THE TRUTH BE TOLD
Col 2:4 Exodus 20:16
INTRODUCTION: Here is an interesting bit of information I came across -- One of the most telling examples is our view of truth. In the 1960s, 65 percent of Americans said they believed the Bible is true; today that figure has dropped to 32 percent. Even more dramatically, today 67 percent of all Americans deny that there’s any such thing as truth. Seventy percent say there are no moral absolutes. In a similar study by the Barna Group when just asking those aged 18-25, amazingly 72% said that there was no absolute truth.
Now – If there is so little confidence in the existence of ABSOLUTE truth, is there any surprise that we have an eroding commitment to “practical” truth”
When we undermining the value of absolute truth is like unleashing an earthquake. You not only have to worry about the quake itself, but all of the aftershocks that follow. When we erode absolute truth, we also erode trust, confidence, integrity, faith, security, and stability.
At the same time as our reliance on truth is diminished, the space left by its dwindling is filled with falsehood and all of its followers – suspicion, doubt, withdraw, insecurity, conflict, resentment, and anger.
Every time “nontruth” comes into a relationship, trust and confidence are tattered.
In our time together today, I would like to looks at some important truth about truth. As we seek to bring our speech and tongue under control. To keep it on the “cutting edge” so to speak, we cannot go far in this area without first dealing with the importance of truth!
I THE BIBLES MANDATE FOR TRUTH
A The Biblical Foundation
1 The Ten Commandments
Exodus 20:16 "You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
2 The Wisdom of Proverbs
Proverbs 6:16-19 There are six things the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to him: 17haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, 18a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, 19a false witness who pours out lies and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers.
3 The Judgment of Revelation
Rev. 21:8 But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars--their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death."
4 The Psalms of David
Psalm 51:6 Surely you desire truth in the inner parts; you teach me wisdom in the inmost place.
B The Reason For Truths Importance
1 Our Relationship to the Nature of God
a God is Truth by nature
Psalm 31:5 Into your hands I commit my spirit; redeem me, O LORD, the God of truth.
Titus 1:2 a faith and knowledge resting on the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time,
1) God’s mission is truth
John 14:6 Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
2) To align with truth is to align with God
b We are Reflective by Design
Romans 9:20-21 But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? "Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, ’Why did you make me like this?’ " 21Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for common use?
Romans 8:29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.
1) God has designed us for His use
2) Conformation to God requires an accurate reflection of Who God is
3) Accurate reflection demands that we reflect truth.
c We must be Submissive by Preference
Proverbs 13:5 The righteous hate what is false,
but the wicked bring shame and disgrace.
Col. 3:9 Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices
II THE PRESSURE AGAINST TRUTH
The truth be told, since truth is so important to the character, nature, and expressed will of God – is it any wonder why truth is so attacked in society today
A Beguilement – “Nontruth by misdirection and deception”
Col. 2:4 I tell you this so that no one may deceive you by fine-sounding arguments.
Col. 2:4 And this I say, lest any man should beguile you with enticing words.
1 We are quick to conclude wrongly.
Have you ever been in a situation where something has happened and without any evidence concluded that a certain person MUST have been involved, only later to find out that you were wrong? If you have – you have been beguiled
2 We are quick to share false conclusions.
After we have come to a conclusion without all the facts, we are then quick to share our conclusions with someone else. Perhaps in the guise of prayer requests, or a search for help and counsel. When we do this we have not been beguilers, we have BECOME beguilers
In His book – Tongue in Check, Joe Stowell gives some suggestions to avoid falling into beguilement:
ü Have a patient spirit – wait for all the facts.
Galatians 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
ü Chose to exercise love first until the facts prove otherwise.
1 Cor. 13:6-7 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
ü Exercise the power of God’s intervention through prayer
1 Peter 1:17 Since you call on a Father who judges each man’s work impartially, live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear.
ü Protect others by encouraging others to reserve judgment
1 Cor. 13:4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
ü Willing go to the source for the facts
Matthew 18:15 "If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over.
B Deceit – “Nontruth through camouflage”
1 Sin entered the world through deceit
Genesis 3:1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say, ’You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?"
a Camouflaged the facts to make God appear restrictive, stingy and arbitrary.
b In reality – God was VERY generous – EVERY tree is yours to eat from, but this one!
NOTICE – DECEIT COMES IN DISGUISE, UNEXPECTEDLY, AND FROM SOMETHING YOU SHOULD HAVE HAD CONTROL OVER!
C Lying – “Nontruth by direct communication”
I have always like the signs in some stores, put there to deter shoplifters. The signs say, something like this, “Win a free ride in a police cruiser – take something from this store!”
If shoplifting gets you a free ride to jail – Lying is so offensive to God that it gets you a …
1 Free ride to hell
Rev. 21:8 But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars--their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death."
AND IF YOU DID NOT CATCH IT – GOD SAID ALL. HE WANTED US TO KNOW HOW MUCH HE HATES LYING!
2 Lying has ALWAYS been the basic strategy of the devil.
3 Just as truth is a part of the nature of God, so lying is part of the devil’s nature
John 8:44 You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.
4 Lying was part of my past – not part of my future!
Col. 3:9-10 Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices 10and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.
Psalm 15:2-3 He whose walk is blameless and who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from his heart 3and has no slander on his tongue, who does his neighbor no wrong and casts no slur on his fellowman,
a It is easy to lie because it serves me
b It is easy to lie because it serves others
D False Witness – “Nontruth directed against another”
1 Remember the ten commandments – This was the term God used in His prohibition against lying
2 This is the most violent use of the tongue know in Scripture.
Proverbs 19:5 A false witness will not go unpunished, and he who pours out lies will not go free.
Oliver Wendell Holmes said, “Sin has many tools, but a lie is the handle that fits them all.”
If you are really serious about living for Jesus in 2004, if you are really serious about improving your relationship with Christ, then you must also be serious about dealing with these areas.
As we prepare for communion, I want to ask you if this is an area you need to get right with the Lord before you go on any further.
You realize that you have been guilty in one or more than one of these areas, and now before the Lord, you want to get right with God. ….
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