The Big Four

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Truth

Truth, respect, submission, and humility are what I like to call, “The Big Four.” Without these four, we cannot hope to live in oneness and harmony with each other or with God. Until we can accept God’s unconditional love for us, live in His truth, respect each other, and submit to one another in a spirit of humbleness, then we are heading for divorce court or a busted up relationship. We'll look at each one of these a little closer in the coming three weeks.

Let’s just cut to the chase, nobody likes a liar [1]. If we want to overcome before the judgment, then we need to be justified in our sayings, to which Romans 3:4 attests. Solidifying ourselves in the truth can only help to transform us into His image. The Lord gave us the Word so we could learn and manifest the truth [2] but sometimes this can present a problem as well.

Sometimes there are differences doctrinally and we argue the truth amongst ourselves. The Bible tells us to give the truth [3], not to argue the truth [4]. Yet, some get very protective of their interpretation of Scripture. However, there are only five essential doctrines to which there are no compromises:

1. The deity of Christ (John 1:1; John 8:58; 1 John 4:2, 3)

2. Salvation by grace (Ephesians 2:8, 9; Galatians 5:4)

3. Resurrection of Christ (1 Corinthians 15:14, 17)

4. Gospel of Christ (1 Corinthians 15:1-4)

5. Monotheism (1 Timothy 2:5)

Everything else is up for discussion and is not a deal breaker in terms of the Kingdom and in the scheme of things.

There is unity [5] in essential doctrine and liberty in non-essential doctrine [6], but we should not let our liberty be a stumbling block for others, for in all things there is charity [7]. The truth starts at the Cross and before we can live in oneness and harmony with each other, we first need to learn from God how to do this [8]. Given what we just learned about essential and non-essential doctrine we can see what the truth is and what the truth may or may not be.

Everybody has their own facts but there is only one truth, Jesus Christ is God, is the son of God, who died for us, was crucified, who saves us by His grace, and who arose from the dead. This is the simple Gospel of Jesus Christ [9]. However, we are to give the truth in a loving manner [10].

It doesn’t matter if you believe in pre, mid, or post tribulation, a Saturday or a Sunday Sabbath, or if you believe in eternal security or not. It doesn’t even matter if you believe in sprinkling or dunking. As long as you believe that Jesus Christ is God, that He was born of a virgin, died on the Cross for our sins, and arose from the dead, then you are my brother or sister-in-the-Lord.

Have a great day brothers and sisters. And to the rest, have a fantastic day as well and may the Lord richly bless each and every one of you.

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[1] Romans 3:4

[2] 2 Corinthians 4:2

[3] 2 Corinthians 6:7 and many others too numerous to list.

[4] Could not find a Scripture that told us to argue the truth, and that’s my point.

[5] Romans 15:5-7

[6] Romans 14, 15

[7] 1 Corinthians 13:13

[8] Ecclesiastes 4:12

[9] 1 Corinthians 15:1-4

[10] Ephesians 4:15; 1 John 3:18

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