The Truth is…
Y’all might want to buckle up for this one!
I find when speaking to professing believers and nonbelievers alike, that the most common topic that incites them to anger is Truth. I am not speaking of partial truth but scriptural Truth. Truth that hits their favorite sin, truth that tears down their traditional wickedness, truth that enters the places they have so desperately tried to keep God out of. That level of truth is what angers those that are unbelieving and those that claim to believe alike.
I know that many who read this will say that I am angry or was angry when I wrote this. I am! I am angry from a broken heart and sickened that many will claim to be Christians and yet reject the truth. Refusal of truth is rejection of Christ! Let me repeat that—refusal of truth is rejection of Christ. Have you not read that Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life”?
If any refuse the truth they are in fact rejecting Jesus, and it is far more common than most will admit. Oh, yes, the majority in our churches today will outwardly say they love the Lord, but they only love Him as long as they can keep Him from the places they want to hide.
They don’t want the Lord in many parts of their life—certainly not in their bedroom, in their fantasies, in their work life, or their voting preferences, and there are other places many prefer to keep hidden from the Lord Jesus. People tell themselves lies to hide from truth. That in itself is another lie. You/we cannot hide from truth; every aspect of our thoughts, words, and deeds are recorded in the logs of Heaven, and it will all be brought out into the light of the Lord’s justice.
There are many who believe they have kind hearts, and they will speak what they believe to be kind words and thoughts, but let the truth be revealed and that truth goes against some fantasy they want to believe and they instantly become filled with hate and spew ugliness in foul language or cowardly comments. This happens everyday; I see it constantly.
Many have been lied to by wicked thespians in pulpits and by false teachers. Here is one that is common: God loves us unconditionally, and God hates the sin and loves the sinner. Really? Show me that in Scripture! God hates sin, that is truth, and he loves all of His creation, this is true also, but it is the sinner that will be refused Heaven and cast into eternal torment, and that is truth! People believe lies because they don’t know God. They don’t know the truth who is our Lord Jesus, and so, they cling to falsehoods that sound good and feed their emotion rather than their soul.
Let me give some examples that I am sure will incite anger in some. I have heard many professing Christian men say they got divorced because they were not getting what they needed from their wife. Tell me this, was this man committed to Christ or to self? Does the Scripture not say in 1 Peter 3:7 Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered.
That seems pretty important to me. Should a man hold his wife to a higher standard than he holds himself? This is often the case, but most will not admit to it. How about Ephesians 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.
Did Christ say, “Well, I’m not getting what I need from you so I’m done with you?” No, Christ gave himself up for the Church just as a husband should sacrifice himself for his wife. You made the choice so at least have the integrity to stand by your decision. Another example is that so many professing women divorce their husbands because, “I’m just not happy.”
Have you not read Ephesians 5: 22 Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. 24 Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing. Where is the happiness clause? Did you include a happiness clause in your wedding vow? The lie of happiness steals the truth of joy.
Joy comes from pleasing the Lord, and happiness is nothing more than a fleeting emotion. No one can be made happy continually, and that is the truth. These are traits of Demus rather than traits of Christ. Remember in 2 Timothy that Demus left Paul’s tutoring because he loved the world. As Solomon stated, “It’s all vanity,” and vanity is selfishness.
In many the idol of self will lead to their destruction. Then there is this senseless false idea of attempted kindness. Professing Christians will vote for a person that they believe will help the less fortunate while taking from those who earned what they have, and then that person they voted for promotes and funds the slaughter of unborn children in their mothers’ wombs or downgrades the tradition of the family.
In the lie they have believed, they vote for and support such iniquity. Yes, I know beyond any doubt these will make some angry. I have this promise from my Lord: they hated Him and he said they will hate me as well. So be it! I will speak the truth and I will point out sin, not in anger of the sinner but in anger of the intentional blindness. I know that there is no limit to the depth of sin people will willingly follow to feed their selfish desires, especially when they falsely believe there is some good in it.
The last example I’ll give is what I call the pride of separation. I fear there is no more hated sin than people who proclaim to be followers separating themselves from other believers in the name of denominational preference or pride. Let me make one thing clear, the majority of denominations have gotten many things correct but some things wrong as well. Does the Scripture not teach that if we have broken one commandment we have broken them all?
James 2:10 For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it. I think this should strike great fear in the hearts of true believers. So many will puff their chests out and proclaim denomination over Christ, as if the denomination itself is the redeemer rather than our Lord and Savior Jesus. I’ll ask these questions:
What were the denominations of the seven Churches of Asia in the book of Revelation? Which denomination did Christ establish when He spoke to Peter in Matthew 16? And do you really believe that your denominational doctrine grants you absolution of your sin? Did Jesus not say, “No one comes to the Father but by me?” As a follower of Christ,
I am to be separate from this world, but I am not to separate myself from the other followers. Does the Scripture not tell us to not forsake the gathering? That gathering is the gathering of followers and not the assemblage of worldly people. So, the old saying, “The truth hurts,” appears to be true as well.
“It is the entity of man that will enter the wide gate of hell in eternal torment or the narrow gate of paradise in Heaven, and the choice is ours!”
Kenneth Kellar
A Man Called by God to Teach and Disciple