4.1.27 6.2.2024 The Truth Matters

Start:

Series Preface: Certain!

The Bible provides a framework for understanding the world. Systematic study of Scripture helps us become more proficient at thinking God’s thoughts after Him.

I believe he best preaching uses large blocks of scripture, whole sections or books to trace God’s own thoughts on a matter. That’s not the only kind of preaching.

There are times we need to examine topics or subjects.

This year’s theme is Certainty and that has been the emphasis as we have gone through each Biblical book. For the next several weeks we will continue our exploration of certainty by tracing some ideas or topics which I find central to the experience of being a thinking and acting Christian.

As I said, I’m not a fan of “topical” preaching. It is too easy to substitute my thoughts for Gods. The authority of preaching is God’s voice in Scripture. I think it is good be up front about this kind of preaching, though there are times it is helpful for aligning our habits of thought with a broader cross section of scripture. At its best it gives us cubbyholes into which we can stick our understanding. Today we begin by talking about truth.

Entice: Certainty is a truth issue. So today we consider that Truth Matters,

Truth is important

In our culture truth is important because it has become fragile.

Engage: Think of all the streams of information you encounter daily. Just from your phone.

Social Media,

News,

Weather,

Sports.

Discussions about

Community,

State,

and

National business.

As recently as 40 years ago most of us had one source to manage for each of these and we didn’t have “always on” Smart Phones.

Now we have the

“Threat of Artificial Intelligence”

which is neither artificial nor is it intelligent. It is a parlor trick made possible by huge datacenters and copyright infringement. With enough of both, you can make a machine sound human, but only if you change the definition.

Expand: Despite the accelerating velocity of information truth is still important and our ability to judge between truth and falsehood is critical. But I’m not going to give you a definition.

My job is not to “tell you the answer.” Preaching and teaching is about helping the body of Christ learn how to discern truth in an age of disinformation. The right question is “How should we use the Bible to help us understand all truth?”

Excite: That is my job and I really like my job. Some people think that learning how to judge the truth is hard. The key is to make it as simple as possible and go slow. It is an essential task because, again,

Explore:

Truth is more a matter how a person thinks than what they think.

Expand: There are three sources of truth that Christians need to integrate.

Pride of place goes to the

Body of Sermon:

1 Bible

2 Timothy 3:16–17 ESV

16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

The Bible elaborates several relationships that define how we think,

1.1 Creator & Creature

God’s nature, our nature.

1.2 Purpose & Plan

What is God’s purpose for creation and what is His plan to redeem it.

1.3 Sin & Salvation

The fall is the general condition of creation due to human sin. The Bible clearly teaches that the only way for humanity to be saved and the fallen Creation to be redeemed is in Jesus, the heart of the last of these Biblical themes then is

1.4 Savior and Saved

Commercial: Next week’s message is The Bible Matters, so I have purposely shortened the discussion of the Bible for today.

Next consider the truth of

2 History

1 Corinthians 10:1–13 ESV

1 For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, 2 and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, 3 and all ate the same spiritual food, 4 and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ. 5 Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness. 6 Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did. 7 Do not be idolaters as some of them were; as it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.” 8 We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day. 9 We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents, 10 nor grumble, as some of them did and were destroyed by the Destroyer. 11 Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come. 12 Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. 13 No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.

History is a matter of understanding and applying the past, to the present in order to shape future.

Specifically, History is the means by which we evaluate the

2.1 Mistakes of the past.

History is what helps us to make

2.2 Decisions in the present.

History gives us precedent as we consider the

2.3 Trajectory of the future.

Finally, we need to focus on

3 Theology.

Romans 16:17 (ESV)

17 I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them.

Titus 1:9 (ESV)

9 He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.

Titus 2:1 (ESV)

1 But as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine.

Theology guides us in understanding how the Bible and History interact in our world. Specifically, theology is the

3.1 Estate of the Church

Our inheritance from the past. All the reading of scripture, consideration of History and evaluation of the redemption of our fallen world is the content of Christian Theology. The Church is not a place for policy, politics, social theory, or psychology. We do Theology.

3.1.1 Theology is the distilled Biblical wisdom of the Church moving through human history.

3.1.2 Theology is the discipline of addressing the “big questions of life”

Because everyone, regardless of their creed asks those questions Theology is where the Church discusses those questions, because

Theology is where we shape our

3.2 Engagement with Culture.

Fallen structures. Foreign ways of being and worshipping. This has been our status since the resurrection. The Church has a rich history of engaging with culture. We have studied it, learned what is good, discarded what is bad and leveraged it for the sake of the Kingdom, seeking answers to the big questions of life. Engaging with culture is the cutting edge of evangelism.

And Theology helps us to identify

3.3 Examples of Compromise.

Theology defines and describes sound doctrine and unsound doctrine. Not every tribe among us believes and teaches the faith in exactly the same way. Some of those beliefs are wrong, because they are Un-Biblical. Other beliefs are founded upon a misunderstanding of history. Theology helps to guarantee that the “Faith once for all delivered to the saints,” remains the same faith.

Shut Down

In the 21st century most discussions of faith get a solidly snarky

“Who are you to say that someone is “wrong””?

We are just people tasked with understanding the Bible, History, and Theology. We are called to embrace the truth and to teach the truth, reminding everyone inside or outside the Church that Truth is important, Truth Matters. Particularly in a fallen world which has difficulties even defining the truth.

None of us is “better” than anyone else. We’re all saved by grace. We all respond to the same Gospel. We don’t proclaim the truth to hurt people’s feelings or belittle them. We tell the truth because the lies they believe can actually send them to hell.

The truth matters because the stakes are so high.