Truth

The first step in bible study is to settle the issue of who determines truth. We cannot judge God’s truth in terms of whether we accept it or not. It is still true. Education begins with stripping away our personal, cultural, denominational and emotional preferences, to discover how God speaks for Himself. When we see something in God’s word is true, our response should not be, “I do not like that. Others will not like that”.

Jesus said, “I am the truth…” (John 14:6). He prayed, “Your word is truth.” (John 17:17). Something is true because God said it. Truth is not truth just because we understand it or agree with it, but because God has spoken it. Whether we understand it or not does not make it true or not true. The point is did God say it? “Obedience comes before understanding.” That is what our parents told us when we were young!

The trinity is true because the Bible teaches it, not because we understanding it rationally. We accept it on the basis of faith, because God’s Self-revelation declares it. It is the same with regard to election. We do not reshape a doctrine to fit with what seems reasonable, as if to rescue God’s reputation. God’s word is straight forward; “Who are you O man to reply against God.” (Rom 9:20).

This acceptance of God’s word as the absolute truth is the beginning point in study.
Learning involves paradigm shifts. It means that we are not the centre of all things. It means that God does not have to “play” according to our human rules. It means that we accept some things by faith and that our reason is not king. It means that we do not make rules in our own mind about what God should be like and then use “study” to confirm what we already “knew”.

We must be open to learn. New insights may appear wrong simply because the thought processes we have become accustomed to need looking at. This makes education an exciting process, but also challenging. We have developed a network of interdependent thoughts that can take time to unravel.

Learning can put us outside the camp (Heb 13:13). It is like the prophets found, sweet to the mouth, but bitter to the stomach, meaning the truth of God is so wonderful, but the results of following Him are not humanly acceptable (Jer 1:9, Ezek 2:6-3:3, Rev 10:9-11).

When we go out into life or ministry without study we can fall for every new thing that comes along. We can lead people more by culture and religious tradition than by the gospel. In doing so, many can lose sight of the true gospel. Theological education is important in order to:

1. Give a proper foundation for Christian life and for ministry.

2. Protect people against popular fads.

3. Show the difference between personal/cultural views and biblical truth.

4. Ensure ministry is not business, church growth or pragmatism, but is gospel.

5. Direct us to a divine perspective of truth.