WHAT IS TRUTH?

JOHN 18:3

A. IN A WORLD OF GREAT CONFUSION, PILATE'S QUESTION: "WHAT IS TRUTH?" IS A MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION
  1. Usually we consider that which we accept as truth, the truth:
    1. A Mohammedan will tell you and me that the Koran is God's truth.
    2. Hindus will point to their "sacred writings" as the truth.
    3. The church of Rome asserts that the Tradition of the Catholic fathers is the truth.
  2. What we, therefore, consider the truth will give direction to our words, thoughts, and actions: Prov. 23:7
B. "WHAT IS TRUTH?"
  1. "Truth is a queen who has her eternal throne in heaven and her seat of empire in the heart of God": (Bossut)
  2. The Bible speaks of:
    1. The holy scriptures of truth - Dan. 10:21; John 14:6; 17:17
    2. The law of truth - Ps. 119:142, 172
    3. Christ says of Himself, "I am the way, the truth, and the life." John 14:6
    4. The Holy Spirit is called "the Spirit of truth" - John 16:13
  3. Protestantism maintains:
    1. That the writings of the sixty-six books of the Bible are the only safe rule of faith.
    2. They reject the traditions of church fathers as being anything but the truth.
    3. Our Lord himself marked the traditions of the Jews as being void of the truth. Compare Matt. 15:1-9 with Mark 7:1-13
    4. Seventh-day Adventists maintain that the Bible and the Bible only is the God given rule of our faith and practice.
    5. They maintain that all claims to truth must be tested by the Bible.
    6. "To the law and to the testament, if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them." - Isa. 8:20
C. IMPORTANCE OF THE TRUTH
  1. The Spirit of Truth:
    1. It will guide us into all truth.
    2. It will teach us things to come - John 16:13
    3. There is no conversion without the Spirit of Truth making the word of God effective in our heart - Heb. 3:7, 8; Gen. 6:5
    4. It witnesses to our spirit that we are the children of God - Rom. 8:12-15
  2. The law of truth:
    1. Controls the moral relationship between God and man - Ex. 20:3-17
    2. It is a transcript of the character of God - Rom. 7:12, 14; Ps. 19:7
  3. Jesus Christ, the Truth made flesh:
    1. Without Christ there can be no hope for salvation - Acts 4:12; John 6:52-56
    2. Without Christ there is no connection between God and man - John 14:6
    3. Without Christ there can be no hope of eternal life - John 11:25
    4. It is Christ that gives us power to become the sons of God - John 1:10-12
    5. Without Christ we would have no intercessor before the Father - 1 John 2:1-3; 1 Tim. 2:5; Heb. 7:25, 26
    6. He is the Head of the church; the Saviour of his body - Eph. 1:22; 5:24-27
    7. He is the Bible Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End, the first and the last - Rev. 1:8; 21:6; 22:13
  4. But the truth is not effective until and unless:
    1. It has the control of our lives.
    2. It must have the control of the heart before it can change our nature.
    3. That is why the Bible emphasizes obedience of the truth by the believers.
    4. That is why we must partake of the word of truth daily to be nourished in the things of the Spirit.


Design © John Bryant 2011