What is truth?
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We’ve all had incredible experiences.
Whether it is catching a big fish, or winning a big game, or, more seriously, witnessing the birth of your child or thinking back to your wedding day.
Some claim to have had religious experiences where God told them something to do, or where He revealed something to them.
I think we can all agree, though, that our experience cannot even come close to match what Peter experienced by being around Jesus for three years.
As he spent time with Jesus, he was constantly amazed.
He saw it all.
Water turned into wine.
Blind men seeing.
Zacchaeus’ repentance.
Dead men living.
And hundreds and hundreds of more miracles.
But there was one experience that superseded them all.
He got to see something that, in my opinion, is the greatest experience in human history.
He was on a mountain with James and John.
Jesus was there, and the Bible tells us that He was transfigured.
All of a sudden, Moses and Elijah show up and Peter witnesses the three of them have a conversation.
He immediately wants to build tents and stay there forever.
Then God speaks and says,
5 While Peter was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Listen to Him!”
It is safe to say that none of us will ever experience anything that comes close to that.
Yet, it is fascinating to hear Peter talk about it.
In 2 Peter 1:18-20, Peter has something fascinating to say about that experience. He says,
18 And we ourselves heard this voice from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain.
19 We also have the word of the prophets as confirmed beyond doubt. And you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.
20 Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture comes from one’s own interpretation.
Think about what he is saying!
We were there on a mountain, we saw Jesus transfigured!
We saw Elijah and Moses speaking with Jesus!
We heard God speak to us!
We are certain of it!
Yet DO NOT trust our word.
Don’t trust our experience.
Trust the Bible!
The Bible, Peter says, is surer than any human experience.
The Bible isn’t based on human experience.
It’s not based on what men think, but, rather, the Bible is a book that was breathed out of the mouth of God.
What does this mean?
It means that what the bible says is always true.
True, but what happens when our experience contradicts the bible?
Well a disciple submits their experiences under scripture.
So if an experience contradicts with the truth of scripture, then the disciple knows that their understanding of this experience must be wrong.
This is what the bible calls “Testing the Spirits”.
We have many people who are confused and lost on doctrine and theology because of experiences that they have had.
Or because they are believing the testimony of other people experiences.
Unless we are trusting God’s Word and allowing God’s Word to speak and inform our beliefs, we are in constant danger of allowing experience to compromise our trust in Scripture.
Subjective Truth vs Objective Truth
Subjective Truth vs Objective Truth
Lets conduct an experiment.
Look at this image:
Is this a square?
Now lets look at the same object from a different point of view:
Is this a square?
No, objectively it is a rectangle, however from person A “point of view” it is a square.
So subjectively saying its a square is correct, but objectively (in reality) it is not a square.
Now you might not think this is a big deal, but it is!
Say Person A commissions a company to make a cover for this and gives them the measurements.
Will the cover fit?
No!
Will their plans work out?
No.
Will they succeed for fail?
They will fail.
WHY?
Because subjective or point of view truth is NOT actual truth!
and the bible is clear:
The truth will set you free.
Let me give you an example:
Let me give you an example:
What if one night, in deep prayer, i am visited by the Elder, Oom Pat, who preached the gospel to me, what if he visits me with an instruction?
What do i make of this experience?
Well I subject it to scripture which says that in the story of Lazarus and the rich man:
26 And besides all this, a great chasm has been fixed between us and you, so that even those who wish cannot cross from here to you, nor can anyone cross from there to us.’
What does the Bible says:
It is not possible for the death to commune with the living.
Therefore, no matter how precious, how beautiful, how comforting my “experience” was - it was not true.
That was not Oom Pat.
It could have been a figment of my imagination, a dream or even a demonic visitation but it was NOT what my belief things it was.
This is precisely why we are told:
5 We tear down arguments and every presumption set up against the knowledge of God; and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
But what if the words Oom Pat said to me where exactly what i needed to hear?
Same answer: That was not what actually happened because the bible is clear that the dead cannot commune with the living.
Bottom Line. Case Closed. The End.
Now church, if so many people have false subjective opinions about Jesus, who has revealed Himself perfectly clear in scripture, what mess of ideas do people have about other things?
About Satan and Demon?
About Heaven and Hell?
About the church and the world?
Let us look at Satan for just a moment:
There are many things said in the Bible about Satan, but it is important to also establish what is not said about him.
Lets look at some common christian beliefs about Satan:
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• Satan is not a personal being, but rather is only a force of evil.
• He is equal to God, thus creating a form of dualism.
• He resides in and is the ruler of hell.
• He can do whatever he pleases.
• He is omnipresent.
• He received a ransom from Jesus when Jesus died on the cross.
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All these views are wrong and are not found in Scripture.
False ideas about Satan come from a variety of sources.
For instance, the belief that the devil is equal to God and is His opposite comes from the dualism in Zoroastrianism, based on the teachings of Zoroaster, a 6th-century BC Iranian philosopher.
The belief that Jesus died to pay a ransom to the devil was theorized by Origen.
John Milton’s Paradise Lost, not the Bible, describes Satan as the king of hell.
So what then is the actual, objective truth regarding Satan?
Concerning Satan, the Bible gives the following information:
• Satan is a personal being, with a mind, emotions, and a will.
3 The tempter came to Him and said, “If You are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”
• He is a created being and is not equal to God.
15 From the day you were created you were blameless in your ways— until wickedness was found in you.
• Satan does not rule hell. Hell was created as a punishment for Satan and his demons.
41 Then He will say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
Neither does Satan live in hell, as the Bible describes how he can enter heaven and roam the earth.
6 One day the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came with them.
7 “Where have you come from?” said the LORD to Satan. “From roaming through the earth,” he replied, “and walking back and forth in it.”
• The devil can only do what God allows.
12 “Very well,” said the LORD to Satan. “Everything he has is in your hands, but you must not lay a hand on the man himself.” Then Satan went out from the presence of the LORD.
• Satan is not omnipresent. But he does oversee a horde of demons.
12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this world’s darkness, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
He uses this network to tempt and deceive people.
• He actively works to nullify the effect of the Word of God in people’s hearts.
19 When anyone hears the message of the kingdom but does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed sown along the path.
He blinds the intellect of those who do not believe so they cannot understand the gospel.
4 The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers so they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
How do we as Born Again Christians interact with Satan?
The Bible describes how Christians should be mindful of the schemes of Satan.
8 Be sober-minded and alert. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
Believers must resist him soberly, vigilantly, and steadfastly, aware of the reality of his plans to tempt us to make us unfruitful for the Lord.
11 in order that Satan should not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.
When tempted, the believer should submit himself to the Lord and resist the devil, and Satan will flee.
7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
In addition to being a tempter, Satan is also “the accuser of our brothers”
10 And I heard a loud voice in heaven saying: “Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of His Christ. For the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down— he who accuses them day and night before our God.
He enjoys listing the many sins of believers, but the Lord Jesus, our Advocate, defeats the accusations because He has paid the price for our sins.
1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate before the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.
2 He Himself is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.
Christians can be confident of their salvation because Jesus has done the work for us through His death and resurrection.
8 For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not from yourselves; it is the gift of God,
9 not by works, so that no one can boast.
Conclusion:
We need truth.
You want your brake fluid level reading to be truthful, don’t you?
They say the truth hurts, but lying hurts a lot worse because it hurts everyone around the liar.