{"id":2520,"date":"2011-08-29T17:18:12","date_gmt":"2011-08-29T17:18:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/biblicalcounselinginsights.com\/?page_id=2284"},"modified":"2018-01-03T20:10:55","modified_gmt":"2018-01-04T03:10:55","slug":"step-2-embracing-truth","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/biblicalcounselinginsights.com\/attitudes-and-behaviors\/step-2-embracing-truth\/","title":{"rendered":"Step 2: Embracing Truth"},"content":{"rendered":"

The truth. It is sometimes hard to discover and even harder to accept. As much as we may like to think that we are smart people who have got life all figured out, we actually get off base in our thinking or our feelings in many ways. As we have already seen (chapter three), we may have a distorted image of God. But it goes beyond that. We may also have false convictions about ourselves, about others, and about life in general. These false convictions can contribute in a major way to our sin problem.<\/span><\/h2>\n

We might say that wrongdoing starts with wrong thinking. Step two in the process of breaking a sinful habit, therefore, is to revise your false beliefs.<\/em> We need to start believing what is true. Being mistaken is not necessarily a sin itself (we might have just had an honest misunderstanding), but it can lead to sin. That\u2019s why having convictions based on truth is so important.<\/p>\n

But someone may jump in here to ask, \u201cCan we really know what is \u2018true\u2019? I mean, is\u00a0your<\/em>\u00a0truth necessarily the same as\u00a0my<\/em>\u00a0truth?\u201d Let\u2019s consider that.<\/p>\n

How True Is Truth?<\/h2>\n

If we had written\u00a0Soul Prescription<\/em>\u00a0fifty years ago, we would not have needed to defend the concept of truth. Back then, if anyone had been asked, \u201cDo you believe there is such a thing as absolute truth?\u201d he or she would almost certainly have replied, \u201cWell, sure there is.\u201d<\/p>\n

Today that is not the case. It is far more common nowadays for people to think of truth as an unstable quality, varying from situation to situation and from person to person. Ideas about truth develop differently within different cultures, relativists insist, and therefore what anyone believes to be true is just that person\u2019s opinion. Truth is a human \u201cconstruct,\u201d not an objective reality.<\/p>\n

Is this perspective\u2014dare we say it\u2014true?<\/p>\n

First let\u2019s make some admissions. To some extent, one\u2019s upbringing and culture do color how one looks at the world. Also, there are areas where the issue can be one of preference rather than rightness. Sometimes people are too dogmatic, close-mindedly promoting a certain viewpoint even though what they are talking about lies in a genuine gray area. We do not know all the facts, and in any case, facts always require interpretation. Even when we know the truth for certain, our attitude in defending it can turn others off because it contains none of the love and respect that we ought to have for those who disagree with us.<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, we have to accept that there is such a thing as absolute truth, or what the twentieth-century theologian Francis Schaeffer called \u201ctrue truth.\u201d This is truth that is true for all people at all times and in all places. As a matter of fact, we cannot go forward in addressing our sin problems unless we believe in this kind of truth. And we have good reason for such a belief.<\/p>\n

When relativists declare, \u201cThere is no absolute truth,\u201d they are making an absolute statement. Theirs is a self-refuting claim. If everything is relative, then the idea that everything is relative is itself relative.<\/p>\n

Furthermore, no one can consistently live according to the belief that truth is relative. Law, society, and relationships are impossible to sustain in an environment of thorough relativism. We cannot invent reality for ourselves at every turn.<\/p>\n

The way it usually works is that people trot out relativism when they want the freedom to do something that deep down they know is morally wrong. In fact, there is a close connection between a relativism of truth and a relativism of morality\u2014this is a valuable warning for those of us who want the wickedness rooted out of our lives.<\/p>\n

There really is such a thing as absolute truth. If there were no God, then perhaps human beings would have to make up their own \u201creality.\u201d But since there is<\/em> a God, He is the determiner of truth and reality. Truth is rooted in His unchanging nature. \u201cI am \u2026 the truth,\u201d said Jesus (John 14:6). It is no wonder, then, that \u201cthe word of our God stands forever\u201d (Isaiah 40:8).<\/p>\n

Furthermore, because God\u2019s nature is truthful, people who have entered into a relationship with Him through His Son can know truth. \u201cJesus said to the people who believed in Him,<\/em> \u2018You are truly My disciples if you keep obeying My teachings. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free\u2019 \u201d (John 8:31-32, emphasis added). Faith enables us to have convictions based on truth.<\/p>\n

More specifically, we believers have God\u2019s personal guidance in knowing what is true. Before departing this world, Jesus said that He would send the Counselor, or the Holy Spirit, to dwell in the hearts of His followers. Jesus added, \u201cWhen the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth\u201d (John 16:13).\u00b9<\/p>\n

The primary way the Holy Spirit guides us into truth is by opening our minds and hearts to the truth that God has inscribed in His Word, the Bible.<\/p>\n

\u00b9See also John 14:16 and John 15:26.<\/h6>\n

Click here to continue reading abridged chapter 4: \u00a0Step 2: \u00a0Embracing Truth<\/a><\/p>\n

Click here to let us know how this helped you.<\/a><\/p>\n

A Strategy That Works<\/span><\/p>\n

In this life \u201cwe see things imperfectly as in a poor mirror,\u201d admitted Paul the apostle. Mirrors at the time Paul wrote were mere polished pieces of metal, and so their imperfect reflection, especially in the worst of them, well represented how the truths about life are often murky or incomplete to us. At death or when Christ returns, whichever comes first, we will \u201csee everything with perfect clarity\u201d (1 Corinthians 13:12). But how about until then?<\/p>\n

On one of his missionary journeys, Paul and his companion Silas preached to a community of Jews living in a town called Berea in Greece. These people listened eagerly to the preaching, then \u201csearched the Scriptures day after day to check up on Paul and Silas, to see if they were really teaching the truth\u201d (Acts 17:11). They saw that the two men were in fact teaching the truth, and these Bereans believed in Christ.<\/p>\n

This gives us our procedure. We can search the Word, not only to test what others are saying, but also to check up on what we ourselves think and feel about things. After all, we pick up ideas from many sources, and these may or may not be accurate. Some older translations of the Bible describe the Bereans as \u201cnoble.\u201d\u00b9 It is a noble thing to test all our convictions by biblical revelation.<\/p>\n

The Bible lets us see into the areas where we have blind spots. The Bible \u201cis useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It straightens us out and teaches us to do what is right\u201d (2 Timothy 3:16). In fact, we will not know that we are mistaken in our convictions until the Scriptures reveal our error. The Bible is a great gift that God has given us for our betterment.<\/p>\n

The word canon\u2014often used for the body of biblical writings\u2014means \u201cmeasuring stick.\u201d Of course, each one of us has his or her own measuring stick for what is right, but our own measuring stick is never as reliable as that of Scripture. Let\u2019s measure our beliefs by the Bible, identifying our false convictions and correcting them according to biblical truth. As our thinking and feeling become more godly, so will our acting. By correcting our convictions about ourselves, others, and life in general, we will be well on our way to beating the sin habit.<\/p>\n

What Do You Believe about Yourself?<\/h2>\n

There are many false ways of seeing ourselves. These perspectives are fueled by guilt, insecurity, selfishness, pride, hate, and numerous other negative emotions. The input of others can serve to establish and reinforce these beliefs. Events in our lives may also seem to validate what we believe and have been told about who we are. The list of possible convictions about ourselves is almost endless. But are these convictions biblical?<\/p>\n

We need to develop a scripturally based view of who human beings are. On the one hand, God loves us and has fashioned us in His own image. So we have great worth. On the other hand, we are finite, created beings who have been twisted by sin. Thus we have every reason for humility.<\/p>\n

In the case of believers in Jesus, we have been made over anew. \u201cThose who become Christians become new persons. They are not the same anymore, for the old life is gone. A new life has begun!\u201d (2 Corinthians 5:17).<\/p>\n

The following verse reveals what is new about us. \u201cAll this newness of life is from God, who brought us back to Himself through what Christ did.\u201d Due to our salvation, we have access to a whole new source of life. We are not depending on our willpower, our education, or any other personal resource to live a good life; we are depending on God. And that dependence is rewarded.<\/p>\n

There are many reasons why we do not always live like the new creations we are. These reasons include tendencies in our personality, spiritual warfare, and the conviction that these two verses in 2 Corinthians are not really true. Nevertheless, we are new creations\u2014we know this because God said it. And we can<\/em> live as such, by God\u2019s grace.<\/p>\n

God said to the Hebrews, \u201cYou must be holy because I am holy\u201d (Leviticus 11:44). Jesus echoed this sentiment when He said, \u201cYou are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect\u201d (Matthew 5:48). God makes it possible for us to be holy through the power of His Spirit.<\/p>\n

This image of what it means to be human, as revealed by Scripture, is more realistic than any of our false and distorted opinions of ourselves. Furthermore, it gives us a real basis for triumphing over the sin in our lives.<\/p>\n

Other opinions about who we are may have their allure, but the truth about ourselves<\/em> is what we must seek. \u201cBe honest in your estimate of yourselves\u201d (Romans 12:3).<\/p>\n

\u00b9See the King James Version, Acts 17:11.<\/h6>\n

Click here to continue reading abridged chapter 4: \u00a0Step 2: \u00a0Embracing Truth<\/a><\/p>\n

Click here to let us know how this helped you.<\/a><\/p>\n

What Do You Believe about Others?<\/h2>\n

It stands to reason that if we cannot see ourselves as we are, there is no way that our perceptions of others can be accurate either. We look at others through lenses that have been distorted by our own mistaken beliefs. We do not see them as God sees them.<\/p>\n

The same truths about humanity that apply to us apply equally to others: we are made in the image of God (that\u2019s good); we have been damaged by sin (that\u2019s bad); we are enabled by God to overcome our sin (that\u2019s really good). And so we should look at people neither as objects we can use for our own desires nor as superior beings who have a right to dominate us. Perhaps that is in part why Jesus said, \u201cLove your neighbor as yourself\u201d (Matthew 22:39) and \u201cDo for others as you would like them to do for you\u201d (Luke 6:31).<\/p>\n

We are equal with others in terms of our humanity and how much God loves us. This is the truth that can help us relate to others more wholesomely.<\/p>\n

What Do You Believe about How Life Works?<\/h2>\n

Beyond our mistaken convictions about ourselves and other people, we may not understand how the world really works. And so our choices about how to act may be equally as faulty.<\/p>\n

One commonly held false conviction has to do with the purpose of human life. Are we here on earth for our own pleasure, or are we here to honor God? Let\u2019s face it: hedonism makes for a workable philosophy of life. However, those who follow the \u201ceat, drink, and be merry\u201d approach to life discover at the last that they are spiritually bankrupt and that what they had pursued all their lives adds up to a heap of ash. Serving God is the harder road to take. Still, Jesus said, \u201cIf you cling to your life, you will lose it; but if you give it up for Me, you will find it\u201d (Matthew 10:39). In the upside-down economy of God\u2019s kingdom, the counterintuitive idea is often proved correct.<\/p>\n

Another common falsehood about life is that we can get away with our wrongdoing. Of course, in human justice, this belief is often true. Many a criminal has escaped being caught, and many a guilty defendant has manipulated the court system to escape judgment. As a result, perhaps we have come to believe that we will find a loophole to slip through God\u2019s justice, too. But there is no such loophole. God knows all that we do, and He will call us to account in the Last Judgment. We ought to admit with David:<\/p>\n

I could ask the darkness to hide me<\/p>\n

and the light around me to become night\u2014<\/p>\n

but even in darkness I cannot hide from You.<\/p>\n

(Psalm 139:11-12)<\/p>\n

True, Christ takes the punishment for our sins upon Himself when we trust in Him, but this does not mean that our sins are not known and will not be revealed (as pardoned sins) on Judgment Day.<\/p>\n

A third type of false conviction about life has to do with God\u2019s commands. To many, the biblical refrain \u201cThou shalt not\u201d speaks only of restriction. They want to shout, \u201cHey, I can do anything I want.\u201d But when they violate God\u2019s commands, they find that it brings hardship along with whatever fleeting enjoyment the sin may offer. God\u2019s commands are actually designed to keep us safe and give us a life of peace. Our suffering due to sin is a measure of how wrong we are when we behave in ways that are not consistent with the sort of people God created us to be.<\/p>\n

God\u2019s commands are given for our good by our heavenly Father, just as a human parent instructs a small child in what the child may or may not do.<\/p>\n

As you endure \u2026 divine discipline, remember that God is treating you as his own children. Whoever heard of a child who was never disciplined? If God doesn\u2019t discipline you as he does all of his children, it means that you are illegitimate and are not really his children after all. Since we respect our earthly fathers who disciplined us, should we not all the more cheerfully submit to the discipline of our heavenly Father and live forever?<\/p>\n

For our earthly fathers disciplined us for a few years, doing the best they knew how. But God\u2019s discipline is always right and good for us because it means we will share in his holiness. No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening\u2014it is painful! But afterward there will be a quiet harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way. (Hebrews 12:7-11)<\/p>\n

When it comes to our convictions about life, just as with our convictions about ourselves and others, we have to make a choice: will we believe the messages we receive from worldly sources, or will we believe that what the Bible says is true? If we will let the Bible form our ideas and feelings, we will find it easier to abandon our sinful ways. This takes us to the next step in the process of breaking a sinful habit: repentance.<\/p>\n

Click here to read abridged chapter 5: \u00a0Step 3: \u00a0Turning Around<\/a><\/p>\n

Click here to let us know how this helped you.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The truth. It is sometimes hard to discover and even harder to accept. As much as we may like to think that we are smart people who have got life all figured out, we actually get off base in our thinking or our feelings in many ways. As we have already seen (chapter three), we […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":0,"parent":1080,"menu_order":3,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"advgb_blocks_editor_width":"","advgb_blocks_columns_visual_guide":"","_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":""},"coauthors":[],"author_meta":{"author_link":"https:\/\/biblicalcounselinginsights.com\/author\/mary\/","display_name":"mary"},"relative_dates":{"created":"Posted 10 years ago","modified":"Updated 4 years ago"},"absolute_dates":{"created":"Posted on August 29, 2011","modified":"Updated on January 3, 2018"},"absolute_dates_time":{"created":"Posted on August 29, 2011 5:18 pm","modified":"Updated on January 3, 2018 8:10 pm"},"featured_img_caption":"","featured_img":false,"featured_image_src":null,"featured_image_src_square":null,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblicalcounselinginsights.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2520"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblicalcounselinginsights.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblicalcounselinginsights.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblicalcounselinginsights.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblicalcounselinginsights.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2520"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/biblicalcounselinginsights.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2520\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7007,"href":"https:\/\/biblicalcounselinginsights.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2520\/revisions\/7007"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblicalcounselinginsights.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1080"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblicalcounselinginsights.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2520"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}