posted July 20, 2008
(EDITOR’S NOTE: Dr. Frank Calhoun, a medical doctor who has a doctor of ministry degree from Luther Rice Seminary, believes that a person’s spiritual, emotional and mental health affect the quality of his or her physical health. He is the founder of Grace Clinic in Soddy-Daisy. The following is the sixth in a series of lectures by him that will be posted weekly in Church News at Chattanoogan.com.)
It seems it is easy for many to accept that there are evil people. They accept that there is evil which can’t be seen and they accept that there are evil people which can
be seen, but they can not accept that there are evil people which cannot
There are evil people which are aggressively opposing the good (the conflict of evil vs. good). And what is the good? Truth is, you see, truth has an enemy.
Truth is the target of evil. One strategy of evil is to discredit and devalue truth, to distract, divert, and direct people away from it…to DIVERSIFY it.
Jesus Himself dealt with the problem when He was here. He told the religious leaders that they distorted the truth to their own destruction.
They had the truth, He says, but they changed it, added to it, and resulted
in their worship being “in vain” (see Matt. 4:1-10, 12:11-17, 15:1-9,
23:23-28).
You see, people, even religious people, reject the truth, not because they don’t have it but because they don’t want it.
The person who wants the truth will know what he wants, he will feel motivated to get it, he will be “hungry” and “thirsty” for it. If you are searching, reading, studying, and asking question then you are that person. And if you turn to the Bible, then you will find the truth about God, life, and His purpose for you. I know this because the Bible says so. Did you know that the Bible says that if anyone wants to know the truth they can know it?
Jesus said, “Seek and you WILL find…You SHALL know the
truth…” (Matt. 7:7; Jn. 8:32). Many passages teach this principle (Jer.
29:13; Ps. 32:8; Matt. 6:22-23, and more).
In addition, God has set up a
process in which He intervenes on your behalf. When you come to His
word in submission, that is, a teachable attitude, then He will teach you by His Spirit (Jn. 16:12-15) to your spirit (1 Cor. 2:10-15) according to His Word (Heb. 4:12). This is true for the believer in Jesus Christ only.
For the believer Paul writes, “For we do NOT write you anything you
cannot read or understand” (2 Cor. 1:13). (A more thorough essay of
this principle entitled Full Disclosure is available.)
Simply stated again,
the Bible teaches that all God’s truth appropriate for every individual is available to them. Depending on your personal readiness and capacity for truth, God will make it known to you when you seek it. With this provision comes responsibility. You are held accountable by Him for learning what He makes available to you.
Many Bible passages teach
this, and I particularly like the one which is a story told by Jesus about a
rich man and a beggar. It is found in Luke 16:19-31. I’m not going to
write it out for you, just read it. The ball is in your court.
I am a Christian because nothing in the world of religion and philosophy
offered me what I needed. There are three reasons I became a
Christian.
These are three things I needed. (1) Forgiveness (2) To be
loved personally by God and (3) An eternal certain destiny. No “ism”
could offer all three of these…not Catholicism, not Judaism, not
Hinduism, not Buddhism, nor Islam.
The truth is a constant. It never changes, you will learn the truth
when you love it…that is when you love it MORE than anything…when
the truth matters more to you than what anyone else thinks or thought…
your parents, friends, partners, or pastors.
“God is spirit, and His worshipers MUST worship in spirit and in
TRUTH” (Jn. 4:24).
“IF you hold to My teaching, you are really My disciples.
Then, you WILL know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (Jn. 8:31-32).
“Sanctify them by the truth; YOUR WORD IS TRUTH” (Jn. 17:17).
Frank B. Calhoun, M.D., D.Min
P. O. Box 24148
Chattanooga, TN 37422
1-877-832-4988 (Toll Free)
www.GraceClinic.biz
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