You Are if You End Them With This Word
"The sum of Your word is truth," – Psalm 119:160
Truth – You must leave our post-modern paradigm behind. You must walk away from the conception that truth depends on your point of view. That was Pilate's mistake. In his world, truth was relative to the situation. He stood in the middle and was unable to find any firm ground. Today, Pilate's version of truth permeates our society. Just ask the politicians, lawyers, accountants, CEO's and judges. What is truth? According to our sages, “it all depends.”
If you want to know what the Bible says about truth, then you must understand this word, 'aman. A great many Hebrew words come from this root but they are all associated with one concept: certainty. There is absolutely no possibility of contextual vacillation or situational alteration in the root 'aman. In fact, the imagery is so solid that in its present tense it always means continuously certain. God's idea of truth never changes.
How different is our contemporary view of the truth of our faith! We have been seduced by the Greek postmodern culture into believing that faith is hope based on something that isn't certain. We speak of faith as though it were wishful thinking. We act as though faith is beyond absolute reliability. If it were certain, we say, then we wouldn't need faith to believe it. But this is entirely backward. Biblical faith is unconditionally anchored in the trustworthiness of God and God always speaks the truth. Therefore, my faith is as certain as the God who vouches for it. What is truth? It is what God says! Period! Any time I think, act or feel based on anything other than the solid truth of what God says, I am expressing a faith that has nothing to do with the Bible. I might as well believe in tree spirits!
When we complete a prayer with the word amen, we are really speaking Hebrew. Amen is simply a variation of 'aman that literally means, "I fully endorse the truthfulness of what has been said." Wait! Is that what you really mean when you say, "Amen"? Did you really mean, "Lord, everything that I have said to You is absolutely true and in complete agreement with Your word"? Are you willing to stake your life on your prayers? That's what you are doing! You are endorsing truth before the author of all Truth. You are not echoing Pilate's modern religion. You are saying, "I know You, God, and I know what You have said and that it is true and, now, what I say is in line with You."
Amen! The truth stamp.
– Skip Moen
