Truth Is Not a Personal Preference


How should I understand and live by truth in a postmodern, consumer-driven culture?

Truth is objective and grounded in God’s revelation, not personal preference

The classic Christian view of truth is correspondence: truth is what corresponds to reality as God has revealed it, especially in Scripture. Spiritually, this means:

  • Our faith is not about “what works for me” but about what is actually true about God, sin, and salvation.

  • The Bible, not our feelings or cultural trends, is the final measure of what we believe and how we live.

The spiritual lesson: humility before God’s Word. We are called to submit our inner sense of truth to the external, revealed truth of God.

The “autonomous self” is spiritually dangerous

The postmodern “autonomous self” is a self severed from external constraints and centered on its own desires. Spiritually, this leads to:

  • Pride and rebellion: the self becomes the ultimate authority, displacing God.

  • Disconnectedness and loneliness: when everyone lives by their own truth, real community and commitment collapse.

The spiritual truth: freedom found in Christ is not freedom from all authority, but freedom to live under God’s authority, which gives life its proper center.

The church must not market the gospel like a product

A “customer-first,” corporate mindset in evangelicalism tries to give people what they want rather than what they need. Spiritual implications include:

  • The gospel is not a commodity to be sold; it is a truth to be proclaimed, even when it is unwelcome.

  • Serious doctrine, not entertainment or “whiz-bang” methods, is what forms mature believers.

The spiritual lesson: faithfulness is more important than popularity. My calling is to be a member of a truth-telling community, not a truth-adjusting business.

God is transcendent (“outside God”), not just an “inside” experience

I am warned against reducing God to a private, personalized experience—an “inside God” shaped by my preferences. Instead, I should stress:

  • God’s transcendence: He stands outside me as Creator, Law-giver, and Judge.

  • This “outside” reality of God is what defines sin, makes the cross necessary, and gives the gospel its urgency.

Spiritually, I learn to worship a God who is greater than my experience of Him, and to let His character and purposes shape my life, not the reverse.

Truth requires courage in a post-Protestant age

Merely identifying as “Protestant” takes no courage; living by historic Protestant convictions in today’s context does.

  • Standing for biblical truth often means standing against both the wider culture and much of the contemporary church.

  • Courage is needed to reject a truthless spirituality and embrace a costly, doctrinally grounded faith.

The spiritual lesson: discipleship includes the courage to be different—to love truth enough to risk being misunderstood or marginalized.

How these truths apply personally

  • Examine where I treat truth as “what feels right” rather than “what God has said.”

  • Ask whether my view of God is mostly about personal comfort or about His holy, transcendent reality.

  • Evaluate my church involvement: am I drawn mainly by style and experience, or by faithful teaching and a serious embrace of doctrine?

  • Pray for courage to hold to biblical truth even when it is unpopular or inconvenient.

My notes based on David F. Wells’ The Courage to Be Protestant, Chapter 2 (titled “Truth” )

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