"As God’s people, we are given guidelines throughout Scripture for how to treat others, how to use our words, and how to control our thoughts. Yet we do not do this on our own. God’s Spirit now dwells in us—we are His temple (2 Cor 6:16). And He performs this work in us so that we may live as disciples at all times and in all places.” 1 As Paul told the Philippians, “ For the one at work in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure [or purpose], is God.”
This devotional was drawn from Leviticus where we learn that
God is holy and calls His people to be holy also. “Holy” means set apart for a
purpose. We must learn our purpose in order to fulfill the demand to be holy. In
my case, I am as certain as I can be that God’s purpose for me is to be a
teacher. In my early twenties, during a time of deep searching I heard Him say
this to me in as near an audible voice as I have ever experienced. Over the
years since then, my calling has been confirmed both by God and His people.
In the longest of my several careers, I was employed as a
teacher of English mostly, so I was fulfilling my call and gifting while
earning a living. This is not the only possible way for me to be “holy,”
however. The so-called Great Commission in Matthew’s Gospel is a record of
Jesus’ command to His disciples to “make disciples… teaching them.” The core
meaning of “disciple” is to be a learner; learning and teaching are two sides
of the same coin. This is where Aubrey Smith’s observation comes in. We are
called to be disciples, teachers at all times.
If I am to be a teacher, a disciple of Jesus worthy of the
calling, I must be certain that what I am teaching is the truth. God forbid
that I should present a lesson that contains anything false or misleading.
After all, Jesus is the Truth, so if I am mirroring Him, representing Him, I
must represent the truth to the best of my ability. For this reason, I study, I
research, I prepare the lessons I plan to teach with greatest care. This
certainly applies to my efforts to teach Bible lessons, but it applies equally
to anything I attempt to share by way of educating an audience.
I have been publishing a blog for over ten years. Each one
of the 300+ articles I have written represent at least two or three hours of research
and collateral reading, sometimes more, often spread over more than one day. I
take that amount of time because I want to assure myself that I am presenting
the truth. Many of my articles express my opinions. Opinions are not the same
as facts. Facts are discreet pieces of truth; truth is an absolute. For something
to be true, it must be true for all people at all times in all situations.
While I believe the Bible is the final arbiter of knowable truth,
there are many true things that are not explicitly stated in the Bible. The
earth is round; the universe is expanding; nuclear fission produces heat. These
are all true things not mentioned in the Scripture, and the list of such things
is virtually endless. The same can be said of behaviors in general or specific
actions. To judge the truth of such things, one must understand some basic
principles of truth taught in Scripture and apply those principles to specific
situations.
This is where opinion enters. Jeffrey Dahmer, Idi Amin and
Adolf Hitler are not mentioned by name in the Bible. However, it is my opinion
that their actions are wrong, bad, unbiblical; that is to say that their
actions do not align with what the Bible identifies as true goodness. “The
good,” as the Greeks sought it and the Bible reveals it, is an element of “the
True.” When I apply what I consider to be the good and true as revealed in the
Bible, I can form an opinion of the actions of people. While my opinion is not
Scripture, if I have correctly applied Scripture, my opinion is valid.
This is true of all opinions. All opinions are by no means of
equal validity. Opinions are based on facts aka truth. An opinion based on “facts”
that are not true is not a valid opinion. Jesus said knowing the truth sets one
free. Knowledge, then, is the key to intellectual as well as spiritual freedom.
Knowledge of that which is true is what makes it possible to form a valid
opinion. In my thinking, I want all my opinions to comport with the truth revealed
in Scripture because it alone validates truth.
From beginning to end, the Bible explicitly and implicitly
teaches that wisdom begins with knowledge. Full life, meaningful life, eternal
life (zoe), Jesus said is found in knowing God. (John 17:3) God is best known
by getting to know His revelation of Himself in Scripture, although He can also
be understood through the things He has made. (Romans 1:20) This is why I
search the Scriptures daily to learn all I can about God. This also explains my
interest in everything from astrophysics to bioethics. God is revealed in both
Scripture and nature.
I crave that revelation because I want to be right. As a
teacher it is essential that I be right. This is why Paul said, “Be not many of
you teachers.” This is why Aubrey Smith’s quote struck me when I read it. I
must allow the Holy Spirit to continue His work in me so that I may, “live as [a
disciple] at all times and in all places.” It may sound arrogant to say, but
when I express an opinion, at that moment, in my state of knowledge at that
moment, I believe I am right. I welcome all challenges to my positions as long
as they are based on the same foundation as that on which I stand: revealed
truth. If I am wrong, I want to be proved wrong so that I can correct my
position. As a disciple of Jesus Christ, it is of utmost importance that I be right.
If there is something wrong with that, prove it.
[1] Smith,
Aubrey. (2014). Redefining
Sacred Space. In J. D. Barry & R. Van Noord (Eds.), Moment with God: A Devotional on Every Biblical
Book. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
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