Oprah Winfrey, at last year’s Golden Globe Awards said, “What I know for sure is that speaking your truth is the most powerful tool we all have.” Her words are reflective of a trend that has been growing for decades now - the idea that truth isn’t the same as reality. Truth is more like something you just personally really believe or something you are willing to shout loudly. Forget facts. It’s now “your truth.”
I find it interesting that the people who usually say such things are also people who are all about science. What does “science” say? That’s a good question! How can science say anything, if truth is going to just be a personal conclusion anyway?
Truth exists. You don’t have to sit back and keep silent while the guy next to you says truth is just about your personal convictions.
I recently watched a recap of the Apollo 11 mission, based on thousands of hours of filmed records from those days in July of 1969. When Neil Armstrong set foot on the surface of the moon, the study and sweat of thousands and thousands of people all came together. Those 3 astronauts were in constant contact with hundreds of technicians and crews back at Houston, TX, constantly checking and confirming a steady flow of information. Can you imagine, as Armstrong and Aldrin guided the Lunar Module to land it on the moon, if Houston had told them, “Well, guys, whatever distance you want to say you are from the moon, you go ahead and speak your truth. Whatever rate of speed you’re descending is up to what you say. Just speak your truth and own it. When it’s time to blast off from there, we hope you have enough fuel.
Henderson back here is the one who decided how much you’d need. We just asked him to speak his truth.” That’s just not how real life works. Real life is lived within a certain framework of natural laws - things that are true; “facts,” we call them. Studying those and building and depending on those is how we landed men on the moon and brought them back.
But, you see, we don’t need that just to get people to the moon! We also need truth for the most basic life functions - family, job, society - everything but politics and media!
You live by some set of standards. Everyone does. They may be wrong standards, but everyone believes they exist!
Romans 2:14
For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law.
If there weren’t any absolutes, if there was no such thing as objective truth, then what I’m about to say wouldn’t matter anymore. In fact, if there’s no such thing as objective truth, it really doesn’t make sense for us to even be here right now talking about it!
So, for argument’s sake, let’s just say there are absolutes.
What are they? What standards do we follow?
Ill - This past week I saw a brief interview from 2017 with Helga Sol Olafsdottir in Iceland. She works at a university hospital and counsels pregnant women who discover that their baby has some kind of abnormality - like Down’s Syndrome. She tells the women:
"This is your life — you have the right to choose how your life will look like." The counselor says that terminating those pregnancies is “…preventing suffering for the child and for the family. And I think that is more right than seeing it as a murder -- that's so black and white. Life isn't black and white. Life is grey."
What she was saying is there are no set standards of right and wrong when it comes to human life. In her universe, decisions about human life are personal and always in flux. Life is gray.
Aren’t you glad that Helga isn’t in charge of your life as you get old or are somehow disabled?
God has given us the standard. God has given us truth. It’s in the book. We often refer to it as “Scripture.” That word turns up in the 3:16 we’re looking at today in 2 Peter
2 Peter 3:15-16 And count the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters. There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures.
The first thing we really need to talk about this morning is that…
1. There is such a thing as Scripture
The NT word “Scripture” translates a word that simply means “written things.” It’s where we get our word “graphics” and “grammar.” But every time it’s used in the NT (around 50X), it’s referring to something special; something that God’s people knew was from God Himself; something that was true and authoritative and unbreakable.
So, Jesus spoke of the OT with this word, “Scripture.” The writers of the NT did the same thing, always giving Scripture a certain status that was already an anchor in the minds of their audience. That’s the word Paul uses 2X when he writes,
2 Timothy 3:14b-17
…continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
There was once a day when I wouldn’t have needed to take 5 minutes of a sermon just to say this, but that day is gone. There is such a thing as Scripture - inspired, true, living, active, sharp, penetrating, unchanging, effective, faith-building, powerful Scripture.
Did you notice how Peter speaks about it here? Those Scriptures not only include the OT that Peter’s audience already knew about, but Scripture includes all of the things that Paul had written too. “…the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures.” By saying that, Peter just put Romans, I&2 Cor., Gal, Eph, Phil, Col, I&2 Thes, 1&2 Tim, Titus, Phil. on the same level as Genesis, Exodus, Proverbs, and Isaiah!
It’s interesting to discuss your opinion…sometimes. It’s interesting to see what other people in other settings have said…sometimes. It’s interesting to discuss politics and weather and sports and philosophy and the arts.
But if I’m interested in truth and understanding life and how to live it in a way that’s pleasing to God, I need God’s word. I need Scripture.
If we’re going to know God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit - everything specific we can know about Him can be found only in Scripture.
If the Church is going to be what God wants His Church to be, then the Church has to be modeled after what He tells us in Scripture. If we’re going to figure out what to call ourselves, how to worship God, what a family is supposed to look like, how to be good citizens, how to treat one another, what to expect in the future, how to handle suffering and what we’re supposed to teach someone who wants to be saved, where are we going to find such things? We’re going to need Scripture.
There is such a thing as Scripture!
But there’s also a kink in the hose here:
2 Peter 3:15b-16a
…our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters. There are some things in them that are hard to understand…
2. Scripture can be hard to understand
Peter is keeping it real here. He says that some of the things Paul writes are hard to understand. That means, if you’re sitting there right now saying “I don’t understand this,” it’s OK. Paul’s writings contain some things that are “hard to understand.”
Just to help you feel better, turn to someone next to you, and share 1 thing from the Bible that you don’t feel like you understand. 1 thing. …
I’m going to stick my neck out here and guess that most everyone here today can speak about one thing from the Bible that you just don’t really understand. OK. Can you share more than one thing that you do understand?
There’s a quote, usually attributed to Mark Twain, but no one seems sure:
“Some people are troubled by the things in the Bible they can’t understand. The things that trouble me are the things I can understand.”
Rather than take the things about Scripture that we don’t grasp and use them as an excuse, what can we do about those things? Let me make a few suggestions…
1. Stay humble.
It’s OK not to understand everything. Who does? And when we don’t we’re admitting that there’s more for us to learn.
Not understanding something doesn’t make it useless or untrue. How many of you fully understand your brain, for instance? You can’t see it, you can’t completely explain it, yet you use it every day - most people do, anyway! Stay humble. You’ll be OK!
2. Keep at it.
It doesn’t say in v16, “…impossible to understand.” Just “hard.”
I enjoy reading C S Lewis’ works. I quote him once in a while. But here’s something I’ve noticed when I read some of his writing, as well as some other deep thinkers: I have to read some of it more than once. Have you ever had to do that? Some things are harder to understand, but if I’m motivated, there’s something I can do about that. I can re-read. I can see what the author has written elsewhere. I can look at what other people think. But I don’t throw it aside just because it’s hard!
Proverbs 2:3-5
…if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God.
3. Be patient
Some of the things that I didn’t understand at age 10 are clearer to me now. I’ve matured since then. That’s what happens, and that’s what’s supposed to happen. If you stop maturing, something’s wrong.
Be patient. With time, there are parts of Scripture that will become clearer as we grow up in Him.
1 Corinthians 2:14-16 The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. “For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.
The Spirit of God, the HS, is the true Author of Scripture. Understanding Scripture will take some spiritual discernment, some spiritual judgment. If you’re going to engage the mind of God it will require you to have a mind that’s more than worldly. In other words, the more you mature in your faith, the more you’ll be able to understand what the Lord has said. That’s why we sometimes are drawn to listen to what others have to say about God’s word, because they’ve matured and gained some insights they can share.
Wherever you find yourself on this maturity timeline, stay humble, keep at it, be patient.
Peter warns about another potential for problems, so we need to listen to it too:
3. People misuse Scripture
2 Peter 3:16b
There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures.
My son-in-law Mark is an environmental health and safety guy for Boeing. His job involves trying to keep people from hurting and killing themselves while they build airplanes. “That’s a job? Why would they need people to do that?” you ask. Because, believe it or not, people sometimes skip safety rules or use tools in a way they aren’t supposed to. It’s not unique to any place on earth. The reason some of these pictures are funny is because these are “before” pictures and not “after.” When we skip rules, when we misuse a tool, people get hurt. People get killed.
That has been true of the Scriptures for centuries. It’s possible to take up the sword of truth, which is the word of God, skip the rules, and use it in the wrong way.
Jeremiah 23:36
But you must not mention ‘a message from the LORD’ again, because each one’s word becomes their own message. So you distort the words of the living God, the LORD Almighty, our God.
Doesn’t that sound like a lot of so-called Bible study that goes on? You don’t have to look too far to find people misusing Scripture. The problem isn’t the Scriptures. It’s us! Some think the best way to avoid disagreement over Scripture is to lower the bar. Great. That way, we just teach and believe and talk about only the things we all agree about. That shouldn’t take long! That’s not the solution!
The prayer that Jesus prayed in John 17 when He asked the Father to make all His followers “one” is the same prayer where (3 vv later) He said to God “Sanctify them in the truth. Your word is truth.”
Brothers and Sisters, the only way that Christian people can have real unity and be “one” like Jesus prayed we would be is for us to correctly use God’s word. We can just become nothing, believe nothing, teach nothing, or we can learn to handle Scripture.
2 Timothy 2:15
Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.
This isn’t something just for Super-saints. This is the very thing that all of us need to keep in mind in light of what’s going on around us. Let’s read on…
2 Peter 3:17-18
You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.
4. Scripture can save you from destruction
These very words are part of what can save you from destruction. After we leave here today, read the whole 3rd chapter, or better yet, the whole letter of 2 Peter.
It’s a reminder of what’s going to happen down the road. We get reminded of what’s ahead so that we don’t get “led away” from the truth like cattle headed to a slaughterhouse.
“take care” and “grow”
I’ve heard someone describe following Jesus like riding a bike. Keep moving forward, you stay up. The moment you stop moving forward, it’s hard to keep upright. Peter says the key to keeping your stability is to grow. Keep moving forward.
If you live in God’s grace, grow as someone who’s receiving grace. That means you don’t presume on it and sin with an attitude that says “Oh well, God’s going to forgive me anyway!” That means you extend grace to others who need it too. That means you find new and greater ways to show your gratitude to the One Who has given you His grace. That means you grow in your resistance to temptation and prove God’s wisdom for giving His grace to you.
Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. James puts it this way:
James 1:21
Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.
Conclusion:
No matter where you’re at this morning in your relationship to the Lord, this applies to you. Receive God’s word. Listen to what it says. Take where you are right now, and grow in it. Move forward in some way.
God has been patient up to this point. I know He’s been patient with me. He’s waiting for His Church to reach people that need to accept Him, and He’s waiting for you right now who still haven’t accepted Him to make that choice.
You’ve looked at Scripture - the very mind of God spelled out in words that you and I can take in today. What will you do with it?
