What is Truth?

Published on August 29, 2006 By Gideon MacLeish In Religion

I had to swipe the line from a favorite Johnny Cash song to address this subject. As most of you know, I'm not a biggie on religious blogs, but as you also know, I'm a big mouth, so I have to speak my mind from time to time.

I see the debate crop up on various articles about religion as to how we are to act as Christians. What puzzles me is why there's any debate at all, frankly. God gave us a standard, and we are called to obedience. While that obedience does not save us, the effort to become the person God wants us to be should be the hallmark of a believer. While we should not let the guilt from our sins crush us, we should always let the awareness of our sin move us towards behaving more and more in a manner that is acceptable to God. In other words, if we know that it is wrong, we shouldn't do it again.

What puzzles me is why anyone would WANT to do it again. Sure, we are imperfect, sure we sin, but the fact that anyone would desire to do something that they know to be contrary to God's will is indicative to me that their heart might not be in the right place.

In my human relationships, having love for someone means that I act sensitively towards that other person in my relationship towards them. I would never intentionally do something, for instance, that I know would cause my wife or children grief. Loving them means placing consideration for their feelings above mine.

How much more so, then, should I place God's feelings above mine if I claim to love him? Sure, I have liberty to act any way I please, but if I desire that relationship, if I desire that closeness, it seems I would want to act in a way that would nurture that relationship and bring me closer.

As I get older, and hopefully a little bit wiser, I'm perplexed by those Christians who would continually WANT to sin. Virtually every sin carries with it earthly consequences, as well as heavenly consequences, and there are few sins one can commit where they can honestly claim they did not suffer harm. My desire should be to invest my time and energy in things that have lasting importance, not in things that feed only my present desire with no thought of the future.

So, why, then, do Christians try to weigh sin and decide which ones are acceptable or not acceptable before God? Here's a hint: if it's a sin, it's NOT acceptable before God. Period. While God is a loving and forgiving God, it is the height of folly to test the limits of His grace.

Comments

KENNETH S. KARSTEN

on Aug 29, 2006

There are many truths. The most important truth is that everything is always changing.

KENNETH S. KARSTEN

on Aug 29, 2006

There are many truths. The most important truth is that everything is always changing.

KFC Kickin For Christ

on Aug 29, 2006

The most important truth is that everything is always changing.

the real truth never changes. It doesn't need to. It's truth.

Good article, Gid. Agree with all of it. Is there anything in particular you're aiming at?

foreverserenity

on Aug 29, 2006

I've always had this visual picture of God with a very large book with each name and the sins they commit. And he writes whether he forgives us are not or whether it will be one more strike against us. Not too far from the movie stuff, perhaps where it came from in the first place uh?!

I agree with what you say in your article. If it's a sin it's not acceptable to God. Sometimes though I wonder how do you know it's a sin? Because the Bible tells you so would be my first response. However, did God write the Bible or did man? Then again, we're going into different territory of discussion here.

What I'm trying to get at though is that we ourselves know in our hearts what is wrong and what is right. We know what not to do and what to do. The fact that we do repeat those things that give us pleasure yet we know it's a sin, well, that does makes us who we are, human. Remember Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. They went ahead and ate the forbidden fruit. Like Whip said, why put it there if you don't want me to have it? I guess that's not an easy thing to explain. The more we sin though, is the more we become aware of ourselves and of who God is and then we begin to question ourselves and our truths and then begin to know the difference to what he wants; and I think that God would most definately want us to grow from that woudn't he?

AndyBaker

on Aug 31, 2006

If we know that it is wrong, we shouldn't do it again. What puzzles me is why anyone would WANT to do it again

Gid, St. Paul says, "What I want to do, I do not do, but what I hate, I do. ... For in my inner being I delight in God's law, but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God - through Jesus Christ our Lord." - Romans 7.14-25

Our base-nature desires, or animal instincts, can sometimes get the better over our inner-heart’s conscience and desires. One of our tasks on earth is to learn to conquer our base-nature desires, which in turn strengthens our inner muscle, aligning us with God's purposes.

It takes strong inner-spirit to rise above and conquer the lures of the world, flesh and the devil. For example, if a sexy, adulterous woman attempted to lure a married man into bed, then whether the man resisted or not would depend on the strength of his inner-muscle, and wisdom. If his base-nature desires were stronger than his inner-spirit, then the poor bloke wouldn’t be able to resist the woman, even though in hind-sight he would regret his actions and would feel guilty and hurt, (assuming there were no problems with his marriage in the first place, of course.)

So one answer to your question is that the flesh - or animal instinct - wants to do it, but the spirit doesn’t. Which one do we adhere to most?

aeryck

on Aug 31, 2006

I suppose lopping of a bough on a tree, that is infected is pretty easy, but lopping of a hand of a thief, or cutting out the eye of someone that lusts is also pretty radical. But I guess based on your rather strict principles it would be nothing to cut of one's head if one kept having evil thoughts. Or is there perhaps a way that involves more than just rigorous resolve and mind numbing discipline to bring about the life of Christ in the life of a person who is by nature going the wrong way. Whichever way it is that according to your idea needs changing. I personally like the idea of a Spiritual life that has power to change one, instead of some sort of frantic moral code and self pinning technique. I think AndyBaker is on the right track and perhaps a light reading of Romans 8, might open the readers to the life in the Spirit. It does seem that the end of Romans 7 has a pretty frantic Paul, who by the beginning of Romans 8, is obviously only expressing the desperation, to make a point, that of the life of the Spirit that has made us free from another law, that wars in our members. I think that adherance is not really the deal, some things just take a long time with some and quicker time with others. It is about growing spiritually and well that takes time. Thank God that He did not leave us alone to sort out these matters...He gave us the Holy Spirit to be with us and in us, helping us to get that victory. Amen !

KFC Kickin For Christ

on Sep 01, 2006

I think that adherance is not really the deal, some things just take a long time with some and quicker time with others. I

yes, this sanctification process goes on till the day we die. We should over time see the changes, sometimes big, sometimes small baby steps.

I like what Romans 8:13-14 says...."For if you live after the flesh, you die, but if by the spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live because those who are led by the spirit of God are Sons of God."

I remember a Pastor saying, "you need to kill sin, or sin will kill you."

Paul states that because of free will involved, we have the responsiblility to make a decision to rid ourselves of sin.

"Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body that you should obey it.." 7:12

Wholesomewinner

on Sep 04, 2006

Most of the responses are thought provoking. Thanks! I agree totally with reply 8: EmpororofficeCream.
All the best.

Let believers become actual doers and lovers! I am positive about the future if we are open to reflect our situation today. without becoming self-defensive!!!

Wholesomewinner!

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