As the Truth is in Jesus.
Carry it forward.
[Article voiceover. Tap to play audio.]
Truth resonates with every audience. Some hate the frequency. Some live for the frequency of truth. Truth transcends demographic data. Truth is Light. Truth is Words. Truth is from above. You may have heard someone affirm their statement followed with, “And that’s the Gospel Truth!”
The Gospel is Truth. Truth must be proclaimed! We cannot lock this truth in a treasure chest for ourselves. We have to let it loose! Fly, be free!
God loves Truth! So should I.
Truth itself has earned a platform of influence. It deserves to be heard!
And why? Transformation.
The gospel generates supernatural transformation from within. Unexplainable by any other means. The gospel transforms lives … by the power of God.
We’re thinking about the truth of the gospel. Let’s put up an outline of gospel concepts:
God
Sin
Penalty
Saviour
God
First, the gospel assumes an identity of God. God claims to be Creator. God communicates. God sent Christ. God is love and expressed love through His plan of rescue for humanity. Why? Because …
Sin
Sin how I need to see my original condition. Sin is the trouble I am in. Sin is where we begin. Sin is my nature. Fundamentally, I am disqualified from being my own savior from this situation because I am the problem. Therefore, …
Penalty
Such a significant penalty. A penalty beyond words. A penalty far beyond monetary measurement. No money can solve this equation. A penalty where even the best efforts and purified motives cannot erase this penalty. A penalty established intentionally so that only One Individual could satisfy the demands. I am clearly unable to pay this penalty on my own. I am so disqualified and under-equipped with resources to fill up the requirements of the penalty owed. This penalty is the longest time-line imaginable. This penalty is the highest pain level imaginable. This penalty is the absolute worst. This penalty is nearly indescribable. And yet, humans think an alternative solution will somehow make the penalty just go away. Not possible. Avoiding this penalty is not possible, humanly speaking. No one has lived inside the Lake of Fire and came back to express visually and verbally their experience from Hell. Except for possibly the author of Lamentations in Scripture. And the rich man in Luke 16.
Saviour
Solution. Rescuer. Our sin carrier. Substitute. The Lamb … innocent Lamb vicariously enduring the wrath assigned to the original criminal. Bible math. Only Christ can solve the equation properly. There is no “other” salvation. One Name. One Way. One Life. One Truth. Jesus Christ the Saviour.
Today’s topic is truth. Truth should be a fervent pursuit in each of our lives. Personally, we need to passionately and intentionally be going after truth on the daily.
We are clearly instructed to “put on” truth. 224 times the word *truth* appears in Scripture.
If we only have time to put on one piece of the armor of God in the morning … that single article should be truth. (Obviously wearing more clothes is helpful. But at least put your pants on.) :) Ephesians 6:14 gives instruction: “Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth.” Don’t go outside without it. We need truth to face this old world … and the flesh and the devil.
Truth. We need it. Because otherwise the opposite of truth will saturate the cracks of our soul, if we do not equip ourselves with truth every morning. And a second helping every evening.
One reason the Gospel doesn’t go out is believers lost their love for Truth.
Let’s be fixated and fascinated on pursuing Truth!
Humans are prone to believe deception. We get easily discouraged without truth. Truth is absolutely required.
Truth is our armor.
Truth is necessary clothing.
We either live in truth, or we are allowing deception to torment us.
Truth … or temptation.
Truth … or we’re starving.
Truth … or we shrink in fear.
Truth forwards … or we slide backwards.
Truth must be studied.
Truth must be in-taken.
We cover the core of our being with truth intentionally through rigorous intellectual and spiritual exercise.
Ephesians 6:13 “Wherefore *TAKE* unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.”
You’ve got to pick it up and put it on. Truth is that first layer of gear for every spiritual soldier. Truth is our first piece of equipment. Truth empowers us to stay in the upright position; still standing when the onslaught of evil hoards attack like a flood, and they will.
I am NOT here to live “MY” truth. We are here to live GOD’S Truth.
We don’t have time here to unpack all the excellence and awesomeness of Truth in Scripture. We’re going to read one chapter together on the topic of Truth.
Researching Truth is a fun Bible study, actually. It feels like taking a spiritual power-shower. Power-washes out all the lies.
Try searching the keyword “truth” in the BlueLetterBible and spiritually-uploading every verse while asking the Holy Spirit to transfer nutrition into your spirit.
Ephesians 4:21 “If so be that ye have heard Him, and have been taught by Him, as the Truth is in Jesus.”
Jesus Christ is the theme of every book in the Bible.
The Holy Spirit reveals layers of beautiful Truth about Christ in a vast array of splendor.
Isaiah 59 explains God’s perspective on truth. God wrote this Book, and we are excited to meet the Author, and get to know Him better!
Let’s just ask the Holy Ghost to transfer a fresh love for His truth into our spirit through Isaiah 59:
“1 Behold, the LORD'S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither His ear heavy, that it cannot hear:”
Unpacking that verse:
Look upon God‘s strength. Behold. Take a good look.
His hand can save.
His ear can hear.
“2 But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid His face from you, that He will not hear.”
That’s a serious sin problem blocking the connection.
“3 For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, your tongue hath muttered perverseness.”
God knows all that. Were the hands actually dirty? Spiritually, yes. God is here calling-out sin. Labeling it specifically.
“4 None calleth for justice, nor any pleadeth for TRUTH: they trust in vanity, and speak lies; they conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity.”
Sounds like God‘s getting a little bit excited. “No one is calling for justice or begging truth to show up.” Instead, these people placed their confidence in shallow, hollow lies and the results are obvious.
“5 They hatch cockatrice' eggs, and weave the spider's web: he that eateth of their eggs dieth, and that which is crushed breaketh out into a viper.”
The results of ignoring truth … but instead, embracing lies mixed with mischief results in the conception of … and birthing of poisonous viper eggs. Yuck and ouch.
“6 Their webs shall not become garments, neither shall they cover themselves with their works: their works are works of iniquity, and the act of violence is in their hands.”
It’s not going to work out well. The results of ignoring and replacing truth will become obvious to all.
“7 Their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed innocent blood: their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; wasting and destruction are in their paths.”
For all you Bible students out there, you can hear the echoes of Romans chapter 3, where Paul is quoting Isaiah 59. All these results from forsaking the pursuit of truth, as we will see.
“8 The way of peace they know not; and there is no *judgment* in their goings: they have made them crooked paths: whosoever goeth therein shall not know peace.”
We looked up the definition of judgment: 1. the act of deciding a case. 2. proper process in making clean decisions.
God is saying these people had a broken decision-making process. Because there was no truth. We’ll see it all tie together later. These people were trying to make good decisions, but they lacked the key ingredient of truth. So they could not process.
“9 Therefore is judgment far from us, neither doth justice overtake us: we wait for light, but behold obscurity; for brightness, but we walk in darkness.
10 We grope for the wall like the blind, and we grope as if we had no eyes: we stumble at noonday as in the night; we are in desolate places as dead men.
11 We roar all like bears, and mourn sore like doves: we look for judgment [which proper decision-making capacity to get us out of this mess], but there is none; for salvation, but it is far off from us.
12 For our transgressions are multiplied before Thee, and our sins testify against us: for our transgressions are with us; and as for our iniquities, we know them; [here they are]
13 in transgressing and lying against the LORD, and departing away from our God, speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood.”
We KNOW our problem. Lying against the Lord. That’s the opposite of truth telling. Departing away from the God of Truth. We lost our fascination and focus upon the Source of Truth Himself. We recognize where we went off course. Our heart is the villain here. We conceived and uttered from our heart “words of falsehood” instead of words of truth-hood. :)
“14 And judgment is turned away backward, and justice standeth afar off: for truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter.”
Our judgment became twisted. (We are admitting to God.) We could not arrive at a good decision, because our decision-making processor was perverted with lies. Truth fell down … in public … right in the middle of town on the main street. Everybody saw.
“15 Yea, truth faileth; and he that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey: and the LORD saw it, and it displeased Him that there was no judgment.”
Truth fell down and now he can’t get up. He’s failing, too. His health is declining evidently. Now God gives a compliment to this individual in the illustration … God implies that truth fell down and failed while making an effort to depart from evil. At lease he was running away from bad. Then he fell. But now he’s become an open target. He’s easy prey the enemy. He’s going to die.
Somebody’s gotta rescue this kid. No one else is going to do it. So God has to step in. Truth fell down in front of everyone. God is not happy that there’s no process for proper judgment. These people are making obviously stupid decisions. God said to Himself, “I’ve got to go fix this, for them.”
“16 And He [God] saw that there was no man [to help], and wondered that there was no intercessor: therefore His arm brought salvation unto him; and His righteousness, it sustained him.”
God is explaining His internal conversation. “What? No one else available? I’m absolutely amazed that no one will step in and provide assistance to this young man named Truth, who has fallen in battle, and is failing right in the middle of town. Do I have to flex My arm and bring salvation to this kid? I’ll use My righteousness to sustain this failing individual. In fact, while I’m at it I’m gonna gear this guy up completely. He’s lost all his protection. (But REALLY God wants the reader to be inspired to step in and pickup the fallen Truth, and get that guy moving again!)
“17 For He put on righteousness as a breastplate, and an helmet of salvation upon his head; and he put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a cloke.”
God put His armor on the fallen, failing Truth. “Here you go kid. Let’s get this helmet of protection on your head. Let’s bolt this breast plate of righteousness on to protect your vital organs. While we’re at it, let me tuck this cloak of zeal, which is the fire of God, around your neck, so you look like a super champion! You are Truth! Who was it that hit you, by the way? Identify the enemies that made you fall, Sir Truth. Who caused your downfall?” God was asking the Truth. “Because I’m gonna let them know something …”
“18 According to their deeds, accordingly He will repay, fury to his adversaries, recompence to his enemies; to the islands He will repay recompence.”
That means, everybody everywhere, even the far away distant lands, are going to understand God is on the side of Truth. “Don’t smash my boy.”
“19 So shall they fear the name of the LORD from the west, and His glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him.”
Wow! Everyone will give honor to the reputation of God, across the whole circuit of the sun. The next time the enemy tries to trip-up and crush the Truth, the Spirit of God promises to protect with a wall.
“20 And the Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob, saith the LORD.”
“21 ¶ As for Me, this is My covenant with them, saith the LORD; My spirit that is upon thee, and My words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed's seed, saith the LORD, from henceforth and for ever.”
Keep the truth on his feet.
Keep the truth moving forward.
Sustain the truth with fluids.
The Spirit of Truth and the Words of Truth will not depart out of our mouth or our children’s children’s mouths for every generation to come.
This vile world needs Truth.
Our culture has been trapped in lies far too long.
The truth is: God, therefore sin, and then penalty, but salvation through the Son.
2 Thessalonians 2:10 speaks of “… them that perish; because they received not the LOVE of the truth, that they might be saved.”
There it is. The Gospel is Truth.
LOVE the Truth. Receive the Truth. Be saved. AND pass along that Truth.
Go ahead and ask somebody today: “Would you like to hear the Truth of the Gospel? I love it! And I love sharing Truth.”