Perspective: The Starting Point
5. Truth demands action.
When we are exposed to truth, it solicits a response from us–either application or evasion.
When in your past were you confronted with a truth that required a decision in your life that you were unwilling to make?
Romans 1:18-32 details for us what can happen when we evade God’s truth (emphasis added).
The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.
For although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.
Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is for ever praised. Amen.
Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.
Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, He gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.
God has revealed His truth to us and it requires application in our lives.
Rather than choosing to change our actions there are times when we choose to change our perspective so that the truth is no longer visible to us. We do this in one of three ways: minimizing the truth (“It’s not that important.”), replacing the truth, (“I’d rather believe something else.”), or forgetting the truth (“It’s not worth remembering.”).
This new wrong perspective provides us with information disguised as truth. We use this false information as input for meticulous reasoning and view ourselves as wise because of the meticulous reasoning. But God knows the truth!
Truth demands application. We must allow the truth to change us as God desires. If we run from the implications of the truth by choosing to minimize its importance, replace it with a lie, or conveniently forget it, in reality we are surrendering control of our lives and future to the degrading power of sin.
As the Holy Spirit reveals truth to you, your life will be transformed and reflect a Christ-like character. Truth demands a response. Ask the Holy Spirit to show you God’s truth and to help you apply it to your life.