Let God Be True (2)

For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God… 2 Peter 3.5 (English Standard Version)

Truth and the “big questions”
I suspect that most people in our society would be quite happy for us Christians to insist that the Word of God is truth, as Jesus said – as long as we mean by that something like “truth for me.”

The only notion of truth most people can grasp is one that leaves everybody free to decide about truth on their own terms. The notion of anything like final or absolute truth – truth that is such regardless of how we feel or think about it – just isn’t on most folks’ radar screen.

Except, of course, when it comes to the really big questions about such things as the cosmos. The cosmos is there, regardless of how we think or feel about it, a universe of facts that can neither be denied nor understood in merely subjective terms. For the truth of things like the cosmos, we have to look to the experts. We don’t expect the Bible to know anything about science, so we wouldn’t look to the Bible to teach us anything, you know, true about such things as the world – what it is, how it got here, what it’s for, where it’s headed, and where we fit into the grand cosmic scheme of things.

No, for such truths we do not look to the Bible. We look to science. We have set the disciplines of science in the arbiter’s chair where matters of material facts are concerned, and we look to scientists to tell us what is true about the world we inhabit.

However…
But when we actually take the time to look at the Bible, we find that it has a good deal to say about the cosmos and all those related matters. It tells us how the cosmos came into being, that it is sustained and replenished by the work of God upon it, that it exists within a larger framework of realities which includes spiritual beings and places which we cannot observe with the instruments and methods of science, and that this cosmos is not the final destination either for it or for us.

Are these just opinions? Or spiritual myths? Or does the Bible represent a perspective on material truth that ought to be considered?

The Bible has a lot to say about the cosmos. Are we simply supposed to deny the teaching of Scripture? Wouldn’t that be a matter of standing over the Word of God, rather than standing under it? How can we expect to be sanctified by the truth of Scripture if we insist that, at least in certain areas, Scripture doesn’t know what it’s talking about?

Peter faced the same problem in his day. Popular teachers – philosophers, theologians, and various slick talkers – going around to the churches Peter served, saying things like, “The world has always been here and always will be, although probably in some form other than what we presently observe” and “God doesn’t really trouble with the universe, which runs on its own principles and laws, quite apart from any input from Him.”

By so saying, these false teachers marginalized God and minimized His influence over human life – the better to make room for their own foolish schemes and teachings.

Peter insisted that these folks were overlooking something, and what they were overlooking were not myths or private opinions, but facts.

The fact of the matter
The fact of the matter, with respect to the cosmos, is that it was formed by God, not by chance; that the Word of God acted into a material void to bring the cosmos into being, and make it what it is; and that the material cosmos is simply part of a larger reality which includes heaven and its spiritual population.

By implication, Peter might have continued, if it had suited his purposes, the cosmos continues as it is because God sustains it in every detail. The entire cosmos serves His purposes according to His good pleasure and redemptive plan. And it is headed for a destination of glorious flourishing in a new world without end, because God loves the cosmos so much that He sent His only-begotten Son to redeem, reconcile, and restore it (Jn. 3.16; 2 Cor. 5.19).

Peter would have said this because, with respect to his understanding of the cosmos and everything else, Peter stood under the Scriptures and not over them.

Did his enemies consider him naïve or ignorant? Certainly they did. But Peter was content to be so regarded as long as he remained faithful to the Word of Truth which sanctifies our souls. He believed that God is true and those who disagree with Him are liars, and He determined to take his stand with the truth.

His example should be instructive for us.

For reflection
1.  These days the scientific community has become the arbiter of truth for most people. And the scientific community has ruled out the need for God as in any way an explanation for or component of the material universe. Is this an assertion of fact or belief? Explain.

2.  Why should we regard the teaching of Scripture as a matter of fact rather than opinion or myth?

3.  What’s the difference between standing under the Scriptures and standing over them? How can we know when we have moved from the former to the latter?

Next steps – Conversation: Meditate on Psalm 104. How many different ways can you see that God is actively involved with the cosmos? What are the implications of this for us? Talk with some Christian friends about this question.

T. M. Moore

This week’s study, Let God Be True, is available as a free PDF download, suitable for individual or group use (click here).

Help us discover the state of people’s understanding of God’s truth. Watch the brief video explaining our Understanding the Bible Questionnaire (click here). Then download the Questionnaire and begin using it with the people in your Personal Mission Field. Be sure to come back to the website and record the answers you receive. We’ll update you from time to time on what we’re learning. Get an overview of the truth of the Christian worldview by registering for our free, online course One in Twelve: An Introduction to Christian Worldview (click here).

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.