“TRUTH” VS TRUTH

INTRODUCTION

The greatest hindrance to truth is not error per se but the “truth.” This might sound like an odd concept to some, but once you understand the principle I am trying to convey, it throws a ton of light on human nature, on controversies, and on the difficulty of convincing some men. Mere error can be fixed with correction. Bad doctrine can be fixed with good teaching. Lack of information can be fixed by providing information. But “truth” is not so easily remedied.

By “truth” I mean error that is passionately held to be truth. When men are married to error, they defend it as the “truth” of God. This makes them virtually impervious to correction. Every challenge to their position is regarded as a challenge to God. No amount of evidence or light can sway them. No matter how forceful the arguments or well-framed the presentation, the evidence will be despised, explained away, and belittled.

DEALING WITH ERROR

 No doubt many of us have experienced this resistance to clear Bible truth when dealing with Catholics and trying to convince them of salvation by faith alone or dealing with Jehovah Witnesses and trying to convince them of the Trinity or eternal hellfire. But we find the same resistance to truth within the evangelical camp. Many are so married to unbiblical  views on debated subjects—like election, repentance, the millennium, and the head covering—that they are resistant to any correction from Scripture. 

A recent example I experienced in a historical debate was particularly jarring. The argument was presented to me that every Bible prior to the King James translated apostasia in 2 Thessalonians 2:3 by departing or departure. When I responded to this claim with the historical evidence that several early Wycliffe versions featured dissension, that the translation dissension preceded Wycliffe by 80 years, that the Bishop’s Bible had falling away decades before the KJV, and that many ancient versions (Gothic, Syriac, Coptic) translated apostasia with terms that meant rebellion, I was mocked as a deceiver who was willing to twist the facts.
 

WHY ARE MEN MARRIED TO ERROR SO HARD TO WIN?

So why are those who are married to error so difficult to win by clear arguments? Because their truth tester is wrongly calibrated. Ideally, our truth tester should “test all things” by the universal standards—the plain statements of Scripture, the facts of history, the facts of grammar, etc. But those married to error have calibrated their truth tester for one or more points by installing favored doctrines as the touchstone. This is a travesty of the believer’s obligation to “test all things.” A point that would be rejected by the universal standards is enthroned as the standard. A lie masquerading as the “truth” is empowered to reject the truth as a lie.

This reminds me of the searching verse, “If the light that is in you be darkness, how great is that darkness.” Now real Christians can’t experience this darkness absolutely. But they can, and often do, experience darkness in one or more areas of doctrinal understanding. These beliefs are not faith but superstition.
 

BEING MARRIED TO ERROR IS NOT AN ACCIDENT

Men don’t accidentally marry a lie as the “truth.” They could have and should have known better. They had to bend over backwards and kiss the baloney stone to enter into this committed relationship. 

Instead of framing a position which embraces every passage in the Bible on a subject, they embrace an esteemed doctrine based on one or two abused prooftexts. Instead of framing a position which takes into consideration the whole range of available evidence, they embrace an esteemed position based on a selective use of evidence. A large part of the attraction of these esteemed doctrines and positions is that they offer them a perceived benefit. Common ones include doctrinal convenience, religious pride, and intellectual pride. Once men take on this committed relationship, they are virtually impervious to any presentation of contradictory evidence.

This precedent for bending over backwards and kissing the baloney stone is why men married to error have no problem bending over backwards in debate to deny all contrary evidence, no matter how much or how clear.  Evidence is a one-way street. Evidence that supports their position is allowed. Evidence that challenges it is rejected.
 

HOW TO WIN CONVINCED ERRORISTS TO THE TRUTH

So is there any way at all to win such men to the truth? Yes.  But it is not easy. They must be persuaded to recalibrate their truth tester. This will cost them their pride. They need to transfer their loyalty from their pet doctrine or theory to the truth that is found in the entire body of evidence. They must forswear prooftext theology and the selective use of evidence, and they must trust the entire body of evidence, no matter where it takes them.
 

HOW DO WE ENSURE THAT WE DON’T FALL INTO THIS TRAP?

Perhaps some will ask, what steps can we take to prevent ourselves from falling into the baloney-stone trap or freeing ourselves from it if we are already snared? There are several things you must do as matters of conscience.

First of all, you must understand that your first obligation is not to defend the truth. Your first obligation is to properly calibrate your truth tester and maintain this calibration at all costs. If you don’t do this, you will embrace error as the “truth.” This calibration is always the whole counsel of the Bible on a subject. This calibration is always the whole body of evidence.

Secondly, make a clear distinction in your mind between TRUTH in the sense of those truths revealed piecemeal in the Bible and truth in the sense of our best effort to understand and frame those truths. Confusing TRUTH and truth encourages error.

Thirdly, don’t hold any beliefs so sacred that you won’t give the Scriptures and facts immediate, entire, and unrestricted access to them. This access is not rescinded when a point is proven to be true. We still need to leave the door open so that our views on that point may be balanced, guarded, clarified, modified, adjusted, or contextualized. For instance, we ought to be absolutely certain that divine election is true. But shouldn’t we also leave the door open for the Scriptures to adjust our views on how and who God elects? Always be humble before the Scriptures, open to its correction and light.

Fourthly, always follow the plain testimony of Scripture and the plain testimony of facts, regardless of where they lead you, regardless of what vaunted theory or theology gets slighted. Don’t be beholden to any particular creed or theology. Don’t try to flee as far as you can from any perceived error. Your only consideration is revealed truth and plain facts.  

Fifthly, sometimes it is easier to discern what is wrong than what is right. That is okay. Reject theories and theologies which contradict the plain statements of Scripture and the plain testimony of facts.  Continue to grapple with the remaining options. Rome wasn’t built in a day. Theological understanding doesn’t happen overnight either.

Sixthly, be careful with arguments based on God’s glory. Men manipulate God’s glory all the time for their own theological benefit. God’s glory is immediately tied to his word. Psalm 138:2 says, “You have magnified your word above all your name.” We glorify God the most when we frame a position that heeds the whole counsel of the Bible on a subject. We dishonor him when we frame a position that only takes into consideration a few favored passages. I find it disturbing when men accuse me of not glorifying God simply because I quote and believe a passage of Scripture which challenges their doctrinal beliefs.

Seventhly, you don’t want the easiest solution. You want the easiest solution that harmonizes all the data, whether that be testimony in the Bible or testimony in a field of science like grammar or history.
 

CONCLUSION

I hope this proves a help for you. Compromised believers often face significant doctrinal threat from such fronts as the emergent church, ecumenism, off-the-rails charismaticism, and even the cults. But the greatest doctrinal threat to devoted, Bible-believing Christians actually comes from other devoted, Bible-believing Christians. If you follow the principles laid out above, you will greatly reduce your odds of confusing “truth” with truth. May God bless you as you seek to honor him and his word.

Eyes wide open, brain engaged, heart on fire.

Lee W. Brainard