Many of you probably know that I play the drums. I have been a drummer for almost 25 years. I learned most of what I know through trial and error. I played along with my favorite records and tried to figure out what the drummer was doing. One of the most challenging parts of learning to play the drums is keeping good time. After all, the main job of a drummer is to keep the band on the correct tempo. One of the best ways to practice this is to play along with a metronome. As you practice, the metronome keeps the beat. The metronome does not change. Your tempo might fluctuate, but the set tempo from the metronome will not follow your changes, rather you must adjust your playing to match up with the metronome. Over time, you will begin to develop a feel for correct tempo and your playing will improve.
There is a danger in not using a metronome. Your tempo will be faster in some parts and slower in others. If you play with a band, the other musicians will feel unsure of themselves. They will always be guessing what the right tempo is. Your audience will feel this, too. You must play in time if you want your music to sound good. In order to play in time, you must have a fixed standard for the correct tempo; something that cannot change. Only then can you navigate the music correctly.
Life works in this way, too. In order to navigate through this complex fallen world, we must have a fixed standard of truth; something that remains unchanged. In our world today, the idea of absolute unchanging truth seems outdated. Moral relativism rules the day. We constantly hear phrases like “my truth” and “your truth.” But this is nonsensical. Truth cannot change from person to person. Truth is truth and the ultimate standard of truth is God’s word. If the creator of the universe has spoken to us, then this is the standard by which we must live. This is the “tempo” that we should set our lives to. Psalm 119:105 tells us that “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” The word of God should be our guide for life. In it, we find everything needed for life down here.
One older Baptist Confession of Faith puts it this way, “The Holy Scripture is the only sufficient, certain and infallible rule of all saving knowledge, faith and obedience.” In other words, the Bible is our fixed tempo. Like the metronome that keeps the drummer and band together, God’s Word is the unchanging guide for life.
God’s word is also the only place whereby humans can learn how to be made right with a Holy God. Jesus explained this in John 14:6 “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” The only way to navigate the “tempo” of this life is through God’s Word, and the only way to be made right with God is through the Word made flesh, Jesus.