The Great Ends of the Church: The Preservation of the Truth
Sermon Text for May 6:
John 8:31-33, and 18:33-38
A fifty dollar bill was missing from the envelope that had money from the church garage sale, and I had a pretty good idea where it had gone. My eldest son, the one who is not the pastor, always had trouble discerning right from wrong, truth from a lie. I could not prove it, but I knew he had taken the money. When I confronted him and told him how important the money was to the church. He looked me straight in the eye and said, “I didn’t take it, Dad.” I assured him that this one time it was okay, all that he had to do was return the money and we would forget the whole thing. But he assured me again that he hadn’t taken it and asked if I was sure it had been there.
I could feel the anger welling up within me. I knew he had the money but I had no proof. I let him go back to whatever he was doing and I spent the rest of the day getting angrier and angrier, until I was seething inside. And when I found the money in one of his drawers it took all of my self discipline to not hurt him. I ordered him to go to another room and what I didn’t say was that it was for his own safety.
I am an adult child of an alcoholic and I pretty much demand honesty from myself and those around me. It’s what adult children of alcoholics do. In general we either become very accomplished liars or we become almost obsessed with the truth. So the lie my son told took on dimensions that I don’t think I can begin to describe for you. When one lives with an alcoholic the world revolves around deception, and I learned at a very early age that truth was literally a lifeline to sanity. That is probably why Christianity has been part of my life since my earliest memory. The timeless truth of Jesus is life giving, and provides us a safe place when all around us the world is going mad.
It is when we embrace the truth of Jesus Christ, that something happens inside of us and we become new people. Jesus says, “When you know the truth the truth shall set you free.” So from the perspective of Jesus, truth and freedom are a part of each other. And the Presbyterian Church is here to make certain that the Truth is preserved. It is what we do. It’s in our collective DNA. The problem with trying to preserve THE TRUTH is that we live in a world with many competing voices, each one claiming to be the truth.
So what is the truth that we have been called to preserve? Quite simply we are called to preserve the truth of Jesus Christ. But before we speak specifically about the truth of Jesus, it might be helpful to speak more generally about truth and how we use it. Truth is a set of assumptions about life which give us a sense of security, and on which we base our lives. Some of these truths are universal and help us frame our society, and our political system. So for example the Declaration of Independence tells us “We hold these truths to be self evident that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among them are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
Belief in these assumptions gave the American Colonists a sense of security as they moved toward revolution. They had right on their side by virtue of the truth expressed in natural law. Later belief in these truths allowed the framers of our Constitution to create a document based on life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
Beyond these universal truths there are other truths which impact us in a more personal way. For example, spouses are always faithful to one another. Mothers and fathers never hurt their children. Schools provide a safe space for our children. Love conquers all.
Most of us go through life accepting these truths, but then a best friend’s spouse has an affair, a mother in Texas drowns her five babies, a troubled young man in Virginia takes a gun and kills more than thirty of his classmates. And here is a tough one for Christians, all of the love in the world can’t make a loved one whole. When we are confronted with these counter-truths, our lives go into a tail spin. We no longer feel secure in our own skin and our lives become rudderless. Then we look for new truths – truths that we can depend on. This timeless, dependable truth is what the Presbyterian Church is here to preserve.
As Jesus was preparing his disciples for his impending death, he made them promises which are universally reliable and on which we can base our lives. Here are some of them: “In my Fathers house are many rooms and I go to prepare a place for you.” “If you love me you will keep my commandments and I will ask the Father and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. This is the Spirit of Truth.” This Spirit of Truth lives within us and gives us the courage of our convictions, and enables us to speak the Truth so that others might hear.
When Jesus was on trial before the Governor, Pilate asked, “Are you the King of the Jews? Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice. Pilate asked him, ‘What is truth?” It is a question that we ask also, and this is how Jesus answers,
“For this I was born and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth.” So truth is found in the life and teaching of Jesus. He embodies within himself, “The way, the truth, and the life.” In his life we discover the truth of a compassionate and ever loving God. We discover a God who forgives even when we think the sin is unforgivable.
In Jesus’ life we discover that God wants to be in relationship with us and will go to outrageous extremes to make the relationship happen. The Presbyterian Church is called to preserve the truth that God was “In Christ reconciling the world to himself, and not counting trespasses against us”. Friends, these are timeless truths that are worthy of being the basis of your life and mine. These truths have withstood the test of time and are worthy of being preserved. The Presbyterian Church exists in the world as guardians and preservers of the Truth. It is what we do and who we are.
Copyright © 2007 by Dwight R. Blackstock
John 8:31-33, and 18:33-38
A fifty dollar bill was missing from the envelope that had money from the church garage sale, and I had a pretty good idea where it had gone. My eldest son, the one who is not the pastor, always had trouble discerning right from wrong, truth from a lie. I could not prove it, but I knew he had taken the money. When I confronted him and told him how important the money was to the church. He looked me straight in the eye and said, “I didn’t take it, Dad.” I assured him that this one time it was okay, all that he had to do was return the money and we would forget the whole thing. But he assured me again that he hadn’t taken it and asked if I was sure it had been there.
I could feel the anger welling up within me. I knew he had the money but I had no proof. I let him go back to whatever he was doing and I spent the rest of the day getting angrier and angrier, until I was seething inside. And when I found the money in one of his drawers it took all of my self discipline to not hurt him. I ordered him to go to another room and what I didn’t say was that it was for his own safety.
I am an adult child of an alcoholic and I pretty much demand honesty from myself and those around me. It’s what adult children of alcoholics do. In general we either become very accomplished liars or we become almost obsessed with the truth. So the lie my son told took on dimensions that I don’t think I can begin to describe for you. When one lives with an alcoholic the world revolves around deception, and I learned at a very early age that truth was literally a lifeline to sanity. That is probably why Christianity has been part of my life since my earliest memory. The timeless truth of Jesus is life giving, and provides us a safe place when all around us the world is going mad.
It is when we embrace the truth of Jesus Christ, that something happens inside of us and we become new people. Jesus says, “When you know the truth the truth shall set you free.” So from the perspective of Jesus, truth and freedom are a part of each other. And the Presbyterian Church is here to make certain that the Truth is preserved. It is what we do. It’s in our collective DNA. The problem with trying to preserve THE TRUTH is that we live in a world with many competing voices, each one claiming to be the truth.
So what is the truth that we have been called to preserve? Quite simply we are called to preserve the truth of Jesus Christ. But before we speak specifically about the truth of Jesus, it might be helpful to speak more generally about truth and how we use it. Truth is a set of assumptions about life which give us a sense of security, and on which we base our lives. Some of these truths are universal and help us frame our society, and our political system. So for example the Declaration of Independence tells us “We hold these truths to be self evident that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among them are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
Belief in these assumptions gave the American Colonists a sense of security as they moved toward revolution. They had right on their side by virtue of the truth expressed in natural law. Later belief in these truths allowed the framers of our Constitution to create a document based on life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
Beyond these universal truths there are other truths which impact us in a more personal way. For example, spouses are always faithful to one another. Mothers and fathers never hurt their children. Schools provide a safe space for our children. Love conquers all.
Most of us go through life accepting these truths, but then a best friend’s spouse has an affair, a mother in Texas drowns her five babies, a troubled young man in Virginia takes a gun and kills more than thirty of his classmates. And here is a tough one for Christians, all of the love in the world can’t make a loved one whole. When we are confronted with these counter-truths, our lives go into a tail spin. We no longer feel secure in our own skin and our lives become rudderless. Then we look for new truths – truths that we can depend on. This timeless, dependable truth is what the Presbyterian Church is here to preserve.
As Jesus was preparing his disciples for his impending death, he made them promises which are universally reliable and on which we can base our lives. Here are some of them: “In my Fathers house are many rooms and I go to prepare a place for you.” “If you love me you will keep my commandments and I will ask the Father and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. This is the Spirit of Truth.” This Spirit of Truth lives within us and gives us the courage of our convictions, and enables us to speak the Truth so that others might hear.
When Jesus was on trial before the Governor, Pilate asked, “Are you the King of the Jews? Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice. Pilate asked him, ‘What is truth?” It is a question that we ask also, and this is how Jesus answers,
“For this I was born and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth.” So truth is found in the life and teaching of Jesus. He embodies within himself, “The way, the truth, and the life.” In his life we discover the truth of a compassionate and ever loving God. We discover a God who forgives even when we think the sin is unforgivable.
In Jesus’ life we discover that God wants to be in relationship with us and will go to outrageous extremes to make the relationship happen. The Presbyterian Church is called to preserve the truth that God was “In Christ reconciling the world to himself, and not counting trespasses against us”. Friends, these are timeless truths that are worthy of being the basis of your life and mine. These truths have withstood the test of time and are worthy of being preserved. The Presbyterian Church exists in the world as guardians and preservers of the Truth. It is what we do and who we are.
Copyright © 2007 by Dwight R. Blackstock
posted by Dwight Blackstock | 3:24 PM
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