Truth
1. Someone once described Satan in the following manner:
2. He and a fellow demon were walking along and they saw a man.
3. This man had just come upon a piece of religious truth. He liked what he saw and he accepted it.
4. The demon asked Satan if the acceptance of a religious fact bothered his master.
5. Wasn’t a piece of religious truth a bad thing?
6. Satan said there was nothing to worry about.
7. The man would take that single piece of truth and make a religion out of it.
8. As long as he didn’t have all the pieces he would be fine.
THERE IS SOMETHING IN THE WORD CALLED “TRUTH,” AND TRUTH MATTERS. WHEN WE LOOK AT GOD’S WORD, WE SEE THAT MUCH OF THE INFORMATION IN IT IS DIRECTLY RELATED TO THE IDEA OF TRUTH.
a) When we look at God’s prophets we find more than preachers; we find presenters of divine truth.
b) From Matthew-Revelation we read about the truth.
c) Starting today, we want to look at some things related to the word truth.
2) My goal is to start in Matthew and work towards the end of the Bible.
3) Over a hundred passages deal with the word truth so we will be looking at many texts.
4) Today’s starts in the book of Matthew, Mt. 11:25, and ends with the book of John.
5) In Mt. 11 Jesus spoke of “hiding” the truth.
a) We may generally associate hiding the truth with evil and Satan (just like my illustration).
b) Several times we find God saying He has hidden the truth.
c) See if this point does not come through in verse 25 of Mt. 11 – READ.
d) Jesus said the Father had “hidden” things.
e) Jesus spoke of information from the Father (i.e. truth) and He said it was concealed by heaven.
f) This passage causes to ask if God arbitrarily hides things from mankind.
6) If we isolated this verse we might draw this conclusion: God willfully tries to lead people astray.
7) Let’s back up just a bit in the chapter – verses 21-24 – READ.
8) People had been exposed to the gospel but they rejected the information and evidence.
9) Because the people were hard hearted, the truth was to be taken from them (hidden).
10) God hid the truth after people looked at it and said “no.”
11) The thought is a lot like Jesus’ statement concerning swine and casting pearls before them.
12) Pigs cannot appreciate costly jewelry so we keep it hidden from them.
13) Mt. 11 teaches us a fundamental point about truth: it is for receptive hearts.
a) This principle is true in religion time and time again.
b) It is also very true in the world.
c) Perhaps we can illustrate truth and receiving the reception of it with flashlight batteries.
d) Most of us have inserted batteries into a flashlight tube.
e) Let’s say we have a flashlight tube that requires double A batteries.
f) In our illustration a battery represents the truth.
g) Let’s say we take a triple A batterry (very small) and put it in a double A flashlight tube.
h) In this case the battery has too much room and the flashlight will not operate.
i) A similar thing can and does happen in the spiritual realm.
j) A person’s mind can be so open to so many things the truth doesn’t make a good connection.
k) There is too much space for ideas; there is too much tolerance and broadmindedness.
l) At the present this is a very large problem in our world.
m) Many believe in the concept of pluralism; we accept a variety of beliefs and practices.
n) If this mindset is adopted, people will find that the truth is eventually taken from them.
o) Just as an undersized battery cannot work in too big of a tube, truth cannot co-exist with error.
p) What if the batteries are too big instead of too small?
q) If we have a flashlight that needs a double A battery, what happens if we try to use D batteries?
r) Now the tube is too narrow (small).
s) A similar thing is true in the spiritual realm.
t) If a person’s mind is closed, the truth is too large to enter into the head.
14) Jesus faced both these attitudes in His life and work.
15) Some minds were too open and several more were too closed.
16) I like the flashlight illustration because it is a decent illustration of the point and problem.
17) Furthermore, in most basic flashlights, there is some wiggle room for batteries.
18) A similar thing is true concerning minds and their acceptance of the truth.
19) People and personalities differ.
20) Some are a little more open than they should be; others are a bit too closed.
21) A little variation in people has always been the case; being too closed or too open creates problems.
22) Jesus spoke about people being too closed and He said the truth would be taken from them.
A SPECIAL KIND OF PERSON IS NEEDED IN ORDER FOR THE TRUTH TO TAKE ROOT IN THE LIFE. JESUS ONCE REFERRED TO THIS AS “GOOD SOIL.” IF A PERSON DOES NOT NATURALLY HAVE THIS DISPOSITION, WE CAN SOMETIMES HELP THEM CREATE IT BY DONG WHAT JESUS SAID IN THE GREAT COMMISSION: GO AND PREACH THE GOSPEL TO THE WHOLE WORLD.
a) After a person has embraced the truth they then need to apply it and take it to others.
b) Finding and know the truth are the beginning steps.
c) Once we have a handle on the truth, keeping it to ourselves is wrong.
d) Our next text comes after Matthew, Mk. 12:14.
e) Jewish leaders wanted to arrest the Lord on some charge so they asked about taxes.
f) They wanted Jesus to say whether or not it was right to pay tribute to Caesar.
g) This question was designed to snare Jesus.
h) Religious and political leaders (verse 13) were sent to the Lord, and they offered a compliment.
i) Verse 14 – READ.
j) Jesus was described as a man who spoke the truth no matter what.
k) In our culture we often hear requests that involve truth.
2) A wife may ask her husband, “How do I look?”
3) Depending upon the situation a wife may say, “tell me the truth.”
4) During an investigation a person may say, “tell me the truth.”
5) Jesus was known as someone who spoke the truth.
6) A passage that goes hand in hand with verse 14 is Lk. 4:32.
a) Jesus was in the area of Galilee (the city of Capernaum).
b) It was the Sabbath day and the Lord was teaching in a synagogue.
c) Those who were listening were astonished.
d) Their surprise is explained in verse 32 – READ.
e) Jesus spoke the truth (Mk. 12:14) and Jesus spoke with authority (Lk. 4:32).
f) Truth and authority are natural partners.
g) A person may speak with authority but not have the truth.
h) Perhaps you have asked for directions and someone was very explicit.
i) It sounded like the person knew where he was directing you, but he was wrong.
7) Truth is often so powerful it serves as its own source of authority.
8) Whether truth is spoken by someone young, old, important or common, it has power.
9) This is one of our most powerful tools to use in the Christian life.
10) Eph. 6:14 (in the context of Christian armor) says “gird the loins with truth.”
11) A Christian’s entire existence is to be based around and upon the truth.
12) Jesus did this in His life and people could see it.
13) Having a life founded upon the truth made the Lord unique and appealing.
14) We know this is what God wants from us because of our next reference, Lk. 11:52.
a) Here we find Jesus talking about the truth in a figurative manner.
b) He speaks about the “key of knowledge.”
c) God gave the truth but some were trying to hide it – verse 52 – READ.
d) Taking away the truth (knowledge) is equivalent to hiding it.
e) We live in a time and place where much of our society is interested in some type of truth.
f) News reporters are sometimes given special assignments to in uncover the truth.
g) Judges and juries usually want to find out the truth in court cases.
h) Publications base some of their advertising on telling the truth.
i) People want accurate reports on products so there are organizations like “Consumer’s Guide.”
j) Truth really does matter in our day-to-day lives.
k) If we make a deposit at the bank, just any old amount on the deposit slip will not do.
l) We want the bank to be truthful in crediting the money we deposit.
m) God says to the world, look for truth in the spiritual realm too; don’t let it be hidden.
n) When we find it, we cannot hide it under a bushel or fail to use it in our lives.
o) Truth is to permeate every part of our existence.
15) Who here cannot remember the words of the Lord in Jn. 8:32?
16) Jesus spoke of the “truth” and said it sets people “free.”
17) Truth has the authority to unbind and release people.
18) It is one of God’s greatest gifts to man.
19) Yet, there are many who do not want to hear it.
20) Listen to another verse from the 8th chapter of John – verse 40 – READ.
21) When some first century Jews heard the truth it didn’t just displease them.
22) They didn’t stomp off in anger. They had hatred in their hearts and wanted to kill the Lord.
23) We may never have thought about truth in this manner, but let me toss out this thought.
a) If a person says “no” to the truth of the gospel, he or she is saying “yes” to Satan.
b) Rejecting the truth is an act of darkness; it shows that a person’s allegiance is with the devil.
c) Jesus made all these points with a simple statement in verse 44 of Jn. 8 – READ.
d) There is “no truth” in the devil.
e) We may look at Satan and think he is deceptive some of the time or most of the time.
f) Satan is always bad. There is no truth in him because his nature is contrary to truth.
g) Just as there can be no evil within God, so no truth can be in the evil one.
h) Saved people are those who seek out and embrace the truth.
i) Unsaved people turn aside from the truth and are servants of the old dragon.
24) A lot of people say no to the truth but believe they are saying “yes” to Christ.
25) Jesus denied that such a way of life is possible.
26) Jn. 14:6 has Christ saying He is “the truth.”
27) If we truly have Christ, we have accepted the truth. If we reject the truth, we reject the Lord.
28) Jesus and truth cannot be separated.
29) A lot of people make wild claims about the Holy Spirit.
30) Jesus said (Jn. 14:17) that the Holy Spirit is the “Spirit of truth.”
31) If people teach something contrary to the Word of God, it is not being done by the Holy Spirit.
32) The Spirit of Truth cannot promote, support, endorse or be the source of any error
33) At times we hear of people claiming the Holy Spirit has given them special truth.
34) Jn. 16:13 says the Holy Spirit guided the apostles into “all the truth” – READ.
a) If the Holy Spirit gave all the revealed truth 2,000 ago, how much is left to reveal today?
b) If “all the money in a bank account” is gone, there is none left.
c) Since the Holy Spirit revealed “all the truth,” He didn’t hold back anything until now.
35) We turn to this complete package of religious truth for all the reasons previously given.
36) Another reason to embrace it is found in Jn. 17:17; God’s truth “sanctifies” us.
37) That is, God’s truth makes us holy, righteous, pure and pleasing to God.
38) If we look at this thought in reverse we can state the point this way:
a) Those who have and have been obedient to the truth are purified, Jn. 17:17.
b) Those who are not associated with the truth have not been purified (they are still in sin).
c) Stated another way, if we are not tied in with the truth we will be lost.
39) I have highlighted references to truth in the four gospels; a final text comes from Jn. 18.
40) Jesus is often remembered for some basic things: His birth, death and resurrection.
41) Listen to a reason Jesus Himself gave for coming into the world – Jn. 18:37- READ.
a) Jesus came to bear witness to the truth.
b) This truth means listening to what He has said in the New Testament.
c) The most important information we will ever hear or use is the truth of the gospel.
d) Truth matters because it determines where we will spend eternity.
42) We hope to explore the subject truth more fully in the coming Sunday mornings.
43) Today we have a foundation that makes this point clear: our eternal fate depends on the truth.
44) We must know it and obey it or we cannot have any association with Jesus of Nazareth.
45) Do we know what the truth is? Have we found and obeyed the truth of the gospel?