For fear of offending others and seeming arrogant many are quick to say we cannot really know what is true until we get to heaven, but this is a cop out. We are not God, nor will we ever be. We cannot know things omnisciently now, or ever, but we can know truth nonetheless. D.A. Carson wrote, “We can know it [truth] the way human beings know anything—with a knowledge that is real and substantial, though without being omniscient.” We can know truth because God’s word promises it to us (James 1:5). To believe otherwise is to make God out to be a liar and to affirm he has no power—no control. But, my friend, to have such a low view of God is a tragedy and a sin. Tozer wrote, “The essence of idolatry is the entertainment of thoughts about God that are unworthy of Him.” He continues, “The heaviest obligation lying upon the Christian Church today is to purify and elevate her concept of God until it is once more worthy of Him—and of her.” Knowing truth is about God not us. Does it make sense to claim to have a relationship with someone, yet know little, if nothing, about the person? If not, then how can this be true for our relationship with God? We can know God, a truly amazing thing, and thus the truth.
I would submit to you that, if, you lack confidence about some topic you have not studied it enough. Through prayer and meditation you can become confident in the truth as the Holy Spirit enables you to see what is plainly before you. I used to believe I could never be confident about any major debate among Christians, but through hours and hours of studying I have come to believe that I can know the truth. I affirm the complementarian stance because I have spent several hundred hours studying it. Likewise, I affirm the Reformed view because I have spent hours upon hours studying it. I affirm the authority and inherency of the bible because I have spent countless hours studying it. There are many other things that I have come to believe after taking the time to study them. This is the key, my friend, to knowing the truth. It takes hard work and does not happen overnight. Nor is it easy. There have been many tears shed as I pursue the truth. My views become less and less like the world everyday causing much pain and loneliness. Not to mention heartbreak as I am forced to admit many people I long to be saved are likely not. Although it is not easy, it is not without its benefits. There is peace that comes with knowing God that cannot be comprehended. This peace enables me to not be offended easily and to rest well at night, knowing my conscience is clear. Each day I experience unspeakable joy that strengthens me to do the will of my Father. The benefits are truly endless and worth the struggle.
My friend, at the end of the day God is God. The tendency is to analyze him as we would any other subject, but this will not do. We do not get to decide who God is or how he acts. Psalm 135:6 states, “Whatever the LORD pleases, he does, in heaven and on earth, in the seas and all deeps.” If you approach God without reverence for him you are a fool. The truth of God cannot be reasoned out, but known only through the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. Believe what you may, but “the wrath of God is coming,” (Col. 3:6) and denying the true Christ will not change it’s reality.