STANDING STRONG
IN THE BATTLE FOR TRUTH
“Truth is relative.
There are no absolutes.
Truth is what you make it.”
VBS: Day 4
Lesson Focus
Take the shield of
faith and the helmet
of salvation. They will
guard your from the
enemy’s attacks.
A little Bit About
the Middle Ages
(400-1400)
The Kingdom Chronicles:
Influential Thinkers in
the Middle Ages
Thomas Aquinas
• The great theologian and apologist
of the Middle Ages, Thomas
Aquinas (1225-1274)
• Aquinas was concerned with
defending the truth of Christianity.
(Apologetics)
• He used reason and logic in order
to “prove” the absolute truth of
those assumptions.
Thomas Aquinas
• He believes that man has the
capacity for reason as a Godgiven gift.
• An infinite God gave finite man
the capacity to reason and
logic as part of the image of
God (imago Dei).
• You don’t have to sacrifice your
intellect for faith.
Thomas Aquinas
• God’s Existence can be
known by Reason, through
nature.
• God’s Being (His essence)
can only be known by
Special Revelation the
Scripture
Thomas Aquinas
God is also logically proven by NEGATION
1. God is not limited by time- He is the Creator
of time.
2. God is not moveable- He is the Creator of
motion.
3. God is not designed- He is the Designer.
4. God does not degrade- He is Eternal
Perfection.
5. God is not contingent- He is Perfect in
Essence.
Thomas Aquinas
AQUINAS ON FAITH AND REASON
• In Summa Theologica, Aquinas defines faith
with exacting language. “Faith is to
believe…with assent.” (II, II, 2,1).
[1] Faith believes what can’t be proven or it
wouldn’t be faith.
[2] However, faith is not irrational. It must be
made on credible grounds and evidence.
• In Aquinas’ thought, faith and reason are two
layers of Truth that cannot contradict one
another.
• Philosophy is not the enemy, but a servant of
theology
King Solomon
1 Kings 2:4
“If your sons take heed to
their way, to walk before Me
in truth with all their heart and
with all their soul... you shall
not lack a man on the throne
of Israel.”
1 Kings 4:30-34
-Solomon's wisdom excelled
the wisdom of all men
-His fame was known in all
the surrounding nations
-He spoke three thousand
proverbs, and his songs were
one thousand and five
But... Solomon allowed his
affections and attachments
to the women in his life to blur
the line between right and
wrong.
1 Kings 11:1-3
-King Solomon loved many
foreign women
-They were from nations about
which the LORD had told the
Israelites, "You must not
intermarry with them, because
they will surely turn your hearts
after their gods."
What Happened?
He let his guard down.
He allowed influences in his life
to skew his view of life.
Ultimately what we believe as
truth will affect our behavior.
We will make decisions based
on what we regard as truth.
"It would have been useless to
argue with Solomon for the claims
of idols. He could at once, by his
wisdom, have annihilated all infidel
arguments, and have established
the existence and unity of God. But,
step by step, he was led by silken
cords, a captive, to the worship of
other gods." (FB Meyer)
1 Kings 11:9
“The LORD became angry with
Solomon because his heart had
turned away from the LORD, the
God of Israel, who had
appeared to him twice.”
Thinking in terms
of Absolutes
Think Truth:
The Shield of Faith
Ephesians 6:10-11; 16
“10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in
his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor
of God so that you can take your stand
against the devil's schemes... 16 above
all, taking the shield of faith with which
you will be able to quench all the fiery
darts of the wicked one.
Medieval knights
always carried shields
into battle.
They were so big it
covered their entire
bodies.
The shield protected
them from flaming
arrows. Without his
shield the knight
would be vulnerable
in battle.
The Shield of Faith
Faith is represented
as a shield,
protecting us from
the fiery darts of the
wicked one, those
persistent efforts of
demonic foes to
weaken us through
fear and unbelief.
The Idea behind the shield is that must
we continually be aware of the lies that
the devil tries to shoot our way.
-The people we hang out with
-The things we read in a book
-What we hear from friends
-What we learn from our teachers
The shield of faith helps us deflect
The D-Darts of:
Doubt
Discouragement
Deception
Division
Destruction
1 Corinthians 15:33
“Do not be deceived: "Evil company
corrupts good habits.“”
Proverbs 22:24-25
“24 Make no friendship with an angry
man, And with a furious man do not go,
25 Lest you learn his ways And set a
snare for your soul.”
Discern and Recognize
Does it Agree with the Truth of Scripture?
Everything has to be evaluated to the
standard of the truth of God’s Word.
Ultimately what we believe as
truth will affect our behavior.
We will make decisions based
on what we regard as truth.
Psalm 91:4
“He shall cover you with His feathers,
And under His wings you shall take
refuge; His truth shall be your shield and
buckler.”
Thinking in terms
of Absolutes
Think Truth:
The Helmet of Salvation
Ephesians 6:10-11; 17
“10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in
his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor
of God so that you can take your stand
against the devil's schemes... 17 And
take the helmet of salvation...
The medieval
knight always put
on their helmet, to
protect the
‘operating system’
of the body.
The helmet of
salvation protects
us against
thinking worldly.
Proverbs 23:7
says, “as a man
thinks in his heart,
so is he.”
Ultimately what we believe as
truth will affect our behavior.
We will make decisions based
on what we regard as truth.
The Idea behind the helmet is that we
can guard what we put into our minds.
-The things we watch on TV
-The things we read in a book
-What we hear from friends
-What we learn from our teachers
Everything has to be evaluated to the
standard of the truth of God’s Word.
Philippians 4:8
“Finally, brethren, whatever things are
true, whatever things are noble,
whatever things are just, whatever
things are pure, whatever things are
lovely, whatever things are of good
report, if there is any virtue and if there is
anything praiseworthy--meditate on
these things.”
1 Corinthians 2:16
“But we have the mind of Christ.”
Proverbs 3:3
“Let not mercy and truth forsake you;
Bind them around your neck, Write them
on the tablet of your heart”