1996 SINGLE SERMONS
THE ABSOLUTE TRUTH
DR. JIM DIXON
JUNE 9, 1996
2 TIMOTHY 3:10-16
On January 20, 1981, Ronald Reagan placed his hand on a Bible and he was inaugurated as president of the United States. Two years later, in January of 1983, President Reagan declared “The Year of the Bible.” In addressing the nation’s media, he said that most of the problems in our nation (and most of the problems in the world) could be solved if people would just know and believe the Word of God. And then President Reagan quoted the words of the Apostle Peter in 1 Peter: “All flesh is like grass, and all of its glory like the flower of the grass. The grass withers, the flower falls, but the Word of the Lord abides forever.”
Immediately thereafter, the American Civil Liberties Union filed suit against President Reagan for a violation of constitutional law separating church and state. The courts ruled against the ACLU and sided with the president, saying that the key issue was freedom. Although President Reagan had declared “The Year of the Bible,” no one was forced to read the Bible. There was no compulsion. There was no force. People still were free to read or not to read. And so it remains today. There is no compulsion to read the Bible. None of you are forced to read the Bible. You are all free. The state will never force you to read the Bible. The church cannot force you to read the Bible. It’s all up to you. And why should you read the Bible? Why should you take time every day to read the Word of God? The Apostle Paul tells us that we should read the Bible because all scripture is inspired of God—theopneustos, “God-breathed.” The breath of God is upon this book.
Paul tells us that scripture is profitable for four things. In this verse in 2 Timothy, chapter 3, verse 16, Paul says scripture is profitable for four things, and these are the four reasons that we should read the Bible daily. First of all, scripture is profitable for teaching. “All scripture,” Paul says, “is inspired of God and is profitable for teaching.” Now, the Greek word is didaskalia. Didaskalia is a word which can refer to the act of teaching, but it can also refer to the content of teaching. Didaskalia can refer to doctrine, and sometimes this word is translated by the English word doctrine. It refers to theological, moral, and ethical truth. It refers to doctrine and dogma. It refers to absolute truth. Paul is saying all scripture is inspired of God and it is profitable for doctrine—that is, teaching. It is profitable if you want to know absolute truth. If you want to know what is absolutely true theologically, if you want to know what is absolutely true morally and ethically, this is where you find it. Truth.
Last week, Barbara brought home a copy of a tabloid from a grocery store. This is very unusual. It’s been years since Barb has brought a tabloid home. But she wanted me to see it because she thought I might find it humorous and interesting. It was a tabloid called The World Weekly News. On the cover the headline said, “End of the World is Near.” It had the picture of twelve alleged scholars—some from the Islamic community, some from the Jewish community, some from the Christian community, some New Age scholars—all predicting the end of the world in the year 2000. That was on the first page.
On the second page there was a picture of a dog and the headline said, “Dog Gives Man Mouth-to-Mouth Resuscitation.” It was a story about canine CPR. Then, on the third page, there was a picture of a skull in an archeological dig and the headline said, “Alien Space Probe Found in Caveman’s Skull.” That was on the third page. It was an interesting reading. On the fourth page, the headline said, “Judas Iscariot said to be Bloodthirsty Vampire by Experts.” Judas Iscariot was a bloodthirsty vampire. Page five, of course, had the mandatory woman in a swimsuit.
Now, I asked myself after looking at this, “Why do people buy tabloids? Why do people buy The World Weekly News? Do people actually believe that stuff? Are there people who really believe that there are dogs that give CPR, or alien space probes in cavemen’s skulls, or that the world is coming to an end in the year 2000? Why do people buy that?” I think it’s safe to say that most people who buy The World Weekly News are not truth seekers. I think most people don’t believe it. I don’t think they buy it because they’re looking for truth. I think most people just want to be entertained. They’re looking for something that kind of tickles the ear. They’re just looking for something that’s sort of interesting. Most people don’t believe it.
That’s the way a lot of people are even in the churches today. They have this attitude of just kind of wanting to have the ears tickled. This attitude of just wanting to be entertained has even infiltrated the churches of Jesus Christ. The Bible says, “In the last days, people will no longer endure sound doctrine”—didaskalia, the word that we have in our passage right here. “People will no longer endure sound teaching.” They’re not going to be concerned with theological, moral, and ethical truths, and so they read things like The World Weekly News. But if you want to know about theological, moral, and ethical truth, where do you go? If you want to know about moral absolutes, you go to the Bible.
Now, of course, some people say there are no moral absolutes. Social philosophers and sociologists tell us that we have now entered what they are calling the “era of postmodernism.” According to postmodernists, there are no moral absolutes. There’s no such thing as truth. Truth is perceived culturally, but there’s no absolute truth. For every culture, according to postmodernists (and postmodernism is the view of the intelligentsia today, and it’s infiltrating higher education) there is no absolute truth. There is only truth as individual cultures perceive it.
Some cultures find their truth in the Koran. Some cultures find their truth in the Bhagavad Gita. Some cultures find their truth in the Tripitika. Some cultures find their truth in the Book of Mormon. Some cultures find their truth in the Bible. Some western cultures find their truth in science. This was the view of modernism, but according to postmodernists even science doesn’t have absolute truth. It’s just one way of looking at the world. The greatest error, the height of arrogance according to the postmodernist, is for one culture to claim that its truth is superior to the truth of another culture. That’s arrogance. There’s no such thing as absolute truth. The postmodernist teaches tolerance. We should tolerate and respect all cultures, but there’s no such thing as absolute truth.
Now, Jesus said to Pilate, “For this I was born and for this I have come into the world: that I might bear witness to the truth. All who are of the truth hear My voice.” Pilate responded, “What is truth?” Then he sent Jesus away. He would have made a great postmodernist. What is truth? That is what the postmodernists are saying today. There is no truth, no absolute truth. But Jesus said, “I am the way, I am the truth, and I am the life. No one comes to the Father but by Me.” And Jesus said, “My word is truth.” If you want to know the truth… If you want to know absolute truth… If you want to know what is true theologically, morally, and ethically, Paul is saying this is where you go. “All scripture is inspired of God and is profitable for doctrine.”
Now secondly, Paul says, “Scripture is profitable for reproof.” It’s profitable for teaching, but it’s also profitable for reproof. Now, this word in the Greek is elegmos. Elegmos was also used in the context of doctrine. Didaskalia referred to the teaching of healthy doctrine, and this word elegmos referred to the refutation of false doctrine. So, these first two words that Paul uses describing the first two purposes of the Bible relate to doctrine. The first word, which we’ve just examined, has to do with the proclamation of true doctrine. The second word has to do with the refutation of false doctrine.
There has always been false doctrine in this world. There have always been people who believe the wrong thing theologically, morally, and ethically. You see, the Bible is necessary and profitable for refutation of false doctrine.
Now, you might recall that, when Jesus was in the wilderness, Satan came to Him to tempt Him. Satan tempted Him theologically, morally, and ethically. Jesus refuted and reproved Satan by using the Bible. Jesus said to Satan, “It is written. It is written. It is written.” He reproved Satan and his false teaching. He reproved him with the Word of God.
In the early church, there was a cultic movement, a religious cult, called Gnosticism. They infiltrated the early churches with false morals and false ethics and false theology. The early church refuted them, reproved them, using the Word of God.
You need to be prepared. You need to be prepared today in the same way. You need to know the Bible so well that you can discern what is true and what is false morally, ethically, and theologically. You need to know the Bible like that. That’s why at this church we proclaim the Word of God. We teach holy scripture that you might know truth from error.
Now, about 15 years ago, Barbara and I were at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. We were at a conference there for pastors and spouses. There were ministers from all over the country from varying denominations. There was one pastor and his wife there that Barb and I got to know while we were there. We hung out with them a little bit. I really didn’t know much about this other minister. He was kind of fun to hang out with, but I didn’t know what he believed.
One morning at the conference, we were having a cup of coffee and he says to me, “What do you think of this Christ?” I said, “What do you mean?” He said, “Well, what do you think of this cosmic Christ?” I said, “Do you mean Jesus?” He said, “No, I don’t mean Jesus.” I said, “Well, do you think Jesus and Christ are two different people?” He said, “Certainly I do. I think Jesus was just a Jewish man who lived in Palestine two thousand years ago. He lived and died, but the cosmic Christ is a divine spirit that entered into that man and entered into all of us and probably entered into Muhammed and Buddha and Zoroaster as well.” I said, “Well, do you preach this stuff to your congregation?” He said, “Well, they’re not ready for it yet.”·
Well, we took a little bit of time and we went through scripture. First of all, you would be amazed at the number of pastors that don’t know the Bible. You would be amazed at the number of pastors that do not know Greek and do not know Hebrew. They cannot really study the Old or New Testaments in terms of hermeneutics and exegesis. You’d be amazed at the number of pastors that really don’t even read the Bible. You would be amazed at the number of pastors who haven’t even gone to theological seminary and the number of pastors who have gone to theological seminaries that are immersed in liberalism.
So, I spent a little time with this pastor just going through what the Bible had to say about Jesus Christ and how Christ is simply a title meaning “the anointed,” a messianic title given to Jesus of Nazareth because He was the promised Messiah, and how the name Jesus and the title Christ are simply applied in the Bible to the one person who is the Son of God. There are not two people, “Jesus” and “Christ.” This is theological error and, you see, the Bible is good for reproof. This is true and it’s desperately needed in our time. We live in a culture where Judea-Christian values are eroding. We need the children of God to know His word and to be grounded in scripture, that you might be able to discern what’s true and what’s false.
We live in a society where premarital sex is considered acceptable. This was not always true in this nation, but it is true today. Today, across this nation in most of the subcultures in America, premarital sex is perfectly acceptable. People are told that sexual activity is best if there is some affection involved, if there’s a little bit of love, but basically, it’s recreational. They tell people to practice safe sex and basically to have fun. This is the message of our culture but, you see, it is false and it needs to be reproved, because the Bible tells us that sex is a beautiful, wonderful gift, meant to be opened in the context of marriage. When we take and open this gift outside of the context of marriage, we taint it and we cheapen it. It is the highest expression of physical union and it’s meant to be joined with the emotional and spiritual union of marriage. You see, we need Christians who are ready to stand and who are rooted in the Word of God, because our culture is so fallen.
Now, Paul says scripture is inspired of God and is profitable for teaching and for reproof. These two words are related to doctrine. Then Paul uses a third word, and now Paul begins to relate to behavior—not just what you believe is right and wrong but how you actually live and how you act. So Paul says, “The Word of God is also profitable for correction.”
Now, correction sounds a lot like reproof, but the word reproof refers to doctrinal reproof. This word correction in the Greek is the word epanorthosis. Epanorthosis is the use of three words: epi, ana, and orthos. Those words literally mean “to make straight again.” The idea is that a lot of people in their behavior are crooked. A lot of people are not behaving properly, and they need to be made straight again. This means that the Word of God is profitable for correcting us in our behavior. This is a little different than correcting us in our doctrine. This is very important to understand.
Our son Drew is going away to college in the fall, back east, and he has a summer job (as does our daughter, Heather). Drew’s summer job is at a golf course where he’s involved in course maintenance. He moves the cup on the green to various places and mows the lawns and does stuff like that. It’s kind of a neat job because you get to be outdoors, but the problem is it starts every morning at 5:30. So Drew has to get up at 4:30, which is a major bummer in Drew’s life. 4:30 is a lot closer to when Drew would rather be going to bed than to when he wants to be getting up. He’s really grateful just to be able to drive to that job, because about a week and a half ago he lost his license at the DMV.
Now, I asked Drew if I could tell this story and Drew said it would be okay. Drew lost his license because he had three stop sign violations. In one case, he stopped over the line. In another case, he didn’t completely stop, and in the third case he thought he stopped but God only knows. That was too many points, and so Drew lost his license. But they gave him a provisional so he could drive to work. Now, you see, Drew would tell you that with regard to stop signs, he doesn’t need reproof. With regard to stop signs, he doesn’t need reproof because there’s no problem with his stop sign doctrine. There’s no problem with his stop sign dogma. You see, he believes all the stuff about stop signs. He believes that stop signs are good, that there should be stop signs, and that you should stop at them. So he doesn’t need reproof. There’s not a doctrinal problem here. He doesn’t need reproof, but he would admit that he probably needs a little correction there. It has to do with behavior.
That’s how it is for all of us in our lives. That’s how it is in our Christian lives. Sometimes we know right from wrong. We don’t need reproof. But, you see, we need correction because, even though we know right from wrong, we sometimes do the wrong anyway. Or we don’t do the right, and so we need correction. Paul is saying the Word of God is good for that. The Word of God is profitable for teaching, for reproof, and for correction.
This is serious business. It’s serious business that we have the humility to place our behavior under the Word of God and change our behavior when it’s not in accord with God’s Word. It’s serious business that we would come to scripture every day in order that the Holy Spirit might convict us when we’re doing things that we know are wrong and we need to be convicted and we need to be corrected. It’s a serious thing when we ignore the correction of the Word of God.
Just a little over a week ago, a man right here in South Denver named Jim Garner shot his ex-wife twice. He shot her in the arm and shot her in the base of the skull. Miraculously, by the grace of God, she survived. Then Jim Garner came back into the house of his ex-wife and shot himself, taking his own life. This was a shocking thing for those of us who had known Jim. Bob and I knew Jim Garner and I had hired Jim Garner over at Faith Presbyterian Church in Aurora 16 years ago. I hired him as minister, as the pastor of education. He had two earned doctorates, and he was a brilliant young man. He was a very gifted teacher.
When Bob and I left Faith Presbyterian Church and were led of God to start Cherry Hills Community Church, Jim remained there at Faith Presbyterian Church. I don’t know everything that happened, but apparently Jim was divorced from his wife, and he was involved in adultery. He was removed from his pastoral position at Faith Presbyterian Church. Then the Ministerial Committee of the presbytery met with Jim. I was on that committee. Jim was counseled to repent of his adultery, counseled to return to his wife. The presbytery offered to pay for Jim’s counseling for his marriage that it might be healed. Jim laughed. He laughed and his response was to say, “I don’t receive counseling. I give counseling!” and he refused to repent. He was defrocked from the ministry.
He married again and he had a couple more kids. His life became very tragic. Jim entered the world of business, and for a time he had great success. But then there was a great economic collapse, and he was in massive debt. Then his second marriage began to crumble. He turned to alcohol and Jim became an alcoholic and he began to abuse his kids. He was divorced from his second wife and then she got a restraining order. When the restraining order ran out, Jim began to stalk his ex-wife. She was trying to get a second restraining order and just a little over a week ago he came into the house and tried to take her life. Then he took his own.
God only knows everything that was going on in Jim’s heart, but somewhere in there is a lesson of what happens when you leave the path of Christ. There’s a lesson about what happens when you leave the clear teachings of God’s Word and you won’t respond to biblical correction. Oh, it’s a dangerous, dangerous thing to reject biblical correction and to place yourself over the Word of God. That’s a dangerous thing. Christ is looking for women and men who will place themselves under His Word and live for Him no matter what the cost.
So, we have this teaching from the Apostle Paul that all scripture is God breathed and it is profitable doctrinally for teaching healthy doctrine and reproving false doctrine. It’s also profitable behaviorally for correction. Fourthly and finally, it is profitable for training in righteousness. Fourthly and finally, Paul says, “The word of God is profitable for training in righteousness.” The Greek word for training is paideia, which was a word used of instilling positive behavioral traits in children. And so these last two words, correction and training, have to do with behavior. The first two have to do with doctrine. We need to be trained in righteousness. Paul is saying the Word of God is profitable for training in righteousness. How important this is.
You know, I think a lot of people in Denver (and perhaps across the country) are focused right now on an object that is 103 years old. It’s an object that is 7-1/2 inches high and 11-1/2 inches wide that has been used as a flower pot and as a beer sign. It’s an object that has been thrown into swimming pools and thrown over fences into cemeteries and drop kicked into a canal. And yet it is a venerated object, a kind of Holy Grail to some people. It’s an object called the Stanley Cup.
For more than a hundred years, the finest hockey players in Canada and around the world have spilled blood, sweat, and tears to try to obtain the Stanley Cup. Right now, the Colorado Avalanche and the Florida Panthers are engaged in an athletic competition. Of course, the Avalanche are very near to winning the Stanley Cup. My guess is that many of you in this congregation virtually never watched a hockey game prior to this year. My guess is that most of you really never followed hockey, but some of you, now that the Avalanche are here and they’re in the pursuit of the Stanley Cup… I mean, they’re in the Stanley Cup playoffs and there’s a quest. And we like a quest, don’t we? I think most of us love a quest.
God wants you to understand that today there is a quest that, as Christians, we are committed to. It’s greater than any quest in the world of sports. You know, the Stanley Cup just pales when compared to the quest that, as Christians, we are engaged in. It’s a quest for righteousness. You see, Paul is saying this book is God breathed and profitable for training in righteousness. God would ask you today, “Are you really involved in the quest?” Jesus said, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness.” Do you have, in your heart, a quest for righteousness? Do you long to be right with God? Not just judicially, having accepted Christ as your Lord and Savior and having had His righteousness imputed to you, but I mean practically and behaviorally do you long to live a righteous life, a life that is pleasing to Christ? Do you long to hear Him say, “Well done, good and faithful servant”? Do you long to hear Him say those words? If you do, you need to just bathe in this book every day, because it’s profitable for training in righteousness. It’s so important that we want righteousness for righteousness’ sake.
I want to conclude with a little story. It’s a true story. It took place in February of this year. It was on a cold day in February of 1996 that a limousine was traveling on the New Jersey Expressway when it got a flat tire. The limo driver pulled the limousine over to the side of the road. He got out of the limo. He was hoping to get the spare tire and just put it on the car, but when he looked at the spare tire he was amazed to see that it also was flat. There was a phone in the limo and the limo driver got back into the car and began to use the phone. He was going to get some help. Suddenly, he saw a man in a pickup truck pull off to the side of the road right next to him to help him. He put down the phone and the man in the pickup truck came up to the limo and said, “What’s the problem? Can I help you?”
The limo driver said that he had a flat tire and the spare tire was also flat and he didn’t know what to do. The driver of the pickup truck said, “Hey, no problem. I’ve got an air tank and I’ve got all the stuff necessary to repair the tire.” So, this driver of the pickup truck repaired both of the limo tires. When the job was done, the driver of the pickup truck was about to go, having done his good deed, and suddenly the rear window of the limo went down and a man called to the driver of the pickup truck. The driver turned around and was amazed to see Donald Trump. The limo belonged to Donald Trump. He called and he said, “Hey Mister, that was really nice of you to stop and help us like that. That was awfully nice.” He said, “Is there anything I can do to help you?” This driver of the pickup truck just smiled and he said, “No, that’s okay.” Then he thought for a second. “There is one thing. Tomorrow is Valentine’s Day. My wife would just love to receive a dozen roses from you.” He gave Donald Trump his address.
Well, the very next day, the driver of the pickup truck is home with his wife. The very next day there is a package at the door, a big box. They open it up and there’s two dozen roses in there and a nice note from Donald Trump. Then at the bottom of the note there was a P.S. and a little message to the driver of the pickup truck. He said, “I just want to thank you again for helping me and, by the way, I just paid off your mortgage.” It’s a true story. It just happened in February of this year. “By the way, I just paid off your home mortgage.” You see, apparently there’s a little bit of good even in Donald Trump.
Now, I would ask you this. If that driver of the pickup truck had known it was Donald Trump and if he had known that he was going to get the roses and he was going to get the home paid for, would his actions have been as good? Would it have been as good? Probably not. Probably not, because probably his motive wouldn’t have simply been to be good and to do good. His motive might have involved a little greed.
God wants us to understand that He wants us to seek righteousness for righteousness’ sake. There are promises in the Bible with regard to righteousness. There are rewards in Heaven for righteousness. There really are rewards in Heaven for righteousness. We don’t get to Heaven by virtue of our own righteousness. We only get to heaven through faith in Jesus Christ and by virtue of His righteousness, and yet when we get to Heaven there will be varying rewards based on our growth in Christlikeness. Now, that’s true. Christ really wants us to be motivated, not simply by heavenly reward or earthly reward. He wants us simply to long to be like Him. He wants us to long for righteousness just for righteousness’ sake, that we would be the kind of people He wants us to be. This is why the Bible is so important. This is why scripture is so important.
All scripture is God breathed, inspired of God and it is profitable doctrinally. It’s profitable for teaching absolute truth and profitable for reproving false teaching. It’s also profitable behaviorally, able to correct us and able to train us in our behavior and in our quest for righteousness. Let’s close with a word of prayer.