Let God Be True
The question that most often comes to my mind when I see people struggling, and living in darkness, is not, "How can they stand to live that way?" My question is, "What are they believing?" What preconceived notions led them to build their lives, and relationships, on illogical lies, and pervasive clichés?
We know that, even as Christians, we can interpret the Bible through the lens of our presuppositions. So how do I correct and/or avoid mistakes and wrong conclusions? Well, of course, making Jesus our Savior & Lord is the necessary 1st step into real living and right perspective. "Except a man be born again, he cannot see (or perceive) the kingdom of God", Jesus said.
I, myself, had a lot to unlearn, in order to accommodate the truth of scripture. I found that "Truth" is simply the definition of reality. That’s why truth always emerges eventually, and shows through lies.
Another of the very basic realities that shook me was this: That the Bible reveals God to be walking with us through life; that He is a "personal" Savior. God does not live in what is referred to as the "Eternal Now". If He does, it means that He can never have a new thought, or experience change. However, the Bible tells us that there was a time when Jesus became flesh and walked among us, and then established a New Covenant, and then returned to the Father. It is vital to understand that, at Calvary, there was a time when Jesus, Himself, was cut-off from the Trinity, and a change in the Godhead occurred. He literally died and went to hell, so that we don’t have to. This is not possible in the Eternal Now!
The Eternal Now concept is a modern, philosophical concept, not a biblical one. And, it goes deep. It limits our knowing who God is, and how He works.
Almost 36 years ago, the very first words that ever leapt off the page, and became real to me were from Romans 3:4. With those words, let me admonish you..
...let God be true, but every man a liar...