Reading: John 8 We live in a world of deception; of deception so subtle and great that at times even the strongest believers feel discouraged, afraid or tempted to doubt. It is at times like this that we need to remind ourselves and others about the realities of Yahweh's Truth, an entity of immeasurable importance and worth in this age of deceit. Listen to the politicians of any party; hear a sermon by an eloquent speaker of any denomination or religion and everyone - initially - appears to be telling the truth. It's only when one looks deeper and gathers more and more facts does the truth begin to emerge. Some one said 'half a truth is worse than a lie' because you do not know which half you have. This morning I want to discuss Yahweh's truth. What is it?
In John 18:38 Pilate asked the question "What is truth?"
It is an important question to say the least and the answer is vital to salvation. In a world of massive deception and vice we need to know that answer or we're bound to fall into error and suffer loss. As with every precious gem or metal, truth is not found on the surface: you must dig deep to find it. The dictionary defines the word 'truth' as something being "in accordance with fact." Truth, in other words, is 'something that is in accordance with reality - the facts.
Prior to his death the patriarch Moses proclaimed the following testimony:
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Deuteronomy 32:1-4 |
"Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak; and hear, O earth, the words of my mouth. My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass: Because I will publish the name of the LORD: ascribe ye greatness unto our God. He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he." |
On Mount Sinai the Almighty met with Moses and made the following announcement:
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Exodus 34:5-6 |
"And the LORD descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD. And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth," |
From the above we can see that truth is infinitely more than just something in accordance with the facts. It is used in the above verse to describe Yahweh's character, the kind of person He is. Yahweh is abundant in truth. His son Jesus of Nazareth (Yeshua the Messiah) came to earth to demonstrate this fact. This is what the Saviour said of truth.
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Yeshua is Truth |
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John 14:6 |
"Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." |
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Yahweh's Law is Truth |
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Psalm 119:142 |
"The law is truth." |
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v151 |
"All thy commandments are truth." |
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Malachi 2:6 |
"The law of truth was in his mouth." |
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Yahweh's Word, the Bible, is Truth |
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John 17:17 |
"Thy word is truth." |
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We are to worship God in Truth |
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John 4:23-24 |
"... For God is a Spirit, and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth." |
This means our worship of God must be motivated by His Spirit and it must be according to His directions - in truth. The Pharisees did the right things but they lacked the Holy Spirit. Their attitude was wrong. Others have the right attitude, but their doctrine is in error. For worship to be effective we must worship with the right Spirit and in the right way - in truth. Any other combination is vain and ineffective.
NOTE: Tradition is not divine truth. Many naively accept tradition as truth. But that is a mistake. When the traditions or commandments of men pose as truth, then religious worship becomes futile and vain.
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Matthew 15:9 |
"But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men." |
Being an ingredient and manifestation of Yahweh's own makeup, truth has multiple effects. I list a few.
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Truth is liberating |
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John 8:32 |
"And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" |
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Truth sanctifies |
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John 17:17 |
"Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth." |
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Truth protects and preserves |
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Psalm 91:4 |
"His truth shall be thy shield and buckler." |
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Ephesians 6:14 |
"Having your loins girt about with truth." |
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Proverbs 20:28 |
"Mercy and truth preserve the king." |
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Truth is indestructible |
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2 Corinthians 13:8 |
"For we can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth." |
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Truth is potent |
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James 1:18 |
"Of his own will He begat us with the Word of Truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures." |
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Truth sifts |
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John 18:37 |
"Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice." |
It shouldn't come as a shock to anyone to be told that truth has its enemies, many enemies. Satan's attack on truth is yet to reach a climax when he will think that he has overthrown Yahweh and established his own life-style on earth. But as is always the case, Satan's final deception is self-deception.
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2 Timothy 4:4 |
"... And will turn aside from hearing the truth and wander off into myths and man-made fictions." |
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Daniel 8:12 |
"... And righteousness and truth were cast down to the ground, and (the wicked horn) accomplished this (by divine permission) and prospered." |
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2 Thessalonians 2:12 |
"In order that all may be judged and condemned who do not believe - who refuse to adhere to, trust in and rely on - the truth, but instead took pleasure in unrighteousness." |
Every believer must constantly examine his/her reactions, attitudes and expression of truth. None of us is perfect (1 John 1:6-8) so we need Yahweh's written word of truth (The Bible) as our chart and standard. Without it we will surely go astray and get lost in a maze of speculation, tradition and error. Here are some reactions to truth which are vital to healthy Christian growth.
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Receive the Truth through Christ |
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John 1:17 |
"For while the law was given through Moses, grace (unearned, undeserved favour and spiritual blessing) and truth came through Jesus Christ" |
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NOTE: Yahshua (Jesus) is Yahweh's channel of truth. Through him all things of value (holiness, meekness, faith etc) come. Moses was the channel of law, but godly character comes through the Messiah. |
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Walk in truth |
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Isaiah 38:3 |
"O Lord I beseech you, how I have walked in thy truth." |
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2 John 4 |
"I rejoiced greatly that I found of thy children - walking in the truth." |
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Speak the truth |
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Exodus 20:16 |
"Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour." |
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Zecheriah 8:16 |
"Speak ye every man the truth to his neighbour." |
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Teach the truth |
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Isaiah 38:19 |
"... The father to the children shall make known thy truth." |
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Testify to truth |
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John 18:37 |
"... that I should bear witness unto the truth." |
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Using truth as a test |
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1 John 2:4 |
"He that saith I know Him and keepeth not His commandments is a liar and the truth is not in him." |
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Love the truth |
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2 Thessalonians 2:10 |
"... Because they received not the love of the truth that they might be saved." |
Failure to "love the truth" usually ends in spiritual death. Our reactions to truth, to Yahweh, His Son, His Word and His law, are vital to success. People will be measured on the Judgement Day according to how they reacted to truth. What a sobering fact! The Bible is Life's User Guide. It not only tells of how humanity was created and later fell into sin, but it tells the truth of where our whole system of civilisation is heading. It tells of how truth will eventually be victorious over error. How will the Most High accomplish this seemingly impossible goal?
Those who reject truth because they love unrighteousness are given over to believe the lie. They get what they want. They are handed over to believe the Lie. Their end is awful. They are damned.
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2 Thessalonians 2:7-12 |
"For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness." |
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