People of Truth Seek And Live Out Truth

Two Sundays ago, we learned that the only way to live, the only way to weather, navigate, and overcome this storm we are in, is to be planted and rooted in God’s Word. Last week Travis taught that God’s Word gives and teaches us all we need to live the kingdom life. We are people of God’s Word, and therefore, we are a people of truth. As people of truth, we must seek truth, speak truth, and live out truth. Truth involves all truth in all areas of life. This is God’s creation, God’s history, and God’s world. We are living as kingdom people in this creation, this world, this history, this time. We cannot claim and proclaim God’s Truth but then believe, follow, and live lies in our daily lives.  We must do the hard work to seek, know, speak, and live out truth in all areas of life. We must be truthful. We must live truthfully, and in all this, we must be informed and guided by God’s Truth.

We are in the middle of a storm, and it is a storm of lies, deception, dishonesty. We are living in a post-truth society where truth is determined by feelings and not facts. No one cares about truth anymore. No one is seeking truth anymore. Everyone creates their own truth.

Unfortunately, sadly, God’s people have fallen prey to this post-truth culture and way of thinking. We have given in to a spirit of fear and lies. We are being misled, tricked, and manipulated by lies. The Bible warns us about this — in the prophets, see Jeremiah 23, and also in the New Testament.

2 Peter 2:1-3 — “But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves. Many will follow their depraved conduct (unrestrained/ licentious ways) and will bring the way of truth into disrepute (blasphemed). In their greed, these teachers will exploit you with fabricated stories. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.”

2 Timothy 4:3-4 — “For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires (passions), they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.”

1. We Are Not a People of Truth When … 

We are not a people of truth when we worship our screens, our TV’s, computers, and smartphones as the purveyors of truth. When we accept uncritically what the news media, the Internet, and social media tell us. All the news media blatantly spread distorted and twisted truths, half-truths, fake news, and lies. We are quick to point fingers and accuse the other news media of fake news, but we ignore the fake news and lies of our own preferred media. We are not a people of truth when we do not check the facts. But fact-checkers are also biased, you say. Yes, but that becomes an excuse to avoid the hard work of practicing critical thinking, of pursuing the truth. There are enough fact-checkers on both sides of the divide that you can eventually discover the truth. The truth is out there and cannot be hidden. It will be brought to light, and since the news media are not doing this anymore, we must pursue the truth ourselves. If we are not willing to do that then we are not a people of truth.  

The same applies to the Internet and social media. We have to be very careful about how we use the Internet. What we search for, look at, and read on the Internet, is what the Internet will give us — the advertisements, Youtube videos, social media posts. If we do not intentionally search for views on the other side, we will receive links only to posts, sites, and blogs that support our own viewpoints. 

Social media and memes do not communicate truth. A meme — is an image or video that represents the thoughts and feelings of a specific audience or group. They use half-truths or lies. They misuse and abuse facts. They make complex issues simplistic by taking it out of context and distorting the reality and truth of the issue. All to share viewpoints, not to communicate truth. That post and meme may support our views, but when it does not communicate truth, when it abuses truth, we as a people of truth shall not share and participate in such posts. 

We are not a people of truth when we believe in and chase after conspiracy theories. Conspiracy theories do not communicate truth but only the viewpoints of certain groups. Conspiracy theories are multiplying like blackberries entangling God’s people, who are supposed to be a people of truth, in their vines and thorns. Practice fake science, abuse science, use only the evidence that supports their views, and reject others,. Built on half-truths and outright lies, with simplistic presentations of complex problems—conspiracy theories destroy the beauty of the mind, the intellect, and science. These are all good gifts, created and given to us by God. This abuse of science is causing people to distrust real, valid science, and we throw out the baby with the bathwater. 

We are not a people of truth when create and enclose ourselves in echo chambers. Echo. Echo chamber — when we just repeat, echo back to ourselves only our views. We reject as lies or fake news anything and everything that does not support or agree with our views. We do not listen to other views, do not consider evidence, truths that counter our views. We vilify and demonize anyone who does not agree with us or support our viewpoints. We do that when we watch only the news media or believe only those things that support our viewpoints. 

We are not a people of truth when we do not use our God-given brains, minds, and intellect to analyze and evaluate carefully complicated matters, when we do not think critically, study, read, and research. It’s too much effort. It involves too much hard work. It’s not convenient. We have become addicted to the instant, the quick, and the convenient. We want our info, news, and data as fast as possible. The problem is that fast truths are not always truth or not the whole truth. We have become lazy. But that’s not all. To pursue truth is uncomfortable. When we practice critical thinking with intellectual honesty we may discover that our views may be based on incomplete, wrong, or false evidence. We may learn that our views may be partly true, that the other view also has some truths. We don’t want our boats rocked. It is not comfortable to be confronted with new knowledge or the possibility that my view could be wrong. The saying, “There are always two sides to a story,” no longer exists. Now, there is only my side, and my side is right and true. Yours is wrong.

When there are no more critical thinking and civil discourse, no more sharing, interaction, and constructive feedback of different viewpoints, when we reason with our feelings and not our intellect, when we coddle and maintain only our views, then creative thinking dies. Wisdom dies. Common sense dies. There is no growth of new knowledge. We stagnate. We are no longer a people of truth.

2. Return to God’s Word 

When we are caught in this storm of lies, when we are in ensnared in this cycle of lying and deception, we have a hard time to discern truth from lies. We may even begin to believe the lies we tell. Important — when we believe, follow, and share lies, we bring the way of truth into disrepute, blaspheme the way of truth. The world will not believe us when we try to proclaim God’s truth. Do not glorify God. But we are a people of truth. We are God’s people, kingdom people. So, we must repent, turn away from, stop doing all these things that hinder us from being a people of truth. We must return to God’s Word. We must always remind ourselves and one another that his Word is Truth and truth begins with his Word.

2 Peter 1:12-21 — “So I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth you now have. I think it is right to refresh your memory as long as I live in the tent of this body, because I know that I will soon put it aside, as our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me. And I will make every effort to see that after my departure you will always be able to remember these things. For we did not follow cleverly devised stories when we told you about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in power, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. He received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain. We also have the prophetic message as something completely reliable, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”

2 Timothy 3:14-4:3,5 — “But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. … But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.”

God’s Word shows us how to be a people of truth. We shall not bear false witness. We must not believe or share gossip, rumors, conspiracy theories, any information of dubious value, or from questionable sources. As human beings we will disagree, we will have different viewpoints. And that is a good thing. That is how we learn and grow. That is how new knowledge is born. That is, if we practice critical thinking and civil discourse, dialogue, listen with respect, humility, and love. 

Science is part of our cultural mandate and calling to rule over God’s creation. As a people of truth, we are called to practice correctly, truthfully real science to discover the truths and beauty of God’s creation. We must practice critical thinking not only of the other person’s viewpoints but also of our own. We must be willing to subject also our own views to the light of God’s Word, not just the other person’s. We must be willing to pick apart what we believe, ask the uncomfortable questions, analyze the evidence we base our assumptions and conclusions on. In humility and with intellectual honesty, we must be open to the possibility that we could be wrong or partly wrong, that we could have missed the truth or part of the truth, and acknowledge that. We must look inward also. Isn’t that what Jesus told us when he said we should first remove the log in our own eyes?

We must be very aware of how information is used, misused, and abused. Be aware of how information is politicized and weaponized. Be critical of everything on the Internet. Reevaluate our news sources. No single network or online news source should be our sole and only source of information. 

Social media is a major problem. It fans the flames of this division and storm. Stop, slow down, think. Do not immediately click and share a post. Do not be quick to comment. Stop, pause, pray. When you are not sure about the facts, do not share it. Do your diligent research. And even then, evaluate, is it beneficial, is it upbuilding, is it loving, will it hurt or upbuild, encourage someone? We have the right to do anything, but not everything is beneficial. (1 Cor 6:12). Will this share or post become a stumbling block for someone? (1 Cor 8:9) Then don’t do it. And if you want to make a post or comment, don’t do it immediately. Write it somewhere else. Let it lie for 24 hours and pray over it. And post it only when you still feel compelled to do it. In the end — why? Flood social media with love.

We must get away from our screens, and get out into the world, into real relationships. We must be intentional to know our neighbors, especially to know and listen to those who don’t think like us, look like us, or vote like us. Love is to have the intellectual humility, the compassion, and empathy to listen to the stories, aspirations, views, and beliefs of others. Next week we will learn more about listening. 

We are a people of truth. We must seek, know, speak, and live out the truth. In all this, we must always ask, “What does God want us to do?” We must not be focused on what we want to do. We must practice deep listening—we must really, truly listen to hear God’s will, God’s voice. We listen deeply by praying, by being in the Word in season and out of season, when it is convenient or not, all the time. We listen deeply when we abide in Jesus Christ when we live every moment in his presence. Ask Jesus. “What Would We Do Jesus?” What do You want me to do? He will show us the way. He will enable us to be a people of truth, to seek truth, proclaim, and live out truth.