The war on truth At one time, attacks on the Word were fierce and frontal, but now they tend to be sly and pseudo-scientific. Some combat the Word today with reinterpretations according to the needs of modern psychology. Others wage war against repressive father figures which lay down the law on behavior and demand obedience – and because the God of the Bible is, to them, just such a figure they wage war against Scripture. Others disagree with the Word because they interpret it falsely using biased or unscholarly methods. The devil has been waging war on the incarnate word, Jesus Christ, and His legacy, the written word, from the beginning. Jesus had no sooner been born than persecution began with the intention of destroying the Word which had come into the world. This took the form of the slaughter of the innocents in which thousands of children died at the hands of Herod who was trying to make sure that he killed the Son of God. Immediately He had been baptized, Jesus was tempted by the Devil’s quotations of Scripture, to disobey God and as he began His ministry he was constantly under attack for the truth He was preaching. From the beginning of His public ministry the Lord was being watched to see whether he would approve the religious hierarchy of His day or confront it – whether He would go along with their mishandling of truth or oppose it. Jesus pointed out to them that their people had always persecuted the prophets: You bear witness against yourselves, that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets ... behold, I am sending you prophets and wise men and scribes; some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues, and persecute from city to city, that upon you may fall the guilt of all the righteous blood shed on earth (Matthew 23:31-35). The ultimate outcome of their persecution would be the slaying of the Son of God which Jesus foretold in his parable of the vineyard (Matthew 21:33-40). Though grace and truth came through Jesus Time after time we hear the Pharisees testing Jesus with accusations and questions about what is lawful. He pointed to the false interpretations by the teachers of the law and the Pharisees: Woe to you blind guides who say, ‘Whoever swears by the temple, that is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple, he is obligated’ and asked them pointedly which is more important, the gold, or the temple that sanctified the gold? (Matthew 23:16, 17). The apostle Peter says that some New Testament writing is difficult to understand and the untaught and unstable distort these as they do also the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction (2 Peter 3:16). These distortions are not only destructive of truth but also, unfortunately, to the souls of those who listen to and follow such false teachers. The Devil, who lied from the beginning, has opposed truth ever since. He did so when he went to tempt Jesus, using Scripture quotations, and he does so today under the disguise of an angel of light and is followed by his servants who disguise themselves as servants of righteousness (2 Corinthians 11:13, 14). A memorable cartoon has Satan sending out his missionaries with the exhortation: Remember, quote lots of Scripture. Scripture-quoting, angelic looking preachers may not be upholding truth at all, but rather be spreading lies disguised with misquoted and misapplied portions of the Word of God. Only a Paul who does not shrink from declaring ... the whole purpose of God can be trusted (Acts 20:27). Don’t become a victim of the war on truth by accepting lies in its place. Search the Scriptures for your answers and find them in the complete counsel of God. Be competent in your search by becoming a serious student of God’s Word and knowing the full revelation of His will. Attend all the Bible classes available to you. Mel
Posted on: Sun, 10 Aug 2014 04:59:17 +0000
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015