Are You Of The Truth?

When Jesus stood before Pilate, one of the questions Pilate asked was:

““Are you a king, then!” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.” And then in the next verse, Pilate asks “what is truth.”

So my question to all of you this morning is “Are you of the truth.” To answer that correctly, we must know what truth is and for the next couple of minutes that will be our focus today. What is truth?

One of the catch phrases of today that all of us are very familiar with is “Fake News.” But, it is not just the news. These days deception is rampant everywhere even in the Church. This should be no surprise because scripture tells us that sin and lawlessness will increase in the last days. People want us to believe a lie presented as if it is the truth.

The late Sir Winston Churchill said “A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on.” Isn’t that true? We have to be careful what we believe and in case you did not know already, Satan is the author and father of all lies. So in order for us to navigate the waters, we must know what truth is.

Today we celebrate “Christ the King” Sunday. The truth is that “yes” Jesus is King. But as Jesus himself said, His kingdom is not of this world. Even though the earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, He came to us not dressed like a King or born in a palace but He came to us as a sacrificial lamb who died on a cruel cross to save us from our sins and grant to us the gift of eternal life. The truth is He will return again as King of Kings and Lord of Lords at which time every knee will bow and every tongue confess that He is Lord. That is His testimony of the truth.

But that is not all. Our triune God is the complete embodiment of truth. In Him there is no darkness at all. All truth flows from God. Truth is the very character and essence of God which makes him trustworthy. To the Pharisees who challenged Jesus in John ch.8, Jesus said: “You are of your father the devil and the lusts of your father you will do. He was a murderer from the beginning and abode not in the truth because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks of his own for he is a liar and the father of it.” Then in the same Gospel of John ch 14, Jesus said “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me".

My friends, the word of God and the incarnate word of God (Jesus) is truth. Truth is absolute and timeless. We cannot bend or twist the truth. It does not change from time to time to fit the circumstances. It is true that Jesus was crucified on a cross bear our sins. It is true that by His stripes we are healed. Friends, Jesus paid too much for your soul and for your peace. So don’t give the enemy your mind or your thoughts to plant lies that are contrary to this truth. Just like Satan told Adam and Eve, “Surely you will not die” he tells as many who will hear him that everything is going to be all right. He will tell you that everything you read in scripture or hear from God is really not true because there is a better and easier way. So long as you are a good person it is all going to be good. Sugar coated lies appear to be the truth but all truth is from God and God alone.

The word of God is truth and it is a love story between God and us. It contains everything we need for salvation and has every solution to the problems of this life. In John ch 8 Jesus said “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.”

Are you abiding in His word my friends? If you are not, you are not of the truth! You would not know what a lie is if you do not know the truth. What is true is that you are redeemed, forgiven and a child of the most high God. The truth is that God loves you with an everlasting love. The truth is that Jesus is alive and is coming again in the clouds of glory to receive all believers into eternal life.