The Battle for Truth in The Church

The Battle for Truth in The Church

Rev.M.D.Rogers M.Div.

I.  Introductory Remarks.

Isaiah 59:14  Justice is turned back, and righteousness stands afar off; for truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter.

In this study I want to begin talking about "The Weapon of Truth."  Truth is one of the most powerful weapons we possess in the spiritual arsenal God has given to us to deal with the enemy.  Unfortunately truth has fallen in the streets and has been replaced by the lies of the devil.  It is time for God's people to arise with the weapon of truth and to go forth in the power of His Spirit pleading for truth.

Isaiah 59:4-5  No one calls for justice, nor does any plead for truth. They trust in empty words and speak lies; they conceive evil and bring forth iniquity. They hatch vipers' eggs and weave the spider's web; he who eats of their eggs dies, and from that which is crushed a viper breaks out.

We live in a culture and an era that is inundated with falsehood and lies.  Not many are pleading for truth and those who do are mocked and ridiculed as being extremists in a politically correct society that is based on falsehood and lies.

Even in the church, those who stand for a strong adherence to Biblically sound doctrine are ridiculed and labeled as legalists, who are not flowing with the Spirit.

As a result we have provided the perfect environment for Satan's power and deception to rule in the lives of people everywhere.  Satan's power and antichrist spirit is being unleashed today as never before.  The absence of truth has given him a strong foothold and place to stand to oppose and exalt himself above all that is called God.

2 Thessalonians 2:9-10  The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved.

The Bible is full of Scriptures that speak of the strong deception that shall come upon the world in the last days that shall even cause many to depart from the faith.  This is all are result of truth having fallen in the streets.

Although there is probably not a whole lot we can do about the absence of truth in the secular world, I believe there is something we can do about it in the kingdom realm.  There are two areas God wants His truth securely establish in.  They are in the church and in our personal lives.

II. Truth As A Weapon.

If we are to stand in an evil day we must put on the belt of truth and walk in the uncompromising truth of God's Word.

Ephesians 6:13-14  Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness...

We must realize that walking in the truth of God's Word is one of the most powerful weapons we have against the enemy with his wiles and schemes.  We must have a powerful love and adherence to the truth of God's word if we are to stand against him.

·          Satan has nowhere to stand when he is confronted with the Truth.

John 8:44  "You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.

If we take away his place to stand, then he is not able to use his many devices and schemes against us.  He is rendered totally ineffective.

III. The Battle For Truth In The Church.

God has chosen the church to be the place from which His truth flows from.  It is the pillar and ground of truth.

1 Timothy 3:15  ...but if I am delayed, I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.

It is my conviction that the church of Jesus Christ has been guilty of compromising and watering down the truth of God's Word to make it more palatable to the society we live in and as a result truth has fallen in the streets and given the devil a giant foothold to speak lies and falsehood.  We should be crying out and pleading for truth to be firmly established in the church according to the uncompromising truth of God's Word.

There is a tremendous battle that is raging in the church today over truth.  Satan's objective is to infiltrate the church with his lies.  He knows that if he can spread his lies and dilute the truth, he has a secure place to stand and unleash his power and deception.

·            In the more historical & traditional churches the battle is over whether the Scripture is divinely inspired or not and whether Jesus was really God manifest in the flesh.  This gives way to battles over all kinds of moral issues within the church.  When truth is fallen righteousness stands afar off.

·            In the Charismatic realm the battle is over extra Biblical experiences vs. what is clearly stated or established in God's Word.  This causes people to seek after signs and spiritual experiences rather than the truth of God's word.  It will set them up to be deceived by lying signs and wonders.

With the weapon of truth we can claim victory in both of these areas by adhering to the truth of God's Word in the following ways.

1.  We Must Accept The Entirety Of God's Word As His Truth.

Psalms 119:160 The entirety of Your word is truth, And every one of Your righteous judgments endures forever.

2 Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness...

2.  We Must Rightly Divide the Word of Truth.

2 Timothy 2:15  Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

This means we approach the interpretation of God's Word honestly without personal preferences.  There are those who twist the Scriptures to make them say anything they want to say.

2 Peter 3:16  ...as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which those who are untaught and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures.

No Scripture is of private interpretation.  It must be properly exegeted in light of the whole.  It also means you build on those passages that are clear and precise and not on those that are vague or nebulous.  Allow the Scripture to interpret itself.  It does it very well.

3.  The Word of Truth Must Take Precedence Over Experience.

One of the things that is happening in the Body of Christ today, particularly in the Charismatic ranks is a focus on extra Biblical experiences that are being esteemed as a genuine move of the Holy Spirit.  Any experience must be based on the Sound Doctrine of God's Word.

 It is my conviction that God can soverignly move upon my life however He sees fit, but I do not have the liberty nor the authority to take something that is not Biblically defined and build a movement on it.

1 Corinthians 4:6 Now these things, brethren, I have figuratively transferred to myself and Apollos for your sakes, that you may learn in us not to think beyond what is written, that none of you may be puffed up on behalf of one against the other.

·          The example of Peter and the Mount of Transfiguration.

A good example of esteeming the word above spiritual or emotional experiences is found in the example of Jesus with Peter, James and John.  When Peter later wrote about this experience, He said the written word was a more sure word of prophecy.

2 Peter 1:16-21 And we heard this voice which came from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain. We also have the prophetic word made more sure, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts; knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.

·          The example of Jesus at His Baptism.

Another example is when the Father spoke to Jesus on the day of His baptism.  Those who heard the voice all heard it a little differently.  Jesus heard it perfectly, because He was perfect.  Our spiritual experiences are filtered through our imperfect minds, so therefore our interpretation of the event is not a perfect interpretation of what happened.

John 12:28-30  "Father, glorify Your name." Then a voice came from heaven, saying, "I have both glorified it and will glorify it again." Therefore the people who stood by and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, "An angel has spoken to Him." Jesus answered and said, "This voice did not come because of Me, but for your sake.

Even though spiritual experiences we may experience from time to time may be good and even build our faith, we do not have the right to glorify the experiences beyond what is written in the word or to the point that they become a movement within themselves.

4.  We Must Have A Love For The Truth Of God's Word.

Psalms 119:162 I rejoice at Your word As one who finds great treasure.

David walked in faith and victory throughout most of his life because he had a genuine love and appreciation for God's Word.

·       This involves enduring sound doctrine.

2 Timothy 4:3-4  For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.

IV.  Concluding Remarks.

Being a part of a local church that is Bible centered and adheres to God's Word of Truth gives us as believers a strong foundation to walk in the truth that God so desires for us.  But we must also take personal responsibility for walking in truth as God reveals it to us.  This will give us the kind of faith and victory that will cause the enemy to flee from our lives and enable us to fulfill God's divine calling in each of our lives.