(Rom. 3:22–23 NKJV)
I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. (Rom. 7:18 NIV)
Therefore, brethren, we are debtors—not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die. (Rom. 8:12–13 NKJV)
Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like. (Gal. 5:19–21 NKJV)
Truth #2: You Can’t Please Everyone
The clearest biblical basis for this truth is the life of Christ. He was morally perfect, yet many people hated Him.
He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.
And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him;
He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. (Isa. 53:3 NKJV)
You would think that if anyone would be pleasing to everyone, he would be a morally perfect person. The life of Christ proves otherwise.
The Bible teaches that we can’t have everyone’s approval, and that seeking it is not even desirable. Seeking man’s approval puts us at odds with God’s desire that we glorify Him and that we mature as human beings. Here are supporting verses:
For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ. (Gal. 1:10 NKJV)
But as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, even so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who tests our hearts. (1 Thess. 2:4 NKJV)
Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. (James 4:4 NKJV)
God’s approval, not the approval of man, is to be our focus. I would be more concerned about someone who seemingly had everyone’s approval than someone who didn’t. After all, what kind of person would be pleasing to everyone? That would be one “chameleon” of a person with little firmness of beliefs and values. I’d rather stand for something and be despised or disliked than stand for nothing and be accepted by most.
Truth #3: There Is No Gain without Pain
The idea that suffering is required to produce maturity runs throughout the Bible. The Bible clearly teaches that suffering for righteousness’ sake is “good” suffering and not to be avoided. James told us, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything” (James 1:2–4 NIV).
While we often complain about problems and the suffering they can bring, we can achieve maturity through having problems. Paying the price of personal suffering in order to mature is difficult but yields great reward. As Paul put it in Philippians 3:8 (NKJV), “Indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them rubbish, that I may gain Christ.”
Just as we put difficult math problems in front of our children so that they might learn important mathematical skills, life throws us difficult problems that when endured produce important life skills. Don’t let anyone sell you a pain-free approach to gain. He is leading you down a deadly garden path you don’t want to be on.
Truth #4: You Don’t “Have to” Do Anything
The Bible teaches that we have free will (see the following verses), which means we are free to do whatever we want. In light of this, there are no pure have to’s in life. We are free to go our own way, but there are consequences of our choices.
One of the important aspects of Christ’s death on the cross was to set us free from the impossible burden of the “law” as the means by which to gain God’s favor (Matt. 10:8). The law was “you have to do ____________ to please God,” something that sinful man couldn’t, on his own, ever do well enough. Christ’s death has set us free from having to do things to merit God’s favor. In response, we believers are to pursue righteousness as a way to show gratefulness and appreciation for what Christ did on the cross.
Here are some verses supporting the truth “you don’t ‘have to’ to do any-thing”:
I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; that you may love the LORD your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him. (Deut. 30:19–20 NKJV)
Receive my instruction, and not silver, And knowledge rather than choice gold;
For wisdom is better than rubies, And all the things one may desire cannot be compared with her. (Prov. 8:10–11 NKJV)
How much better to get wisdom than gold!
And to get understanding is to be chosen rather than silver. (Prov. 16:16 NKJV)
Freely you have received, freely give. (Matt. 10:8 NKJV)
If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority. (John 7:17
NKJV)
It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. (Gal. 5:1 NIV)
Truth #5: The Virtue Lies in the Struggle, Not the Prize
The Bible teaches that we will never be perfectly moral or mature during our lives, no matter how hard we try (see verses supporting the truth “to err is human”). With that in mind, I would argue that the effort to grow in righteousness and maturity is the virtue since the prize of perfect righteousness and maturity is unattainable.
The “good news” is that Christ’s death on the cross took care of the problem that we can never be morally perfect. The fact that we can never live perfect moral lives has been solved through Christ’s willingness to die for our sins. Those who believe in Christ and accept Him as their Savior are made righteous in God’s eyes through the atoning death of Christ on the cross.
The key verses that I believe support the truth “the virtue lies in the struggle, not the prize” are these:
Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me.
Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you. (Phil. 3:12–15 NKJV)
Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Heb. 12:1–2 NKJV)
Truth #6: Life Is Difficult
The Bible teaches that since the Fall, life has been difficult for all (Gen. 3:17–19). Sin entered the world, and things have been rough ever since. Perhaps the most staggering proof that life is difficult for everyone is the life of Christ. He, as cocreator of the universe with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit, found life to be difficult. You would think that if life would ease off for anyone, it would ease off for the very Being who helped to create it. Birth in a smelly manger, attempts on His life, unfair attacks on His character, disloyalty by friends, beatings, and death on a cross suggest otherwise.
These biblical verses support the truth “life is difficult”:
Then to Adam He said, “Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from
the tree of which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it’:
Cursed is the ground for your sake;
In toil you shall eat of it All the days of your life.
Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, And you shall eat the herb of the field.
In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread Till you return to the ground,
For out of it you were taken;
For dust you are, And to dust you shall return.” (Gen. 3:17–19 NKJV)
All things are wearisome, more than one can say. (Eccl. 1:8 NIV)
For what has man for all his labor, and for the striving of his heart with which he has toiled under the sun? For all his days are sorrowful, and his work burdensome; even in the night his heart takes no rest. This also is vanity. (Eccl. 2:22–23 NKJV)
Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. (Matt. 6:34 NKJV)
Truth #7: You Reap What You Sow
The truth “you reap what you sow” shows up frequently in the Bible. According to Scripture, this principle applies both negatively and positively to our lives (Prov. 11:18). Applied to the basic focus of this book, the thoughts we sow create the life we reap. Or as Proverbs 23:7 (NKJV) puts it, “As [a man] thinks in his heart, so is he.”
Here are some verses that support the truth “you reap what you sow”:
Even as I have seen, Those who plow iniquity And sow trouble reap the same. (Job 4:8 NKJV)
The wicked man does deceptive work, But he who sows righteousness will have a sure reward. (Prov. 11:18 NKJV)
He who sows iniquity will reap sorrow, And the rod of his anger will fail. (Prov. 22:8 NKJV)
But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. (2 Cor. 9:6 NKJV)
Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. (Gal. 6:7–8 NKJV)
Truth #8: You Are Not Entitled to Anything
If the Bible teaches we were entitled to anything, it teaches we were entitled to eternity in hell for our sinfulness (“But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)” [Eph. 2:4–5 NKJV]). Walking around feeling entitled to things is quite prideful, and Scripture says that God detests pride: “God resists the proud, / But gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6 NKJV). Salvation itself is the result of God’s grace, not something we earned through good behavior.
I would make the same point about human relationships. Just as we were not entitled to God’s love or forgiveness (or anything else He offers), we are not entitled to love or forgiveness from people, either. It is not our birthright to get our needs met by others, and to feel entitled to getting our needs met is to invite great anger and bitterness. Desiring to get our needs met—and humbly trying to get them met—is the more appropriate stance.
And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others. But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. (Eph. 2:1–9 NKJV)
Truth #9: Emotional Pain Is Good
No one wants to be emotionally troubled, and the ideal would be that we never experience clinically significant emotional problems. But given our sinful nature (and everyone else’s), significant emotional problems are going to occur. While we may bemoan our emotional problems, they are an important signal to us that something inside our thoughts needs correction. Thus, emotional suffering can be a springboard to growth and maturity. Emotional suffering can be “good” in that it alerts us and motivates us to change when we have gotten off course.
Another “good” aspect of emotional problems is that they enable us to empathize with others who suffer. When we go through emotional suffering, we know what it is like when others do. Then we can offer comfort to them.
I, like you, would like to stay mentally healthy enough that I never suffer emotional problems. But given my tendency to not listen to or practice truth, painful emotional problems will come my way. Because they signal me that I need to correct something, I can actually thank God for their important role in my life.
Some biblical verses supporting the truth that “emotional pain is good” include the following:
Blessed are those who mourn, For they shall be comforted. (Matt. 5:4 NKJV)
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. (2 Cor. 1:3–4 NKJV)
And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. (Rom. 5:3–4 NKJV)
We know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. (Rom. 8:28 NKJV)
Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. (James 1:2–4 NIV)
Truth #10: You Are Going to Die
The Bible is pretty straightforward about this truth. We are given life by God, and that life will come to an end someday. The Bible also teaches that we die once, which makes reincarnation untenable. We truly “only go around once in life,” according to the Bible, which is to be used as a motivation to make sure our journey through life is dedicated to important things that last rather than temporary things that please only us. We are to base our lives on God’s plan, not our own.
Some biblical passages that teach the truth “you are going to die” are these:
What man can live and not see death? Can he deliver his life from the power of the grave? (Ps. 89:48 NKJV)
A time to be born, And a time to die. (Eccl. 3:2 NKJV)
It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, for death is the destiny of every man. (Eccl. 7:2 NIV)
It is appointed for men to die once. (Heb. 9:27 NKJV)
Appendix D
BIBLICAL TEACHINGS ON TRUTH
Truth as Protection
Do not withhold Your tender mercies from me, O LORD;
Let Your lovingkindness and Your truth continually preserve me.
(Ps. 40:11 NKJV)
Dedication to Truth
I have walked in Your truth. (Ps. 26:3 NKJV)
Teach me Your way, O LORD;
I will walk in Your truth. (Ps. 86:11 NKJV)
Buy the truth, and do not sell it. (Prov. 23:23 NKJV)
But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does. (James 1:22–2
5 NKJV)
The Absence of Truth in the World
Justice is turned back, And righteousness stands afar off;
For truth is fallen in the street, And equity cannot enter.
So truth fails,
And he who departs from evil makes himself a prey. (Isa. 59:14–15 NKJV)
You shall say to them, “This is a nation that does not obey the voice of the LORD their God nor receive correction. Truth has perished and has been cut off from their mouth.” (Jer. 7:28 NKJV)
Everyone will deceive his neighbor, And will not speak the truth. (Jer. 9:5 NKJV)
[They] exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. (Rom. 1:25 NKJV)
For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. (2 Tim. 4:3–4 NKJV)
Christ’s Claim to Be Truth
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6 NKJV)
Pilate therefore said to Him, “Are You a king then?” Jesus answered, “You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.” (John 18:37 NKJV)
Consequences of Rejecting Truth
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness. (Rom. 1:18 NKJV)
But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger. (Rom. 2:8 NIV)
They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. (2 Thess. 2:10 NIV)
All may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness. (2 Thess. 2:12 NKJV)
Consequences of Accepting Truth
Paul, a bondservant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God’s elect and the acknowledgment of the truth which accords with godliness. (Titus 1:1 NKJV)
The Lies We Believe Page 36