Faithfully Living in the Household of God: The Knowledge of the Truth

The Relativization of the Truth:

It has been argued for centuries that the idea of a standard morality does not exist, but rather what we have are civilizations developing and setting their own standards for morality which are no better or worse than any other. Allowing man to become a law unto himself, leaving room for him to do as he desires, without being held responsible for the fall out. Consequences are felt, but they are rejected as being instructional and the blame is placed on a cruel world or God, or the social structures, leaving us free to reject personal responsibility.

The modern man seeks to relativize morality and ethics, not because he sees himself as a villain seeking the downfall of society. Rather, he seeks to free himself from what he perceives is oppressing him, whether that be a God who makes “thou shall not” statements, a society that seeks to regulate certain behaviors, or a family structure that appears to be inequitable or contrary to what the inner self desires. And set him or herself up as the great liberator of humanity.

Thus, we have parts of several generations that have been wiped from the earth because mom or dad did not want them. And several generations where the father is not present either because he had better things to do, or because mom was so selfish that she chased after her flesh. The results are clear, man without truth is man caught in the storm of chaos, without either a life jacket or hope of getting out. Such is the fruit of relativism, it is not a more just and happy society where all people live together in peace and harmony as the prophet-philosophers of the 18th and 19th century promised. But is dystopian society where people have lost all sense of up or down, as they have lost the center.

Man without Truth:

But this is not new in the history of humanity, for Paul dealt with similar false ideas and selfish theories, which is why he calls Timothy to deal with false teachers, and to teach the church to pray for the salvation of non-believers. Stating at the end of v.4 that they would, “come to the knowledge of the Truth.” Paul understood that at the foundational level all those who stand apart from Christ’s saving work have willingly shroud themselves in darkness, thus having a blind fold placed over their eyes with the promise that they will finally see. Paul says of himself in 1 Timothy 1:13-14

1 Timothy 1:13–14 ESV

though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.

“Of all the symptoms of decay in our civilization, subjectivism is the most disastrous of all. A mistake can possibly be discovered and amended if and only if truth exists and can be known and is loved and searched for. If a surgeon closes his eyes to the light in the operating room, there is no chance at all that the operation will work and that the patient will be saved.” (Pocket Handbook of Christian Apologetics.)

Carl Trueman states, “modern ethical discourse is chaotic because there is no longer a strong community consensus on the nature of the proper ends of human existence. If morality is a function of the social conventions of the community and yet the community lacks consensus on those social conventions, or those social conventions are hotly contested, ethical chaos is the result.” Trueman, Carl R.. The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self (p. 89). Crossway. Kindle Edition.

Although Trueman is correct in his assessment of the modern age on ethical discussions, he is wrong to imply that this is a modern development, and to insist that the correctness of an idea is based on community consensus. Rather this is just a new viewing of the old same film, with a few minor changes. For the story line is what it has been since the Garden. God provides clear and ethical guidelines for humanity to follow in order for them to love and worship God. But humanity in their own self-righteousness seek their own path and begins to believe they are the arbiters of right and wrong, giving the self or the community the right to determine right and wrong.

Romans 1:18–23 ESV

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

Proverbs 15:21 ESV

Folly is a joy to him who lacks sense, but a man of understanding walks straight ahead.

Man without truth, results in a world and society that chases folly and knows nothing. Hence we have a whole society dominated by a rejection of God’s ordained path for life. But again it is not as though God said these people over here will not get the truth and these ones will. Instead, we have a willfulness of man rejecting the path of God, the path of Truth. To which Paul says in,

Romans 1:24–25 ESV

Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.

Truth is of the Foundation of Life:

Thus, the enemy of God and man, Satan, puts his effort and power behind removing any idea of Truth. But God the Father sent his Son to destroy the works of the Devil. 1 John 3:8 “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.”

In Pilots conversation with Jesus in which he asks “what is truth.” Pilot was not seeking an explanation from Jesus on what truth is. Instead, Pilot was saying, what is truth in light of this crowd calling for your death? Meaning, truth does not matter here, all that matters is what the crowd wants and Jesus they want blood. So sorry to tell you but you must die to appease them. This is the result of life when man is running the show.

The reason why Satan makes an assault upon truth is because truth reveals who God is, because God in his character embodies truth, He is the source of all that is true. The converse is that the Bible describes Satan as the father of lies in John 8:44. And in John 17:17 Jesus says, “Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.”

Therefore, when we here Paul say to Timothy in 1 Timothy 2:4 “who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” We need to understand that the phrase Knowledge of the truth, means, what is foundationally true.

The man without truth, pushes back against this because he again sees all these things as a means of oppression. The blind fold he puts on thinking it would give him true sight, in reality has blinded him to the truth of God. And therefore when men like Nietzsche and Marx, say, history and culture are tales of oppression that need to be overthrown and overcome, they are speaking out of their blindness, and our culture that is following them, are the blind being led by the blind.

Charles Hodge said, “the highest form of moral excellence consists in knowledge. To know God is eternal life. To know Christ is to be like Christ...True religion consists in the knowledge of the Lord, and its universal prevalence among men is predicted by saying, “All shall know Him from the least unto the greatest.” Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, vol. 2 (Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997), 256.

Those who reject God fulfill 2 Timothy 3:7 “always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth.” And they will find the reality of Hebrews 10:26 “For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,” brought about when they meet the Lord in judgement.

The desire of God the Father then is that all those who live without the truth would come to a knowledge of the truth for His glory and their good.

Ezekiel 33:11 ESV

Say to them, As I live, declares the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel?

Final Exhortation--The Special vocation of the Church to Spread the Truth:

“Knowledge is said to be the effect of regeneration. Men are renewed so as to know. They are brought to the knowledge of the truth; and they are sanctified by the truth.” Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, vol. 2 (Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997), 256.

Therefore, the primary vocation of the church is to spread the truth of the Gospel.

Romans 10:14–15 ESV

How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”

The good news is truthful information regarding the King of Glory, the Creator God. If we couple this with John 3:18 “Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.” It is belief or trust in that information about God that serves as the means of moving us from death to life by the work of the Holy Spirit.

Thus as Hodge says, “This ingathering of the unbeliever is the special work of the Church. It is a missionary work. It was so understood by the Apostles. Their two great duties were the spread and defence of the truth...to preach the Gospel to all nations, to bring all men to the knowledge of the truth, was felt to be the special vocation of the Church.” Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, vol. 3 (Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997), 803–804.

We take the message life to a world who has willfully blinded themselves, as a means of bring true freedom and liberty.

Prayer:

Song:

Benediction: