In the final verse of Judges it states 'In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes'. I think even now, though we have a King, it is so easy to do what is right in our own eyes. And I'm not talking about the 'secular' world, but predominately among Christians. At least non-believers have the excuse that they don't claim the absolute truths of Christianity whereas Christians as a whole, generally speaking, claim the same moral code as their banner. I was reading the story of Joshua and thought it appropriate to start the conversation of within Christianity, where do we find truth, and even more so, what is truth by definition through the lens of Christianity.
At the end end of his life, Joshua makes his famous charge to Israel with the verse '... choose this day whom you will serve... but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord' -Joshua 24:15
Easy enough, right? Choose to serve the Lord. I don't know if, for me at least, it was the choosing so much that was difficult, it was what follows after the choice has been made. In the verse before the charge, Joshua is encouraging Israel to chose God by saying this: 'Fear the Lord, serve him in sincerity and in truth'- Joshua 24:14
And what stood out to me what that Joshua said sincerity AND truth. Then it all came back to me. All the frustration and guilt of living a life under the Christian banner while wearing the clothes of a self absorbed, prideful sinner. It's not that once your a Christian you stop sinning, obviously, but for me, my short fall was that I had the sincerity without the Truth, the absolute, the black and white. I was very much living in the 'what was right in my own eyes' by creating my subjective truth and filling in the holes with Scripture instead of Scripture being my truth molding my life around it.
Sincerity without Truth is, possibly, the biggest lie Christians by into. Church, community, good works, best sellers, blogs, podcasts, these things are nothing without the foundation of Truth sent by the Holy Spirit who inspired men to write it out so that no one can claim ignorance.
So that poses the question of all question: What is Truth?
This video from Focus on the Family's 'The Truth Project' asks a lot of questions about Truth and offers some opinions. Here is what I have found to point me in the direction of finding what Truth is.
Absolute
"This God-His way is perfect; the word of the Lord proves true..." -Psalm 18:30a
Revealed by the Spirit
"... knowing this forst of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit." -II Peter 1:20-21
Moral Compass for Life
"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 competent, equipped for every good work." - II Timothy 3:16-17
