Fighting for "The Other Side"

“In your majesty ride out victoriously for the cause of truth and meekness and righteousness; let your right hand teach you awesome deeds!” (Psalm 45:4, ESV)

Building On The Last Post

Last Monday I wrote about Foolish Misrepresentation. In that post I encouraged Christians to love the truth in such a way that they refuse to misrepresent someone who disagrees with them. While this is a very important aspect of seeking the truth, there’s another step. 

Christians Love the Truth

It should go without saying that Christians love the truth. This idea is based on the Triune God. We worship the Father, who is “the God of truth” (Isaiah 65:16, ESV). We worship the Son, Jesus Christ, who said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6, ESV). We are led by the Holy Spirit, who is “the Spirit of truth” (John 14:17, ESV). The Triune God is the God of truth. 

There is also great joy when Christians live in line with the truth. The Apostle John writes, “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.” (3 John 4, ESV). Through Christ we’ve been united to the Church described as “a pillar and buttress of the truth.” (1 Timothy 3:15, ESV).

Can anyone argue against the fact that Christians MUST love the truth? I don’t think so. 

Christians Fight for Truth

Since Christians worship a God of truth, and love the truth, we also need to fight for the truth. I love the imagery given in Psalm 45. This Psalm is written “to the king” (Psalm 45:1, ESV) and it pictures him riding “out victoriously for the cause of truth…” (Psalm 45:4, ESV). Picture the king riding out into battle against all falsehood and deceit. It’s a beautiful picture that fits perfectly within the worldview of Christians who love the truth. Since we LOVE the truth and HATE all falsehood, like the king, we should ride out victorious and fight for the truth in the world. 

Fighting For “The Other Side”

This understanding has important ramifications, though. Not only does this mean we must “fight for the truth” of our own opinions. It also means we must fight for the truth of other people’s opinions. We must fight so that other people’s opinions are not presented in a way that is false. We must fight in this way because we love the truth and hate any form of falsehood. 

This means we must not only understand the other side’s position, but we must make sure others do as well. This means we must provide correction when we hear someone else misrepresenting “the other side.” We cannot allow ourselves to take part in falsehood of any kind, including falsehood that enforces our own opinions/beliefs. If we love the truth, we love ALL truth. So, we must fight for it—even if that means we are fighting so that “the other side” is properly understood.