Truth or Consequences

Chuckle: Bob: Did you hear about the camper who was killed by a garter snake? Betty: That's impossible. A garter snake is not poisonous. Bob: It doesn't have to be if it can make you jump off a cliff!

Quote: "What God's Son has told me, take for true I do; Truth Himself speaks truly or there's nothing true." --St Thomas Aquinas

"Instead of believing what they knew was the truth about God, they deliberately chose to believe lies. So they worshiped the things God made but not the Creator himself, who is to be praised forever, Amen" (Romans 1:25 NLT). "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 6:23 NLT).

As I read our passages, I thought of a popular game show that aired from 1940 to 1988, first on radio then television. Contestants were required to tell the truth by answering impossible trivia questions in two seconds or suffer the consequences, which consisted of performing zany, hilarious, and embarrassing stunts. The show was "Truth or Consequences." In our passages, spiritual truth or consequences is clearly laid out. it's not tell the truth, but rather believe the truth or suffer eternal consequences.

An amazing attribute of God is His granting to humankind the freedom to choose. People can choose to believe God and accept God's love and salvation through faith in Jesus Christ or they can refuse to believe God's truth and reject Him. When we choose not to believe, God will honor our choice and reluctantly allow us to muddle along in sin and suffer the eternal consequences of our unbelief separated from His presence in a place the Bible calls hell. It is the most terrible of human tragedies when a person deliberately and knowingly refuses to believe and rejects the truth.

The first chapter of Romans is a harsh indictment of people who suppress God's truth with their wickedness. Because of God's great love, mercy, and grace, He has revealed Himself in creation, His Holy Spirit, His written Word, and His one and only Son. "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16). The word, "believes" in this verse means to trust in, have faith in, and commit one's life to Jesus. We are without excuse if we reject the truth.

Whenever we are confronted with a Biblical truth that contradicts, or does not reinforce, our own selfish personal beliefs, we will: (1) Realize our error, accept the truth and allow God to change the way we think and live; (2) Recognize the truth but deliberately choose not to believe it; (3) See the truth as relatively unimportant and choose to ignore it; or (3) Deem the truth to be archaic and no longer relevant in today's culture. Number (1) should always be our choice.

God's Word, the Bible, is the only reliable standard of truth, and we are wise to evaluate our beliefs in light of its teachings.

Love, Jerry & Dotse