“If the Bible and I don’t agree, I must be wrong.” This often quoted statement reflects the fundamental belief that the Bible is God’s word; that it is absolute truth. Our faith and lives must be founded upon this truth.We have so much information that it is difficult to process all of it—if not impossible. We are bombarded by TV, the entertainment media, magazines and newspapers—on and on. Information overload! What and who are we going to believe?God’s word must be our truth. It must be the standard by which we judge what is right and wrong. It must be what we are reading and studying as our primary source for information and life. The apostle John said, “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world” (1 John 4:1). This means that what anyone may tell us is truth, whatever we think we are being told is the truth—we must check it against God’s word to know that it is true or not.Jesus Himself said, “Your (God’s) word is truth” (John 17:17). He did not say that it “contains” truth, or that it is “interesting.” No, He said that it IS the truth. Since it IS the truth, it provides the absolute, unchanging standard for our faith and our lives.Our world is caught up in the idea that there is no objective, absolute truth, but that everything is subjective, that it changes with the situation and time. But that is not the message of scripture. We are told that God’s truths are always true—they are always right.The idea that “what’s true for you isn’t necessarily true for me” leads to the conclusion that the Bible is mere “opinion.” This results in confusion as to what is truth and what should we base our faith upon.Yes, we all have different opinions and ideas. One person likes the tase of some food or drink while another does not. One person may like one color over another, while another cannot stand that color. But these are all personal likes and dislikes. In the same way some people argue that the “truth” of scripture is the same way.But that destroys the idea of “truth.” For something to be “true” it must always be true. Peter teaches us that false understanding and reasonings can cause us ...
