Josh McDowell tells about a conversation with Amber, a 16 year old girl – a Christian from a solid youth group. “Is it wrong to engage in premarital sex?” “Well, I believe it’s wrong for me.” “But do you believe that the Bible teaches that premarital sex is wrong for everyone?” Amber’s eyes shift back and forth as she weighs her answer. “Well, I know it’s wrong for me, and I have chosen not to have sex until I’m married. But I don’t think I can judge other people on what they do.”
McDowell’s conclusion, Amber has been conditioned to believe that truth is not true for them unless they choose to believe it. That’s why over 80% of our kids claim that “all truth is relative to the individual and his/her circumstances.”
In two national surveys conducted by Barna Research, people were asked if they believe that there are moral absolutes that are unchanging or that moral truth is relative to the circumstances. By a 3-to-1 margin adults said truth is always relative to the person and their situation. Among teenagers, 83% said moral truth depends on the circumstances, and only 6% said moral truth is absolute.
People are left with philosophies such as “if it feels good, do it,” “everyone else is doing it” or “as long as it doesn’t hurt anyone else, it’s permissible.”
The decline of moral foundations among our young people has culminated in a one-word worldview: “whatever.” We ought to be alarmed!
Christians have increasingly been adopting spiritual views that come from Islam, Wicca, secular humanism, and the eastern religions. And because we are Biblically illiterate, we aren’t alarmed or even aware of our slide toward syncretism.
You say, “What is syncretism?” It’s a belief system that blindly combines beliefs from many different faith perspectives. You need proof that we’re sliding toward syncretism? 44% of adults in America contend that, “the Bible, the Koran and the Book of Mormon are all different expressions of the same spiritual truths.” Just 38% of Americans reject that idea. Among Christian kids, 63% say that all religions pray to the same God.
We are experiencing a full gallop movement away from biblical theology in favor of culture-based theology.
Josh McDowell, in his book Beyond Belief to Conviction, says that at the foundation of a person’s life we find his beliefs.
These beliefs shape his values,
and his values drive his actions.
Your beliefs will eventually become your behavior.
There are lots of reasons why people are rejecting the faith. Here’s the number one reason. People are rejecting the Bible and its truths because our lives are so ineffective.
Here’s why truth doesn’t work:
Who you are speaks so loudly that I can’t hear what you say.
Do you know that # 1 reason people don’t go to church? “The church is full of hypocrites!” Usually I respond, “Come on and join us. There’s always room for one more!”
But it’s a shame that people reject the truth because they really don’t see much difference between how they live and how we live. In fact, they think that they are better than we are because they don’t even pretend to be holy.
Title: How truth works
Text: Colossians 1:1-12
Series: The Truth about truth in a “whatever” world
Bible scholars often talk about the “Colossian heresy.” It was a belief system that combined the Bible with pagan philosophy. The result? Christ was no longer Supreme. The system was a combination of Judaism and paganism, but it wore the mask of Christianity. It did not deny Christ, but it did dethrone Him; it gave Christ a place, but not the supreme place.
The point of this book is to unfold the cosmic implications of Christ’s absolute pre-eminence and to direct us to trust in the sole sufficiency of his saving work.
We are complete in Christ. Faith in Him rules out our need for any other powers. Nothing in the universe is outside the scope of His sovereignty.
Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, to the saints and faithful brethren in Christ who are at Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father. We give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love which you have for all the saints; because of the hope laid up for you in heaven,
We see here three sure marks of a believer – faith in Christ, love to all the saints, and hope of eternal life… If we don’t have these three, then we cannot rightly claim the name of Christian.
of which you previously heard in the word of truth, the gospel which has come to you, just as in all the world also it is constantly bearing fruit and increasing, even as it has been doing in you also since the day you heard of it and understood the grace of God in truth; just as you learned it from Epaphras, our beloved fellow bond-servant, who is a faithful servant of Christ on our behalf, and he also informed us of your love in the Spirit.
Now, beginning in verse 9, Paul launches into a prayer – a prayer that encourages the Colossians to live a life that will cause people to want to know what the truth that they believe.
The great apostle Paul is seeking to correct false teaching in the Colossian church. Here’s how he does it. He starts by telling them that he sees three things in their lives: faith, hope, and love. Then he prays for them. He knows that if their lives are not powerful, then their influence on their culture – their defense of the truth – will be minimal.
We can learn from this prayer. Truth is not working because our lives are ineffective.
For truth to work, I need more --
1. -- know how.
Why is my life so ineffective? Why can’t I influence others? Why is my life such a mess?
I don’t know enough!
We are spending ten minutes reading Scripture and then half our day making money and the other half enjoying and repairing what we spend it on. We are biblically illiterate. Two decades ago, people would devote 4 blocks of time weekly to religious pursuits, but now it’s down to one. How much more do we need to pray for each other the prayer that Paul prayed for the Colossians?
For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,
Circle the word “filled.” Some of us are satisfied with just a little knowledge. But God wants us to be filled with the knowledge of His will. Are you “filled” with the knowledge of His will?
We recently moved and the house we purchased was built in 1965. The decorations and wallpaper were vintage 60s. So, after we took possession of the house, I began the process of stripping wallpaper and painting. A friend who is a semi-retired painter showed up and saw me painting one of the closets. His comment? “You’re wasting your time.” He loaded me up in his van and took me to a paint store. He led me around the store pointing to various items, “Here, buy this. Here buy that.” $400 later, we were ready to leave. Then my friend coached me on how to do the job the right way. We took our time. It took a week just to prep the walls. Finally, the paint went on the walls. When I stand back and look at the walls, things look great! I know that the job was well done.
My friend had the “know how” and I didn’t. If I did it with my own “know how,” the job would have resulted in runs and drips and errors. I had to spend time with my friend to get the “know how.”
It’s the same with Christ. He has the “know how.” We don’t. Every day, we are invited to spend time with Him to learn how to do the job the right way. When we don’t, we end up with runs ad drips and errors. When we do go to Him for knowledge and wisdom and strength, then one day, we’ll step back and look at our lives from a distance and have this sense of accomplishment. We’ll think, “Jesus gave me the ‘know how’ to live a well-lived life. The job was well-done.”
But this is not knowledge that simply fills our heads with facts and figures about the Bible.
I like how Warren Wiersbe puts it:
In my pastoral ministry, I have met people who have become intoxicated with "studying the deeper truths of the Bible." Usually they have been given a book or introduced to some teacher’s tapes. Before long, they get so smart they become dumb! The "deeper truths" they discover only detour them from practical Christian living. Instead of getting burning hearts of devotion to Christ, they get big heads and start creating problems in their homes and churches.
Knowledge for knowledge’s sake is dangerous. It leads to pride. But the knowledge we gain is supposed to take us somewhere.
I need more “know how” --
-- to walk.
…so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord to please Him in all respects…
The word “walk” here refers to a lifestyle. God is not concerned with your spiritual life. He is concerned with your life! Would you be able to say that your lifestyle is worthy of the Lord and pleasing to Him?
Now, look at the word “all.” Is it your goal to please the Lord in all matters? I talk to lots of people who are interested in pleasing the Lord in most things. But I talk to very few who make it their goal to please Him in all things.
I need more know how to walk.
-- to work.
…bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;
We are not in bondage to TV-watching or eating or sleeping or drinking or partying or fishing or sailing or putzing around. Our question is this: How can I bear fruit for God and do good works to glorify Him?
What does this look like?
· We will be more patient, more kind.
· We will not just seek our own advancement but will strive to do to others what we would have them do to us.
· We will not be so irritable.
· We will return good for evil.
· We will use our discretionary time not by maximizing our fleeting comforts but by devising ways to be a blessing to the lost and suffering.
· We will more and more live our lives for others.
There is no better defense of the truth in all the world than a person whose hope in God is so strong that they gladly deny themselves in order to meet the needs of others.
Paul says, “I’m not praying for you to make a million or to stockpile things that will rust and decay. I’m praying for you to prosper in your spiritual life. I’m praying that you will be the best example of what a believer in Christ should be. If we will do that, we will be defenders of the truth.”
For truth to work, I need more know how and I need more --
2. -- can do.
We are in a war with evil. We are in a dark world that wants to suck us into its black hole. Ephesians 6:12 says that we are not fighting against flesh and blood, but against a spiritual, demonic enemy that is scheming to steal, kill, and destroy everything good and positive in our lives. Nothing short of God’s power can give us strength to stand.
… strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might,
“Strengthened” here refers to continuous empowerment. “Know how” is not enough. We need on ongoing “can do.”
Last Monday, I was asked to play in a golf tournament that was a fundraiser for a ministry in the area. Now, I’m a pretty poor golfer. And I was unable to make as many contributions to the team as I had hoped. Suppose someone came to me and said, “Rick, we’ve developed a new surgical technique and can put inside you the ability of Tiger Woods.” I’d be crazy not to do it.
So, they put me to sleep and put Tiger Woods inside. Now, when I get up off the table, it’s not me who’s playing, it’s Tiger Woods. All the sudden, I’m hitting the ball straight. I’m making puts. People are saying, “What happened to Rick? He’s playing golf so well!”
What happened is this: I have a new “can do” that I never had before. And that’s what God seeks to do in each of us. When we came to Christ, we have the Holy Spirit living in us. He gives us the ability to do what we were never able to do before. We have a new power inside. Now, our job is to yield control to the indwelling Spirit. We’ll find ourselves living in ways that we never thought possible before. People ought to be saying, “What happened to you? You’re living life so well!”
What do we need more “can do?”
I need more “can do” --
-- to endure.
How do you know you have God’s strength, power, and might? You have steadfastness and patience.
for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience;
Those are two important words in the Greek language.
“Steadfastness” is a word that applies specifically to problems. Are you patient with problems and circumstances in your life? Everyone has had to learn to be patient with a problem. We’ve all had to wait on something to happen. When God’s power comes into your life it gives you the power to wait, to trust His with your problems.
Then he uses the word “endurance.” Steadfastness applies to problems. Endurance applies to people. This is endurance with a person. God gives us the power to be patient with persons. This characterizes the person who, when others hinder or hurt him, shows patience and refuses to yield to outbursts of anger. It’s the attitude that doesn’t retaliate in spite of injuries or insults.
One famous prayer asks God to give us the strength to endure what we cannot change.
Malcolm Forbes once said that “Diamonds are nothing more than chunks of coal that stuck to their jobs.” They endure. Steadfastness and patience in the midst of pressure are what turn us into diamonds for God. When the pressures of life’s problems and the pressures of people are bearing down on us, God can give us strength to endure and turn into someone more beautiful and valuable then we can imagine.
I need more “can do” to endure.
-- to enjoy.
… joyously giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light.
I like the way The Message puts it: “It is strength that endures the unendurable and spills over into joy, thanking the Father who makes us strong enough to take part in everything bright and beautiful that he has for us.”
“Know how” and “can do.” We need them both. Perspective and power. Brains and brawn. Smarts and strength.
Knowledge without strength is useless.
Strength without knowledge is aimless.
But knowledge with strength brings success.
Will you pray this for yourself this next week? Will you pray this prayer for your family and/or your closest friends?
And if, during that prayer time, God whispers in your heart to do something to increase your “know how” or your “can do” will you do it?
