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In the spirit of full disclosure, I am not a baseball fan. Many, if not most, of baseball fans are fanatical about their team. I like baseball okay. I root for the Royals because I grew up in Oklahoma where they were both close and a better alternative than rooting for a Texas team. After my wife and I spent 7 years in Kansas City, my affection for them grew.
Now, let’s pretend I were a fanatical baseball fan. Let’s also pretend that the Royals are the best team in baseball (which is not as far of a stretch in 2015 as it’s been in years past). If I were going to convince a St. Louis Cardinals fan that Kansas City was the best team in baseball then I’d better have done my homework. I better have good reason not only to believe such a claim, and assert such a claim, but to defend the claim.
Now, take Paul’s charge to The Church in 1 Timothy 3:15 where he states that The Church should be “the pillar and foundation of the truth.” Paul goes on, in verse 16, to outline which truth the Church is to uphold first and foremost; that is the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ. But this verse calls us to uphold and support not only the truth of the gospel (which is consistent through all scripture) but truth in general. We are to support and advocate for truth, period.
If The Church does not have a strong foundation and a sound structure on which to support the proclamation of the truth of the Scripture, we are not living up to the task that God has called us to, through Paul, in 1 Timothy. Moreover, if The Church sits back idly and lets the world redefine truth as relative and subjective then we are not being obedient to this task.
Let me say, I believe firmly that the Holy Spirit does the work of opening hearts and minds to embrace the truth of the gospel proclamation (1 Cor. 2:10-14). Nonetheless, for The Church to be faithful to Paul’s aforementioned call, we must be ready and able to provide a support (or defense) for the gospel as we go and proclaim the gospel.
We know from the May release of data from the Pew Research Group, that more and more Americans are identifying themselves as “unaffiliated” with any religious group. So, if we (The Church) plan to go to them and proclaim the truth of the Gospel (as we are called to), then we must be prepared to support and defend that truth, as truth, because they are likely not ready to accept the authority of the Bible on truth matters without being provided the reasons as to why they should. It is like trying to tell a Cardinals fan that the Royals are the best team in baseball – you better be ready to back up such a claim.
Here’s the truth of the matter – truth is on our side. The Holy Spirit is on our side. Equip yourself for the task and engage the task as the Creator and Author of truth has called you.
Now, let’s pretend I were a fanatical baseball fan. Let’s also pretend that the Royals are the best team in baseball (which is not as far of a stretch in 2015 as it’s been in years past). If I were going to convince a St. Louis Cardinals fan that Kansas City was the best team in baseball then I’d better have done my homework. I better have good reason not only to believe such a claim, and assert such a claim, but to defend the claim.
Now, take Paul’s charge to The Church in 1 Timothy 3:15 where he states that The Church should be “the pillar and foundation of the truth.” Paul goes on, in verse 16, to outline which truth the Church is to uphold first and foremost; that is the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ. But this verse calls us to uphold and support not only the truth of the gospel (which is consistent through all scripture) but truth in general. We are to support and advocate for truth, period.
If The Church does not have a strong foundation and a sound structure on which to support the proclamation of the truth of the Scripture, we are not living up to the task that God has called us to, through Paul, in 1 Timothy. Moreover, if The Church sits back idly and lets the world redefine truth as relative and subjective then we are not being obedient to this task.
Let me say, I believe firmly that the Holy Spirit does the work of opening hearts and minds to embrace the truth of the gospel proclamation (1 Cor. 2:10-14). Nonetheless, for The Church to be faithful to Paul’s aforementioned call, we must be ready and able to provide a support (or defense) for the gospel as we go and proclaim the gospel.
We know from the May release of data from the Pew Research Group, that more and more Americans are identifying themselves as “unaffiliated” with any religious group. So, if we (The Church) plan to go to them and proclaim the truth of the Gospel (as we are called to), then we must be prepared to support and defend that truth, as truth, because they are likely not ready to accept the authority of the Bible on truth matters without being provided the reasons as to why they should. It is like trying to tell a Cardinals fan that the Royals are the best team in baseball – you better be ready to back up such a claim.
Here’s the truth of the matter – truth is on our side. The Holy Spirit is on our side. Equip yourself for the task and engage the task as the Creator and Author of truth has called you.