Truth, God’s Truth, remains a believer’s goal. It is perched upon the highest rung of all knowledge. There has been much promotion of variational truth from many differing camps. Such a fact does not negate the Fact. God’s insistence that our lives be based on Truth has neither subsided, diminished, nor eroded. Our pursuit of it, though, may have suffered.
Our heritage has been correct in pursuing what God wants us to know. This is an admirable and reachable quest. We have been equally erring in, at times, naming man’s tradition as truth. Some see it. Some don’t want to see it. Those who see it are in danger of creating Compensational Truth by accepting new lines of thinking to compensate for the bull-headed mis-doctrine of old. I don’t know of a generation or an individual preacher who has not ridden the pendulum to one point or the other.
Truth isn’t a Bible thumping point. It is the freeing mechanism of God. Truth isn’t modern psychology. It is Jesus. Truth isn’t reaction or overreaction. It is the Steady Word. We are to adjust to it; not it to us.
There remains great hunger in the church for Truth. The problem is such a hunger is not necessarily for what the past has pocketed as the truth. People want to know what God said; not what men said God said. There is a problem and it has been developing over the past few decades; I guess even centuries. Christians are still reading their Bibles and concluding that in places they don’t agree with themselves. That’s not a bad thing. We are forced to change our minds. That, too, is not a bad thing. We are led into the arena of Romans 12:1-3. It’s challenging, risky, threatening, and can be most uncomfortable.
We are to be cheered to continue to let the Truth look back at us…..Hebrews 4:12. One of the greatest tasks is to be careful to land on The Truth and not on Compensational Truth where we try to make up for bad doctrine in the past by accepting bad doctrine in the present. That’s just new error. The Truth will set us free. Compensational Truth will bite us eventually. May we continue to hunger for that which is on the mind of God. May we be free to let His Word be free to set us free!
5 comments:
"Compensational Truth" A phrase I've not heard before, but I like it. It fits.
Good thoughts, Terry. Thanks.
Very good thoughts!
One of my fellow leaders at the congregation I work with said recently:
"There was a man who came up to the preacher after services one Sunday and said,'Pastor, I sure do like your church. I was thinking about joining it today.' To which the preacher replied, 'First, I am a preacher not a pastor. It is not my church. It is Christ's. And finally, you don't join the church. You are added to it.' The man replied, 'I was looking forward to bringing my tythes to this church.' To which the preacher said, 'We will be happy to announce your joining our church today'".
I hear the concern of pendulum swinging. And, I try to watch out for it. What passes for truth is realy something to be concerned about. But, sometimes accepting someone elses truth is not a compensational truth. I was reluctant to be called pastor until after several years of ministry several people continued to point out that is what I am. I have the pastoral gift and I spend most everyday seeking to lead and nurture others for thier spiritual welfare. I am hesitant to call a young man just out of college pastor, but, Paul's words to Timothy work on me about not letting others look down on you because of youth.
I could mention other topics some would see as buying into the pedulum but will leave it at this one for today.
Anonymous,
Good point. Right point. I'm not saying that as we grow into new awareness of Truth that such is compensational nor is it necessarily pendulum swinging.
We will change our minds at times....and should many times....not because we compensated but because the Word led us there as you have rightly described.
Compensational Truth is a term I created in awakening us to being careful when we balk against an old mis-truth by establishing a new mis-truth.
Terry,
Excellent post. Very much needed right now. I have people who want to center there lives in the statement in Paul's letter to Corinth,"All things are permissible." In which I believe he is quoting the permissive culture in Corinth. That fact is Jesus had clear teachings that some things are just morally wrong. These include that convict all of us of being sinners, lust, slander, etc. It's not them its us. Still, there is a standard. It was mentioned in the conference in Jerusalem, Acts 15. Immorality is wrong. Compensational truth will not change this reality. Thank God His grace forgives us when we accept His truth. Law came by Moses, but grace and truth through Jesus. Praise him.
Larry Wishard
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