How NOT to Promote Truth

Eight days ago, as we all know, an attempt was made on the life of former president Donald Trump. A split-second after shots rang out, Corey Comperatore shoved his wife, Helen and daughter Allyson to the ground and dove on top of them taking the fatal bullet that would end his life to protect them. My hope is that the memory of this committed Christian head of his family will serve as a lasting inspiration to all Christian men to lay down their lives for our families.

This series is not about laying down our lives to protect our families, physically from destructive bullets penetrating their bodies, but protecting them, spiritually from destructive lies penetrating their minds. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ (2 Cor 10:4-5). But such protection takes no less determination to die to ourselves. This summer series on understanding our spiritual weapons is a repeat of a series produced 3.5 years ago. Yet, as you will see, it could not be more relevant to our fight for Christ’s kingdom of truth in 2024.

How do we as Christians impact our culture with biblical truth? As we process what happened in the last election and the storming of the Capitol since, Christians are divided. Eschewing passivity, many believers feel impelled to speak up on the social media to fight a movement rooted in ungodliness, which they see shaping our culture. They are appalled that younger Christian leaders either don’t seem to see this happening or seem to lack the courage to speak up about it. Other believers are horrified at the views they hear expressed by Christians on social media, which exhibit a kind of “Christian Nationalism” and exhibit Christians to be combative towards those with whom they disagree, violating Christ’s clear command, love your neighbor, not to mention, love your enemy. This episode continues our series Winning Spiritual Battles Because We Use Our Spiritual Weapons by examining how to encircle ourselves with the belt of God’s truth, which must be the starting point for sharing that truth in the culture. Then we consider how to be persuasive as salt and light in the culture, and in particular the dangers of being right, but sharing truth in a HARMFUL, rather than a COMPELLING way. 

What do you think is the answer to the question, “Is our mission today, as Christians living in America, to recover America as a Christian nation?” In my view, the correct answer can only come from understanding what Jesus meant when he told his followers, “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.”

The kingdom of God, which Jesus proclaimed, and about which Paul spoke (Acts 28: 31), was not the church, a spiritual kingdom up in heaven, a future political kingdom of Israel, or America. The kingdom was Adam’s kingdom, the earth, the development and shaping of which had been assigned to Adam and Eve but usurped by Satan, sin, and death. Jesus, the second Adam, has redeemed Adam’s kingdom from its slavery to these forces and begun to make all things new. The reign of Jesus among human beings:

1. Begins in the human heart with trusting Jesus’ death alone as the atoning sacrifice for our sins and in gratefulness turning our hearts to love the High King, our Redeemer with all of that heart. That is why seeking first the kingdom begins with leading others to faith.
2. But it doesn’t end there. Jesus’ summary of kingdom life in Matt 5-7 reflects an astonishing transformation of human attitudes and values, accomplished by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit given to believers as down-payment on the final work of redemption, which will make us unable to sin when Christ returns. This transformation of our character to be like Jesus IS KINGDOM WORK. I get absorbed in the cultural battle for righteousness. But I suspect that Jesus would say, “I’m pleased with your longing to see righteousness prevail over all the earth, but don’t forget to start with your own heart attitudes. You becoming like me because you love me is my greatest pleasure.”
3. We are called to seek justice and wholeness over every part of earth by influencing each part of the world around us to be aligned with righteousness (which is synonymous for God’s original design before the fall.) This transformation spreads to the whole earth, not just our nation. There is no biblical case for American Christ-followers to view the USA as a special nation that has received a special blessing from God. Our nation is exceptional. No nation of the world has a record that compares to ours for bringing good to other nations of the world. It isn’t even close. It is undeniable that we have been enormously blessed by God’s grace through our founding fathers aligning our constitution with many biblical principles, especially human freedom from tyranny. But we are no more special to God than any other nation. Like Christians of every nation, we seek through prayer and responsible citizenship to influence our culture towards righteousness. From our founding many of those have been answered. That is a core part of our mission. Yet history records that despite prayer and efforts of Christians of every nation to influence their culture and political system as fervently as any American has done, tyranny, suffering, corruption and severe persecution often prevail in their nation.

So, the correct view of the culture war is not that God blessed us so much because Americans were more righteous than other nations; but now the evil progressives are ruining our glorious past, corrupting our nation and causing us to lose God’s favor—so our only hope is the political power to get them out of office. Nor is it to give up on American culture, and separate, because God has given up on America and everything is going to go downhill until Christ’s return. Such a view of withdrawal from culture is disobedience to God’s command to Adam and his race to shape culture for his glory. Nowhere does the Bible say God has given up on this world or this culture. We must not isolate ourselves from opportunities to influence the world around us. Our fundamental calling is TO SHAPE CULTURE. But this current all-time high in the heat of political warfare may be a great time to reconsider HOW Jesus taught us to go about influencing those around us with biblical truth.

Advancing Biblical truth in the culture begins by encircling ourselves with the belt of truth and exposing EVERYTHING we believe to the searchlight of God’s Word. Whether we grew up in a majority or minority culture, in material abundance or poverty, inside or outside the church, are white, black, Hispanic or Asian, we must reevaluate the given assumptions we grew up with through the lens of Scripture. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth (Eph 6:14).

Four Ways to Put on the Belt of Truth and Why We Need to Do It

A.  The belt of God’s truth is needed to fix our wrong thought patterns. One of the consequences of the fall is that our sinful nature unconsciously causes us to suppress the truth. You must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds, writes Paul. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart (Eph 4:17-18).

Putting on the belt of truth means immersing ourselves in Scripture. We must re-program our minds because they have been corrupted by the lies of the evil one and of the fallen middle, lower, or upper class culture, which has shaped us. Do not be conformed to this world, writes Paul, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind (Rom 12:2). Tony Evans in his book, Victory in Spiritual Warfare, writes, When you align your mind, will, and emotions underneath God’s view on a matter—his truth—He will then empower you to fight your spiritual battles with the freedom of great mobility and increased stability. By knowing and functioning according to the truth of God, you will be on your way to experiencing victory over anything or anyone seeking to over-come or defeat you

B.  Putting on the Belt of Truth requires Christ-followers to be known as those who are honest to the core. Both the eighth commandment, You shall not steal (Ex 20:15) and the ninth commandment, You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor (20:16) require us to be scrupulously honest. Paul commands the Ephesian believers, Having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor (4:25). Paul is not saying it is wrong to tell white lies to surprise someone, nor for the offense to try to deceive the defense about what it is doing, nor that we should ignore healthy relational boundaries to share intimate details of our lives with strangers, nor that we have to be so brutally honest that we tell everyone things that might hurt them. But Jesus IS truth and we can not harbor dishonesty and be faithful to him.

C. Putting on the belt of truth means wanting others to help us see truth we don’t see. It begins with a humility that recognizes that we only see part of the picture. For husbands, it means listening carefully to your wife’s opinion about decisions. For majority culture Christians, it means exposing ourselves to brothers and sister in minority subcultures. As we are able, it means knowing how Christians in other countries of the world live out their obedience to seek first the kingdom of God. In our individual lives, it means seeking wise counsel, having a teachable spirit, and being open to rebuke. Everyday Christian men fail morally, relationally, spiritually, and financially—not because they set out to fail, not because they don’t work very hard, but because of their blind spots. The reality is that our mind has been so corrupted by the fall, and we are so easily self-deceived that we need regular soul contact with a brother in Christ. Speaking the truth in love, writes Paul, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ (Eph 4:15). Poor is the man who has no brother to deliver him from his self-deception by speaking truth into his life.

D.  Putting on the belt of truth means exposing the world and life views around us to the scrutiny of God’s Word. As men, we are to answer God’s calling given to Adam to be protectors of the garden. This means protecting our wives and children from the destructive lies of the Father of Lies, from their own fallen nature, that seeks to suppress truth, and from ungodly thinking from fallen culture, all of which will mold them into a rebel against God if we do nothing. Paul describes this everyday battle and the power of God’s truth to tear down the lies of the culture. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ (2 Cor 10:4-5).

It is worth noting, however that this description of the spiritual battle for truth concerns combat that takes place in the minds of Christians. The context is inside the church. But, is “battling for truth” the right description of what Scripture says about influencing non-Christians around us and shaping our part of culture? In his book, Talk the Walk: How to Be Right Without Being Insufferable, Steve Brown, says, “Being right is extremely dangerous for a Christian, and, in fact, may be the most destructive danger a Christian ever faces in communicating to those who do not want to hear.” In Matthew 23, Jesus says to his disciples and the crowds, The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses' seat, so do and observe whatever they tell you. The Pharisees were right in their orthodoxy. But Jesus said their moral stench was like that of a rotting body. They are the example of what Bible-believing Christians risk becoming like. So, in the remainder of the podcast, I want to address two dangers of being right: 1) the danger of being right but UNDISCERNING in sharing biblical truth, 2) the danger of being right but UNPERSUASIVE in sharing truth.

The Danger of Being UNDISCERNING in Sharing Biblical Truth

Jesus said, Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you (Matt 7:6). Jesus is not calling those made in God’s image dogs or pigs; he is focusing on these two creatures’ inability to recognize the value of spiritual truth. Jesus commands us in The Sermon on the Mount not to indiscriminately throw out biblical truth to those who can’t see its value. The depth of the biblical truth we share with others should be linked to the spiritual condition they are in to receive it. That was what Jesus did. He said things like “let him who has ears to hear, let him hear” (Matt 11:15). He spoke in parables to the crowds but explained them to his disciples. He addressed the sins of the scribes and Pharisees one way, and those of the woman at the well another way. When examined about his true identify, by Pilate, Jesus had a meaningful, six-verse discussion about his kingship (John 18:33-38). But when asked the same questions by Herod who was just looking for signs and wonders, Jesus did not speak a word (Luke 23:6-11). Somehow, he detected that Pilate would value the biblical truths about himself, but that Herod’s would not. So Jesus refused to cast his pearls before Herod. How do we follow Jesus’ example?

We Christians must be careful in what we say, how we say it, and even if we are to say it at all. Jesus cautioned that we should not “give dogs what is holy,” nor “throw your pearls before pigs lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you” (Matt. 7:6). The truth we have is precious, dangerous, and explosively powerful in the way it can heal or hurt (Ibid).

Christians should be passionate about standing for righteousness in a culture that they see losing its biblical moorings. Believe me I am still trying to figure what this means and very much admire Christians taking such stands. But it must be asked, “How does posting biblical teaching about God’s design of gender roles, adultery, and homosexuality on Facebook or Twitter follow the principle of only casting biblical truth to those who are ready to value it?” I realize pro-life, Bible-believing Christians are unfairly accused of intolerance. But could it be that Jesus knew that throwing biblical truth out to people in general, before they are ready to value it might actually cause them to stomp it into the ground, where they will never be able to see it again? Here are  some practical thoughts about testing whether a non-believer is at a place where he will value your biblical truth.

When asked, Christians can say, “Yeah, I’m a believer and, and it’s the most important thing in my life. If you ever want to hear about it, just ask and I’ll tell you.” Or in my case as a religious professional, when I am asked what I do, I sometimes answer, “I tell people who want to hear about Jesus.” Or perhaps, when Christians think they have a message that will help someone in trouble, they can say, “If you want me to, I’ll be happy to share it with you.” Permission opens the door to speaking truth. If permission is not given, silence is a good practice. (Ibid)

So, the first danger of knowing biblical truth is that, in wanting to stand for righteousness, we may think we are supposed to indiscriminately post God’s truth.

The Danger of Being Right but UNPERSUASIVE in Sharing Truth.

Here are 5 mistakes Christians make in seeking to advance the Biblical worldview:

1. Expecting to win people to embrace biblical truth through logical argument. When it comes to influencing culture, I naturally default to thinking this means winning arguments with those espousing an ungodly worldview. But how effective can we expect a logical argument on social media to be when God tells us, The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned 1 Cor 2:14).
2. Thinking that our goal is reaching their head when it is actually to reach their heart. Since our objective must be reaching their hearts, might our time be better spent weeping for the lost, pouring out our tears and prayer for them because they cannot see the destructive nature of their lifestyle—than spent shaping an argument to prove their lifestyle is wrong (which they already know because the moral law of God is written on every heart.) Such prayer will make our hearts tender towards them, and God just might answer those prayers. After all, we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places (Eph 6:12). Moreover, it might just be because our goal is winning the hearts of the lost, that, when Jesus tells us to be salt and light, he doesn’t tell us to use words at all. He says, “Let them see your good works and give glory to your father who is in heaven” (Matt 5:16).
3. Being selective about the sins we confront. Steve Brown says, Christians have to speak truth about what is and what is not sin. However, people will stop listening (and rightly so) when they see how selective their list is (Ibid). Smoking dope, sex outside of marriage, homosexuality make the list, but somehow racial injustice, materialism, self-righteousness, gluttony, and pride tend to get a pass. Such selectivity nearly guarantees that Christians will not reach anyone but church people as they try to influence their culture.
4. The failure to value the common grace God has poured out on our culture. The Doctrine of Common Grace means God prevents Adam’s fallen race from being as evil as we could be. He grants power to all humans to in some measure overcome the race’s total corruption by sin and, being made in God’s image, to impact Adam’s kingdom (earth) in a positive way—helping it reach its full and morally good potential—making good products, passing just laws, rewarding good behavior, caring for the needy, punishing some evil behavior. When Christians never affirm the good accomplished by non-Christians, or the secular culture, but always attack them, it is like saying to a musician friend, “I hate music,” or a football player, “I think football is dumb and teaches violence.” Christians seem to always be putting down non-Christians and their world. How effective is that for winning friends and influencing people?
5. The failure to say “Me Too.” My default thinking is, “To draw people to Christ, I need to grow to be more holy like Jesus. Then they will see him in me.” But in reality, what seemed to draw people to Jesus was not his moral perfection but that he identified with them. The Word became flesh. Jesus sympathizes with weaknesses because “in every respect he has been tempted as we are” (Heb 4:15). What will draw non-believers to us is not our “righteous” life. Many non-Christians think Christianity is for good people and not them. Identification with others builds bridges. If we want our biblical truth to “land” we need to:

• Identify with being a sinner; be astounded that God loves you anyway
• Identify with weakness; resist sending the message I have it together.
• Identify with doubt; I doubt that God is good and the Bible is true, a lot.
• Identify with being normal; don’t send the message, Christians are weird.
• Identify with worry; I worry about how my kids are going to turn out a lot.
• Identify with failure; I mess up so often as a husband it’s a miracle my wife hasn’t left me.

By God’s grace, I may be RIGHT about God’s truth in our culture. But that doesn’t mean anybody is going to listen to me.

For Further Prayerful Thought:

1. Which aspect of fastening the belt of truth around ourselves stood out to you?

2. Why is it important in today’s word to surround our loved ones with truth?

3. How does Jesus’ teaching not to give holy things to dogs or throw our pearls before swine resonate with your experience? Are there times when you have thought that a person is not spiritually in a place to hear this truth?

4. How do Paul and Barnabas follow this teaching from Jesus in Acts 13:44-49. What Thoughts do you have about trying to determine is a potential hearer of biblical truth is in a place to value it or not?