Believing and Loving the Truth

Articles From Our Bulletins

Philip C. Strong
07/05/17 - Bulletin Articles

2Thessalonians 2:10,12 issues a dire warning of impending doom for two distinct, but perhaps related, groups of people: 1) those who do not love the truth so as to be saved, v.10; and, 2) those who do not believe the truth. Let’s consider the second group first.

We usually have reasons for what we do- they many not be good reasons, but we have them nonetheless. Why would anyone possibly refuse to believe the truth when presented with the opportunity to accept it? The answer is provided by the rest of v.12, “but took pleasure in wickedness.” Truth- especially the biblical variety, is often refused because it contradicts our desires. Rather than admit the wrongness of the desired activity, we reject the standard that pronounced it “wrong.” We may do so by saying that the Bible is not really the word of God; or that it has been altered, and is thus inaccurate; or that it has been damaged, and is therefore incomplete; or that it is simply out of date, and consequently rendered impotent as a standard of truth for modern living. Any of these so-called “reasons” can and have been proffered as motivations for rejecting the Bible as the “truth” it claims to be, cf. John 17:17. But the real motivation for refusing to believe the truth is usually much more simple, and much less “enlightened.” The most common reason we reject the truth of God’s word is that it contradicts our own desires. It says that what we want to believe is false, that what we want to feel is improper, or that what we want to do is forbidden. So we reject it, and make up reasons that sound noble to others and with which we salve our consciences sufficiently to enable us to think, feel, and do exactly what we want.

What about that other group- those that don’t love the truth? These are different. They don’t reject the truth as being untrue, inaccurate, or even out of date. They believe God’s word to be true, accurate, and relevant. So what’s their problem? They don’t love the truth enough. Enough for what? Enough to be saved by it. How so?

For the truth of God’s word to save us, we have to believe what it says enough to obey it, cf. John 8:31-32. This involves both our minds and our hearts. With our minds we must conclude that it is true (Hebrews 11:3), and understand what it requires (Hebrews 11:6; 5:9). But with our hearts, we must choose to love/value truth over:

Our own personal desires. James 4:1-4 identifies the source of many of our quarrels and conflicts as being our own pleasures and wrong motivations. Put another way:when we desire and demand our way over God’s, it fractures our fellowship with Him and causes all sorts of other related problems!Do you love truth more than your own desires?
Societal norms. It is not easy to love and stand for truth when most of society seems to prefer lies and living them.And yet, the truth requires that we “prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life…” Philippians 2:15-16. Do you love truth more than being liked and accepted by the world?
Ancestral traditions/beliefs/expectations. Jesus said that the sword (of truth, the gospel, cp. Ephesians 6:10) would separate families- a son from his father, a daughter from her mother, and a daughter-in-law from her mother-in-law; that family members would become enemies, Matthew 10:35-36.Why?Because some will love the truth and follow it, while others will love “family” more, and follow them into disobedience, Matthew 10:37-38. Do you love truth more than your parents, children, and in-laws?
Spousal relationships.A non-believing spouse may leave if you love truth more than them, cf. 1Corinthians 7:10-11.Would your love and preference of truth be sufficient for you to let them go and live alone in obedience to God?Do you love truth more than your spouse?

Believing God’s word to be true is essential to salvation, and many will surely perish because they refuse to do so. However, perhaps just as many- if not more, will perish despite believing God’s word to be true, because they do not love the truth enough to prefer and practice it above all else.