Latest / Read, Do, & Tell / Ep. 35: “Live Your Truth” Sounds Good…But Is It True?

Transcript

Ep. 35: “Live Your Truth” Sounds Good…But Is It True? · Read, Do, & Tell

• 0:08
  SPEAKER_01: Welcome back to the Read, Do and Tell Podcast.
• 0:12
  SPEAKER_01: Today, this has been our third time trying to record this episode.
• 0:16
  SPEAKER_01: So it's the afternoon for us, and we have our coffee with us.
• 0:20
  SPEAKER_01: So welcome back.
• 0:20
  SPEAKER_01: My name's Becky.
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_00: My name is Amy.
• 0:23
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you all for joining us again.
• 0:25
  SPEAKER_00: So last episode, episode 34, we talked about Matthew 7, where it says, do not judge.
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_00: And the word judge in that context in the Greek means critical judgment from a self-righteous standpoint.
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_00: So you're always looking at the fault in other people and you're always making yourself look better than the rest.
• 0:48
  SPEAKER_00: So Jesus is teaching in context of do not judge that we should not, he's not saying do not judge.
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_00: He's telling us how we should not judge or how we should judge.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_00: Because the entire context is the mount is this, oh my gosh, this is the third round.
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_00: Words are coming out backwards.
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_00: Third time's a charm.
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_00: That's not true.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_00: So the entire Sermon on the Mount is comparing man's standard of righteousness to that of God's standard of righteousness, which is what we should be looking at as Christians.
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_00: So we want to revisit the do not judge, because as we said last week, this can come to mean let me live my life, you do you boo, and you live your truth.
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_00: So what do you do when someone uses this verse out of context?
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, because they will.
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_01: So you think about a conversation you might have with any hot topic, transgenderism, homosexuality, there's a lot of them out there.
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_01: A person may say to you, you Christians are so judgmental.
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_01: You just should just let people live their life and you have no right to judge people.
• 1:57
  SPEAKER_01: You hear that a lot.
• 1:58
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_00: And often as Christians, we think we need to quickly defend ourselves, um, give our point of view on the issue when really we need to just calm down and relax.
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_00: We don't need to get nervous.
• 2:11
  SPEAKER_00: We need to look at the other person as a person that they are and with an interest to really have a conversation.
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_00: Ask them questions instead of defending yourself.
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_01: There are a lot of resources out there, but and you'll hear a lot of them mentioned today.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_01: But one of them would be Tactics by Greg Kokel.
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_01: He has another book called Street Smarts, and that's kind of like a Tactics 2.0.
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_01: But in these, he talks about how the other person, we're asking them questions, and he says, in logic, we're gonna say that the other person bears the burden of proof.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_01: They've made a claim.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_01: You Christians are so judgmental, or you shouldn't be judging.
• 2:49
  SPEAKER_01: They've made a claim and it's their job to defend their claim.
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_01: It's not up to us to jump in and defend our view because we didn't make a claim there.
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_01: They did.
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_00: So remember though, that when you're speaking with other people, a lot of times, and we can be guilty as of the same thing, is they they're speaking on repeat.
• 3:09
  SPEAKER_00: So they've heard something that sounds really good, very convincing, um, but they never really stop to think about what it means or the implications of what they've just said.
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, because a lot of these slogans or things we hear sound like they're good, they're good ideas on the surface.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_01: So asking questions can help you dig down below the surface a little bit.
• 3:29
  SPEAKER_01: It can help you help them clarify what they mean because a lot of times when you're talking to people, this is especially true why when I think about um cults or other religions, they may use some of the same language we use as Christians, but they mean something completely different by it.
• 3:47
  SPEAKER_01: So I think asking questions helps to clarify what they mean by what they said, but also I think asking people questions can help them see the error in what they're thinking.
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_01: And when we're asking these questions, we're not, we're not gonna be like the Pharisees with this self-righteous, I know more than you, and I have all the truth and you have none.
• 4:09
  SPEAKER_01: We're coming, we're gonna be coming at them in a, or shouldn't say coming at them.
• 4:13
  SPEAKER_01: We're gonna be speaking to them.
• 4:15
  SPEAKER_01: Colossians 4, 6 says to be speaking to people with graciousness, to always be gracious and to have our speech seasoned with salt.
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_01: Salt has lots of reasons it's used, but I think of preserving.
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_01: So you're preserving that person's um, they're made in the image of God, just like we are, and we don't need to be tearing them down.
• 4:38
  SPEAKER_01: So we need to check our attitude.
• 4:40
  SPEAKER_01: Am I coming into this conversation with a self-righteous attitude or one of, I'm gonna win this debate and you're I'm gonna take you down kind of attitude, because that's where you kind of get your um, you get the person's defenses up, and they're not willing to listen to anything you have to say when you do that.
• 4:58
  SPEAKER_00: And in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus actually begins speaking to the disciples, and he says, You are the salt and light of the world, because as she said, salt preserves, but it preserves truth.
• 5:10
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, it does.
• 5:11
  SPEAKER_00: So we have to shine the light on the darkness with the truth of what God says.
• 5:18
  SPEAKER_00: So again, if someone makes a claim, we have to ask them questions instead of feeling that we need to defend ourselves.
• 5:24
  SPEAKER_00: So I could say, I'm a Christian, but when I say that, I need to be ready to answer the person that is truly interested in understanding what that means.
• 5:33
  SPEAKER_00: As 1 Peter 3 15 says, um, that we should always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have, but do it with gentleness and respect.
• 5:45
  SPEAKER_00: Sounds familiar.
• 5:47
  SPEAKER_01: So in this episode, we wanted to take kind of a terminology timeout, if you want to call it that, and define some terms.
• 5:54
  SPEAKER_01: So a Christian's default should be absolute truth, sometimes called objective truth.
• 6:01
  SPEAKER_01: And in Alisa Childers' book, Live Your Truth, she has a really great definition.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_01: I'm kind of paraphrasing it, but an absolute truth or objective truth is a thought, a statement, or belief that lines up with reality.
• 6:15
  SPEAKER_01: So absolute truth or truth is outside of you.
• 6:19
  SPEAKER_01: It is something that you discover.
• 6:21
  SPEAKER_01: So it doesn't change based on your preferences, on how sincerely you believe it or how you feel about it.
• 6:28
  SPEAKER_01: It's true whether you whether you believe it or not, and it's true whether you want to believe it or not.
• 6:34
  SPEAKER_01: Alex McFarland was a youth minister at the time when I was in college and I was helping out with the youth ministry there.
• 6:41
  SPEAKER_01: And he would say, absolute truth is true for all people, all places, and all times.
• 6:47
  SPEAKER_01: Now, when someone talks about not judging and some of these other slogans we hear, it's oftentimes based on subjective truth or could be called relative truth.
• 6:58
  SPEAKER_01: And in this uh paradigm or worldview, really, it is that truth is inside of each of us.
• 7:05
  SPEAKER_01: So your truth, Amy, can be your truth and my truth can be my truth.
• 7:10
  SPEAKER_01: And never matter that they clash or they don't go together or they're the exact opposite of each other.
• 7:16
  SPEAKER_01: So something can be true for you simply because you believe it, or you you believe in it sincerely, or you just have strong feelings about it.
• 7:24
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 7:25
  SPEAKER_00: In the olden days that was called an opinion.
• 7:27
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, okay.
• 7:29
  SPEAKER_01: Nice.
• 7:30
  SPEAKER_01: With absolute truth, Greg Cochle has in his book, Street Smarts, has an example of where he'll put a pen on the podium.
• 7:40
  SPEAKER_01: I'll just throw it out there.
• 7:41
  SPEAKER_01: And he he will say, The pen is on the podium.
• 7:46
  SPEAKER_01: Why is that statement true?
• 7:48
  SPEAKER_01: And people will raise their hand, yeah, I can see it, and he'll say, Well, what if you closed your eyes?
• 7:53
  SPEAKER_01: Is it still true?
• 7:54
  SPEAKER_01: Well, I can pick it up or I can touch it.
• 7:57
  SPEAKER_01: It's there.
• 7:57
  SPEAKER_01: And he'll say, Well, what if I tied your hands behind your back?
• 8:00
  SPEAKER_01: Or they'll just kind of say things and he'll throw the question back at them and he'll say, The reason that the statement is true, the pen is on the podium, is because it lines up with reality.
• 8:11
  SPEAKER_01: It is called objective truth.
• 8:13
  SPEAKER_01: I like that illustration.
• 8:15
  SPEAKER_00: That's good.
• 8:16
  SPEAKER_01: So relativism relativism.
• 8:20
  SPEAKER_01: Relativism.
• 8:21
  SPEAKER_01: That's when your relatives come to visit you.
• 8:23
  SPEAKER_01: That is my truth.
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_00: There's no standard by which you judge.
• 8:30
  SPEAKER_00: So nothing is true or false or right or wrong.
• 8:35
  SPEAKER_00: And we actually see this in scripture, the seeds of relative relativism per se?
• 8:43
  SPEAKER_00: Um, in the story in Matthew 21, verses 23 through 27.
• 8:48
  SPEAKER_00: So the Pharisees ask Jesus, under what authority or in what authority are you doing these things?
• 8:56
  SPEAKER_00: And Jesus says, I'll answer you if you'll answer me.
• 8:59
  SPEAKER_00: And he asks them, Was John's baptism from heaven or from man?
• 9:06
  SPEAKER_00: And so they think about it, and they know that if they say from heaven, then they stand guilty before God.
• 9:13
  SPEAKER_00: But if they say from man, then the entire crowd is gonna get angry with them and they'll be guilty before them because they truly believe that John was a prophet, and he was.
• 9:25
  SPEAKER_00: Um so they answer Jesus, we don't know.
• 9:29
  SPEAKER_00: And so that is a that's where if if they don't say what is true, Jesus then answers them, since you won't tell me, then I'm not going to tell you.
• 9:40
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and that is where um I'm don't know where I'm going with that now.
• 9:46
  SPEAKER_00: But so to say that truth cannot be known, which is basically what they're doing.
• 9:51
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, like I don't know what the answer is.
• 9:53
  SPEAKER_00: It's rooted in a desire to be free from authority, to be able to self-exalt, or to be liked by people.
• 10:01
  SPEAKER_00: You don't want to offend people.
• 10:02
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that's what they didn't want to do because they were gonna be in trouble with the crowd.
• 10:07
  SPEAKER_00: So back to the statement, you Christians are so judgmental.
• 10:11
  SPEAKER_00: Why can't you just let people live their life and not judge others?
• 10:14
  SPEAKER_00: Here are some questions that you can ask them.
• 10:16
  SPEAKER_00: You could ask, why is it wrong to judge?
• 10:20
  SPEAKER_00: Why should I not judge?
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_00: Or is it wrong for everyone to judge, or just me?
• 10:26
  SPEAKER_00: So no matter how they answer your question, they're gonna be making a judgment call.
• 10:31
  SPEAKER_00: Dum, dum, dum.
• 10:32
  SPEAKER_00: Yep, and they'll be contradicting their own statement because now they're actually judging you.
• 10:38
  SPEAKER_00: And in logic, as Becky was explaining earlier about logic, this is a self-refuting argument.
• 10:44
  SPEAKER_00: They are making a statement that breaks their own rule that they actually set up and they contradict their own claim.
• 10:51
  SPEAKER_00: So they've stated it's wrong to judge, but they are judging you in making that statement.
• 10:57
  SPEAKER_01: It makes me think of uh Greg Kokel again tells about his conversation with, I think it was a dental hygienist or um a doctor of some sort, and um they were having a conversation about homosexuality, and the dental hygienist said, I just don't think I just think it's wrong to judge.
• 11:14
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you Christians are very judgmental.
• 11:16
  SPEAKER_01: And Greg Kokel just I just love how he can just switch to that mode of, I'm not gonna be playing defense, I'm just gonna ask questions and I'm gonna relax and I'm gonna go with this.
• 11:27
  SPEAKER_01: And he he just kind of says, Well, you know, is that your morality?
• 11:30
  SPEAKER_01: And aren't you so it they end up having this conversation and through questions, the dental hygienist realizes, oh, I've just made a claim and I'm actually defeating my own claim.
• 11:42
  SPEAKER_01: I'm contradicting myself.
• 11:43
  SPEAKER_01: And and it's funny because he's kind of like, wait, wait, time out.
• 11:46
  SPEAKER_01: Let's back up this conversation a minute.
• 11:47
  SPEAKER_01: Something went, something went wrong here.
• 11:49
  SPEAKER_01: And I just love how he graciously asks those questions and helps people see those arguments or self-self, what'd you call it?
• 11:57
  SPEAKER_01: Self-refuting.
• 11:58
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
• 11:59
  SPEAKER_00: So subjective truth or relative truth is based on one's own personal beliefs, aka opinion, which is to live your own truth.
• 12:09
  SPEAKER_00: But they've hinted in their statement that they believe that no one should judge.
• 12:13
  SPEAKER_00: It's wrong for all people in all places and for all times.
• 12:18
  SPEAKER_00: And that sounds like an absolute truth to me.
• 12:20
  SPEAKER_00: So it's like when people would ask, well, when they would say to you, there's no absolute truth.
• 12:26
  SPEAKER_00: You could ask, is that absolutely true?
• 12:30
  SPEAKER_01: It makes me think of Brett Konkel, I think is how you say his last name.
• 12:35
  SPEAKER_01: He works with the organization or has the organization Maven out in California.
• 12:40
  SPEAKER_01: And one of the things he said I really appreciated was that if you're struggling to get someone to understand absolute truth, then go with them on what they're passionate about.
• 12:51
  SPEAKER_01: So let's say they're passionate about um transgenderism, for example.
• 12:56
  SPEAKER_01: You could ask, is it okay for me to beat or murder or whatever a transgender person just for fun?
• 13:06
  SPEAKER_01: And kind of adding that tag on there, just for fun, and and really targeting what they're most passionate about.
• 13:13
  SPEAKER_01: Most people are gonna say, well, no, it's not okay to do that.
• 13:16
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, so is it okay for that person?
• 13:19
  SPEAKER_01: Is it okay for me?
• 13:20
  SPEAKER_01: Is it okay for you?
• 13:22
  SPEAKER_01: Who is it okay for?
• 13:23
  SPEAKER_01: Who is it not okay for?
• 13:24
  SPEAKER_01: And most likely they're gonna say, it's not okay for anybody.
• 13:28
  SPEAKER_01: And so you can say, Well, look at that.
• 13:30
  SPEAKER_01: It sounds like that's an absolute truth if it's not okay for anyone to do that.
• 13:34
  SPEAKER_01: So I like his strategy of getting them on the topic, making it personal for them, and helping them see there is such a thing as absolute truth.
• 13:44
  SPEAKER_00: Maven actually has a conference in San Antonio, Texas.
• 13:48
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, really?
• 13:49
  SPEAKER_00: It's a free event that they're hosting um for the youth, actually.
• 13:52
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, that's right.
• 13:52
  SPEAKER_00: So I thought that was interesting.
• 13:54
  SPEAKER_00: I can't remember if it's in October or November.
• 13:56
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 13:57
  SPEAKER_00: If anyone is interested and wants to go to San Antonio or you live in San Antonio.
• 14:02
  SPEAKER_00: There you go.
• 14:03
  SPEAKER_00: Um, okay, so people see things through their worldview.
• 14:08
  SPEAKER_00: Um, that's how they would answer the questions that they are approached with in life.
• 14:14
  SPEAKER_00: We have a biblical worldview, so we look at things through God's standards, what he says about it in his word, other people would look at it through what the world says or what they just believe, as you said, within themselves to be true.
• 14:28
  SPEAKER_00: So when we have these discussions, we are not trying to defeat the person or beat them down.
• 14:34
  SPEAKER_00: We are defeating their arguments, the false idea or the ideology that they are proclaiming as truth.
• 14:41
  SPEAKER_00: Um, Ephesians 6 12 says and reminds us that we are not warring warring against the flesh.
• 14:48
  SPEAKER_00: Say that five times fast.
• 14:50
  SPEAKER_00: Warring, warring, warning, warring, warring, warring.
• 14:53
  SPEAKER_01: Second Corinthians 10, 3 through 5 says, For although we live in the flesh, we do not wage war according to the flesh, since the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but are powerful through God for the demolition of strongholds.
• 15:12
  SPEAKER_01: We demolish arguments and every proud thing that is raised up against the knowledge of God.
• 15:18
  SPEAKER_01: We take every thought captive to obey Christ.
• 15:21
  SPEAKER_01: And in this passage, we can see we're not warring again, we're not warring against the people.
• 15:26
  SPEAKER_01: It doesn't say that we take through God the demolition of people.
• 15:32
  SPEAKER_01: It doesn't say we're demolishing people.
• 15:35
  SPEAKER_01: It says we're demolishing the empty philosophies and the thoughts that they have.
• 15:41
  SPEAKER_01: Again, we're helping them see, we're helping them see that what they're believing, they're they're held captive to what they believe.
• 15:47
  SPEAKER_01: It's a very sad thing, actually.
• 15:49
  SPEAKER_01: So when we can really see it through the lens of God's word, through how God sees that person, they're made in the image of God.
• 15:56
  SPEAKER_01: We're not there to tear them down, but we are there to help them see through the power of the Holy Spirit, help them see the empty philosophies that are holding them captive.
• 16:05
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 16:05
  SPEAKER_00: It goes back to the Sermon on the Mount.
• 16:08
  SPEAKER_00: If you don't know God's truth, you're going to be taken captive by the world's empty philosophies.
• 16:13
  SPEAKER_00: Um, the wrong ideas and these incorrect arguments against what is true.
• 16:18
  SPEAKER_00: And Jesus started his contrasting with you have heard it said, but I say.
• 16:24
  SPEAKER_00: So the world says one thing, but he says another, and the only way to know what he says is by being in his word.
• 16:30
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 16:31
  SPEAKER_00: That's absolutely true.
• 16:33
  SPEAKER_01: So let's be like Ezra.
• 16:35
  SPEAKER_01: Let's read, do, and tell the word of the Lord.
• 16:38
  SPEAKER_01: Amen.