God’s truth has been revealed, it is absolute, infallible, immutable, and sufficient. Join us in this message as we point out what our response should be to God’s glorious truth.
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The Truth Of God
This morning I want to take our time in the Word together to consider another of God’s attributes – His truthfulness.
One of the most common sins that people regularly engage in is lying. In a study conducted in 2002, it was discovered that on average, a person told 2 or 3 lies in a 10 minute conversation. It was also noted that we are lied to up to 200 times a day! Babies begin to deceive others as early as six months of age. Often they will cry for no reason just to get attention.
Psalm 58:3 says, “The wicked are estranged from the womb; these who speak lies go astray from birth.” It has been often noted that you don’t have to teach a child to lie. Somehow they are able to figure that out all on their own!
Lying comes in the form of “little white lies”, exaggerations, outright deceptions, broken promises, fabrications, and plagiarism.
With so much lying and deception occurring among people, it is extremely refreshing to discover that there is at least one Being who never lies – God Himself. God is completely and absolutely truthful. Why do we believe that? Well, let’s take a brief overview of Scripture on the subject.
Psalm 31:5, “You have ransomed me, O Lord God of truth.” He is called the God of truth.
John 3:33, “He who has received His testimony has set his seal to this, that God is true.”
Titus 1:2, “in the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised long ages ago”
Hebrews 6:18, “it is impossible for God to lie”. Why can’t God lie? Because embedded within His divine nature is truthfulness.
Numbers 23:19, “God is not a man that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent; Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?”
Daniel 4:37, “all of His works are true”
If God is a God of truth, then we would expect Him to make good on all of His promises. And, that’s exactly what we find in Scripture.
In Solomon’s benediction on the children of Israel in 1 Kings 8:56 he said, “Blessed be the Lord, who has given rest to His people Israel, according to all that He promised; not one word has failed of all His good promise, which He promised through Moses His servant.”
Thus, if God is absolutely truthful, that means that we can always depend on Him to tell the truth. We never have to wonder if He is lying or deceiving us.
In the remainder of this message I want to focus on the characteristics of God’s truth, and then on how we should respond to God’s truth.
Before we do that though, let’s try to define truth. Truth is the property of being in accord with fact or reality as known by God. Since God’s perception of reality is perfect, whenever He speaks it is truth. It can’t be anything else, because He knows reality perfectly. When God speaks it is perfect truth.
1. What Are The Characteristics Of God’s Truth
It Has Been Revealed
God could have chosen not to speak to us. He had every right to keep quiet and allow us to go on in ignorance and oblivion about truth. But He has chosen to speak. Hebrews 1:1-2 says, “God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world.” The Bible is the Word of God. God has spoken to His creatures. That means we don’t have to wonder about truth. There is no need for us to be confused as to what is reality. God has told us.
There are 413 times in the King James Version where “thus saith the Lord” occurs. God has spoken. God has communicated. God is not silent.
If God had not chosen to reveal His Word, there is no way we could have discovered it. We would never know of His creating work, the divine and human natures in Christ, the purpose of Christ’s death, or of His second coming. These are truths that had to be revealed.
So, just how did God reveal His truth?
1) In His Word. Jesus said in John 17:17, “Sanctify them in Your truth, Your word is truth.” If you are looking for God’s truth, you must look for it in His Word, the Scriptures.
2) In His Son. Jn.1:14,17 “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth… For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ.”
Jn.14:6, Jesus said “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.” Jesus is not just a Teacher of the truth; He is the very embodiment of the truth; the essence of all truth, and the fountain of all truth. He is truth incarnate. To hear Him is to hear truth. To see Him is to see truth in action.
3) In His Spirit. Three times Jesus referred to the Holy Spirit as the Spirit of truth (Jn.14:16-17; Jn.15:26; 16:13).
It Is Absolute
Absolute truth is something that is true at all time and in all places and has relevance for our lives. In our society today, about three out of four Americans say there is no such thing as absolute truth. And the statistics aren’t much better among Christians.
In our day and age most people believe that truth is relative. In other words, everyone decides for themselves what is truth. The idea is that something is true for me if I think it’s true and find it meaningful. If believing in God makes you feel good, then for you there is a God. But I don’t feel the need for religion. For me there is no God. Truth is defined by my thoughts and feelings. With this perspective, you can have as many “truths” as there are people. All we will allow is that something is true for you. You are not allowed to say that it is true for everyone else.
But if there is absolute truth, it is true whether anyone believes it or not. God is real whether I believe in Him or not. Truth exists apart from us.
The Bible claims that it is absolute truth. It is true for all people in all places at all times. Psalm 119:142 says “Your law is truth.” Jesus said in John 17:17, “Your Word is truth.” Jesus didn’t say “Your word is truth in some places, at some times, for some people.” No, God’s Word is truth always.
It Is Infallible
We believe that the Bible is infallible. That means that the Bible in the original manuscripts is incapable of being wrong. That makes perfect sense. 2 Timothy 3:16 tells us that “all Scripture is inspired by God.” If God is the source of the Scriptures, and God has perfect knowledge of reality and is not ever wrong, then His word is incapable of error as well. And God has chosen to reveal His infallible word to us.
It Is Immutable
God’s word is not ever changing with each new generation and culture.
Psalm 119:89 says, “Forever, O Lord, Your word is settled in heaven.” Customs may change. Culture may change. Dress may change. Language may change. But God’s truth never changes.
Ps. 119:160, “The sum of Your word is truth, and every one of Your righteous ordinances is everlasting.”
This guarantees that the truth of Scripture is permanent and unchanging, and is applicable to everyone in every generation. Just because our generation and American culture does not like what the Bible has to say about sexual morality and gender issues, it doesn’t matter. No man has the authority or right to change God’s Word. That goes for those who want to change God from “He” to “She”, or want to delete certain uncomfortable passages from the Bible. The Word of God stands forever.
My friends, if you ever hear of someone adding to, changing, or taking away from God’s Word, run! Have nothing to do with them.
Charles Spurgeon once wrote, “Opinions alter, but truth certified by God can no more change than the God who uttered it.”
It Is Sufficient
Some have said, “All the Bible is true, but not all truth is in the Bible.” What are they really saying by that statement? They are saying that the Bible is infallible, but not sufficient. They are saying that we need to look to other sources to gather truth. But, what does the Bible claim about itself? 2 Timothy 3:16-17, “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.” The NKJV says “thoroughly equipped”. The ESV says “complete”. The idea here is that the Bible is sufficient to provide all the believer needs for his spiritual life.
In many churches and denominations, a man is not considered equipped to counsel others unless he has a degree in psychology. I would challenge that assertion. The Bible alone is sufficient to meet the needs of the individual. Nor do we have to have extra-Biblical revelation in order to live the Christian life. The Bible alone is adequate to prepare us for every good work that God has for us.
2. What Must We Do With God’s Truth?
The Bible has a lot to say about what we should do with God’s truth. Let’s take a look.
1) We Should Buy God’s Truth.
Prov.23:23, “Buy truth, and do not sell it.” You say, “Brian what are you talking about? How can we buy the truth?” Well, I’m not telling you to literally take out your wallet and pay for truth. I believe this is to be understood figuratively. We are to make whatever expenditure of time and effort is necessary to obtain God’s truth. In that sense, we are to “buy” it. How much time and effort are you investing in order to obtain God’s truth. And once you have obtained it, do not sell it. In other words, do not let it go. Cling to it forever.
2) We Should Pray for God’s Truth.
Psalm 25:4-5, “Make me know Your ways, O Lord; Teach me Your paths. Lead me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; for You I wait all the day.”
Psalm 43:3-4, “O send out Your light and Your truth, let them lead me; let them bring me to Your holy hill and to your dwelling places.”
The psalmist prayed that God would send out His truth, and lead him in God’s truth. We should do the same. In fact, before you start reading the Bible, stop and ask God to lead you in His truth.
3) We Should Believe God’s Truth.
My friends, if God is absolutely truthful, then we can trust what He has told us! Isn’t it wonderful to know that we have a sure and solid deposit of truth that will never let us down? Romans 9:33 says, “He who believes in Him will not be disappointed.”
My friends, believe the Scriptures. If God has said it, and you don’t believe it, you insult Him! 1 John 5:10, “the one who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has given concerning His Son.”
Ephesians 1:13, “In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation – having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise”
2 Thessalonians 2:11-12, “For this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false, in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness.”
4) We Should Love God’s Truth.
2 Thessalonians 2:10, “and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved.”
The psalmist said in Psalm 1:2 that the blessed man “delights in the law of the Lord”
Jeremiah 15:16, “Your words were found and I ate them, and Your words became for me a joy and the delight of my heart”
Can you honestly say that you love the truth? If you love ice cream, what will you do? You will buy and eat ice cream! You will think of ice cream, you will long for ice cream, and whenever you can, you will get ice cream. The same goes for God’s truth. You will get His truth, think of His truth, long for His truth, and enjoy His truth.
5) We Should Value God’s Truth.
Job 23:12, “I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food.” What a statement! Job says that he valued and treasured God’s Word more than the food he needed to survive. How highly do you esteem God’s Word? How highly do you prize it? How important is it in your life? Does your life show evidence that you treasure God’s Word?
6) We Should Hear God’s Truth.
Romans 10:17, “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.”
We should hear the truth. You can hear the truth by reading the Word of God out loud, or by listening to someone else read it, or by listening to someone preach it.
Jesus said over and over in Revelation 2 and 3, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” Are you listening to the truth?
7) We Should Memorize God’s Truth.
Psalm 119:11, “Your word I have treasured in my heart, that I may not sin against You.”
When Jesus was tempted by the devil, He responded by quoting Scripture. Now I’m quite sure He didn’t pull out the scrolls and try to find passages to respond to Satan. Jesus had hid the Word in His heart. He knew it because He had memorized it.
Brothers and sisters, when you are reading the Word, and a verse or passage really speaks to your heart, stop and commit that passage to memory. Hide it up in your heart.
8) We Should Meditate On God’s Truth.
Psalm 1:2 “But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night.”
Joshua 1:8 “This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success.”
If there was anyone that could have pled that they just did not have time to meditate on the Word of God, it would have been Joshua. He was the commanding general of the armies of Israel, and the successor to Moses. He had an entire nation to lead. Yet God commanded him to meditate on the law of the Lord day and night.
9) We Should Study God’s Truth.
2 Timothy 2:15, “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.”
We must be diligent to handle the word accurately. That is to say, we must give careful thought to how we interpret the Word. We must look at the Word in its context, reading what goes before and after the verse in question. We must seek to discover what the original author was seeking to communicate to his original audience. We should give words the meaning they held when the verse was written. There is an entire science behind how to properly interpret the Scriptures. We call that Hermeneutics. I believe every Christian should get trained on how to interpret the Bible accurately.
10) We Should Speak God’s Truth.
Ephesians 4:15, “but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ.”
Yes, some are gifted to preach and teach God’s Word, but all of us should speak God’s truth. This verse is speaking about the whole body speaking God’s truth to one another so that the whole church is built up. That’s why we plan a period of time in our Sunday meetings for everyone to have an opportunity to speak God’s truth. It doesn’t matter if you are a pastor, or church leader or not. All of us can speak the truth, and we should.
11) We Should Teach The Truth.
The Bible says in James 3:1, “Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment.” However, in Hebrews 5:12 we read, “For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food.” So, which is it? Are all God’s children supposed to be teachers or are they not? Yes! There is a sense in which we should not all be teachers. When it comes to formal, authoritative doctrinal teaching addressed to the church, not everyone should assume that role. But there is a sense in which all of us should be teachers. All of us have a sphere of influence, whether it is as a Dad, a friend, a neighbor, a workmate. Use your sphere of influence to teach others the truth. Find another believer who knows less than you, and meet with them and help them to grow in their understanding of God’s Word. Teach your children the Word of God. In conversation with neighbors or classmates, look for opportunities to teach them God’s truth.
12) We Should Walk In The Truth.
Ezra 7:10 says “For Ezra had set his heart to study the law of the Lord and to practice it, and to teach His statutes and ordinances in Israel.” Ezra sets us a really good example. He did three things in regard to the truth. He studied it, He taught it, and He practiced it. It is that third one that is so vitally important! A preacher may be a great orator, but if He doesn’t live out what he preaches, his ministry is worthless.
3 John 4, “I have no greater joy than this, to hear of my children walking in the truth.” When the Bible speaks of “walking” it is talking about our lifestyle, or how we order our conduct.
Romans 2:8, “but to those who are selfishly ambitious and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, wrath and indignation.” Here is a description of the lost, the ones who will face God’s wrath and indignation. They do not obey the truth, but rather obey unrighteousness.
Brothers and sisters, it is important that we be not hearers only, but doers of the word. When you read something in the Word of God, pray that next time you are in a certain situation, you will remember God’s Word and actually put it into practice.
May God help us to live out God’s truth for His glory. Let’s pray.
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