Why I speak.

I went camping this past Monday night. It was perfect weather for it. The sky was clear, temperature was hovering around 70, and the night was promising to be crisp but not cold. I have never had a better night camping in my life.  There is something about a fire that gets me thinking. Watching the flames dance I was reflecting on something a friend said to me once. “The cause of many of the problems in the world today is that Christians are cowards.” He meant of course that we need to stand up and do or say something. My first thought was, I’m  willing to stand but what do I do? Do I march on Washington? Do I stand at a street corner and yell about immorality? What do I do? I prayed about it, I thought, I prayed some more. My answer….Speak the truth in love. Wow. That’s it? No campaigning? No fancy new idea? No. A very old idea. Speak the truth no matter what. So what is truth? Is it what is true for me? No…. Is it what society thinks is true? Heck no. So what is it? It needs to be based on something. It needs a foundation. The reformers held to a principle called solo scriptora, or only the scriptures (loose translation). They believed that scripture is the only foundation for truth. They believed that all beliefs, all issues should be weighed against scripture. If it passes the test then it is truth. Now we have our benchmark.  Truth is validated by scripture. Thank goodness truth isn’t what I think it is. That would be a burden far too big for me to bear. Truth therefore is the scriptures. Not my opinion or your opinion, but the word of God. So let’s take that truth test and see what it says about the issues facing us today. Let’s weigh the issues against scripture and see where it leads us. “But Kevin, the writers of scripture couldn’t possibly have foreseen the issues we face today.” True, scripture was written by fallible man. Don’t forget thought that it was inspired by God. He did know what we would face. He knew about it before He said, “Let there be light.” This brings about a second principle that I think we have forgotten. Scripture is God breathed. Man wrote it but God gave it life. “But I don’t agree with this passage of scripture.” That doesn’t  make it any less true. If we had the power to change truth based on what we feel is true, then we have tremendous power. We would be like God. This infallible, inspired, truth litmus test has only one flaw. Fallible man interprets it. Thats why we need the guidance of the Holy Spirit. These posts and discussions will be prayed over. I pledge to always be open to where the spirit leads.  So let’s dive in one issue at a time and see if our beliefs stand up to the truth test. I’m not here to give the final answer. I’m here to start us talking. The issues of the day are far too big, far too complex for us not to. Let’s as Christians surrender everything to the word of God, including our opinions. For those reading this that don’t share my faith, your thoughts are welcome. Feel free to join in.