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Bibliology - Authority For Truth

Content Author: 
Reagan, David
  1. DEFINITION OF TRUTH “What is truth?” John 18:37-38
    1. An exact and faithful expression of the facts  Illustration:  On the witness stand – “the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.”
    2. The standard by which to judge all else; a final authority
    3. The real answers to the real questions; those thing that remain Hebrews 2:26-28
  2. RECEIVING THE TRUTH
    1. Man is Unfulfilled Without the Truth – He is to:
      1. Serve in truth (1 Samuel 12:24)
      2. Buy the truth (Proverbs 23:23)
      3. Seek the truth (Jeremiah 5:1)
      4. Know the truth (John 8:31-32)  NOTE: knowledge of the truth must therefore be possible
    2. God is the Source of Truth
      1. God the Father is truth (Psalm 31:5)
      2. God the Son is truth (John 4:6)
      3. God the Holy Ghost is truth (John 14:17)
    3. God has Promised to Reveal the Truth – His Truth is:
      1. To endure to all generations (Psalm 100:5)
      2. To be known with certainty (Proverbs 22:21)
      3. Contained in the word of truth (John 17:17; 2 Thessalonians 2:13; 2 Timothy 2:15)
  3. THE BATTLE FOR TRUTH
    1. Truth is Often Disregarded by Man
      1. Truth is fallen in the street (Isaiah 59:14-15)
      2. Men are not valiant for the truth (Jeremiah 9:3,5)
      3. There is no truth in the land (Hosea 4:1,6)
      4. Men turn their ears away from the truth (2 Timothy 4:4)
    2. Truth is Often Negated by Conflicting Authorities (Romans 1:25; 2 Corinthians 2:17; 2 Corinthians 4:2)
      1. The word of God: the only God-given authority (John 8:31-32; John 17:17)
      2. Tradition:  the authority of man’s long-time practice (Matthew 15:1-9, esp.verses 3,6,9; Colossians 2:8)
      3. Philosophy: the authority of man’s greatest wisdom (Colossians 2:8; Acts 17:18, with verses 16,22,23)
      4. Science: the authority of observable facts and repeatable physical laws (1 Timothy 6:20)
      5. Scholarship: the authority of academic learning and agreed upon knowledge (2Timothy 3:7; Isaiah 29:9-12)
      6. Pragmatism: the authority of what brings the desired results (1 Corinthians 1:18-25)
      7. Experience: the authority of personal experience (Romans 10:2-3)
    3. One Authority Must be the Final Authority
      1. The authority a person accepts when two authorities disagree becomes his supreme authority
        1. Theistic evolution (Bible versus Science)
        2. “Praying through” for salvation (Bible versus Tradition or Experience)
        3. Concerts and Drama (Bible versus Pragmatism)
      2. Only an absolute authority can give absolute truth; all other truth is relative and changeable (Psalm 119:128)
Reagan, David

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