Speaking Truth Leads to Loneliness

[Fidei Defensor]

I have often noticed that when you speak the Truth you end up alone. People abandon a prophet, a Truth sayer, and you will find that ultimate test of a friendship is how much truth they really can take. It seems puzzlingly that in Body of Christ truth can so break relationships, for Jesus is the Truth (John 14:6) and He said a day is coming when everything will be exposed (Luke 8:17). And yet it seems if you speak the Truth to people, even those you expect will listen, that they too could leave: 

"Have I now become your enemy by telling you the truth?" (Galatians 4:16) 

"They hate him who reproves in the gate, and they abhor him who speaks the truth." (Amos 5:20) 

"At my first defense no one supported me, but all deserted me; may it not be counted against them." (2 Timothy 4:16) 

Tertullian said, "the truth appears to be instinctively hated.” 

Our Lord Jesus Christ often withdrew to lonely places: "But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed." (Luke 5:16) and He did not trust people, "But Jesus didn't trust them, because he knew human nature. He did not need any testimony about mankind, for he knew what was in each person." (John 2:24-25). 

Jesus Himself was rejected for speaking Truth many times, even threatened with stoning (John 8, whole chapter). The Pharisees so hated the Truth who is Jesus they had Him Crucified. 

Seems this is normal path of those who speak the Truth, for the Truth Himself was crucified for our sins and on third day rose again from the dead. He now sits at right hand of God the Father, and shall come quickly on clouds to establish the Millennial Reign! Then after Satan is thrown in Second Death, Paradise shall be regained, a New Heaven, New Earth, and New Jerusalem. Amen. 

Edited October 4, 2017 by Fidei Defensor

[Raven]

40 minutes ago, Fidei Defensor said:

I have often noticed that when you speak the Truth you end up alone. People abandon a prophet, a Truth sayer, and you will find that ultimate test of a friendship is how much truth they really can take. It seems puzzlingly that in Body of Christ truth can so break relationships, for Jesus is the Truth (John 14:6) and He said a day is coming when everything will be exposed (). And yet it seems if you speak the Truth to people, even those you expect will listen, that they too could leave:...

What leaves is the untrue.

The stark reality is that most people like the truth about others but not themselves. The truth is an open wound, an open heart, a double-edged sword that separates what is true from what is not. It separates the truthful from the untruthful.

For others, the truth is what is to be feared about God. The truth will expose a person's ego, and make them feel vulnerable to judgement, rejection, segregation, abandonment and annihilation. Since satan rules the world, the world is basically in fear of the truth. Those who are truthful are like diamonds in the rough _ the Light of the world.

Truth is the only thing of value. Our Spirit of Truth loves the Truth for that is where it originated from. It is that love for Truth in our heart which confirms its worth. It is worth more than our own life. The love for Truth is more valuable than the world and the people in it. I rather be alone with the Truth than with the whole world of deception.

Truth IS and its expression is unconditional Love. Pure Love. You cannot beat it. It is ultimate joy. It is this joy which dissolves lonesomeness and isolation, and transforms it into solitude and sweet serenity. The focus of this solo love affair is Christ and God _ a communion without others to get in the way. It cannot get sweeter than that.

[GandalfTheWise]

3 hours ago, Fidei Defensor said:

I have often noticed that when you speak the Truth you end up alone. People abandon a prophet, a Truth sayer, and you will find that ultimate test of a friendship is how much truth they really can take. It seems puzzlingly that in Body of Christ truth can so break relationships, for Jesus is the Truth (John 14:6) and He said a day is coming when everything will be exposed (). And yet it seems if you speak the Truth to people, even those you expect will listen, that they too could leave: 

"Have I now become your enemy by telling you the truth?" (Galatians 4:16) 

"They hate him who reproves in the gate, and they abhor him who speaks the truth." (Amos 5:20) 

"At my first defense no one supported me, but all deserted me; may it not be counted against them." (2 Timothy 4:16) 

Tertullian said, "the truth appears to be instinctively hated.” 

Our Lord Jesus Christ often withdrew to lonely places: "But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed." (Luke 5:16) and He did not trust people, "But Jesus didn't trust them, because he knew human nature. He did not need any testimony about mankind, for he knew what was in each person." (John 2:24-25). 

Jesus Himself was rejected for speaking Truth many times, even threatened with stoning (John 8, whole chapter). The Pharisees so hated the Truth who is Jesus they had Him Crucified. 

Seems this is normal path of those who speak the Truth, for the Truth Himself was crucified for our sins and on third day rose again from the dead. He now sits at right hand of God the Father, and shall come quickly on clouds to establish the Millennial Reign! Then after Satan is thrown in Second Death, Paradise shall be regained, a New Heaven, New Earth, and New Jerusalem. Amen. 

Is it the act of speaking Truth (assuming that it is indeed Truth and not merely our strongly held opinion about Truth) that breaks relationships in the Body of Christ?  I don't think so.  (The following couple of paragraphs describe how I used to be when I was younger and thought that seeking and speaking Truth should be among the highest priorities for a Christian.)

I think that it is misplaced priorities, rudeness, pride, arrogance, and a fighting spirit that cause many of the divisions.  There are some Christians who believe that it is far more important to be correct in every detail of doctrine than to be holy, loving, and spiritually mature.  I've seen Christians that have never read the Bible through a single time themselves ready to argue about what particular verses really mean.  I've seen Christians who do nothing more than parrot the indoctrination of their denomination or their pastor or their favorite author as if that person or group is a near perfect spokesperson for God.  Indeed, most Christians I know are taught "correct" doctrine by some person or group and then proceed to interpret the Bible to fit what they already "know" to be "true" rather than letting scripture guide their path toward Truth.  Sometimes they'll jump ship and go to a different person or group and then proclaim that as "truth" and how they were liberated from "lies".  But the bottom line is that they are happy that God had guided them personally into "truth" and they feel they need to enlighten all those other Christians that are "deceived".   Rather than focusing on how we can all walk more closely with God and get to know Him better, the focus becomes on "who is the greatest among us?" 

Then there are Christians that view Christianity as a set of rules for whom "truth" consists of making sure everyone agrees which rules to follow and how to follow them.  This is really nothing much different than the old Law of Moses and the scribes and Pharisees that contended with Jesus.  Someone has a problem in their life?  It's obviously because they are stubborn, refuse to repent, aren't trying hard enough, and need to be given several Bible verses to show them that they are sinning.  The underlying idea being that if they were really good Christians, their own efforts (will power, striving hard enough, forcing themselves to become more disgusted with sin) would make them holy.  Instead of spending time teaching that God wants to transform us into new creatures for whom the fruit of the Spirit becomes a living reality and the amount of sin is reduced because we are changed, they spend their time worrying about what rules to follow and what types of techniques and methods Christians can adopt to try to act the right way.  We do not become better Christians by learning all the rules correctly and trying to strive harder in our own efforts to avoid sinning; we become better Christians by being transformed by God into people who do what is right by nature.
 

How do we better learn Truth?  We do that by getting to know God better and better.  A better understanding of Truth comes from walking with God in our own lives, observing what He does in other people's lives, reading scripture, prayer, and becoming more godly and spiritual ourselves.  Truth is not about having the right intellectual opinions about each and every doctrinal question and how to correctly understand every scripture verse or knowing exactly what the right "rules" for Christians to follow regarding sin and righteousness, it is about knowing God and having a deep rooted practical knowledge and wisdom based in actual life and walking with God and His people.  The spiritual truth that transforms us and others is deep spiritual wisdom and common sense that comes from having walked with God for years and years, for being in healthy relationships with His people for years and years, and by seeking His kingdom and righteousness for years and years.  It is not about reaching a point of "now I believe the right things"; it is about progressing along a journey of "I know God a lot better" and "I love His people a lot more".

Now, do we need dialog, debate, and confrontation?  Of course.  We need dialog and debate to learn more; but we do not need arguments for the purpose of getting people to join "our side".  We need dialog and debate to more clearly understand our own assumptions, presuppositions, blind spots, and errors.  If we rarely re-evaluate our own positions and come to a deeper understanding of some topics during dialogs with other Christians, we are largely unteachable.  Do we need confrontation?  Yes.  But I think we need to learn to do it in God's timing, not our own.  We do not confront whenever we merely think we see an error and we think a change needs to be made; we confront when it is required to bring about a change that God wants to bring about in His timing.

Will there be persecution?  Of course.  Will there be rejection because people want nothing to do with God?  Yes.   However, we need to make sure that they are rejecting God and not our own rudeness, obnoxiousness, arrogance, vitriol, or other unChristian behaviors.

Will there be those in the church that reject things they shouldn't?  Yes.  But we need to make sure than any separations or splits in the church are truly due to a fundamental rejection of core Christian beliefs and not merely about preferences or opinions.  Deny that Jesus Christ was human?  Definite grounds for rejection.  Arguing about whether a person who smokes is a Christian?  opinion.  Arguing about pre-tribulation or post-tribulation?  opinion.  Arguing about Calvinism or Arminianism?  opinion.  Arguing about interpreting the Bible only as literally as possible or accounting for historical context?  opinion.  

The approach I take is that anyone who is a Christian (to me meaning that God's Holy Spirit is within them and that God considers them to be a Christian) has things that they can teach me to learn more about God.  If I approach them in arrogance as if they have nothing from God to offer me and that I in my spiritual superiority must enlighten them, I will probably miss out on something God wants to show me about Himself through them.  It may not seem like it based on the tomes I write for posts, but I do actually spend a lot more time reading through various threads and posts on various forums and reading stuff than I do writing stuff.  

This is a lot of stuff.  If I had to sum it up in two sentences, it is this.  The greatest Truth a Christian can seek after is not knowing the proper facts about God; it is knowing God Himself.  The greatest way Christians can share Truth is not by teaching people facts about God; it is by helping them come to know God better themselves.

[Justin Adams]

YO, BRO' I agree with you!

I have this sneaking suspicion that a few 'TROLLS' seed this forum with topics they know fair well will bring strife and dissent and cause the brothers and sisters to stray from righteousness.

[Aimes]

2 hours ago, GandalfTheWise said:

This is a lot of stuff.  If I had to sum it up in two sentences, it is this.  The greatest Truth a Christian can seek after is not knowing the proper facts about God; it is knowing God Himself.  The greatest way Christians can share Truth is not by teaching people facts about God; it is by helping them come to know God better themselves.

This is such a great reply! 

[GandalfTheWise]

7 minutes ago, TheAimes87 said:

This is such a great reply! 

Thanks. I became a Christian back in March of 1975.  Decades of hard earned experience in that post that I hope others can learn from to avoid doing some of the damage I did to other Christians.  I don't like to think about the pain, discouragement, wounds, and divisions I caused or promoted in the Body of Christ when I was a young arrogant know-it-all.  I was too busy defending God, pointing out sin, looking out for Satan's deceit sneaking into the church, and in general teaching a gospel of self-reliance on our own efforts to eliminate sin from our lives to realize that I was missing what God really wanted.  He wants us to walk with Him, get to know Him more and more,  and be set free from sin and transformed into new creations for whom good works and deeds and righteousness are a natural outflow of our hearts.  The only things I consider it worth confronting now are things that prevent people from walking more closely with God and His people or hold them back from being the new creation and unique treasure that God wants them to become.

[Aimes]

2 minutes ago, GandalfTheWise said:

Thanks. I became a Christian back in March of 1975.  Decades of hard earned experience in that post that I hope others can learn from to avoid doing some of the damage I did to other Christians.  I don't like to think about the pain, discouragement, wounds, and divisions I caused or promoted in the Body of Christ when I was a young arrogant know-it-all.  I was too busy defending God, pointing out sin, looking out for Satan's deceit sneaking into the church, and in general teaching a gospel of self-reliance on our own efforts to eliminate sin from our lives to realize that I was missing what God really wanted.  He wants us to walk with Him, get to know Him more and more,  and be set free from sin and transformed into new creations for whom good works and deeds and righteousness are a natural outflow of our hearts.  The only things I consider it worth confronting now are things that prevent people from walking more closely with God and His people or hold them back from being the new creation and unique treasure that God wants them to become.

Amen! We easily allow ourselves to be so caught up in works, self righteousness, and judgment that we often miss the real relationship we have (or can have) with Him. Thank you for posting what you have, it's been a good reminder for me personally and I appreciate it.  

[Guest]

For every person who speaks Biblical Truths, there are 5 who throw in their own 'truths," which are not Biblical in the hopes of deceiving the masses away from Christ-truth. I have noticed it flourishing much more as trolls and compromising Christians take over the conversations on many sites. It drives away true, Bible believing, literal interpretation believers from forums such as this. That is their cause, to silence these Truth speakers.

[Fidei Defensor]

7 hours ago, Justin Adams said:

YO, BRO' I agree with you!

I have this sneaking suspicion that a few 'TROLLS' seed this forum with topics they know fair well will bring strife and dissent and cause the brothers and sisters to stray from righteousness.

Indeed, there are those who purposely misconstrue, quote out of context, and twist what is written by innocent and well meaning members on this forum. 

I made it clear in my opening topic post that the Truth I was speaking of is Christ (John 14:6) and the truth the Holy Spirit tells you to say to someone, like "do not practice magic, idolatry, and etc" because it leads to hell (see Revelation 21:8). I urge anyone who contests my statements  to this: at your next family or friend outing, event, holiday, or party to share Revelation 21:8 and see how they respond, and then you will know the reason this topic was started. 

Thanks for sticking up for the purpose of my comments Justin Adams. 

Edited October 2, 2017 by Fidei Defensor

[Justin Adams]

Way to go guys! I think we are all on basically the same page here. We like to divulge ideas, and use each other as sounding boards in order to learn Truth(s). None of us wishes strife or dissension since they are destructive elements.

Sometimes a soft answer and well reasoned reply will suffice. At other times, well, I just walk away which is very hard for me to do at times. Words have consequences. This I know so well to my own shame!

Some call for strife and argument, and if we determine that is their approach, then we can also walk away.
We loose nothing by this act, and might help save a sinner by our peaceful intent. At best we are unprofitable servants.
I am not saying 'do nothing' so evil may abound, I am saying sometimes, discretion is the better part of valor; hold your peace and let the Lord fight your battles.
God may use a NULL, to great effect.  After all, He created all that is, from that which is not.