ATTITUDES TOWARD TRUTH & ERROR

By Bob Myhan

 

Introduction: One's attitude toward something is his feeling or disposition toward that thing. One's actions and reactions toward life and its problems reflect the attitudes that he has. Attitudes are important because they control your lives, fix your character, and determine your eternal destiny. Because attitudes govern actions, you cannot expect your actions to be in harmony with God's will unless you maintain proper attitudes. Particularly, I am talking about your attitudes toward things of a religious nature. This means that you should allow the word of God, rather than things of this life [such as poor health, old age, poverty, or family troubles] to form your attitudes.

 

What is Your Attitude Toward the Truth?

     The truth is what God says on all subjects, not just a part of what he says on a few subjects. In His longest recorded prayer, Jesus said to the Father, “Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth” (John 17:17).

     Do you love the truth? “God will…send strong delusion” to those who do not have “the love of the truth, that they might be saved“ (2 Thess. 2:10,11). Thus, if you do not have “the love of the truth” what you believe is not the truth. The Jews of first century Berea had such a “love of the truth” that, when Paul preached to them, “they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so” (Acts 17:11). What did Luke mean when he said “they received the word with all readiness”? Did he mean that they immediately accepted as truth? No, for then they would not have “searched the Scriptures.” Did it mean that they immediately rejected it as error? No, for they still would not have “searched the Scriptures.” It must mean that they accepted it as possibly true while they “searched the Scriptures” to see whether they were really true. Is this your attitude when you hear what purports to be true? Remember, the Berean Jews were commended for having this attitude.

 

Do you value the truth? Solomon wrote, “Buy the truth, and do not sell it” (Prov. 23:23). “To buy the truth” is to sacrifice for it, while “to sell the truth” is to sacrifice it for something else. In other words, the truth is more valuable than anything you might have or anything you might want. Is this your attitude?

Are you ashamed of the truth? Paul wrote, “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15). To “rightly divide” the word of truth is to “handle” the word of truth “aright” [see the American Standard Version]. Paul was “not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation to everyone who believes” (Rom. 1:16). He told Timothy, “do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God” (2 Tim. 1:8). Jesus said, “For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels” (Mark 8:38).

Are you willing to teach the truth to those who need it? This requires courage and commitment because those who need the truth are not always willing to receive it. John demonstrated courage and commitment in teaching the truth (Mark 6:14-29). Paul demonstrated courage and commitment in teaching the truth (Acts 26:24-32; Gal. 2:11-14). Even the Lord Jesus came into the world to “bear witness to the truth” (John 18:28-37). Be prepared for those whom you teach to make you their enemy (Gal. 4:16).

Are you willing to live the truth? If you are not, you are deceiving yourself; “Pure and undefiled religion” is practical as well as spiritual (James 1:22-27). And “If we say we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth” (1 John 1:6).

What Is Your Attitude Toward Those Who Preach the Truth?

  Do you glory in preachers? Such is a mark of worldly wisdom (1 Cor. 1:10-31; 2:1-5) and carnality (1 Cor. 3:1-4, 21-23). Gospel preachers are not God, but workers for God (1 Cor. 3:5-9).

  Preachers should be esteemed for their work’s sake (Rom. 10:15; Eph. 6:15). But they should not be elevated to a higher level than other faithful servants of God (1 Cor. 12:12-27). And they are not to be believed just because they are preachers (1 John 4:1; 2 Peter 2:1; Acts 17:11; Rom. 10:17).

What Is Your Attitude Toward Error?

  Do you tolerate it? We are to “have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them” (Eph. 5:11). We are to “withdraw from every brother who walks disorderly” (2 Thess. 3:6-10; 1 Cor. 5).

  Do you disregard it? To disregard it is worse than tolerating it, because it must be regarded in order to be tolerated. We must regard it if we are to deal with it as the word of God demands.

  Do you encourage it? To encourage sin is to encourage separation from God (Isa. 59:1,2). When we fail to withdraw from impenitent sinners we embolden others to sin (1 Cor. 5:6).

  Do you hate it? David prayed to God, “How sweet are Your words to my taste, Sweeter than honey to my mouth! Through Your precepts I get understanding; therefore I hate every false way” (Ps. 119:103,104). If you do not hate every false way, perhaps you have not gained sufficient understanding from God’s precepts. It may be that His words are not as sweet to your taste as they ought to be.

What Is Your Attitude Toward Those Who Teach Error?

  Do you overlook their error because you love them? Paul loved Peter but he could not overlook hypocrisy (Gal. 2:11-14).

Elders, especially, must “be able, by sound doctrine, both to exhort and convict those who contradict” (Titus 1:5-9).

  Do you lend encouragement to their teaching of error? If you “receive them into your house” [provide them a forum], you are doing just that (2 John 9-11).

  Do you yield to their teaching? This Paul would not do. Although he had Timothy circumcised as a concession for the sake of influence (Acts 16:1-4), he refused to allow circumcision to become a test of faith in the case of Titus (Gal. 2:3-5). The difference? Timothy was the son of a Jewish woman, but Titus was a Greek.

  Do you try to save them from their error? Turning one “from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins” (James 5:19,20).

  Do you reject them "after the first and second admonition”? (Titus 3:10,11)

  Do you have the attitudes that you ought to have in these areas? If you do not, why do you not? If your attitude is wrong, should you not change it? Should you not change it, today?