Fighting for Certainty

"God and truth are inseparable. . . . That is why God incarnate--Jesus Christ--is called the truth (John 14:6). . . .the existence of absolute truth and its inseparable relationship to the person of God is the most essential tenet of all truly biblical Christianity. . . . A biblical perspective of truth also necessarily entails the recognition that ultimate truth is an objective reality. Truth exists outside of us and remains the same regardless of how we may perceive it. Truth by definition is as fixed and constant as God is immutable. . . . Amazingly, Christians in our generation need to be reminded of these things. Truth is never determined by looking at God's Word and asking, 'What does this mean to me?' Whenever I hear someone talk like that I'm inclined to ask, 'What did the Bible mean before you existed? What does God mean by what he says?' Those are the proper questions to be asking. Truth and meaning are not determined by our intuition, experience, or desire. The true meaning of Scripture--or anything else, for that matter--has already been determined and fixed by the mind of God. The task of the interpreter is to discern that meaning. And proper interpretation must precede application" (John MacArthur, The Truth War: Fighting for Certainty in an Age of Deception, p.xv,xx, xxi). KS