Salvation By Grace

“8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: [it is] the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.” (Eph 2:8-9 AV)

Recently a man posted a picture of Noah’s ark on the internet with the caption: Noah wasn’t saved by grace. He was saved by obedience. He went on to explain that in spite of God’s grace Noah would have drowned just like everyone else if he hadn’t been obedient and entered the ark when God told him to.

There was a firestorm of comments that followed, which showed how a simple foundational doctrine of Christianity could become so confusing to so many people. A lot of the confusion comes about because of our Christian rhetoric that is much more common than Christian teaching. Although I imagine even among Christian theologians and pastors we could create a lively debate on this subject. So why is there so much confusion and differences of opinion amongst Christians about how and why we are saved? There probably are several reason and I won’t focus on them here, but I will try to simply show how we are saved by grace.

Obviously this verse in Ephesians is part of a letter written to the saints, the faithful in Jesus Christ. So this is not instruction of how to get saved, but insight as to how it was accomplished. Simply put; you are saved by grace through faith and this is something that God has accomplished, a gift of salvation for you.

The grace of God is not something that we can take lightly. For without God’s grace we cannot be saved and will perish in our sin. Grace in itself is not a thing, but it is the favor of God. Grace for salvation is the actions of God on our behalf to rescue us from the consequences of our sin (which is death). None of us comes to God with a full understanding of the fullness of the riches of God’s Grace. But even with our limited understanding we come overwhelmed with the goodness and mercy of the love of God’s marvelous grace.

“6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. 7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace 8 which He lavished on us. In all wisdom and insight” (Eph 1:6-8 NAS95)

So, grace for salvation is the revealed plan of God to redeem us from the death that comes from sin. That plan and the revelation of it culminates in Jesus, His death on the cross, His declaration that it is finished, and His resurrection to life. This is the grace by which we are saved.

We cannot fully understand how we can be transformed from our fallen unholy state of being into the holy people of God without a basic understanding of the grace of God.  My next few posts are intended to help us develop a better understand of this important element of our salvation, the Grace of God.

Grace

“8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: [it is] the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.” (Eph 2:8-9 AV)

It is no wonder that the people of God are a people of thanksgiving and worship. God’s grace, that unmerited favor, has been extended to us and by this grace we have received salvation and the promise of eternal life. We talk about it, we sing about it, and we pray because of it. One thing we never want to happen though, is that we should ever take the grace of God for granted. Our very life is dependent upon this grace. In addition the treasures of heaven are pour upon us by this wonderful grace of God.

Something that is as important to us as the relationship of grace to salvation needs to be understood. So let’s examine this important aspect of salvation and our relationship with God. Let’s look at what the Scriptures teach us. And as is true with any Biblical truth, it is important that we occasionally set aside our preconceive ideas and focus on what the Bible actually reveals to us. Because as time goes by we have a tendency to forget where we have acquired our information from. We just naturally form our opinions from the things we think we know. That is why we occasionally need to examine our beliefs to insure that we have not strayed in our thinking from the revealed truth of the Scriptures.

I am afraid that in many instances the grace of God has been misapplied and misused to the detriment of the hearers. So I think it will be advantageous for us to examine these fundamental questions in light of the revelation of Scripture: What is the grace of God? How do I receive the grace of God? Can I fall from grace?

What is grace?

I guess we need to start with focusing on the word grace. Words, after all, have meaning. The problem is that often times words have multiple meanings. And sometimes meanings change as time goes by and cultures changes. So it is important to know what the word meant when it was spoke to understand the thought that was being conveyed. Paying close attention to the context goes a long way to eliminating those uses of the word that are not being conveyed.

The word grace as we encounter it in the Scripture is usually talking about favor. It is a Biblical term used many times, both in the old and the New Testament. It can also be a theological term. In other words, a word that conveys a Biblical concept that is broader that the simple definition of that word. In the KJV of the Scripture we find that this word is used to speak both of the favor of men and of God. What we are most interest in here is God’s grace, that is the favor that God grants to us as people and as individuals. We want to understand who God favors, how He favors them, and why He favors them. There is no greater blessing than to have the favor of God. And there is no greater joy than to see others become recipients of the grace of God.

The grace or favor of God can come in many forms. Sometimes that grace comes in the form of a tangible blessing, such as provisions for our daily needs, or an abundance of material thing. Or it can be more spiritual in nature, such as peace, comfort, assurance, fellowship, etc.. But when we speak of “the grace of God”, or “God’s grace”, as a theological term, we are speaking of that unmerited favor that God has provided for all of mankind through the sacrificial death of Jesus on the cross. This is the grace that provides salvation and eternal life. This is the grace that is received by faith, a gift from God.

Christmas is for Children

They say, “Christmas is for children”, and I am inclined to agree.

One day Jesus called a little child and set that child before them. He said, “unless you become as little children, you will not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. The person who humbles themselves as this little child will be greatest in the kingdom of Heaven.”

I pray that I never lose that childlike wonder of this marvelous event.

I can only imagine what it must have been like for the shepherds on that night as the angels announced Jesus birth. What was going on in the minds of those shepherds as they searched for a baby in a manger? What was it like when they finally found Joseph, Mary, and the baby in a manger? Did they exchange stories with Mary and Joseph? Did they wonder why God had chosen them to witness this monumental event?

A man, his wife, and a new born baby are very natural things. But the angel’s announcement, explanation, and direction to find this couple and their baby had opened the eyes of these simple shepherds. The revelation of who this baby was and what he was to accomplish changed what the shepherds saw. This was not just an interesting situation where a new born baby had a manger for his bed. This was the advent of the our Savior and the simple rustic setting only added to the wonder. Upon meeting this young couple and their new born baby their perception of wonder and awe only increased. They walked away rejoicing, relating to everyone what they had seen and heard.

We look back on this scene through the lens of history. Jesus is our Lord and Savior. He lived, He died, and he rose again. Through Him we have life. He is our connection to God. He is the revelation of God. He is our all in all. By Him were all things made. Because of Him we can have peace with God.

Our celebration at Christmas brings us back to that place and time experienced by the shepherds. Can we not, but for a few moments, consider this event in childlike simplicity. To consider the awesome wonder created by the angelic announcement. To view this small gathering around a babe in a manger in light of its tremendous significance. To bow in humble adoration of Him. To rejoice that God could and would and did reveal His love toward us in such a profound and simple way.

Christmas is for children, God’s children, and all those who would become His children.

Merry Christmas,
Bob

It is that time of year that we take time to express our thanksgiving. Traditionally many of us gather together with our family and friends to celebrate our gratitude to God for the blessings He has given us. It is also a time when we reach out to share our abundance with those who are less fortunate and struggling.

In our present time I can no longer take for granted that everyone knows the source of this traditional celebration. It was at one of our earliest settlements at Plymouth Rock that the Pilgrims, following the example found in the Book of Nehemiah in the Bible, that Americans first set aside a time of thanksgiving and celebration of gratitude to God.

Since that time many people have recognized the need to have a day set aside for this purpose. Our First President, George Washington, established a day of Thanksgiving in November. Others followed his example until it was established as a national day of celebration on the third Thursday of November.

I would like to encourage everyone to resurrect and read those declarations of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln that so eloquently expressed the gratitude and emotion of a nation that recognized the source of their blessings.

We today would do well to look beyond the present struggles that we may have.  We would do well to acknowledge the bountiful blessings we have been recipient of in the Country. That we would acknowledge that every good and perfect gift has come down from our Father in Heaven, the Creator of the Universe, in whose Son Jesus Christ we can have eternal life. So that God could continue to pour out His Blessings on us.

I wrote the following letter to the Editor of our local paper because our Country is losing its identity. Citizenship was once based upon people embracing the ideology that unified us as a nation. A nation divided cannot stand and we are seeing our nation crumble from the undermining of its foundation.

What did the President Obama mean when he said we are a nation of immigrants? Are we a nation of immigrants? Most of us in the USA have either come to this Country to live or we are descendants of someone who has come to this land to live. If this is the definition of a country of immigrants then every country in the World is a country of immigrants, we are all immigrants. A sweeping definition like this becomes meaningless when desiring to establish identity.

Only after 1776 did people immigrate to the USA. Our identity was forged early as recorded by our founding documents: Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and Bill of Rights. Underlying these documents was the acknowledgement of the God of the Bible and implementation of Judeo-Christian moral values. Most people immigrating to the USA, like my relatives, didn’t immigrate just to live here, but to become American citizens.

The uniqueness that was once America allowed people of all ethnicities to be able to embrace the American identity and become Americans, transforming their status as immigrant to citizen. It is a relatively recent phenomenon that large groups of people have come here to live and enjoy the benefits of living in our country, but with no desire to become American by our foundational standards. If this trend continues we indeed will become a nation of immigrants. Even our citizens are being encouraged to act like immigrants as people are being divided by ethnicity, religion, color, age, education, status, occupation, or wealth. People are forgetting what it means to be an American, to be unified by common principles that promote respect for life and liberty.

We weren’t, but now are becoming a nation of immigrants. Changing the path to citizenship changes the definition of American.

I see the same thing happening in the Church today. A parallel statement concerning the membership of the Church is: “We are an assembly of sinners, saved by grace”. Now this statement by itself, just like the statement concerning immigrants, is true in the sense that we all we once sinners, and we have been saved by grace, through faith. Problems arise when the immigrants never embrace the ideology that makes America, American. The benefits of citizenship are diminishing as the immigrant philosophy prevails. In the same way if the Church is filled with sinners who never become saints. What is the benefit to its members?

The stark difference in comparing citizenship in America and citizenship in the Kingdom of Heaven is that a earthly nation will be destroyed by compromise, whereas citizenship in the kingdom of Heaven will never be compromised, perpetuating an everlasting kingdom. If the people who live in America never truly become American, then the America that offered the hope of life and liberty will cease to exist. In the same way a church full of people who have not been liberated from the bondage of sin, is not comprised of citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven.

My concern for the churches exceeds my concern for my nation. It is through our churches that men should be able to acquire the knowledge of the Gospel, the pathway to citizenship in the Kingdom of Heaven, an eternal citizenship. But many of our assemblies have become assemblies filled with sinners who desire the benefits of citizenship, but have never followed the path to citizenship. The path to citizenship is clearly marked out in the Scripture. Jesus was very straightforward with Nicodemus saying, “You must be born again”.

We must repent of our sins, turn from our wicked ways, and follow Christ. Our next step in following Christ is baptism. Baptism was intended to be more than just a ritual. It was intended to be a testimony renouncing our citizenship to the world and announcing our allegiance to the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. More than just words spoken is the witness of the life that is now lived in righteousness, proving that God had indeed done a work in our lives.

Often in an effort to include more people a simplified version of the pathway to citizenship in the Kingdom of Heaven is preached. This approach actually makes it harder for people to become Christians. Jesus was not kidding when He said: “13 Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide [is] the gate, and broad [is] the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: 14 Because strait [is] the gate, and narrow [is] the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.” (Mt 7:13-14 AV)

It is important that people aren’t misled into thinking that they are Christians when indeed they may not be citizens of Heaven. If the only difference between the people inside the church and the people outside the church is their belief that they are saved, then there obviously is something wrong. When Paul addressed his letters to the Churches, he addressed them to the saints, or holy ones. Sin was never excused, but addressed. Salvation is not just deliverance from the penalty of sin, but also from the bondage of sin. True Christians have been delivered from the bondage of sin and are living in that freedom.

Just by believing that there is a path to citizenship will not save us. But if we have faith in Christ and follow the path He has provided for us, we will be saved, resulting in our eternal citizenship in Kingdom of Heaven. If we are willing to give up our sins, then He is able to free us from them. If our people had faith in the Word of God then our churches would be largely comprised of saints instead of sinners. What a difference that would make impacting those who are seeking truth and hoping for a Savior.

It was April 2000 and I had arrived with my family at the Grand Canyon. The evening sun was sinking low as we stepped out into the observation spot overlooking the canyon. The scene that stretched before me actually took my breath away. Wow, the view was awesome. Photographs and even videos had not been able to capture the sights and feelings I was experiencing as the evening sun highlighted some of the distinct features of the canyon walls.

As we made our way back to the motel where we were spending the night, that sense of awe that I had experienced overlooking the canyon was actually surmounted by a feelings of anticipation. For this was but the beginning of our journey and in the morning we would begin our hike into the canyon.

The next morning we started early laden with our packs. The early morning sun revealed a scene equally spectacular as that we had experienced the evening before. But this time we only paused at the lookout and plunged down the trail beginning the adventure that awaited us.

I won’t take time here to tell all of the details of our trek in and out of the canyon. It wasn’t always easy, but it was fun, exciting, adventurous, educational, awe inspiring, and beautiful. It was a much broader experience than if we had just viewed it from the observation posts. Sure it took effort, sometimes strenuous. There also was the need for words of encouragement at times. Sometimes the stronger ones had to lighten the load for the weaker ones. But through it we grew.

Two days later we slowly made our way back to the rim of the canyon. The canyon had not changed, it was still awe inspiringly magnificent. But we had changed. We had experienced the canyon. We could look down and point out the place we had camped the night before. We had experienced the climactic changes that descending down 5000 feet of elevation can bring. We had accomplished what we had set out to do and we were the better for it.

I share this experience with you to illustrate a spiritual truth.  For when we begin to realize who God is we are overwhelmed.  Our first contact with the grace of God, salvation from sin, and the promise of eternal life it is like first stepping onto that viewpoint and surveying the Grand Canyon. It is awesome. Wow, Oh, Wow. We feel like we could just stay right here for it is just so awesome.

You know if we got in our car and drove a mile or two we could get out at another viewpoint and see another view of the canyon. We would again be awestruck. We could imagine what it was like when God carved this canyon. How the water must have ripped through here as the flood receded. We could try to imagine hiking the entire canyon on foot or floating down its length by boat. From our viewpoints all this would be incomprehensible. It would be beyond our ability to comprehend.
Yet this is where many Christians stand or sit. I have seen vast stadiums full of them as if they are sitting on the edge of the canyon saying, “Wow, Oh, Wow. Isn’t God awesome. His grace and love are incomprehensible”.

And I have wondered, How many of these people will actually venture into that awesomeness? They sit on the brink of life itself and are reveling in its beauty. For many of them it may be more than just a view, for they are beginning to experience the essence of life itself and have given themselves to it. But this is just the beginning. God is asking them to enter in to this life. Prepare yourself, leave the viewpoint and enter into the life God has for you in Christ Jesus. The details of this life are laid out for us in scripture, but we need to go and walk that walk, step by step.
It bothers me when it seems like some of those who preach the gospel don’t offer more encouragement for people to enter into the life that they have experienced only from the viewpoints. Shouldn’t there be a sign saying, You’ re going to miss it if you don’t leave the viewpoint and enter in? The Scripture is actually full of those signs, but many people only get the cut and paste version. Jesus instructed us to preach the gospel, but then we are to disciple them, teaching them all the things He commanded. I believe Paul was careful in regards to this command.

“For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God.” (Ac 20:27 AV)

“Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears.” (Ac 20:31 AV)

As we finished climbing out of the canyon that day and passed the viewpoint, it was obvious which people had been into the canyon and which ones hadn’t. Those that hadn’t looked like they had had an easier day than we had, but I wouldn’t have traded my experience for theirs. The canyon still contained a vast amount of territory that we had not experienced. In our two days in it we had only scratched the surface, but we had comprehended so much more than those who never left the viewpoint.

Just like when we were following the path into the canyon, there will be times in our Christian life when we won’t have an overall view of where we are or where we are going, but we have a map and if we follow it we cannot go wrong. Occasionally in our Christian life we will have high points, times when God leads us to those viewpoints. But God’s purpose will never be fulfilled in our lives if we try to hop from viewpoint to viewpoint. For most of life will remain incomprehensible to us. Most of what God wants to teach us is found in following His leading, step by step, following His Word, inspired and empower by His Spirit, in obedience simply trusting Him.

That doesn’t mean we won’t be tempted to stand in awe when we are privileged to stand on one of those viewpoints and want to just stay right there. Jesus disciples went through the terrible experience of Jesus crucifixion and death, only to be brought to the most glorious experience of His ascension into heaven. Can you imagine? Can we really imagine the awesomeness of watching Jesus being taken up in the clouds of glory? Is it any wonder God had to have an angel bring them back to earth? Can we really comprehend what they had just witnessed?

“And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven. Then returned they unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is from Jerusalem a sabbath day’s journey.” (Ac 1:9-12 AV)

When we glimpse our creators majesty, we glance into the heavens, are confronted with the love of God as seen through Jesus, we are awe struck. It is all so vastly beyond our comprehension. But we cannot stop here and succumb to our tendency to be overwhelmed by the fact that it is so far beyond us. God is beaconing us to step forward and he will hold our hand. Just to know that God is bigger than what we can imagine is not enough. Everything about God is incomprehensible to us in the beginning, but He doesn’t want it to remain that way. We will never fully comprehend all there is about God, that aspect will remain incomprehensible. But God wants us to get to know Him. Who He is, who we are, where He would like to bring us, and how we can partner with Him. That is going to take some effort on our part. To start with we have to trust Him. We have to die to self. We have to be born again. But it doesn’t end there. And we will find that the farther we venture into the life Christ offers us the more effort it is going to take on our part.

I’m afraid that this is where we lose a lot of people. As a babe in Christ it seems like everything has been done for you, and most of it has. As with my trip into the canyon I will not get into great detail about all that is included, for that would take a lot of time and space. But you must be made aware of the fact that God never intended for us to remain at the viewpoint. There is a path to follow for us to really experience the Life he has granted us. It is not always easy, but it is good. It is directed to this purpose that we all grow in the grace granted us to the end that we be conformed to the image of Christ Jesus. Gradually as God leads us through the educational process the incomprehensible becomes comprehensible and we grow in knowledge and understanding.

“That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God. Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.” (Eph 3:16-21 AV)

Don’t be overwhelmed by the incomprehensible, seek to comprehend all that God has for you to know. Leave the viewpoint, follow the path, trust God, step by step, day by day, and He will bring it to pass.

And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.  Eph. 3:19

The path I am encouraging you to take, you will not walk alone. This is the place where God will walk with you because you are going His way. What you will experience I cannot explain to you in words because it is beyond the scope of knowledge.  Knowing the love of God is more than just knowledge, but also includes a spiritual interaction between you and your creator.  You will experience God. You will get to know Him. You will know His love, and that is an intimate experience that can’t be expressed in words. But you will know it.

Bob Gunderson

We are again in that blessed season of Christmas, the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. This celebration has been instrumental in blessing more people Worldwide than any other. Through charities, plays, portrayals, traditions (religious and secular), greetings, and just the general goodwill atmosphere that it creates, it has been a tremendous blessing. Yet the very root and reason for this celebration have at times (like now) come under attack from those that reject the essence of what really makes us human.

Of course the war on Christmas is but an battle in the larger issue which is to discredit the Creator of the Universe and His wisdom and authority of how it should be governed. Understandably their tactics are ruthless, for they reject righteousness. They avoid open discussion, but rather mock, ridicule and falsely accuse. They’ve perverted the law and turned the 1st amendment on its ear to suppressed the truth from public education and the public square.

Observing their gains they have made in recent years a person may wonder if they are winning the war, but are they? Of course they will never win, because they are battling truth and truth will always win. But there can be many casualties, and that is my concern.

We cannot use their tactics, for Christmas is about love conquering evil. But what I offer in defense of Christmas is the Word of God. For me to help you to really understand Christmas I would have to take you back to Genesis. Then I would have to walk you through the Bible until we came to this declaration: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

Seek the truth. Merry Christmas.

Veteran’s Day

Veteran’s Day is a day that inspires reflection.  It is a day of thanksgiving.  It is a day to bestow honor.  It is a day we look beyond ourselves to the larger picture.  We indeed should be thankful that we have been blessed to be in a nation that has provided liberty.  Liberty that has allowed us to worship God.  Liberty that has allowed us to share that love of God we have come to know.

Today we reflect not only on our liberty, but on the price that was paid for that liberty.  I don’t know if anyone has ever express this as simply and eloquently as Abraham Lincoln in his Gettysburg Address.  I was recently contemplating his address and his plea that we would continue to be dedicated to this cause so that those who had died would not have died in vain.

As I was considering the dedication of this battle site, my mind traveled to another dedicated site that actually made this one possible.  This dedicated ground represented a larger more encompassing war with eternal consequences.  Drawing a parallel with Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address I reworked the Lincoln’s Address to appeal to those who are willing to dedicate themselves to the work that Christ died for on that cruel cross, redemption, love, and life.

Why I Believe

In my last post I tried to get us thinking about what we believe, to analyze and determine whether or not we really believe it.  I would like us to continue with this train of thought and put some serious thought into why we believe what we believe.

Simply put, we should believe because the thing we believe is known to be true.  Reality and experience show us that we as humans have a tendency to believe what we want to be true.  And we have a tendency to ignore or disbelieve those things that we don’t want to be true.  Let’s not forget that truth matters.  We can entertain a measure of wishful thinking without harm as long as we don’t confuse it with reality.  If we ignore a road sign warning to slow down for an upcoming corner, we will get hurt, even if we are listening to a Christian radio station.  Truth matters especially concerning those beliefs that direct our actions.

An atheist was asked if it would be possible that he was wrong and there really was a God.  He honestly admitted that it was possible that there could be a God he does not know about.  He then turned the question around and asked the Christian if possibly he could be wrong and there was no God.  The Christian replied, “No, it is not possible.  The atheist was somewhat taken back and said, “Aren’t you being closed minded?”  “Absolutely not”, said the Christian.  If you told me that you had a wife, I may not believe you, and I could be wrong.  But if you are telling the truth then you could never doubt that you had a wife, because you know her.  In the same way, if we have had an experience with Christ, we know that He is real.  We may not be able to prove that to someone else, but for us there can be no doubt.

When it comes to matters of belief, truth matters.  But how do we determine truth?  And what is truth?  These questions will continually challenge us until we understand the foundation of truth.  Truth is that which is real.  Truth is that which never changes.  These two statements also describe God.   If we can accept this, then we have laid the foundation for understanding truth.  God’s testimony of Himself to Moses articulated this by declaring, “I Am“.  Later the writer of Hebrews reveals the final testimony of those who have put their faith in God.  “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.” (Heb 13:8 AV)  God is truth.  He is and he never changes.  That is why Jesus was able to say, “… I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (Joh 14:6 AV)

The key to understanding all truth is to start with the foundation and build our understanding from there.  If we ignore this foundation and begin with our present perception, we will end up far from the truth, lost is space.  Truth can from this perspective appear to be relative for we have lost our anchor to reality.  “Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.” (2Ti 3:7 AV)  But if we hold on to our foundation, the knowledge we gain will continually be building our understanding that will remain constant and true as our perception broadens.

When we say, “I believe”, it should be securely founded in the Word of God.  This is that foundation that never changes and forever remains true.  We live in a time of greatly increased knowledge.  When viewed through the lens of the Word of God, our perception of God is greatly enhanced.  His beauty, power, majesty, grace, mercy, and love come into focus as never before.  But those who have lost touch with the foundation of all that is, remain in a state of constant turmoil.  Truth for them is only momentary and rampant speculation marks the order for the day.  For them there is no peace, for truth is illusive.

Sadly this worldly approach to truth has permeated the Church.  There are those who would interpret the Scriptures based upon what society has become.  We should rather interpret what society has become from the Scriptures then we would understand the truth of who we are.  God is truth.  His Word is truth.  Truth does not change.  I can rest assured that what I believe is true, if I believe it because God said it.  God’s Word is truth.

“Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.” (Joh 17:17 AV)

“Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, [then] are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” (Joh 8:31-32 AV)

I believe … , are often our words preceding our declarations.  Yet, if we are honest we would have to acknowledge that as we have aged some of our beliefs have changed through the years.  Why is this?

Most notably is the fact that as time goes by we gain knowledge and that knowledge changes our perception of things.  Our opinions, ideas, and yes, our beliefs, are molded by what we think we know.

How do our beliefs effect our actions?  When we observe how people conduct their lives, is it a reflection of what they say they believe?  What really is the basis or foundation of what we believe?  How do we find and distinguish truth in an age of a tremendous volume of, and often conflicting, information?  These are questions that we should address, but often these questions go unanswered.  We all have opinions.  Usually people will refer to the opinions that they feel strongly about as beliefs.  Opinions of lesser importance to them may be prefaced with, “I think …”.

The effects of our beliefs on our actions can be very different with different people.  Certainly personality plays a role in the individual response to a particular belief.  But I think the greater differences are brought about by the accumulation of beliefs a person has embraced.  For example: Most people believe that it is wrong to steal.  The Bible says you shall not steal.  But many people justify stealing and unrepentantly do it.  Why?  Because the simplicity of the commandment is undermined by other beliefs a person has embraced as truth.  They may believe that the circumstances justify their breaking of the commandment.  Or they may simply believe that it doesn’t matter because they won’t get caught.  Or they may believe that they will be forgiven for their sin.  There are a multitude of reasons or beliefs that may undermine their resolve to simply obey God’s commandment.

If our beliefs are not true, then they are false.  Since our beliefs effect our actions and our actions are a reflection of our beliefs, shouldn’t we be intent upon seeking truth?  Shouldn’t we care if our beliefs are really true?  And if we really care and are truly a seeker of truth, then don’t we have to answer the question: What is truth?  And if we have passionately held beliefs, then shouldn’t we know why we believe them?  Why do we believe what we believe?

Who we are, what we are becoming, and where we are going depends upon what we believe.  If what we believe is true, then we can know who we are, what we are becoming, and where we are going.  If what we believe is not true, then we are clueless as to what will become of us, or why it even matters.

Truth matters, and we should seek to make sure that it is the foundation of our beliefs.  Gaining knowledge and receiving wisdom will require us to make some minor adjustments, but our overall direction and destination are determined if we are founded on truth.  Truth is that which does not change.  God’s Word is Truth.