One of my earliest impressions as a lad growing up in the church was gained at a Dutch service on a Sunday afternoon in the old Eastern Avenue Christian Reformed Church in Grand Rapids. The sanctuary was “packed out,” as the British say, the sermon was long and in a language which was quite foreign (Dutch). Nevertheless I could sense a mounting tension among the worshippers as the preacher steadily built his sermon to an impending climax. At last it happened! With all the oratorical fervor and dramatic effect a powerful pulpiteer could muster these words were spoken, “En dat is de waarheid.”
The service closed soon. We were walking home, my father and I. Tugging at his coatsleeves I got his attention. “What did the dominie mean by de waarheid?” Dad answered, Waarheid is Dutch for truth. A neighbor of ours was walking along. I guess he had a better grasp of the English language. At least he augmented my father’s brief translation with this comment, “He meant that what he was saying was the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.”
I’d like to make a plea in this short piece for the kind of concern for truth which that sermon evidenced.
It is Possible to be Fooled!
St. Paul warned, “See to it that no one makes a prey of you by philosophy* and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the universe, and not according to Christ” (Col. 2:8, RSV). Whatever the details of this text mean, it is obvious that it suggests that we can become ensnared by false teaching and thinking. Church history abounds with illustrations of the effects of erroneous concepts, wrong suppositions and well-developed but purely worldly systems of human thought.
Who will deny that the complexity of error confronting the Christian public today is on the increase? More than ever, the question for us must be, What is the Truth?
Our Lord Jesus Christ described Satan in this manner: “He was a murderer from the beginning, and has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks according to his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44). The Christian community ought not be surprised that error and deception abound. If we understand what Scripture says about the nature and program of Satan, we will know that he is absolutely determined to hinder the growth and effectiveness of the believer in order to bring stagnation at least and defeat at worst to the body of Christ.
Some Illustrations . . .
A major false system of human thought confronting the whole world today is pantheism. The best way to define pantheism is to consider the etymological significance of the term. (Words, like people, have a history and even a kind of reputation!) The Greek term from which pan-comes means “every” or “all.” The main root in the composite term “pantheism” is theism taken from the Greek root theos, the word for God or deity. Thus the term pantheism means “all is deity” or “all is God.” As a system pantheism seeks to develop the major premise that God is found in everything and everything is, in essence at least, God. A dictionary definition of pantheism is “the doctrine identifying the Deity with the forces and workings of nature” (The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language).
Man can’t really do without God, of course, and in a world in which His unique existence is largely denied, the only other place for Him is within the world itself. It is a quick step from Modern agnosticism and unbelief to all kinds of pantheistic systems, ideas, attitudes and emphases. You can spot them in modern music, for example, if you’ll really take the trouble to listen carefully, brushing aside the sentimental suggestion and analyzing the actual meaning of what might otherwise seem to be commendably pious expression.
Another powerful influence is humanism, which is, I believe, the prevailing emphasis today in much of the politics, both national and international, religion, especially on “the tube,” (“the electronic church”), and in the schools. This system promotes the idea that not God but man is central in all things. If it is not demonstrably good for man, it is not really relevant or worthwhile at all. The advancement of the human race is the prime goal of all striving. God is never given proper elevation or preeminence in humanistic thought.
Haven’t you noticed in late years that everything turns about, depends on and promises to help (“bless”) you? I fear that even Christian preaching of the Reformed type has fallen into this kind of emphasis—and I think it comes from the modern movement which is humanism.
How to Stand Over Against These Philosophies
Both these modern major systems (pantheism, humanism) are at bottom rationalisms, drawing their principles and programs out of and according to man’s reason. They are clearly opposite to sound Biblical teaching. The God of the Bible is a distinct, infinite Person, and the universe exists to fulfill His divine plan. Time and eternity are designed by this omniscient (all-knowing) and wise personal Being to bring glory to Himself. Man is an agent, a co-worker to help fulfill that grand objective. Man does not and cannot exist by or for himself (Rom. 11:36).
The Christian needs to be guided by several factors as he lives in a world which is literally swimming in the seas of such false systems of thought! The following list of directives is suggestive, not exhaustive:
1) The glorification of God must be seen anew as the proper daily preoccupation of the believer and the church. We need to get Soli Deo Gloria down from our architectural inscriptions and into our hearts and lives!
2) The office of the pastor/teacher within the church needs renewed understanding and appreciation. We need preaching that dares to be a little deeper (and even a little longer) in the interest of gaining both understanding and discernment in a day filled with all kinds of false teaching.
3) The dangers confronting the Christian community need to be more carefully and boldly defined and opposed. We must recover the courage to believe that we ought, at least, to be concerned for the Truth.
4) Not only the passive, negative attitudes of many believers regarding such dangers, but also the actual resistance of many to doctrinal and biblical exposition must be exposed and even condemned.
5) The highest authority of the infallibly inspired Scriptures over the minds and souls of men must be given proper position. It would be very sad if out of all the current discussion on the nature of biblical authority we should come away without a sure Word of God!
6) The individual believer as member of the Body which is Christ’s church must be given to see that the ministry of Word and sacraments is the God-ordained channel for a Spirit–led and Spirit–filled life.
7) All factionalism must be avoided and resisted as the evil disease which it is! In that sense Christian forces must focus on error and heresy and unscriptural thought rather than on personal vindication. But in that concern ALL of us ought to be far more willing to accept earnest criticism than we have sometimes shown ourselves to be!
8) A concerted effort to promote and practice a Word–regulated and therefore Holy Spirit-directed prayerfulness needs great emphasis!
9) The believer, both individually and corporately, must be willing to return with renewed dedication to a consistent and thorough study of the Scriptures.
I’m sure that many of our readers can add to and improve upon that list.
And Finally . . .
The Spirit through Paul once said this to the believers at Ephesus:
And his gifts were that some should be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, for the equipment of the saints, for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the cunning of men, by their craftiness in deceitful wiles. Rather, speaking the truth in love . . . (Eph. 4:11–15a).
The Churches of Asia Minor as described in Revelation 2, 3 serve as timely models. Our Lord desired truth in the lives of those believers, and this desire has not diminished. Any denial or minimization of truth was and is strongly denounced by the Lord Himself.
Maintaining this stand is hard work. He who “holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands” knew this. For that reason he said to the church at Ephesus, “I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear evil men but have tested those who call themselves apostles but are not, and found them to be false. I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name’s sake, and you have not grown weary” (italics inserted, Rev. 2:2, 3).
May God help us to be so committed to and concerned for the truth of God’s holy revelation! May we seek it, live by it, and proclaim it. Let God’s people be the people of the truth. This is our heavenly calling for our earthly tenure. Again, let us be committed to the Truth!
*“(Paul) means everything that men contrive of themselves when wishing to be wise through means of their own understanding, and that not without a specious pretext of reascm, so as to have a plausible appearance . . . philosophy is nothing else than a persuasive speech, which insinuates itself into the minds of men by elegant and plausible arguments . . . under the term philosophy Paul has merely condemned all spurious doctrines which come forth from man’s head. . . .” – John Calvin, Commentary on the Epistle to the Colossians, pp. 180, 181.
John H. Piersma is pastor of the First Christian Reformed Church of Sioux Center, Iowa.