What Is Truth? - Part 1

By Boyd Hurst

You may recognize the title of this article is taken from Pilate’s reply to Jesus in Jn. 18:38. Jesus has just stated that His purpose for coming into the world was to bear witness to the truth and that everyone who is of the truth listens to His voice.  The question that Pilate raised, perhaps cynically, is a question that faces us daily in our current society.  Indeed, we need to embrace the idea of “truth” even more as we see the erosion of adherence to an absolute and true standard and the befuddlement of truth.

First, we must recognize that Jesus is the expert on truth.  In Jn. 1:14 we read that Jesus is “full of grace and truth.”   Jesus told His disciples in Jn. 8:31 that they would know the truth and the truth would make them free.  He uses the term “truth” seven times in this discourse emphasizing that He is the purveyor of truth, and they need to listen to Him.  The King of truth tells us how to be part of His kingdom, and it is this truth that will save us.

In Jn. 8:44 Jesus references how truth has been under attack by Satan since the beginning of time.  We all know the story of Gen. 3.  God had placed Adam and Eve in a beautiful garden, and they had a wonderful relationship with each other.  However, a choice tree had been placed in the garden, and God warned them not to eat it or touch it lest they die.  Satan enters and creates doubt by manipulating language and using lust of the eyes, lust of the flesh and the pride of life to entice Eve to sin. 

As someone has said, “sin is not hurtful because it is forbidden, it is forbidden because it is hurtful.”  In Isaiah’s prophecy against the northern kingdom in Isa. 59:14-15, he describes how truth was being maligned.  He states there is no justice or righteousness because “truth stumbles in the public squares” and is therefore “lacking.”  “And he who departs from evil makes himself a prey.”  Earlier in the book of Isaiah we have the familiar woe pronounced upon those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, and who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter, Isa. 5:20.  Does this remind you of some in our current society who have chosen to redefine terms to satisfy their agenda?

Propagandists in power have long known that if you boldly lie to the public and loudly proclaim the lie often enough, you will convince many that it is the truth.  Or if the facts are ignored or suppressed along with the objections of some who are trying to expose the truth, then the lie will prevail.  It is clear that truth is not being reported today in the mainstream media, only the narrative that the media wishes us to hear.  Those who would try to speak the truth are deplatformed, shouted down and/or canceled, and their words go unreported…they have become a prey.

We need to be mature and able to discern between good and evil as exhorted by the Hebrew writer in Heb. 5:14. The apostle Paul instructs to “abhor evil and cling to good,” Rom. 12:9.  And also he states in Rom. 3:4 “let God be true and every man a liar.”  In our increasingly ungodly environment, we have a challenge to find truth.  However, the Christians in the first century faced similar obstacles as they dealt with the bias of the Jews and idolatrous pagans.  The gospel was not “good news” to the people of the day who were determined to continue in their ways in spite of the truth of the gospel.  We know that even within the early church there were Judaizing teachers wanting to hold on to the old law and Gnostics who introduced their own standard of religion based on the eradication of ignorance rather than sin.  They rejected the idea of creation by a supreme being and had various ideas about the origin and deity of Christ.  They promoted the freedom of the individual to develop their own philosophical view of religion which they referred to as enlightenment.  This is similar to the situation we find in the book of Judges where the statement is made that there was no king in the land at that time and everyone did was right in their own eyes (Jdg. 21:25).

People of my age and even younger are amazed at how rapidly our country is moving to the left or liberal side of the spectrum.  We have seen this tendency over the last few decades but are shocked at the current progression.  Certainly, one of the major contributors to this shift is the introduction of “Values Clarification” in the curriculum of public schools.  This idea is nothing but a thinly veiled cover for the “religion” of humanism, the objective of which is to do away with traditional beliefs that place God as the ultimate authority and replace this with the individual standard of each person.  The idea that “I’m OK, you’re OK” and “if it feels right, do it.”  Thus, if there is no objective standard, one can engage in immorality, theft or even murder if it is satisfactory by their standards.  By introducing these concepts in the minds of impressionable young students, it becomes a familiar philosophy that is embraced when the traditional values have either not been taught or emphasized enough by parents and Bible teachers.  (to be continued)

Will There Be Work in Heaven?

By Larry Coffey

In listening to Kenny Embry’s podcast, Balancing the Christian Life, he recently discussed the subject of “What is Heaven Like” with Wes McAdams, an evangelist from Texas. One segment of the podcast dealt with the subject of this blog, which I found to be quite interesting.

There are some things we know about heaven, some things we think we know but the figurative language used makes it hard to be sure, and many things we don’t know. We know God the Father, Christ, and the Holy Spirit will be there. We know angels are there, and ultimately all those who have been obedient and faithful to God will be there. We know eternal life will exist and there will be no tears, death, mourning, crying, or pain (Rev. 21:4). We also look forward to other things not there, such as temptation and sin, because Satan won’t be there. We know it will be a joyous place beyond our ability to imagine.

What about work? Will it be there? Many people believe Rev. 14:13 teaches there will be no work. This verse states: “And I heard a voice from heaven saying, blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on. Blessed indeed, says the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them.” The word used here for rest literally means, “they shall be refreshed.” This leaves room for a different understanding than we may normally assign to it.

I’ll admit I have always thought we would be worshipping God and on vacation continuously. On the podcast Wes asked the question, Would you really want to be in a church service and on vacation throughout eternity? As I thought about that, my answer would be no. To worship and rest, yes. But only that, no. I want a job. I want to serve God, but I want Him to give me something to do. And now I believe He will. Why would I say that?

From the beginning of creation, God has always expected man to work. In Genesis 2, it says “God finished his work that he had done, and he rested” (Gen. 2:2).  In verse 15 of that chapter we read, “The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it” (Gen. 2:15).  God gave man work to do even before He created woman. It seems his garden job was what we would call a good job. Not one with a lot of pressure and long hours. Then after the fall, we read in Gen. 3:19, “By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground.” This is a much different kind of work than Adam had in the garden.

In addition, we read in Matt. 22:30, “For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.” We know angels had jobs. They did what God and the Lord asked them to do. The Bible often speaks about angels and their activities. Since we are going to be like them, it only follows we will have work to do. I want the kind of job Adam had in the garden, or jobs like the angels have. All I have read and observed is that those who work have a far greater level of enjoyment than those who don’t. A sense of accomplishment yields a lot of satisfaction. God has always expected us to work and I don’t think that will change when we get to heaven. I hope not.

Jesus Increased in Favor with Men

By Paul Earnhart

The Bible says very little about the early childhood of Jesus.  It does inform us in Luke 2:52 that He increased in favor with man.  This tells us that Jesus was the kind of child that adults admired.  Every parent desires to have such a child.

How did Jesus grow in favor with good men.  Certainly not by being a smart-alecky spoiled little brat.  No adult likes to be around that kind of child.  Rather, as we are told in the other parts of this verse, Jesus grew in wisdom, in stature and in favor with God.  Good people admire that.  In addition, they appreciate children who are respectful of adults, obedient to their parents, careful with property and considerate in their relations with other children.  Growing in favor with God would require all of this, and what we see of Jesus in His teen years (and later) clearly indicates that this was the kind of child he was.

If you are a child, let me remind you that if you want to be like Jesus, this is the kind of boy or girl you must be.  It is not time yet for you to be travelling over the country preaching as Jesus did.  But it is time for you to be applying yourself to getting a good education, to developing a strong body and to being right with God.  One way to determine whether you are succeeding in this is to watch how good adults feel about you.  If they admire you and speak of you as a good child, then you must be doing as you should.  If they dread being around you and clearly do not like you, then you probably need to make some changes in your behavior and attitude to be like Jesus.

If you are a parent, let me remind you that you are responsible for the development of your child.  If your child is a terror to others, you need to be making some changes in your method of handling the child.  As the child grows older, the problems will only increase.  Perhaps you should begin with yourself.  Disciplined children must have disciplined parents…it’s the only way.

Jesus Increased in Favor with God

By Paul Earnhart

Luke 2:52 tells us that as Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, He also increased in favor with God. This is the most important increase of all. All other progress in the development of a child is of temporary value. The wisdom he learns will someday be forgotten. His physical body, regardless of how strong, will someday weaken and die. And the favor of men can vanish in a moment of time. But favor with God prepares us for eternity.

Favor with God is obtained by godly living. In 1 Peter 3, beginning with verse 10, there is a quotation from the Psalms which is true for all times: "Let him who means to love life and see good days refrain his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking guile. And let him turn away from evil and do good. Let him seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous and his ears attend to their prayers, but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil." (1 Pet. 3:10-12)

Children do not grow in the favor of God by accident. This is especially true in our own day when so much ungodliness is being fed to children on television, in school, and through their companions. If children are to increase in the favor of God, they desperately need parents who have spiritual goals for them and rear them “in the discipline and instruction of the Lord" (Eph. 6:4).

What of your children? Do you feel that God is increasingly pleased with them as they grow older? What are you doing to help them in that direction? Do you read the Bible and pray with them? Do you take them to Bible classes? Do you give them an example of a god-fearing parent? What your children become is largely up to you. But you must act now!

Finding Contentment in Being Single

By Bethany Taylor

When you look around and see so many happily married couples but notice that you are becoming one of the few (and sometimes only) single person left in your friend group or church, the feeling of loneliness may creep in. And when you hear sermons on marriage and children and the beautiful plan God has there, you can start to ache for that stage and want to escape what could feel like the worthless state of “being single.” But I think if we evaluate this rationally, my dear Christian, we may find the opposite is true. There is so much value in the single life, and so many ways to bring glory to God that I hope you will be rejuvenated in your sense of value in the “opportunity” God has provided you in your singleness.

I think a first step in finding contentment with anything is seeing if there is any benefit. Paul seemed to think so as he states in 1 Cor. 7:8, "But I say to the unmarried and to widows, it is good for them if they abide even as I.” Here he is most likely addressing Christians at a particularly heavy time of persecution. But he is pointing out that as a single person you are not encumbered with the cares and anxieties of a family, since when you are married life gets harder and more complicated (1 Cor. 7:32-35). There’s a blessing of freedom in being single with less responsibilities and a different set of opportunities. But with this benefit of more freedom and time, one must be careful how it is used, since each one will give an account of it. Matt. 5:14-16 tells us to “let your light shine before men; that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” Are the ways you’re using your time and freedom as a single person to glorify God, or are they only for your personal enjoyment?

Contentment with being single can also be found by remembering to trust that the One who created you knows your heart. Our Heavenly Father knows what we need and hears our prayers. So, if your prayer to be married hasn’t happened, could it be because He has a plan for you and being married isn’t the plan at this time? We see throughout scripture righteous people praying to God for something and yet He has a better plan for them than what they prayed for. My favorite example of this is Zacharias and Elizabeth (Luke 1:5-7,13). We see they had prayed for so long to have a child, but God’s timing was not their timing. I wonder if waiting wouldn’t have been hard had they known their child would be John the Baptist,.

It is hard to feel content when you feel like a failure. As single, know that you are the opposite of that! You are worthy. We all know the “Worthy Woman” of Proverbs 31, one whom all Christian women admire. Prov. 31:10, “A worthy woman who can find? For her price is far above rubies.” Now look at Ruth 3:11, in this verse Boaz is talking to the unmarried Ruth: “And now, my daughter, fear not; I will do to thee all that thou sayest; for all the city of my people doth know that thou art a worthy woman.” Both of these verses use the same Hebrew word for “Worthy women” which is “Eshet Chayil.” Just as Ruth was single and worthy, others can be as well. You have value and are worthy as a single person serving God - married or unmarried isn’t a criterion.

I will close with a challenge to those who are married. As you strive to support your brethren who are single, and want to help them find contentment and see their worth, do your words show that? Do your questions tell singles that being married is the most important thing… is their relationship status the *first* question you ask about when you talk? When they are in a relationship do you encourage them to take time to know the person they’re dating instead of inquiring if they’ve “made wedding plans?” Perhaps the next time you find yourself comforting someone after a break-up, instead of saying “one day the right person will come” how about instead saying, “God knows what you want and what you need. Live today pleasing to Him.” As married or single Christians we need to be Heaven focused not only in actions, but also in our questions and responses. In this way, we can help others see what is truly valuable and worthy and how to find contentment in any stage of life serving God.