Why Black, White, and Grey Are the Primary Colors

Welcome to the Training Table! We have a sumptuous spread prepared for all those who are “running the good race” (Hebrews 12:1; 1 Corinthians 9:24) and need a very specific diet of God’s Truth and Love to sustain them.

The fare set for today is meant to polarize our thinking so as to encourage us to not be deceived by anti-God notions, but rather be reminded of the simple majesty of what God has made plain—for His glory, the blessing of His people, and the fulfillment of His redemptive plan.

God has made plain (black and white, clear, obvious, understandable, reasonable, easy for the child-like to grasp) the most important aspects of life. SO, all the world, the flesh, and the devil can do is try and screw it up… by making things apparently confusing, unanswerable, “a private matter”, … or GREY.

The truth will set us free; confusion will keep us in bondage. Yes, it’s that black and white!

It is of primary importance to know that “…God is not a God of confusion but of peace” (1 Corinthians 14:33). NOTE: The Bible offers a contrast NOT between confusion and clarity, but confusion and peace:

The clarity of God’s love and truth is the Shalom peace of a never-ending relationship between God and us. The confusion the devil and his minions prefer promote a warring in the heart that destroys—itself first, and then all else.

The Truth of Black and White Compels the Deceiver to Make All Things Grey

I’m using the cover of my book for a graphic depiction of the issue we’re chewing on. I know that for those who know me, it will not come as any surprise that I was very deliberate in collaborating with my publisher about the design of the cover.

From the beginning, three priorities were set in place: bookshelf presence, contrast between darkness and light, and (most importantly) an overarching worldview and remembrance that the most important issues are black and white… NOT GREY, muddied, unknown, “relative”, or up for unending discussion with no resolution.

Specifically, within the realm of the main and crucially important subject matter of my book, God has given us more than enough of His truths to understand Theodicy, or “Why a loving God allows suffering to occur in the world.”

Anyone who believes that there is ANY merit in leaving any person or persons in a state of unending ambivalence, as the Bible says, is a liar a servant of The Father of Lies (read all of 1 John).

How’s that for a polarizing comment?

Please believe me when I say I’m speaking the truth in love: It’s that THAT IMPORTANT for us to see that God loves us enough to not leave us wondering about the most elemental and important stuff of life. How could a god of any worth whatsoever do anything but the same? It’s worth looking into our worldviews to measure whether there is there’s more grey… than black and white.

Why? Because confusion does three things: destroys, destroys, and destroys.

God has given black and white answers to all of the most important issues of life. But beginning in Genesis 3 (The Fall of Mankind), Satan (the Author of Confusion) has had one main aim: Blend black and white, what God has made obvious and good, to make the most important issues GREY.

Alexander Solzhenitsyn said, “The line between good and evil is drawn not between nations or parties, but through every human heart.”

“The truth of God is not aimed at learned intellectuals; it is simple enough for a child. “At that time Jesus declared, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children” (Matthew 11:25). The Word of God is not a puzzle. It does not speak in riddles. It is not cryptic or mysterious. It is plain and obvious to those who have spiritual ears to hear. “The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple” (Psalm 19:7)” (John MacArthur).

The Black and White Truth of God and Mankind

“All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me” (Revelation 3:20).

“But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:12).

“But what does it say? ‘The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart’ (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:8-9).

Grey: A Color That’s Been Blended Over Time

We don’t have the space here to see how the consequences of ideas over time have gotten us to the place today where MOST issues are apparently GREY… and very few are apparently BLACK and WHITE. Yes, it’s now upside-down. (Is it any wonder why the area POLITICS is one of the most distrusted, frustrating, and confounding realms of life today?)

Suffice it to say that most everything in life occurs incrementally, “invisibly”, “behind the scenes”, a little piece by little piece, “a slow fade”. For one such example that we are dealing with on a scale that’s nearly indescribable, OUR SEXUALITY, check out the Casting Crowns video link below.

Please take some time to collect and record your, “Top Ten Most Black and White Issues” list this week. Please use Bible references and a community of faith as a filter to help you clarify and confirm these True Truths.

This will result in three important outcomes: an inside-out peace that surpasses all understanding, a clarity of purpose for life that is not distracted by confusion, and an outside-in impact in a world fraught with confusion and in dire need of True Truth.

Thank you, and may God richly bless your running the good race,
JohnDoz