Speaking The Truth In Love

Volkswagen is a popular brand of cars here in the United States and all over the world. About five years ago, Volkswagen was caught in a massive cheating scandal. Essentially they installed a “defeat device” – or software – in their cars with diesel engines that could detect when they were being tested. So the device told the car when it was being tested for pollution, and the software would change the emissions standards to improve the results. According to the BBC, the device appears to have put the vehicle into a sort of safety mode in which the engine ran below normal power and performance. Once on the road, the engines switched out of this test mode. No matter the way it operated, it was cheating. It was deception, and VW was caught. It recalled around 11 millions car worldwide, and it cost the company billions of dollars. Of course, the real question is, “Does anyone trust VW again to purchase their next car.”

For the next few minutes, I want to convince all of us to have a firmer grasp of the truth. If you came to church recently and thought, “I wish the pastor’s sermon were more convicting,” then you picked a good Sunday to come to church ?.

Keep your Bibles open to Ephesians 4 with me as we focus on speaking the truth but speaking the truth in love.

Today’s Scripture

Let’s read the Scripture again: “Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love” (Ephesians 4:15-16).

These are shaky days in which we live, and you need to find something solid to stand on, and the book of Ephesians is something solid to stand on. Now, you need to hear the book of Ephesians because many of us are egomaniacs. Now, this nation needs to hear the book of Ephesians because many of us are peacocks strutting our way to hell, thinking we’re too good to be damned.

No place tells us we are saved by grace like the book of Ephesians. And few places tell us how grace will change us like Ephesians. From the book of Ephesians, I want to convince all of us to have a firmer grasp on the truth.

1. Know the Truth

God’s people are called to speak the truth and to live by the truth: “Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ” (Ephesians 4:15).

Again, the Bible calls on us to speak the truth. And the Bible is calling on Christians to know the truth and speak the truth because we are now Christians. Look at verse 17 with me: “Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds” (Ephesians 4:17).

When your Bible says “Gentiles” in verse 17, you can read non-believers. You are to know the truth and speak the truth because grace changes believers.

1.1 Pinocchio

Many of you remember the fictional character Pinocchio. Popularized by the 1940 Disney movie, a woodcarver creates a wooden puppet named Pinocchio. Of course, he is famously known for the growth of his nose. You see, his nose grew every time he tells a lie. If only this happened in real life! If only this would happen then, it would be so easy to tell who’s lying!

We hate being lied to, but we lie to so many people. We lie when it is convenient. We lie when we want to avoid the consequences. But Christians are called to embrace truth. Again, we are to know the truth.

But before we speak the truth, we have to know the truth. And the truth is so important to Christianity. Truth is absolutely vital to Christianity. Let me show you just how tight the link is between Truth and Christianity.

1.2 The Relationship between Truth and Christianity

The gospel is called the truth: “In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit” (Ephesians 1:13).

The death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ is referred to as “the word of truth” in verse 13. The gospel is given a shorthand name of “the word of truth.” We could even say this: “Salvation = Truth.” Or, this, “Gospel=Truth.”

Again, there’s this incredibly tight connection between the truth and the gospel. Let’s look at it in another way. If there were no such thing as truth, there would be no such thing as salvation. If you take away the truth, you don’t handicap the gospel you eviscerate the gospel.