Truth In An Age Of Falsehood
By: Keith R. Keyser
“How long, O you sons of men, Will you turn my glory to shame? How long will you love worthlessness and seek falsehood? Selah. But know that the Lord has set apart for Himself him who is godly; The Lord will hear when I call to Him.” Psalm 4:2-3
The present vulgar age desacralizes the sacred and glorifies whatever is trivial and defiling. People flaunt the iniquity of which they should be ashamed and boast in perversion. All of this is done in the name of human freedom. Instead of seeking salvation from their fallen state, modern mankind desires to live unreconstructedly wicked lives, independent of God and the moral constraints that come with obedience to His rule. With this worldview comes a deep-seated aversion to truth, and the resolute clinging to the illusory hope of future human perfection by scientific advancement and manmade unity based on man’s plans for the world. Yet the Lord is saving a people out of this world who gladly seek to know and please Him. They are “godly” in that they love God, and through His sanctifying work they are being conformed to His glorious character (Rom. 8:29-30; Col. 3:1-11.) They are set apart in a special relationship with their Creator and Savior; consequently, He hears them and faithfully answers their prayers according to His will (John 14:13-14; 1 John 5:14-15.)
In King David’s day things were much the same: people sought “vanity” (Psa. 4:2) – a common Old Testament expression for idolatry (Psa. 24:4) – in place of the true glory that comes from knowing and worshiping the Lord. Mankind was created to glorify God. Until one knows Him the reason for being is elusively pursued in physical pleasure, material acquisition, and all-too-transient fame. None of these things satisfy, for the human heart craves the knowledge of its origin and desperately seeks its destiny. Only the Maker of all things can answer these fundamental questions. Apart from knowing the God of truth one is inevitably deluded by falsehoods (John 14:6.) Truth is only liberating if it leads to the glorious freedom of being one of God’s Sons (John 8:31-32; Gal. 5:1.) Christ died and rose to justify believers; at conversion, they are declared righteous in God’s sight and freed from the bondage of their sin and lostness (Romans chapters 3-6.) The saints are now free to live truthfully, walking in the light, and serving the Lord who loved and redeemed them (1 John 1:5-2:5.)