By: Dale Weckbacher
John 8:31-32
Then Jesus said to
those Jews who believed Him, "If you abide in My word, you are My
disciples indeed. 32 And you shall know
the truth, and the truth shall make you free."
NKJV
The truth Jesus is talking about in John 8:31-32 is the
truth of His word and since Jesus is part of the trinity and therefore God, he
is telling us that the truth of God’s word will set us free. True disciples of Jesus are those who study
and live their lives according to the Word of God. I therefore urge the freedom loving
individuals reading this to take time out of each day to study the Word of God
and strive to live their lives according to the wisdom God’s Word
contains.
When we make a decision to order our lives according to the
wisdom contained in the Word of God, we will experience the liberating power of
the Word of God. We will initially
experience freedom and salvation from our sins with the reward of eternal life
(John 3:16). As we study deeper into
God’s Word with the illumination of the Holy Spirit, we will experience freedom
from various other things in our lives that hold us back and slow us down
(Hebrews 12:1).
The campaign season is once again upon us and with it comes
a plethora of campaign ads. In each ad,
the candidate will tout how they are the best one for the office. If we were just to take the ads at face
value, we would have to vote for every candidate. However, the law only allows us to vote for
one of the candidates so it is therefore up to voters to select the one telling
the truth.
Unfortunately, there is no defined standard of truth amongst
the majority of voters. As such, voters
often vote for candidates based upon their looks, name recognition, skin color,
or gender. Unfortunately, these are
surface issues and tell us nothing about how a candidate will govern once
winning office, which is why voters must take the time to dig deep into a
candidate’s history in order to determine the truth of his or her values,
beliefs, and qualifications. This
digging deep into the candidate’s history will help us arrive at the truth thus
liberating us from electing unqualified candidates with values and beliefs in
opposition to the values of the nation as expressed in the Constitution and
Declaration of Independence.
As Christians, we do have a standard of truth with which to
judge candidates for office, the Word of God.
I there want to challenge Christian voters this election to
1) Study
the Word – I know many of you already spend time in the Word but I want to
challenge you study more intently so that the Word of God becomes a more vital
part of your life.
2) Compare
the candidate’s values and philosophy against the Word of God – Using this
standard means we prefer a candidate that is a believer. However, we will settle for a candidate who
may not be a believer but who vows not to sign or vote for any legislation
violating the Word of God and our constitutionally protected Christian values.
3) Show
up at the polls – Last election many stayed home (1) and according to Presidential candidate Ted Cruz, many of these
absent voters were evangelical Christians.
(2)
Between now and Election Day, we have an opportunity to
begin the process of changing the heart of America . Many in our nation are coming to realize that
the current politicians in Washington
promise one thing but once in office do not deliver on what they promised. Voters are tired of politicians lying to them
and want truth out of their elected officials but we must insure they have a
solid foundation of truth from which to judge candidates.
I believe Jesus’ words in John 8:31-32 ring true today. Unfortunately, however, we live in secular
society whose education system, and media are dominated by the philosophy of
post modernism. (3) This philosophy has
relegated truth to be whatever each individual believes it should be. It is this perverted definition of truth that
has led to people losing their businesses (4) because their belief in the truth as
expressed in God’s Word that marriage is between a man and a woman (Genesis2:21-24), does not agree with the beliefs of five Supreme Court Justices. This perverted definition of truth also believes
the CEO of a company should lose his job because he contributed to a ballot
measure defining marriage as between a man and a woman. (5) Now, this perverted belief in truth has led to
a public official going to jail because her religious belief prohibits her from
signing marriage licenses for gay marriages.
(6) This perverted definition of truth is not
liberating but divisive and creating conflict in society.
What society needs is more of the liberating truth of God’s
Word for it is this truth that forgives men and women of their sins. It is this truth that teaches men and women
to place their trust in God and not some government official or program. It is this truth that promises eternal life
in the presence of a loving God.
That is where we as believers come in. We must,
1) Pray
for those deceived by the secular definition of truth. Pray that their eyes are opened to the truths
as contained in the Word of God and that God will send someone their way to
share this truth with them.
2) Live
our lives in obedience and service to God.
This includes taking a biblical stand on issues but we must also
remember to love those that have been deceived.
Let the way we live our lives loving them while taking a stand
demonstrate that those with strong beliefs in God have the strength and peace
they want.
3) Boldly
share the Gospel when God provides the opportunity.
We have the liberating truth society seeks. The question is, are we willing to live it
and declare it.
1. Griffin Red State
2. Woods, Mark. Ted
Cruz appeals to evangelicals in campaign launch – but they may not be enough to
get him elected. www,christianitytoday.com. [Online] Christianity Today,
March 24, 2015. [Cited: March 28, 2015.]
http://www.christiantoday.com/article/ted.cruz.appeals.to.evangelicals.in.campaign.launch.but.they.may.not.be.enough.to.get.him.elected/50645.htm.
3. Post Modern
Psychology. Postmodernism and the Academic Disciplines. www.postmodernpsychology.com.
[Online] [Cited: December 12, 2014.]
http://www.postmodernpsychology.com/main_topics/PM_and_academic_disciplines.htm.
4. Smith, Samuel. Oregon christian Bakers
Ordered to Pay $135K After Refusing to Work Gay Wedding; Told to Stop Speaking
About 'ObeyGod, Not Man'. www.christianpost.com. [Online] The Christian
Post, July 3, 2015. [Cited: August 26, 2015.]
www.christianpost.com/news/oregon-christian-bakers-ordered-to-pay-135k-after-refusing-to-work-gay-wedding-told-to-stop-speaking-about-obeying-god-now-man-141137/.
5. Hannity, Sean.
Was Mozilla CEO Ousted For Stance on Gay Marriage. nation.fox.com. [Online]
Fox News, April 8, 2014. [Cited: August 26, 2015.]
http://nation.foxnews.com/2014/04/08/was-mozilla-ceo-ousted-stance-gay-marriage.
6. AP. Kentucky
Clerk in Gay Marriage Case Ordered to Jail. www.6abc.com. [Online] ABC
6, September 3, 2015. [Cited: September 7, 2015.]
www.6abc.com/news/kentucky-clerk-in-gay-marriage-case-ordered-to-jail/968407.
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