Truth & The Bible
Good Morning,
While out of town recently, I preached on Proverbs 23:23 "Buy the truth and sell it not…" The next speaker read his opening text, Psalm 85:11 “Truth shall spring out of the earth; and righteousness shall look down from heaven.”
God was certainly seeking to make an issue of truth by leading both of us to speak on the same subject one right after another. The Bible mentions truth 237 times. Truth is so important to God that our Lord defines Himself as "truth" in John 14:6.
We live around so much opinion; opinion is prevalent in the medical world and certainly in politics, economy, and social matters. Life is built upon realities and stable facts not on opinions and preferences. Look at your car tire and see what air pressure it requires. The tire does not say, "Inflate to whatever makes you feel good." If you are off very much, you will quickly wear out your tires and potentially have more serious trouble. Perhaps the worst place for truth to be missing is in religion; for most assume that religion is what gets one prepared for the "afterlife." In reality, most religious people I have met have no idea about truth. Even in eternal matters, religious people tend to lean on opinion and feelings rather than truth.
Opinion is fine when we talk about what car or ice cream one chooses, but when it comes to what happens to us after we die, we better have some truth.
If you are reading this and wonder about your eternal destiny, please contact our office, anyone there will be happy to talk to you about salvation and assurances that come from the Word of God.
Allow me to make a few quick observations about truth and eternity:
1. The Bible says Jesus is the way to Heaven, not any other.
Acts 4:12 “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”
2. The Bible makes it very clear that being good or doing good works has nothing to do with getting us to Heaven after we die.
Ephesians 2:8 “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:”
vs. 9 “Not of works, lest any man should boast.”
Titus 3:5 “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us…"
3. It is faith that saves a sinner.
Romans 1:17 “For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith."
Ephesians 2:8 “For by grace are ye saved through faith…"
4. Your faith will save you. Tell the Lord you believe He died and rose to pay for your sins, and that you are trusting Him alone to save you. Your heart belief is the only issue with which to concern yourself.
Our Bible holds much guidance on marriage, child rearing, government, and business. Every Bible instruction is TRUE. When referring to salvation, the lines of truth and error are specific and clear. Jesus is "the Way, the Truth and the Life, no man cometh to the Father but by me” (Him).
Truth is the issue. Will we trust our feelings or opinions, or the opinions of our church, or will we look straight at the truth of the Bible and believe It?
It should not surprise us that our society lifts opinions and feelings above the truth of God's Word. The One Who will judge mankind already wrote down what is right and wrong regarding gender, drugs and liquor, and every other subject.
With all that said, is it any wonder the devil works so hard at keeping us from reading our Bibles?
I would like to urge you to read the Bible daily, talk about It with your family, and make the Word of God your source of truth.
Pastor