Let God Be True

"The law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ" (John 1:17, ESV).

"Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth"  (1 John 3:18, ESV).

This is the name of the primary Watchtower Bible & Tract Society book which denies the Trinity as being the doctrine invented by Satan himself.  Actually, the church father Tertullian coined the word, and even though it isn't a biblical word, it is taught throughout Scripture from creation, where God is in the plural (Elohim--"Let us create ...") to the Great Commission where we are to baptize in the name (singular) of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  All members of the Godhead are equally God and equally divine, sharing all attributes of deity alike.  

The reason Charles Taze Russell denied the Trinity was because he thought it was irrational--what made him presume God is able to be comprehended by man (The philosophers of antiquity said, "The finite cannot grasp the infinite") or in Latin: "finitum non capax infinitum").   The more one contemplates this truth, the more one realizes it is from the revelation of God, and not man's invention. Truth is that way, it is not something we would've guessed!  Christianity is a revealed religion and we know it by special revelation, personal visitation, and encounter by God Himself in the person of His only Son, our Lord.

There is one God, though manifested in three personas as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  All of one essence, but having different self-distinctions or consciousnesses.  What trait, characteristic, or attribute of one can be said of the others.  They always act in harmony and concurrence of will (there is no conflict of interest, disharmony, ill-will, or disagreement). If the members of the Trinity disagreed they would be lying by definition of the law of noncontradiction.  They work according to the role and domain they have, such as the Father purposing or proposing salvation, the Son accomplished it, and the Holy Spirit executing and making it known and real in the believer.  

The Father also authored and planned it, the Son did the work of redemption, and the Holy Spirit applied it.  They also worked in concert in creating heaven and earth.  Jesus is known as the logos or logic of God and is called the Word (expression or icon) of God (cf. John 1:14).  Jesus was the incarnation and manifestation of truth itself, proving we can know and grasp it (cf. John 14:6). He pronounced: "You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free" (cf. John 8:32).

One thing that is impossible for God to do is lie; while man is a liar and lies from the womb according to the Psalms.  Lying isn't just saying something that is contrary to fact on purpose: not saying the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth; misspeaking; giving someone a line; making up something as you go along for impression's sake; saying something to gain the upper edge or advantage; false compliments; insincere flattery; any half-truth; misleading statements; exaggeration for effect; saying something to gain advantage; deceptive practices; giving off a false impression; jumping to the conclusion; misrepresentations; saying something that hurts; bearing false witness against your neighbor; disinformation; contradicting yourself; propaganda; not being honest in niceties or pleasantries, such as in greetings and saying you're feeling fine, when you're not; not telling the whole story; leading astray; acting the con man; flirting; buttering up someone; creating a false impression or going along with one; fooling someone; putting spin on something; saying something with bias or subjectivity; pre-judging someone or something; gossip; slander; judging; false portrayal of situations or events, etc.


Face it: We all stand guilty as charged when we realize all this encompasses and more to boot, including omitting the truth as a sin of omission, and anything God wouldn't say. Remember, telling one lie makes you a liar!  But God cannot lie according to Titus 1:2. If God could lie, what kind of God would he be?  President George Washington claimed that he couldn't tell a lie; actually, that's a lie--he could, but chose not to on intentionally. The Bible calls all men liars (cf. Romans 3:4).  President Jimmy Carter told us he wouldn't lie to us, but this was an impossible task as Chief Executive.

Philosophically, Thomas Aquinas believed and affirmed what Augustine had said in that all truth is God's truth and concluded that all truth meets at the top. Francis A. Schaeffer said the Bible is "true truth." Jesus said that God's Word is truth and sanctifies us (cf. John 17:17). Jesus said that the Father is the "only true God" (cf. John 17:3). Truth is what transforms and doesn't just inform or reform. Truth changes lives and is alive and powerful and fills us then makes us hungry. It reads you as you read it!

God judges those who practice deceit and lie on purpose or deliberately like false teachers or prophets, and they will not enter the kingdom of heaven  (cf. Rev. 22:15, ESV:  "... [T]hose who love and practice falsehood").  Satan is a liar and the father of lies, the father of all men before salvation, and when he speaks a lie he is speaking naturally, for this is his nature.  The man who insists he's telling the truth and swears in God's name is probably the most insecure of his integrity.  Like Shakespeare writes: "Methinks thou dost protest too much!"

Note that the Bible records Abraham as having lied about Sarah. When I say someone is a liar I am delineating someone who practices the sin intentionally and loves or approves of it--not some besetting weakness that is confessed. After conversion we have a new nature able, to tell the truth, and overcome the sin of lying--we are no longer prone to lie; however, the flesh is still tempted.  People generally associate liars as those who got caught; however, we are all liars, we all just didn't get caught!  Don't strive to be the ideal man with unrealistic expectations, but to be a real man with ones in touch with reality and needing God to overcome sin--always a battle till glorification.

To claim that you don't lie is a lie and a claim to divinity because only God can claim this:  "... Let God be true and every man a liar" (cf. Rom. 3:4, ESV).  In essence, this is blasphemy (which is a lie by definition) and a direct insult to God's holiness, as He is a jealous God and will tolerate no rivals or someone asserting deity or divinity.  If you've never realized what a liar you were before salvation or that you still are prone to do it because of the resident old sin nature, you have never been convicted of sin and don't know what the word really means or its connotations--the more you realize lies and the more sensitive you become, the more honest you become, the closer to the truth you get, the more aware you become of sin, and then the less sin!


The sad fact is that people aren't concerned with whether an idea is true anymore, but just whether it works, and works for them in particular. There is no Truth with a capital T and all truth is relative now, especially the ones relating to Christianity.  Christians are to proclaim the truth incarnate and that it is knowable, relevant, and profitable. New Age adherents believe something is true if it feels right. Morality is always based on transcendent truth that we all should know and appeal to, not personal opinion, feelings, or conjecture. Unbelievers are those who reject the truth (cf. Romans 2:8). People today deny universal truth that is valid for everyone but insists that it might be true for you, and not for them.


Objective truth is true whether believed or not. (Note:  Even the Greeks sought and loved the true, the good, and the beautiful.)  Two contradictory ideas cannot simultaneously both be true. What they tend to believe is that there is no truth and it is vain to search for it or claim you've found it.  Just like Pilate asked Jesus in John 18:38 what truth was, but didn't stick around for an answer. If you seek the truth with your whole heart you will find it and it will set you free--then you can speak forth truth, and not the lies and deceptions of Satan.   Soli Deo Gloria!

Committing Spiritual Suicide

Doctrinal accuracy is not an option in the church, but a mandate, as teachers are to teach sound doctrine and pay attention to what accords with sound doctrine (cf. Titus 2:1).  There is nothing wrong with the quest to be right, contrary to the teachings of the so-called "emerging church," which has the postmodern philosophy that we haven't nailed down biblical orthodoxy yet, making it "shrink-wrapped" or "freeze-dried."  It is dangerous to react to dogma by not believing in dogma or to be anti-dogma.  It is true, however, that one can be correct in his doctrine and have no spiritual life; we don't want to content ourselves on just being right theologically, with no inner reality.  Faith is more than acquiescence or consent to the church's dogma.

We cannot think that we are a cut above others or that less informed brethren are poor specimens of the faith.  It is vitally more important to be right in our hearts than in our minds--but both are necessary for a living faith.  "You cannot have a sound life without a sound doctrine, but you can have a sound doctrine without a sound life" according to R. C. Sproul.  You could say that one could get A's in theology class and hardly know the Lord at all, but if one does know the Lord, he will not ignore theology; however, it cannot just be in his head

We don't kiss our brains goodbye when converting but begin our search for the truth.  The sign of a believer is that he loves the truth and the sign of the unbeliever is that he rejects the truth (cf. 2 Thess. 2:10)  The unbeliever does not "obey the truth" and will "reject the truth" (cf. Rom. 2:8).  It is not an option to dismiss doctrine as unimportant, an aside, or only a side-issue; one cannot ignore doctrine--it's just what doctrines will be adhered to.  If we dismiss doctrine, we are committing spiritual suicide because we cannot avoid it doctrine. You could say that it is necessary, but not sufficient for a healthy relationship with God.  You can have no normal relationship with God without it, but you can also have no normal relationship with it, too. We cannot dismiss doctrine as irrelevant, because of only childish faith balks at learning the things of God in depth.  (Cf. 1 Tim. 3:9:  "They must hold the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience.")

We are to contend (per Jude v. 3) for the faith (the common body of knowledge we adhere to).  We must not remain an infant in the faith, unable to comprehend the meat of the Word. What some believers do is to reject all theology or doctrine because they have experienced bad theology or bad theologians and reject theology per se because of it.  This is not an option for the true student of the Word (cf. John 8:31).  As we use our mind to God's glory, we are to "always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you..." (1 Peter 3:15, NKJV).

To despise theology is to despise the very Word of God.--not an option (can't avoid it!).   How can you be right in your heart, if you are not right in your mind first?  Our hearts reflect what we think:  "Keep [guard] thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life" (Prov. 4:23, KJV).  Proverbs says, (23:7, NKJV):  "As he thinks in his heart, so is he...."  We are what we think about and our heart is only a reflection of our thoughts.  To be sure, there can be no spiritual health with correct theology, and there can be none without it either. One should not content himself just to be doctrinally orthodox either.  This is what the situation with the Ephesian church was:  They were theologically sound, but had left their first love--this is dead orthodoxy!

We must apply what we know and make it our experience, not just pride.  According to 1 Timothy 4:1, one of the signs of the last days will be that churches will bail out theologically--they will not heed sound doctrine and "depart from the faith giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of demons." When you ignore sound doctrine, it only opens the door to false doctrine.  We don't just ignore good doctrine because we've had a bad experience with bad doctrine.  Simply because we hate being wrong, we must not avoid theology altogether. God places a premium on the mind and deplores ignorance--ignorance is no excuse and is not bliss either!  We may be against intellectualism, but not against the mind per se and using it to God's glory, as we love God with all our minds.

God's will is to dispel our ignorance and it is the domain of the Holy Spirit to enlighten us, as we "shall know the truth and the truth shall set [us] free" according to John 8:32.  "Canst thou by searching find out [fathom] the deep things of God?"  (Job 11:7, KJV).   The answer is "NO!."   Our religion is a religion of revelation and not of human origin:  "I thank thee, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to babes."

One modern phenomenon is that we are increasing in knowledge, but remaining unchanged in our natures.  There is a vacuum in everyone that only God can fill, according to Blaise Pascal.  Carl Jung said the "central neurosis of our time is emptiness."  Billy Graham says we are all on a great "Quest" to find meaning and purpose in life and live in a vacuum that is boring (only man is truly capable of being bored despite his environment and circumstances) and "nature abhors a vacuum."  Man not only needs knowledge, but he needs a relationship with God and the wisdom to use it.

It is actually pride that closes the door to learning:  To commence learning we must admit our ignorance!  "I believe in order to understand," said Augustine.  In other words, "all knowledge begins in faith." We must remain vigilant, humble, teachable, open-minded, receptive, needy, and willing to do as God reveals to us to be in the right frame of mind to mature.  When we learn the truth we must not merely say,  "How interesting!" It is meant to upset and challenge us and our lifestyle--God's Word is meant to shock us out of our comfort zones!

You must open yourself up to the possibility that you may be wrong and let God's Word do its thing and have its total impact!  If you've never made a mistake, they say, you've never made anything!   Finally, never get caught in the trap that you've arrived--that you do not have any more need to learn anymore, having the attitude of a "know-it-all."  Soli Deo Gloria!

The Spirit Speaketh Expressly

"[S[o that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes"  (Eph. 4:14, ESV).
"Do not be led astray by divers and strange teachings [far-fetched ideas]" (Heb. 13:9, ESV).
Note that a believer needs a frame of reference of sound doctrine in order to interpret the Bible and discern good teaching when he hears it.

In the last days there shall be an apostasy or great falling away:  "Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings [doctrines] of demons"  (1 Tim. 4:1, ESV).  This not only a warning to heed but a sign to acknowledge that we are in the last days, and can see the day approaching and Christ knocking at the door.  What characterizes these teachers?  They may have impressive degrees that give them so-called authority, but they are not called by God to speak in His name because they only want to create disciples of their way of thinking and school of thought, rather than discipling believers to equip them for spiritual conflict with Satan and to complete the Great Commission, our marching orders.

Another sign you might look for is the sign today of the megachurch or a preacher that is a celebrity and has learned to preach what people want to hear as if itching their ears.  The size of a church has zilch to do with the blessing of God on the ministry--the maturity of members is more indicative.   Actually, megachurches are usually just a gathering of crowds that are fans of a popular preacher, and when he passes, the church might even be in transition spiritually.  Churches are supposed to be families and fellowships and we are supposed to be involved in it, not just attending it.

Discern good and evil as mature believers (cf. Heb. 5:14) and heed teachers devoted to sound doctrine.  Remember, Jesus wasn't educated and the only three men of substantial learning in the Scriptures were likely Moses, Daniel, Luke, and Paul.  God usually calls those that are not the mighty or noble of society.  You don't have to be a scholar to speak for God and degrees (no matter how many or how prestigious) don't guarantee a teacher is qualified to teach or preach in God's name.  However, you must be called of God and anointed to preach and you can even be a layman like Amos, who was not a prophet nor the son of a prophet (he didn't go to prophet school, as it were cf. Amos 7:14).

Something is not true because the teacher pontificates and speaks ex-cathedra like a Pope--even Popes are fallible and have been wrong and contradictory--nothing is true because someone says so. Be careful to hold only the Word of God as infallible (as Augustine told Jerome). The verification must come from the Word, which cannot be broken (cf. John 10:35), and not on the basis of any other authority!  The cry of the Reformation was Sola Scriptura, which is Latin for "by Scripture alone." The Roman Church recognizes other authorities such as tradition, which was held in equal esteem, credibility, and/or authority as the Bible (per the Counter-Reformation at the Council of Trent, 1546-48), and the right to interpret Scripture was in the hands of the clerics, meeting at the top with the Pope as Head of the Church.

One present-day phenomenon is the emergence of charismatic preachers who may be known in the media quite readily by blitzing the media with name ministry familiarity, and because of financial resources are able to saturate the public with their agenda and campaign.  We should never be impressed with personalities or anything the world can offer such as that may seem prestigious.  We should be impressed that the preacher is devoted to and teaches sound doctrine.

How do we challenge these heretics?  We must know basic sound doctrine and also know what is major doctrine and what is disputable, questionable, a gray area, a matter of opinion, or nonessential. Some doctrines are wrong, but some are damnable heresy, able to condemn the soul.  (Denying the deity of Christ is so basic as to be fundamental and a litmus test for true Christians to affirm.) They may quote the authorities as the Pharisees did, but we must quote the Bible to debunk their doctrine. Just ask them, "Do you have a verse for that?" We have the right to speak in God's name if we speak the Word of God and are true to sound doctrine as believers.

Don't be impressed with the teacher's credentials, except that he is filled with the Spirit and has an anointing to preach and teach--be spiritually discerned!  Nothing is true because a great teacher says so--we are supposed to be like the Bereans, who search the Scriptures to see if things are so as taught. They may have clever, specious arguments, but you must steer them back to the Word and ask again the question: "Do you have a verse for that?" As Romans 4:3 says, "For what does Scripture say?"| I cannot emphasize this enough.   In other words, it may seem so true and even ring true, but can you cite a Scripture for it?

Beware of high-sounding nonsense (cf. Col. 2:8), philosophy and know this for sure:  "No Scripture is of any private interpretation" according to 2 Pet. 1:21.  This is interpreted commonly as meaning that God doesn't reveal secrets or interpretations to some teacher in isolation that He doesn't to others. You cannot say that God reveals a mystery to you and not to others!  Soli Deo Gloria!

Watch Your Doctrine!...

Verses to ponder and reflect on:

"Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching [i.e., doctrine]"  (1 Tim. 4: 13, ESV).

"Therefore, let us leave the elementary doctrines of Christ and go on to maturity ..." (Heb. 6:1, ESV).

The body of Christ is one no matter where you go and you can have fellowship with a believer no matter what church he attends (fellowship actually could mean two fellows in the same ship).  We truly are "one in the Spirit."  But there must be commonality and unity (not necessarily uniformity) to have fellowship and you can fellowship with someone of a different denomination or doctrinal persuasion, but never think this implies doctrine is not important and that God doesn't expect us to learn the truth and be dedicated to its dissemination.  You don't have to see eye to eye to walk hand in hand--you can agree to disagree and find common ground to fellowship on--All Christians have Jesus in common and should not get so sectarian that they don't love the brethren, regardless of affiliation.

The Bible refutes the notion that it doesn't matter what you believe as long as you are sincere--the common fallacy of today's worldview. Paul exhorted Timothy to "Keep a close watch on [himself] and on the teaching [literally, doctrine].  Persist in this, for by so doing [he] will save both [himself] and [his] hearers"  (1 Tim. 4:16, ESV).  You can be sincerely wrong, though sincerity is important. We can be singing kumbaya around a campfire and learn to get along because we're all Christians (members of one church should have no internal dispute--yes--but cross-town rivals might!).

Timothy was told not to neglect the gift he had--he reportedly was a church troubleshooter, and I believe this is a sort of theologian.  Mainstream denominations are highly ecumenical in that they believe in interdenominational cooperation despite differences of doctrine.  Sure, there are major doctrines we should not compromise, but we should never major on the minors and divide Christ. This was the mistake of Corinth that had become highly sectarian. There is a place for forgetting our differences and let love be the rule of the day, like when we translate Bibles and don't want to have a sectarian bias, or charitable and outreach programs that they can concur on.  But nowhere does the Bible authorize that we neglect doctrine or its value to make us grow up in the Lord.  "All Scripture is profitable for doctrine ..." (cf. 2 Tim. 3:16).

Ignorance is not bliss and God puts no premium on it and expects believers to responsibly study according to their abilities and become genuine students of the Word:  "... If you abide in my Word, you are truly my disciples" (John 8:12, ESV).  What is implied is this:  "You shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free [Jesus called God's Word Truth and said we are sanctified by it in John 17:17]."  We are not born free as humans, but in bondage to sin and must be set free by Christ ("If the Son shall set you free, you shall be free indeed," cf. John 8:36).

Paul exhorts Titus:  "But as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine" (Titus 2:1, ESV). Notice that Paul says in v. 1 that the knowledge of the truth accords with godliness--there's a correlation!  It is by the acquisition of truth that we become sanctified as I quoted in John 17:17.  He also says, "... give instruction in sound doctrine ..." (Titus 1:9, ESV).   We need to know doctrine, according to Paul in Ephesians 4:14 so that we will not "be tossed to and fro ... by every wind of doctrine ...."

I don't know if there is a gift of being a theologian or if some people just have the knack for it and seem to excel in organized, systematic thinking and analysis of Bible teaching or doctrine.  But no one in the body is superfluous and unnecessary--the body needs theologians too, no matter what the gift may be.  A good theologian can identify a false doctrine a mile away and organizes his teaching and be thinking so as to be able to categorize it and disseminate it in an orderly way--let everything be done decently and in order according to 1 Cor. 14:40. Theologians have a viewpoint because they usually belong to a certain school of thought and tend to interpret things partially--remember, there is no such thing as perfect objectivity, except with God.

It has its limits:  For instance, you aren't going to convince a devoted Arminian that he can't lose his salvation--he has interpreted the whole Bible while denying that premise.  I remember that when God opened my eyes to the truth of eternal security it seemed like scales came off my eyes and the whole of Scripture was opened in meaning to me with a viewpoint (I previously had no opinions or didn't know what to believe or even who to believe).   Soli Deo Gloria!