Myth or Truth

I have a confession to make. As a cyclist, I'm too much like a fisherman. You know how fishermen are; they've always got a story about the big one that got away. They always know how to make the one they caught weigh a little more, or seem a little bigger. Well, unfortunately I tend to do the same thing. If I rode 27 miles I like to say I rode 30. If I climbed 1067 feet I like to say it was 1100 feet. If I averaged 15.6 miles per hour I like to say I did 16. I always average up, never down. Truth is, I like to stretch the truth, especially when I think it makes me look better.

Stretching the truth, especially in things like cycling and fishing seems pretty harmless. But the truth is much more important when it comes to God. Four times in his Pastoral Epistles, Paul warns against "myths." In 1 Timothy 1:4 Paul urged Timothy to command certain men not to teach false doctrine or devote themselves to myths. In chapter 4 verse 7 Paul says: "Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives' tales." In 2 Timothy 4:4 Paul warns against those who "turn aside to myths." And in Titus 1:14 Paul tells Titus to rebuke rebellious people who are teaching things they ought not to teach so that they will "pay no attention to Jewish myths."

Many of the religions of mankind are nothing but myth, made up stories about false gods and superheroes. What makes our Christian faith unique is the fact fact that it is firmly grounded in historical events that represent God's work in human history for our salvation. The Bible is not just a collection of spiritual or wise sayings. It's not just a bunch of laws or rules. It's not just tales about the supernatural realm. The facts in the Bible can be and have been checked against history and archaeology. The things God has done through his people Israel to bring us a Savior, and the things Jesus has done to accomplish our salvation are real. They actually took place, and we can stake our faith on them.

That's why it's so important that we don't turn aside from the truth to myths, whether they be "godless myths" that deny the truth of God's Word or "Jewish myths" that claim we must be circumcised or obey certain laws in order to be right with God. Have you ever heard someone say, "I don't know what the Bible says, but I think..."; that's what we need to avoid. We need to stick to the facts of how God has made Himself known to us in His Son and how He has acted in history for our salvation. We need to stick to God's Word. Then we'll be standing on solid ground.