Staying Faithful to God’s Truth
Teach and maintain truth; Guard against error.
- Any opinion or belief that contradicts established biblical truth can cause an infection in the Body of Christ. A spiritual infection is usually fed by looking to the wrong places to get your heart needs satisfied. The results are disappointment, fear, resentment, and many other negative thoughts and behaviors. Or, it can be fed by a poor understanding of biblical truth. Women who never recognize and grasp biblical truth will be taken captive by whatever flashy teachings that come along and live unsatisfied, unstable lives. We see this in our world today.
- The answer to all spiritual infections is the truth that has been given to us in the Bible, especially in the New Testament. The writings of the New Testament are the work of the Holy Spirit revealing himself to the apostles and other disciples of Jesus. The historical reliability of the Scriptures is an important issue, and they (the Scriptures) can be investigated to show that the biblical records are trustworthy.
- Grasping truth has three parts: First, you dwell in the truth of God you can know. Next, you humbly accept what you don’t know or understand. And then, you discern any teaching that you read or hear through the complete revelation of God’s Word.
Dwell in truth you can know.
- To dwell in truth is to make your home there. That means God’s truth dominates your thoughts and attitudes, governs your life, and satisfies your heart.
- God gives us plenty of truth in the Bible that we can know and trust. 66 books, 1189 chapters!
- God wants us to know the truth He has revealed to us, to make our home in that truth. Ephesians 1:17-19
Humbly accept what you don’t know or understand.
- Some things we read in the Bible we don’t understand now but might in the future. There is much we can know now. But, there are things we’ll never know or understand. Deuteronomy 29:29
- We can do our best to try to understand what is written. When you run across something that you can’t seem to understand from a Bible passage, make the choice to humbly accept what you don’t know or understand.
Discern all teaching through the complete revelation of God’s Word.
1. Evaluate what you read and hear by comparing it with the whole Bible.
- Read any verse in the context of the passage where it is found—the paragraph, the chapter, and the book.
- Examine the original words to see what the writer meant and what the audience likely understood.
- Look at other verses with similar content to let the Bible interpret itself. And, you should always ask the Holy Spirit for understanding.
2. Avoid the “look-imagine-see dragon” when viewing any verse.
The “look-imagine-see” dragon shows up this way: someone looks at a verse or passage, imagines what they want it to say, then in their mind sees what they have imagined through twisting word meanings and interpretations. Once it starts, it’s like a fiery dragon burning truth in its path. Cultural influence on Bible study feeds this dragon.
- Tame the “look-imagine-see dragon” by considering the Bible as sufficient on its own, not needing to be “improved.”
- Tame the “look-imagine-see dragon” by basing your faith on what is in God’s Word, not something you’ve just heard about it and not something you’re imagining to be there.
- Tame the “look-imagine-see dragon” by following the inductive process for Bible Study—observation, interpretation, and application. Then, you can dwell in truth you can know.
The way to stay faithful to God’s truth and guard against error is to dwell in truth you can know, humbly accept what you don’t know or understand, and discern all teaching through the complete revelation of God’s Word.
We’ll never know all there is to know about God. There will always be some mystery about Him. But, there’s plenty enough revealed in the Bible to satisfy your desire to know him truthfully and to know how to live your life in Christ truthfully.
Let Jesus satisfy your heart with His faithfulness. Then, make the choice to stay faithful to Him for the rest of your life.
Buy To Be Found Faithful Bible Study at Amazon and Barnes and Noble.