Why Truth Matters: The Shift Series

Intro:

Over the next three weeks we’re going to look at an issue that most of us don’t think about on a regular basis but that is fast becoming a serious problem in our society. The issue is that of truth in our culture today. What is True, what makes something true, Is truth universal? This word, that was once so easy to define, means many different things to many different people. But, as Christians today there can only be only one definition of Truth, one source of Truth and that is found in the person of Jesus Christ and in the Word that He left us, His Bible.

It is essential that Christians get a grasp of this because Truth today is being watered-down, twisted, and changed into whatever people want it to be.

Paul tells us in 1 Timothy 3:15 that: the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth. Truth is found in God, and His church is to be the foundation of that Truth for the world to see.

Once, when a stubborn disputer was trying to convince Abe Lincoln that his view of events was the Truth because he was unconvinced that Abraham Lincoln was right about something, Lincoln said, "Well, let’s see, how many legs has a cow?"

"Four, of course," came the reply disgustedly.

"That’s right," agreed Lincoln. "Now suppose you call the cow’s tail a leg; how many legs would the cow have?"

"Why, five, of course," was the confident reply.

"Now, that’s where you’re wrong," said Lincoln. "Calling a cow’s tail a leg doesn’t make it a leg."

That’s just a silly little story but it’s a great illustration for the mindset of many people today, they’re convinced that just because they call something truth that must be what it is when in reality, calling it something else doesn’t make it true and doesn’t change the lie that it is.

My purpose over the next few weeks is not to convince most of you that Truth exists, most of you would agree with me wholeheartedly on that point. My hope is to open your eyes to some of the thinking that is becoming prevalent in society today in order to equip you to more adequately share and defend your faith by understanding the mindset of some of the people that God will call you to share His Truth with. We talked last week about going into the world to teach and make disciples. Well, when we go into the world, we’re going to find a whole bunch of different thoughts and ideas about Truth and we need to be prepared to confront them and to understand the mindset and thinking behind them. We need to move forward confronting in love, but being convinced of the Truth we know, the Truth that Jesus talks about in John 8:31-32

Jesus said in John 8:31-32, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."

Truth, the truth found in Christ’s teaching alone, can free us from the consequences and condemnation of sin. We must hold to that Truth in a changing world and we must do everything we can to share it with others.

This morning we’re going to look at the new definition of truth that is being taught and lived out in the lives of millions. Next week we’re going to look at where these ideas come from and how we can break free from them and finally, we’ll return to the basics and a Biblical definition of truth and what we need to be living out in our lives and impressing on the lives of our children.

So, today you get the shift, next week we look at the source, and we’ll wrap things up with the solution.

Read Colossians 2:1-8

Colossians 2:8

See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.

This verse perfectly describes what we see happening in society today. So many people, Christians included, have been taken captive by various philosophies and ideals which make us feel good, make us feel important, even bring about a semblance of unity among mankind in the name of tolerance, but lack the foundation of Biblical Truth that is necessary to bring about real change, real repentance, and real revival that our nation needs. We have shifted over the years from a belief in absolute, unchanging Truth to a mixture of many beliefs that find their truth in the sincerity of those who believe it and can therefore change and adapt to fit anyone’s lifestyle.

So what exactly does this shift involve?