FRIDAY 04 June 2021 “Truth war”

Click To Download and Print Document or PDF

Hello my dear “Walking with Jesus” friends,

Have you ever been called to account for something really good that you were doing? Have you ever had an experience where you felt strongly God was leading you to do something but others, including some of your friends or elders, were not in agreement?

Increasingly, in our world today, knowing and living God’s truth, more and more invites criticism in most parts of our world, perhaps where you live? More and more people of all races, educational backgrounds, vocational pursuits, economic status, are being called to account and confronted if they hold to God’s truths, live their lives according to God’s truths, and verbally speak against the distortions of God’s truths, which are permeating every society in the world.

For a few more days I’d like us to follow along with Paul & Barnabas to see what God will teach us about this global truth challenge. We left them yesterday in Syrian Antioch. They had returned from their many month long journey and settled down to resume their teaching work in the church in Antioch. Things seemed to be going well but then a problem arose in Antioch. Luke describes it this way: “Some men came from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the Jesus followers ‘Unless you are circumcised according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved.’ (Acts 15:1) Oh my!

I would imagine these men did not meet with Paul and Barnabas, but simply infiltrated the group of Jesus followers in Antioch, and started spreading false, disruptive, corrupt teachings. Luke reports: “This brought Paul and Barnabas into sharp dispute and debate with them.” I can imagine that was not pretty. Paul was 100% confident in the Gospel he had received from Jesus, as it was taught to him, in great detail from the Holy Spirit, over several years. SO… Paul & Barnabas were sent, by the church in Antioch, to go to Jerusalem, to meet with the apostles, those men who had been with Jesus, to bring clarity to this issue, and deal with those men, or anyone, who would distort the Gospel of Jesus. They did not go alone. Luke writes that ‘some other believers from Antioch’ went with them.

Paul never wasted any opportunity to speak Jesus’ truth, especially when clarification of confusion was needed, so Luke writes: “…as they traveled through Phoenicia and Samaria, they told how the Gentiles had been converted. This made all the brothers very glad.” (Acts 15:3) Don’t rush past this my friends. Please remember there was NO New Testament written as yet. The apostles told the stories of Jesus and His teachings as best they could remember, as led by the Holy Spirit, but Paul was different. Remember, Paul had been Saul the Pharisee, very strongly opposed to Jesus and His teachings, until he was confronted by the risen Jesus, blinded for three days, left to think deeply about his anger and opposition. And then commissioned by Jesus to take the true Gospel of Jesus to Jews and Gentiles…and then, Saul/Paul had three years of personal, private, powerful, instruction by the Holy Spirit of God. Galatians 1:11-24 is Paul’s personal account of this.

Let’s walk along with them…can you hear the questions for Paul when he pauses for a few minutes, from his wonderful Gentile stories… “So Paul, what are you going to say to Peter and John and the other apostles? They actually walked with Jesus, they heard Jesus teach, they watched Jesus do His miracles? They are Jewish men, remember, what if they agree that circumcision is essential for salvation? Will you go against the Jesus chosen apostles?”

I can see the veins on Paul’s neck bulging, his fists clenching as he walks and hears questions like this? In fact Paul wrote an entire chapter dealing with this, you’ll find it in 1 Corinthians 9. Paul was inflexible. Not because he was prideful or arrogant, but because he was confident of the truth and its importance. How confident are you of truth, my friends? God’s truth, the important, foundational, life truths? How important are they to you?

Paul had already been stoned and left for dead once, and he was prepared to die for Jesus’ truth if need be. He would absolutely NOT bend or divert from the clear truths Jesus and the Holy Spirit had taught him. Yes, Paul was prepared to go nose to nose with Peter, or John, or Mathew or any of those apostles. Salvation given to a repentant sinner by God, as they place their faith in Jesus’ death to be sufficient atonement payment for their sin, and nothing more, nothing. I can see Paul’s walking pace quickening, he was itching for a fight! I think that’s a fair statement. Way too much was at stake here.

Now friends stop for a moment… look at your part of the world, your city, even your church, whatever church or religion you are part of. How important is TRUTH?

How clear is TRUTH? Where do the people of your city go for reliable, authentic, unchanging TRUTH, upon which you can build your life? Has “TRUTH” been changing in your city over the past few years? Scientific truth / moral truth / political truth / spiritual truth / truth about the origin of the world, or when a fetus becomes a real person, or what ‘marriage’ is, or what ‘male’ and ‘female’ means? Fundamental, life truths are crumbling all around us in so many places aren’t they? And do you know…when truth crumbles EVERYTHING crumbles! So what’s been happening to TRUTH in your heart, your mind, your family?

I think we should stop right there, walking along with Paul & Barnabas, heading for Jerusalem and the TRUTH showdown with the apostles and others. Here are some really important questions I invite you to ponder… in truth, your life or the lives of your kids or grandkids may depend on your answers to these questions:

1. WHERE is your ultimate source of truth? Why do you believe that truth source is reliable?

2. How do you process information presented in the media or in textbooks or in seminars or on Facebook or other social media accompanied by claims of truth? How do you verify if what you have heard or read is true or not?

3. What do you do with information, which you are called to believe is true, that you know in fact is NOT true, and perhaps is even dangerous for those who believe it to be true?

4. If you are a parent or grandparent, how are you helping your kids and grandkids DISCERN what is true and what is NOT true?

5. What price have you paid in your life when you believed a lie or a distortion of a truth?

I often leave you with a song of reflection, but not today… today I leave you with a choice.

Finish this “Walking with Jesus” in another few seconds and then rush off, into the rest of your busy day and within minutes forget what I’ve said. . . OR take time, right now, to pick up your journal and write down these 5 questions and start writing your answers. . . right now!

Why write them? So you can look back on what you’ve written 1 year or 5 years from now, when I guarantee you that your city and your family will be very different from what it is today. . .and the TRUTH war will still be raging, but the world will be different!!

Today’s Scripture is Acts 15:1-3.

Choose below to read or listen.

Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.

Have a comment or question about today’s chapter? I’m ready to hear from you, contact me here.

Pastor Doug Anderson 262.441.8785
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)

Archived back issues of “Walking with Jesus” and other resources are available by clicking here to open our ‘home page’ (or go to HOME at upper right of this page).

Share with friends. Subscribe below for daily “Walking with Jesus”.