Against the Truth

I have been accused (elsewhere) of preventing people from commenting because I wish to avoid polluting my website with their heresy. The idea never occurred to me. What I have told my accusers is that I block comments when they cease to be friendly. But it brings up an interesting point. There is a sense we have of people who we perceive that are "opposed to the truth". We stand for the truth; they attack it. This is likely the perspective from all sides. I'm not suggesting my side is right in this perception and their side is wrong. I'm simply saying that it is the perception.

Addressing this concept, I read this interesting little piece in one of Paul's epistles to the church at Corinth:

Now we pray to God that you do no wrong; not that we ourselves may appear approved, but that you may do what is right, even though we may appear unapproved. For we can do nothing against the truth, but only for the truth (2 Cor 13:7-8).

I read that and it struck me as quite odd. What did it mean when it said, "We can do nothing against the truth"? Of course we can. We can (and regularly do) suppress it. We can deny it. We can cover it with lies. We can so obliterate it that those around us cannot see it. What does it mean that we can do nothing against the truth?

With help, I dug into this further. This word for "against" occurs multiple times in the New Testament:

If God is for us, who is against us (Rom 8:31)?

The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law (Gal 5:22-23).

Or do you not know what the Scripture says in the passage about Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel (Rom 11:2)?

When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross (Col 2:13-14).

Do not receive an accusation against an elder except on the basis of two or three witnesses (1 Tim 5:19).

In the last three examples we see where "against" references "in opposition to", like we normally think about it. In the second example is another common term in which we consider something "against the law". That, too, is "in opposition to", but there is a sense about it in which we don't think of that as "doing damage to", but just "opposed to".

It is the first one that gives the clearest idea. "If God is for us, who is against us?" Well, according to Jesus, the starting answer to that question is ... the entire world. He promised His followers that the world would hate them just as it hated Him. So what was Paul saying? Was Paul anticipating that answer? No, indeed! Paul was clearly saying that no one can be against us if God is for us. So what did he mean? He means that God (the Accuser in this scenario) is not against us and Christ (the Judge in this scenario) is not against us. The law is not against us and the angels are not against us and all that is good (on God's side) is not against (opposed to) us. But more than that, Paul is saying that no one, whether on God's side or opposed to God, can ultimately harm us. This "against" is like the "against the law" thing, where the law is not imperiled but opposed. We may be opposed, but we are not imperiled.

That, I believe, is what Paul is talking about with his statement about the truth. We can do nothing to imperil the truth. We can and do oppose it, but it cannot be harmed. It is outside of our reach to put it in jeopardy. Though we suppress it, lie about it, bury it and consider it quite dead, we cannot do it any harm at all.

In terms of the opening thought, then, I'm not opposed to people commenting on my blog who do not present the truth. I do not believe that the truth is in danger by those who oppose it (whether or not they think they are opposing it). I have no need of protecting the truth from harm. It cannot be harmed. I will contend for the faith and I will make a defense of my hope and I will stand for the truth, but truth itself doesn't need my help. We can do nothing against the truth, but only for the truth.