Preserving the truth has cost the people of God greatly over the centuries, and we are called to follow the pattern and defend the truth in our generation!
Various authors have written the Bible over a period of 1600 years. It has taken centuries to compile it to its current structure. Countless number of people have faced persecution or execution in order to read the Bible, share it with someone else, or translate it to another language, so others can read it.
“Therefore love truth and peace.’” Zechariah 8:19b
We are called to love the truth; if we love the truth, we will be compelled to defend it.
What does it mean to defend the truth? How do we protect and defend the truth we love? There are a few factors that contribute to defending the truth.
Truth cannot be altered
As protectors of truth, we cannot change the truth, sugarcoat it, or dumb it down to ensure people like us or approve of the message. In the same manner, we must not exaggerate one portion of the Bible to make our point or create a niche for our ministry!
Recently I was in a gathering with a group of writers. The group leader suggested that in our writings we should avoid stating “God commands.” because people have a hard time with those kinds of statements. It’s better to use words such as “God urges, or God desires.”
The problem is that if God commands something, and I say, “God is urging us”, I just toned down His requirement and diminished the weight of His rule and the urgency of the subject. As a result, I become guilty of reinterpreting God’s word to fit my needs or other people’s needs.
We as writers, teachers, and pastors will be pressured to tone down our message to gain more popularity or more members for our churches. However, the priority of a man or woman of God is to bring truth to the people. We are called to defend the truth by keeping it pure and unadulterated!
On the other hand, we cannot use God’s commandments to pressure or manipulate people in a certain direction. God’s truth is so powerful that we need to apply it with great care, skill, and sensitivity to ensure it accomplishes God’s work not our agenda.
I will continue with this subject in the next devotional.
For comments, please contact me at karlinefischer@yahoo.com.