Putting On The Belt Of Truth Series

Unless He is the One who is calling the shots we will never win the battle.

[John 1:14 NIV] “The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

[John 14:6 NIV] “Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

b. Truth is the Word of God.

Every believer is to “put on” the Word of God. That means we are to be sanctified [consecrated, purified or made holy] by the Word of God.

Flip back to John 17, for a moment and read with me verses 14-17.

In Ephesians 5, Paul gives some instructions to husbands about loving their wives AS

[JUST LIKE] Christ loved the church… [Eph 5:26-27 NKJV] “26 that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, 27 that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.”

c. Truth is speaking and living, like Jesus.

[Eph 4:25 NKJV] “Therefore, putting away lying, "[Let] each one [of you] speak truth with his neighbor," for we are members of one another.”

Grandma Bessie used to say that the truth hurts BUT the truth is welcome in heaven…

[1Pe 1:22 NKJV] “Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart,”

[Mal 2:6 NKJV] “The law of truth was in his mouth, And injustice was not found on his lips. He walked with Me in peace and equity, And turned many away from iniquity.”

So that’s what truth IS. Now let’s see:

2. What truth does.

a. Truth, when properly applied, keeps the believer from flapping around, loosely connected to the body.

[Eph 4:14-15 NKJV] “14 that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, 15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ…”

b. Truth keeps the believer from becoming entangled with the affairs of this world.

[2Ti 2:3-4 NKJV] “3 You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. 4 No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of [this] life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier.”

c. Truth supports [HELPS] the believer in every battle and every trial of life.

[Heb 2:17-18 NIV] “17 For this reason he had to be made like them, fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. 18 Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.”

[Heb 4:15-16 NIV] “15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are--yet he did not sin. 16 Let us then approach God's throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”