Mar
8
The sharp edges of truth
Filed Under Apologetics, The Church
LIFE ISN’T A BUMPER STICKER. That would make a good bumper sticker, wouldn’t it? Whenever I see the one that reads, QUESTION AUTHORITY! I want to respond, “Who are you to tell me what to do?” Another one reads, IF YOU LABEL ME, YOU NEGATE ME. I wonder, “Are you labelling me a ‘labeller’ or a ‘negator’?” Truth rarely fits on an area the size of a bumper sticker. Is it mean and nasty of me to notice?
Nowhere is this more evident than in the Christian Church today. John MacArthur has observed: “In the world of modern evangelicalism it is allowable to advocate the most unconventional, unbiblical doctrine–as long as you afford everyone else the same privilege. About the only thing that is taboo nowadays is the intolerance of those who dare to point out others’ error. Anyone who is bold enough to suggest that someone else’s ideas or doctrines are unsound or unbiblical is dismissed as contentious, divisive, unloving, or unchristian” (Reckless Faith: When the Church Loses Its Will to Discern, Wheaton: Crossway, 1994, p.22).
It’s good to get along with others. No one has a right to be contentious or unloving, even if the truth is at stake. We are commanded to be “peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere” (James 3:17). Such is the nature of heavenly wisdom. But then was the Apostle Paul sinning when he condemned his opponents in the Galatian churches, by declaring, “…if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed” (Galatians 1:10)? Certainly not!
We all have knives in our homes. In order to keep people from being cut, we don’t throw out the knives or blunt the edges until they are no longer sharp. Rather, we make certain that we use knives for the purposes for which knives were intended to be used. A sharp knife is an essential tool, whether you are a cook or a surgeon. Likewise, the truth has sharp edges. The trouble with sharp edges is that people can get cut. What is most difficult is making sure that we understand where the Word of God has made the edges sharp. Just because a knife is a useful tool doesn’t mean that I sharpen every counter edge or butter knife or spoon to razor sharpness. If we arbitrarily sharpen the edges of faith and practice according to our own whims or experiences or traditions, we are in danger of “teaching as doctrines the commandments of men” (Isaiah 29:13; Matthew 15:9), something our Lord Jesus denounced in the practice of scribes and Pharisees. However, the danger of exalting human tradition above the teaching of Scripture does not mean that we should not have creeds and clear confessions of faith. To say otherwise implies that God was not wise enough to make himself clear. God’s Word does not have dull edges; on the contrary, it is “sharper than any two-edged sword” (Hebrews 4:12).
God forbid that we should stand around arguing about the recipe for bread while men starve outside our door, but if someone mixes cement and offers it as bread, is it mean and intolerant to call attention to the mistake? Is there really a difference between truth and error? If you believe me to be in error, I pray that you would love the truth and love me enough to bring it to my attention. “Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful” (Proverbs 27:6). Ouch! That’s sharp!
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“Truth rarely fits on an area the size of a bumper sticker. Is it mean and nasty of me to notice?”
Mean and nasty? I venture to say, “Only to those for whom engagement in truth presents serious risk of making hamburger out of sacred cows.” Anytime we honestly agree to submit ourselves to Truth, we cannot disengage when truth becomes inconvient to either our known continuance of error, or our suspicion that what we are saying or doing runs afoul of our own truth standard.
Getting beyond bumper-sticker “truth” will only come when we agree, in the deepest part of us, to submit and be governed by a Truth outside ourselves; a mostly inconvenient truth from a human vantage point.