Bibliology - Authority For Truth
-
DEFINITION OF TRUTH What is truth? John 18:37-38
-
An exact and faithful expression of the facts Illustration: On the witness stand the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
-
The standard by which to judge all else; a final authority
-
The real answers to the real questions; those thing that remain Hebrews 2:26-28
-
RECEIVING THE TRUTH
-
Man is Unfulfilled Without the Truth He is to:
-
Serve in truth (1 Samuel 12:24)
-
Buy the truth (Proverbs 23:23)
-
Seek the truth (Jeremiah 5:1)
-
Know the truth (John 8:31-32) NOTE: knowledge of the truth must therefore be possible
-
God is the Source of Truth
-
God the Father is truth (Psalm 31:5)
-
God the Son is truth (John 4:6)
-
God the Holy Ghost is truth (John 14:17)
-
God has Promised to Reveal the Truth His Truth is:
-
To endure to all generations (Psalm 100:5)
-
To be known with certainty (Proverbs 22:21)
-
Contained in the word of truth (John 17:17; 2 Thessalonians 2:13; 2 Timothy 2:15)
-
THE BATTLE FOR TRUTH
-
Truth is Often Disregarded by Man
-
Truth is fallen in the street (Isaiah 59:14-15)
-
Men are not valiant for the truth (Jeremiah 9:3,5)
-
There is no truth in the land (Hosea 4:1,6)
-
Men turn their ears away from the truth (2 Timothy 4:4)
-
Truth is Often Negated by Conflicting Authorities (Romans 1:25; 2 Corinthians 2:17; 2 Corinthians 4:2)
-
The word of God: the only God-given authority (John 8:31-32; John 17:17)
-
Tradition: the authority of mans long-time practice (Matthew 15:1-9, esp.verses 3,6,9; Colossians 2:8)
-
Philosophy: the authority of mans greatest wisdom (Colossians 2:8; Acts 17:18, with verses 16,22,23)
-
Science: the authority of observable facts and repeatable physical laws (1 Timothy 6:20)
-
Scholarship: the authority of academic learning and agreed upon knowledge (2Timothy 3:7; Isaiah 29:9-12)
-
Pragmatism: the authority of what brings the desired results (1 Corinthians 1:18-25)
-
Experience: the authority of personal experience (Romans 10:2-3)
-
One Authority Must be the Final Authority
-
The authority a person accepts when two authorities disagree becomes his supreme authority
-
Theistic evolution (Bible versus Science)
-
Praying through for salvation (Bible versus Tradition or Experience)
-
Concerts and Drama (Bible versus Pragmatism)
-
Only an absolute authority can give absolute truth; all other truth is relative and changeable (Psalm 119:128)