellowships and families should strive for unity in the Spirit in the bond of peace (cf. Eph. 4:3 which says, "["bearing with one another in love] endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace"), i.e., unity, not necessarily uniformity, and not be judgmental towards those who beg to differ:  After all, a Protestant is defined as one who dares to remonstrate, "I dissent, I disagree, I protest"  (just like the famous words of Martin Luther at the Diet of Worms).

Doctrine does come up all the time in our preaching because Paul says in 2 Tim. 3:16 that "all Scripture is profitable for doctrine."   We are to avoid foolish disputes and arguments and "disputes over words" (cf. 1 Tim. 6:4, NKJV) which cause division, but to take stands on issues that matter: "In essentials, unity; in nonessentials, liberty; in all things, charity," as Augustine's dictum said.  We are to avoid foolish arguments, but not godly ones--there is a time and place to stand up for what you believe in.  Paul writes in 1 Timothy 4:6 (NKJV):  "If you instruct the brethren in these things, you will be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished in the words of faith and of the good doctrine which you have carefully followed."  This is emphasized in 1 Tim. 1:10 to teach sinners whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine.

It is infant believers who are "carried about by every wind of doctrine" (cf. Eph. 4:14).  When sound doctrine is taught there will be those who oppose it:  "Now I urge you, brethren, note those who cause divisions and offenses, contrary to the doctrine which you learned and avoid them"  (Romans 16:17, NKJV).    The early disciples were known by four signs in Acts 2:42 and one of them was that they continued in the apostles' doctrine.

Paul urges Timothy to "charge some that they teach no other doctrine" (1 Tim. 1:3, NKJV).  He also exhorts him:  "Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine...." (1 Tim. 4:16, NKJV).  Note that he teaches in 1 Tim. 5:17 (NKJV):  "Let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in the word and doctrine."  We do not want God's doctrine to be blasphemed (cf. 1 Tim. 6:1) and to teach "the doctrine which accords with godliness"  (1 Tim. 6:3, NKJV).  Elders are to hold "the mystery of the faith [deeper doctrine] with a pure conscience (cf. 1 Tim. 3:9, NKJV).  We are to be so sound and pure that we "adorn the doctrine of God" (cf. Titus 2:10, NKJV).

Originally, when believers assembled for worship, they had a doctrine to share (cf. 1 Cor. 14:26).  It is important to "go on to maturity" by leaving the "elementary doctrines" (cf. Heb. 6:1) and the goal is given in Ephesians 4:13 (NKJV):  "[T]ill we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, in the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ." The faith is referred to as the sum total of the teachings or doctrines of Christianity.

The danger of the last days is the doctrines of demons (cf. 1 Tim. 4:1), and the only way to inoculate the church body from this is to have a firm foundation in the truth and basic sound doctrine.  Paul urges Timothy:  "Till I come, give attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine" (1 Tim. 4:13, NKJV).  Hebrews 13:9 (NKJV) admonishes us:  "Do not be carried about with various and strange doctrines...."  The only way to recognize a counterfeit is not to study counterfeits, but originals! Isaiah 28:24 says:  "... And those who complained will learn doctrine." This is the panacea for the church falling for the heresy that truth doesn't matter and sincerity is what validates faith.

The unrighteous perish "because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved" (2 Thess. 2:10, NKJV).   But God will teach the sheep:  "Whom will he teach knowledge?  And whom will he make to understand the message [doctrine in KJV]"  (Isaiah 28:24, NKJV).  Who would believe that sound doctrine would be an issue in today's church?  But there is a movement known as the 'Emerging Church" that challenges truth per se and denies we have systematic truth or "orthodoxy nailed down, shrink-wrapped and freeze-dried forever."  This is an anti-dogmatic attitude that has permeated some churches, proclaiming that we "haven't arrived yet."

Truth is under attack and we are not to "tolerate false teachers" like Jesus rebuking the churches in Revelation.  Remember Demetrius in 3 John 12 who  "has a good testimony from all, and from the truth itself." False teachers had crept into the church that Jude was writing to--this is our wake-up call.     Soli Deo Gloria!

Defender Of Faith

We are called to contend for the faith that was once and for all delivered to us, according to Jude 3. Christianity is rightly called a faith, rather than a religion, because of two things:  The common body of knowledge adhered to; and the virtue of faith that is essential for its doctrine of redemption.  Religion is not a faith in the same sense--our faith is in a person that we know ("I know whom I have believed..," says 2 Tim. 1:12), and our faith is not in a system or code of ethics or rules and ritual.

Saving faith is a living faith that grows--where is it going?  It is not being credulous or believing for no sound reason--we have ample reasons to believe and don't believe despite the evidence.  We take God at His Word and accept His authority over ours as self-attesting (which means that if you appeal to any higher authority than Him, then you are saying He is not God, but the authority is). We are not inclined to believe due to our depravity and must be regenerated unto faith by an act of grace of the Holy Spirit. The only manifestation of faith and the test of faith is obedience--you cannot believe in the Lord without submission, it's a contradiction in terms.

These two are equated in Hebrews 3:18-19; 4:6).  Faith commences with receptivity and an open mind, and you don't need all the answers to believe; you are required to take a leap of faith because faith is what pleases God (cf. Heb. 11:6). Some think of it as going with the preponderance of the evidence as a jury making a decision and going in the direction of the evidence, though you don't have all the evidence that is possible and there may be gaps in it to fill by faith.

It takes more faith to be an atheist than a believer and there is sufficient evidence for anyone with an open mind (can have your own opinions, but not your own facts; some say, "I already have my mind made up, don't confuse me with the facts"), a willing (i.e., to do God's will) spirit, and a needy (poor in spirit, or recognizing need for God and depravity and sinfulness of self) heart.  Not believing in God is not evidence and one must always inquire, "What evidence is there that there is no God, etc?" You cannot prove that God doesn't exist, or that Jesus didn't rise from the dead; the opposite of Christ rising from the dead is not that people don't normally do this, but that He didn't--and there's much circumstantial, historical, and empirical evidence that suggests He did!

There is historical or story-book faith that's all in the head, and then there's heart belief that saves. We must not only believe that Christ lived but that He lives.  And that He died for you personally.  Christ wasn't just born, but must be born in you!  We may come to Christ, which is believing in Him and say, "I believe, help thou mine unbelief" (Mark 9:24).  You need to be sincere, but can be sincerely wrong--you have to believe the right thing about Christ and be orthodox--sincerity is necessary, but not sufficient.  Finally, saving faith is childlike, but not childish, and simple, but not simplistic.

We do not believe it is the amount of faith that saves, but the direction or object that counts.  You can have great faith in the church and its program and be lost (that's why some will say to the Lord, "Lord, Lord, did we not [do this or do that]?").  There are some whose faith is weak, but at least it is in the right direction.  It's like having only a little faith to step out on the frozen lake that has 2-foot-thick ice--it doesn't take much faith!  Our God is so great, it isn't our faith that saves--it's Jesus, who is the only Savior who saves.  The problem most people have is not that their faith is too small, but their God is too small and their thoughts of God are too human! We boast of a big God who can do anything, and with whom everything (except going against His nature) is possible.  That's why Jesus said that faith the size of a mustard seed can move mountains (which means attempting great tasks that seem impossible without God).  With God on our side, little is much and we can do a lot with our small ability--we all have the small ability and need to depend on God.  It isn't how much self-esteem we have, but God-esteem!

The crown prince of Great Britain wants to change his motto of the monarchy, "Fidei Defensor" or defender of the faith (FD), to defender of faith. Faith is a virtue but it is the gift of God and we are to use it to His glory.  Peter wrote "to those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with [their]..." (2 Peter 2:1, ESV).  Paul says in Romans 12:3 (ESV) that we serve "each according to the measure of faith God has assigned [us]." Jesus said, that to whom much is given, much is required.  And also of a woman that she has done what she could.   Being the defender of faith per se is not biblical, because it must be the faith that saves, not just faith for faith's sake or faith in faith.

The Bible says, "... For not, all have faith"  (2 Thess. 3:2, ESV).  This is referring to saving faith because everyone has faith in something, even if it's oneself and he thinks he's a self-made man. Some have faith in the system or in religion, and some have faith in nothing (nihilism), which takes more than to believe in God because there is more evidence for God than against Him.   It isn't for lack of evidence that a person rejects God, but with the heart, he doesn't believe out of his stubbornness and unwillingness to do God's will--for Jesus said, that if any man is willing to do His will he shall know of the doctrine. Man simply doesn't want to believe, it's not an intellectual problem--these are just smokescreens designed to change the subject and stump the Christian with side issues--the real issue is repenting of sin and following Jesus as Lord and Savior for a new and more abundant, eternal life.

There is no such thing as easy-believism whereby your faith involves no commitment nor surrender of the ownership of your life--salvation is free but it's not cheap!  The only kind of faith that saves is productive faith that yields good fruit, for you shall know them by their fruits. We are indeed saved by faith alone, but the formula of the Reformation says, it is not by a faith that is alone.  James 2:20 says that faith without works is dead--that kind of faith cannot save.  No fruit--no faith--no salvation! Faith comes by the hearing [or preaching] of the Word (cf. Rom. 10:17), and isn't conjured up, caught like one catches a cold by going somewhere, imagined, gained by osmosis, or even hanging around the right people.  We don't work ourselves into the mood to believe!  It is the gift of God and comes through the power of the Word of God.

The first step to believing is a willingness to listen and receptivity, you must understand next and then put your trust and reliance on Christ and stop trying to save yourself or get your act together--you can never do this; cleaning up your act comes after salvation as a fruit and sign of a changed life.  Faith must be put to work and it consists of knowledge but knowledge put to use and acted on:  By faith, Abraham obeyed, etc.  We must realize and act on our faith to make it real saving faith by taking the leap of faith.  Works are the byproduct of saving faith and not the substitute for it because we are ordained unto good works according to Ephesians 2:10.  We don't do them because we have to (legalism) but because we want to out of a grateful and changed the heart.  We are not saved by works and we are not saved without them either!  They can be distinguished, but not separated.

There is not saving faith without genuine repentance either! They go together as one package and are the flip side of each other.  In Scripture, they are often mentioned in juxtaposition.  They can be distinguished, but not separated.  Repentance is turning from sin and faith is turning to God--in other words, you do an about-face or U-turn (cf. Acts 20:21).  We exchange our life of sin for a life in Christ as we choose to follow Him. If a person is impenitent, he cannot be a believer; likewise if one doesn't believe, he is also impenitent, because they go hand-in-hand. If you have a problem with believing, it's probably some sin you are cleaving to and refusing to surrender to the Lordship of Christ.

The formula of the Reformers was that we are saved:  By grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, and by the authority of Scripture alone, and to God alone be the glory!  Soli Deo Gloria!

Agreeing To Disagree

This is almost a cliché now but it cannot be stressed enough in the body of Christ:  "Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace"  (Eph. 4:3). We don't want to be contentious, disagreeable, nor divisive, that is to say.   It has been well said by Chuck Swindoll that if you drink of only one fountain, you will lose your discernment.  What that means is to keep an open mind and don't think you or your group have monopolized the truth and get a Bible-club mentality.  We all need each other and are all part of the story, as it were--the Spirit of truth will lead us into all truth.  The church is to be semper reformanda, which means "always reforming" and we never will complete arriving at truth until Christ perfects His Bride.

 In a marriage, it is good to have an agreement, but disagreement can serve a purpose also:  It challenges our wits and brings to light issues that would otherwise go unnoticed.  If they agree all the time, one of them is unnecessary!  In a church body we want to strive for unity in the Spirit, of course, but leave room for disagreement or dissension in the body.  Aurelius Augustine of Hippo said, "In essentials, unity; in nonessentials, liberty; in all things, charity."  There are certain doctrines that we cannot compromise on like the Trinity and salvation by faith alone, by grace alone, in Christ alone.   We have to agree to disagree even in the body and not "muzzle the ox that treads out the grain," [hinder or restrain someone from proclaiming the truth] so to speak.  We need healthy dialog and debate in the body to grow in the faith--that's why Jude says to "contend for the faith."

The whole idea behind the Protestant Reformation was what Martin Luther proclaimed:  "I dissent, I disagree, I protest!"  We are not at the mercy of church dogma any longer and realize our God-given right to interpret Scripture on our own and form our own beliefs and convictions; however, we are not free to fabricate our own truths and are responsible for our doctrines.  Roman Catholic churches do not allow this liberty and laypeople are at the mercy of the clergy and the Pope to interpret for them.

We need more healthy dialog in our churches and believers who aren't too timid or intimidated to speak up for the truth as they see it.  Most churches today have come full circle:  "What do you believe, Sir?"  "I believe what my church believes."  "What does your church believe?" "What I believe!" "What do you both believe?"  "We believe the same thing!"  We might as well be Catholics as blindly follow a teacher without question, no matter how good he is.  No one is apostolic today, despite the Pope claiming apostolic succession, and is inerrant or infallible.  To err is human!  Augustine said, that he had learned to hold only the Scriptures as inerrant and infallible.

The condition for arriving at the truth is to realize that you don't know all of it yet and have an open mind, that is willing to admit it could be wrong.  The truth is not arrived at by vote or majority rule, but by the conviction of the Holy Spirit that is called the illuminating ministry and God can convict us of the truth--"If any man will to do His will, he shall know of the doctrine..." (John 7:17).  Soli Deo Gloria!

To Ignore Minor Doctrine

Martin Luther said, "I dissent, I disagree, I protest." He saw the doctrine of soteriology (this is perhaps the most significant doctrine and yet most misunderstood) seriously distorted and sought to reform the teachings regarding salvation because he was shocked at the condition of the church in his day (i.e., Tetzel selling indulgences et al.). He saw this as vitally important: to challenge the authority of Rome and the Papists. He was brave and faced the king and the pope at the Diet of Worms (1521).  He is known for saying: "To go against conscience is neither right nor safe."

Likewise, Jesus chose not the path of popularity, but called His followers a "little flock." It takes the character to stand alone and not to a conformist. There are two ways to get ahead in the church: playing church politics and taking a stand. Usually, God will bless you for taking a stand, especially if you are right. These seem to be mutually exclusive just like we have few politicians who are willing to do what is right and take a moral stand: that's why we have politicians and statesmen. I would not want to be known as one who compromised the truth or watered it down to gain followers. If I get promoted spiritually, I want it to be of God and not man. It is also wrong to brown-nose your way up in your company as well as in church: i.e., not do it as unto the Lord, but unto men.

We are to teach to the whole counsel of God: Paul said, "All Scripture is profitable for doctrine [teaching]...." To distinguish between major and minor doctrines is not biblical since there is no mention of this nomenclature. You could say that creation, judgment, and rapture are minor doctrines, too. I have been in a group that doesn't want to mention the wonderful doctrine of the eternal security of the believer because it might offend some who are Arminian. R. C. Sproul says to avoid controversy is to avoid Christ. (John Stott wrote a book, Christ the Controversialist and showed that He was not afraid of it.)

I have no personal agenda nor ax to grind and have made it clear that I am Reformed in my doctrinal viewpoint. If you attend a church they have the right to their doctrinal understanding and don't have to be interdenominational or nondenominational. Personally, I believe in the autonomy of the local church and it alone has the authority to decide its doctrines. But some would say ecclesiology is a "minor" doctrine. There are doctrines that sincere believers disagree on and one shouldn't be dogmatic on them, but that doesn't mean we can't mention them in passing when they come up; we just don't make them our agenda.

No matter what doctrines we teach, we are bound to offend some--that's the very nature of truth. The measure of truth is not what doesn't offend or the lowest common denominator. I am not afraid to ruffle some feathers or to give my opinion on a disputable topic, even if it only serves to stimulate interest, debate, or study.

Parachurch organizations (churches are organisms, on the other hand, and Christ is the head of the body), those not associated with any particular church and usually nondenominational, tend to outreach and not devoted to certain doctrines. I was involved with the Navigators, for instance, in the Army and they had a mission to the military personnel; they didn't see themselves as in competition with the local church, but supplemental. If we are not in a position of authority we cannot change doctrine or policy but must comply (to rules and bylaws, for example) if we want to be part of the ministry (this doesn't mean we have to always be conformists and can't be an influence). But Christ established the local church and gave it the Great Commission--"and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."

Augustine said it well: "In essentials (NONNEGOTIABLES), unity; in non-essentials [NEGOTIABLES], liberty; in all things, charity." We are not to be dissentious or disagreeable, but to agree to disagree. Cut some slack! There are doctrines that are not necessary to salvation; they should not be ignored either. For sure, to ignore doctrine just because one thinks it is minor is spiritually detrimental. We are not to major on the minors and get sidetracked. Let's not be petty and quibble over non-issues respecting salvation. Some Christians like to split hairs or get trivial about the details, but this defeats the purpose of teaching to stimulate thinking and growth. To sum it up, we are to keep the main thing the main thing, and not forget our focus on the gospel message and plan of salvation and how they relate.
Soli Deo Gloria!