Discerning the Truth
Truth is absolute, faithfulness, trustworthy, steady – remaining the same, certainty,
assured, reality, not concealing... indeed true
Hitler said “if you say something long enough, people will believe it to be truth, but
truth is conformity to fact or actuality, faithfulness to an original or to a standard.
Truth is the absence of lie. Truth is a moral and personal characteristic of God. God
is truth; the Spirit is truth and Jesus is truth (Isaiah 65:16, John 8:40, 14;6,17; 15:26,
16:13).
Truth is that which is real and can be verified and confirmed by experience.
Evolution can’t be confirmed or experienced, that’s why the use millions of years to
explain anything, for example they say the world started with the big band where
slime turned into tadpoles, they go on through many changes from one thing into
another, but without proof, because when you go to the zoo, you will see that all
monkeys and apes only produce monkeys and apes to this day; however
archaeology is revealing more and more evidence, that the Bible is true. People said
that the Bible we have now is not the real deal, but when they found the dead sea
scrolls in 1948, they compared them to the Bible of today and they are the same.
Cities listed in the Bible which were thought to be not real, have been found and
identified.
In Scripture, truth is a very important concept because God is the God of all truth,
who speaks and judges truly. He is the real source and cause of the whole
universe. Scripture also focuses on God’s divine revelation of truth in the gospel
message of redeeming grace through Christ. This is the truth that Jesus and the
apostles proclaimed. II Timothy 3:16 “all scripture is inspired by God and is profitable
for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness”. This is
useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It
straightens us out and teaches us to do what is right. The Bible tells us in II
Corinthians 10:4-5 “(for the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty
through God to the pulling down of strong holds. Casting down imaginations, and
every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into
captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ”.
The Old Testament teaching was never false, but it was veiled and incomplete in
comparison with the revealed truth of the New Testament. So Christ made spiritual
things real (John 1:17). Christ is the truth because, being God, His words carry
divine authority. They are truth and life (John 6:63). In additional, the life of Christ
was the ideal example of truthfulness and utter reliability. When people live in
obedience to the truth, they themselves are true and trustworthy, they will do what
they say they will do, scripture calls upon people to “do the truth” (John 3:21). The
Holy Spirit was sent to leads believers into the experience of all that is real in Christ
(John 16:13). God has given us the Holy Spirit who will help us live obediently, He will
alert us when our old sinful nature is trying to take over. God has also given us His
word, the Bible, which clearly tells us many things that are absolutely right and
absolutely wrong.
There seems to be so many gray areas when it comes to right and wrong. God gave
the 10 commandments so you could see your need for a savior. The law was given
to show sinful nature (Romans 7:7). This life is one we can’t live by ourselves. Men
say “you only live once, so enjoy it, cause when you die your are done”, but we don’t
only live once, we live eternally somewhere.
God saw a truthful quality in Abraham, He said “seeing that Abraham shall surely
become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed
in him. for I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him,
and the shall keep the way of the Lord Yahweh, to do justice and judgment; that the
Lord Yahweh may bring upon Abraham what which He has spoken of him”. Jesus
said “if you continue in My word, then are you My disciple indeed. And you shall
know the truth and the truth shall make you free”. The devil tries to disguise or even
hide the truth so people won’t be free. The Bible tells us in I Peter 5:8 “be sober, be
vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion walks about, seeking
whom he may devour”. We know that if the devil had any real power, he would take
out the ministers that are winning millions to Christ, but he can’t operate against
anyone without their human authority. The Bible tells us “neither give place to the
devil” (Ephesians 4:27). Paul reveals that God expects us to follow truth (Romans 2:6-
10). Let’s not stop at the manger, or even at the cross, but remember that Jesus
defeated the devil already, nearly 2000 years ago (Colossians 3:15) so let’s pick up
the spoil. Once we realize that the devil is defeated and that Jesus gave us power of
all the enemy, we can defeat any problem coming into our lives. Speak to the
problem and tell it where to go, just like Jesus spoke to the fig tree. We have to find
the truth about the problem, then meditate on the answer and believe and speak it
out.
Sermon by: Harriet Bond
Date: December 1, 2006