"The only certain barrier to truth is the presumption that you already have it."Last night I had a conversation with God's people about a particular scripture. One person said..."It doesn't matter what I or anyone else believe, we should only go by what is in scripture." Is that statement wrong? Certainly not! However, does that statement imply certain assumptions? Of course! Let's examine this. First - and this is whether the person who makes the statement is aware or not - the statement implies that the other person does not already know and adhere to the same standard, and that ultimately that the other person is wrong in his or her understanding. In other words, you cannot simply say as your defense..."God will lead us into all truth" and assume therefore, that God is leading you and not the other person, who incidentally say and believe the same thing about God leading his people into all truth, but do not hold to your understanding of a particular scripture.
Here we see that the argument is not based on who has the correct understanding of scripture per say, but of our presupposition and understanding of a particular scripture. In other words, the problem cannot be solved by cliche' remarks such as..."God will lead us into all truth," but by recognition of the fact that we all come to an argument with an already assumed idea that what we believe is right and the other person is wrong. Such is the power of of our presuppositions. Yes, God will lead his sheep into knowledge of truth, but I feel humility and diligence to study on our part is required. We cannot simply say a certain cliche' truth - e.g., "God will lead us into all truth," and assume therefore that being a Berean is not required. If we are to grow in the knowledge of the Lord, we must be willing to come out of our proverbial "shell" and seek to see if certain things be true. Again, we must be willing to drop our presuppositions and be Bereans. Ultimately we may never agree (in this life) on some non-essential issues, but at least we will grow in humility and love as we seek to practically live out the scripture "esteem the brethren greater than yourself."
Finally, a word of exhortation: Persevere in the study of God's word! As it is written..."You shall not live by bread alone, but by the word of God." Therefore, be encouraged to gladly substitute milk for meat, and so grow in the knowledge of your God and King (Hebrews 5:12-14).
"It is the glory of God to conceal things, but the glory of kings is to search things out" (Proverbs 25:2).
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As one who believes God will bring you into all truth, let me shed this light on the subject. My belief is that God will not leave me ignorant of his truth and whether be it by man or other, God will reveal His truth to me. If my understanding of a scripture is incorrect, He has always been faithful to correct me. I have a relationship with God that is personal and intimate. (Not of my own understanding, but according to scripture.)
I'm just painting pictures with words here, so try to understand me.
One Christian says..."God will lead me into all truth," and she ends up understanding scripture through the lens of a school of thought people call "Arminianism." This same Christian, by the way, does not know, or care to know what Arminianism is, but wholeheartedly affirms that she just reads the Bible, and that since her knowledge is from the Lord, she does not need the aid of anything she would consider "man-made" systems. Another Christian says..."God will lead me into all truth," and he ends up understanding scripture from another school of thought, namely "Calvinism." Now, there is a problem here. Both people affirm that God is leading them into truth, yet both disagree on some key things. Who is right?
The point of the post was simply this: God will no doubt lead his people into a greater knowledge of him and his word, yet this is not without responsibility on the person's part. The one willing to remove himself or herself from the constraints of their presuppositions in order to be a Berean; seeking scriptures to see if certain things be true, is the one who will grow in wisdom and knowledge. Simply saying..."God will lead me into all truth" without proactively examining scripture without the predetermined notion that you are right and the other person is wrong, will only keep you immature in the faith.
As I'm sure you didn't mean to plagiarize the statement, ""The only certain barrier to truth is the presumption that you already have it," that was written by Chuck Missler. in fact the complete statement is "The only certain barrier to truth is the presumption that you already have it."
“Therefore: All of us are subject to the limitations imposed by the presuppositions we bring to a topic, and it may be essential to step back out from time to time and reestablish a fresh perspective."
Brent
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