Don't Be Afraid of Truth - Life Lesson 11

Don’t Be Afraid of Truth. That doesn’t sound too difficult, until your kids start asking questions about your mistakes, or which founding father was actually saved, or about why God killed all the animals in Jericho. But the truth is so important, and your honesty and candidness will develop their trust in you and hopefully and ultimately God’s word. Anything less is detrimental.

Truth isn’t really popular these days, but about a month ago a salesman and his work partner came to our door and before they left I handed them a gospel tract. Well, apparently this was just the open door that Johnny (his real name) needed. He looked up and said, “I have read that sign (a Scripture sign) in your yard three times and I was wondering what you are trying to communicate through it. The verse said,

Hebrews 9:27, And as it is appointment unto men once to die, but after this the judgement.

Behold my surprise when I realized he was sincere. I explained briefly the two judgments: the Judgment Seat of Christ and the great White Throne Judgment, and how they apply to us all.

He looked at me and said, “I feel like something within me is just pushing me to … to … find …”

Seeing he was faltering for words, I said, “Truth?”

Oh, the relief in his face. “Yes! Truth! I am looking for truth!”

Truth is Our Bedrock of Faith.

He said, “My grandma keeps sending me to the Bible, and I hate to say it, but I want something more than just Bible verses.”

I invited them in and for the next 45 minutes the Holy Spirit brought out every bit of historical, scientific and religious truth that I had ever accrued and miraculously did it and in a way that resonated with this young man. So many objective things prove that the Bible is true. In fact, there was so much more that I could share from secular history alone that proves the Bible true, but time would not allow.

I myself had to face a time when my faith needed some intelligent evidence. In rocky times it is hard to just believe “Bible verses.” You must first believe that the King James Bible is TRUTH.

When your life is proverbially hanging from the edge of a cliff, you need something solid upon which to hang. Your parent’s beliefs aren’t going to hold you. Your pastor’s preaching isn’t going to be strong enough. It is only the solid rock and the unseen hand of God that will carry you during those times.

But we all must come to understand WHY we believe. There is so much evidence to support God’s infallible word, that it would be a shame to ever fear being honest with your children about the good and the bad of Christianity. Ugly truth won’t nullify God’s word. No. It only shows it to be more accurate, and God’s grace all the more sufficient.

I thought it was interesting that when I recently read my personality profile (ENFJ) that it so aptly described this core part of my parenting philosophy.

ENFJ parents take pride in nurturing and inspiring strong values, and they take care to ensure that the basis for these values comes from understanding, not blind obedience.

I have always, always, always told my children,

“You need to obey me, but you do not always have to believe me. Believe the Bible! If I tell you something and the Bible tells you something else, believe the Bible. Choose God first, every time!”

Learning to Research with Credible Sources Is So Important

So, I don’t want my children to blindly follow me, but in this day and age with the seducing spirits and the spirit of error that twists and corrupts the doctrine in God’s Word, I think it is of utmost importance to help your children exercise discernment in recognizing truth.

Homeschooling and daily devotions have provided many questions that have been uncomfortable or difficult for me to answer, but they helped us all grow and develop discernment and a little bit of wisdom. We have learned not to just accept what books say because they are written by “Christian” authors.

QUESTIONS WE HAVE HAD TO ANSWER OR RESEARCH

Can people who never had the chance to hear about God still go to hell? (A good spring board to answer this is by sharing the Samuel Morris story.)
Is there any evidence to confirm that George Washington was saved by faith in Jesus Christ? (This was an emotional study for our family).
Was Francis Scott Key born again?
What exactly are the free masons and were all of our founding fathers members?
What is the difference between an anglican and a congregationalist?
What is the difference between all the “Christians” in our history books? If they are all called Christians aren’t they all saved? (Thank you Constantine. sarcasm)
Why did Martin Luther stay Catholic if he was against the pope?
Did King Solomon go to heaven even though he worshiped idols?
Why did God kill King David’s baby?
Why do Christians get divorced?
Did you ever (fill in the blank) when you were a kid?

There are more questions, but you get the idea. But I have found that when we took the time to find original sources, Scripture, solid doctrine and we shared the ups and downs with every knew answer … it taught us so much more than just facts.

But on the flip side, there are some really exciting answers to be found. Let me share with you briefly some of the truths I was able to tell Johnny concerning why the King James Bible is truth.

Reasons I Believe The Bible Is Truth

Creation is far more scientifically valid than any other explanation for our existence.
The second law of thermodynamics supports creation and defies evolution.
If evolution were true, than the desert would have already consumed the earth. The earth is young, and more than just the desert proves it.
People say the Bible was written by man around 100 A.D., but Alexander the Great did not conquer Jerusalem 332 B.C. because Israel showed him the prophecy of his conquests in Daniel.
Queen Esther was a literal queen of Persia around 475 B.C. and a possible reason for the sympathy of the King toward the Jews in the rebuilding of Jerusalem.
Stars are mathematically aligned and have existed so since before man, and yet the nine aspects of the Bethlehem Star were all fulfilled at the time of Christ’s birth in such peculiarity that the wise men were able to know that they depicted a king, a mother, a baby and the Jews. This is mathematically impossible without divine intervention.
Josh McDowell’s undeniable research in regards to the prophecy fulfillment of Christ’s birth and the guiding hand of God that had to have been behind it.
The line of the only two Bibles and the enormous character witnesses to support the King James Bible.
With over 35 authors, in over 1,500 years the King James Bible has never been proven inaccurate. And non-believers have been converted trying to prove just so.
The corruption and “secret ceremonies” of so many religions that you just don’t find in the New Testament churches. What a great study.
1. Buddhism & Nepal’s living goddess and their secret rituals.
2. The Vatican’s secret archives
3. The Mormon’s secret temple ceremonies.
4. The Christian Scientology secret documents.
5. Free Mason’s secret rituals and levels.
6. The Dark Secrets of Islam

Really, I can go on and on about that. I daydream about researching it thoroughly and writing something on it. But today, I must move on. The point is, in the New Testament Independent Churches, you may find secrets about individual’s, but as an organization our biggest church “secret” (if you can call it that) is that we preach the Biblical hierarchy of authority in the home and in the church.

Oh goodness, my rabbit trail really took me off track.

Johnny ended up leaving with some tracts, a Bible, and some web-site addresses. I have not heard from him, but I have been praying for him. He was excited about an opportunity to learn truth. This is an opportunity we have with our children every day.

Getting back to this point’s original thought, truth is out there and we need to practice some effort of finding it.

Don’t Be Afraid of Truth

To finish up, I want to share a paper that my oldest daughter had to write to get her Patriotism Master Club badge. She just showed this to me today, after I had written everything above. It proves to me that every bit of truth can make an impact in our children’s heart for the furtherance of God’s will in their lives.

GEORGE WASHINGTON – by Kiera
George Washington was the first president of the United States of America. In the French and Indian War he had four bullet holes in his coat from gun shots after a battle, but he was still safe and not hurt. His horses were shot down lots of times but he did not get hurt. The sad part of his life is that no one knows if he is a Christian or not, because it might seem obvious he was a Christian because God spared his life many times, but he was a free mason.

A free mason is someone who worships Baphomet (She told me she learned that in a Chick Tract). Some free masons believe they serve God, but if they look behind, they serve Satan. George Washington did many good things and went to an Anglican church which is a lot like a Catholic church, but history never said he was saved or not. Many believe he was saved and many believe he is not saved. It’s a big mystery so we have to find out when we go to heaven and see Jesus. George Washington’s story teaches us to lead people to Christ.

And there you have it. Truth through the eye of a nine year old. So as I end, remember, Don’t Be Afraid of Truth!