Lately in the news the word “truth” has made a big come back in our thoughts. The more and more the church in America wallows in the world of politics the more the Gospel message is blurred. When will the Christians of America embrace the truth of holding the spiritual high ground? We have the answer to the world’s problems and His name is Jesus Christ, but when we lower ourselves into the world of politics and compromise we lose our God-given place of spiritual authority (in God) and dumb down the Gospel message to a common message of our earthly needs being satisfied. Remember the opposite of holiness is commonness. God said, “Be ye holy for I am holy.” God meant that, but when we willfully lower ourselves out of God’s intention for us for political gain and to win the church’s earthly rights (and not win Christ) we become common and not holy. Why this week, I learned of the “social Gospel” message that is really vile hate speech being preached in the black churches in America. My friend there is only one Gospel message and it has nothing to do with being social, the poor, or even the down trodden, but everything to do with the redemption of man from his sin by the shed blood of Jesus Christ. Also this week I learned from reading the Baptist Press about the heated entanglement, among the leadership, of the Southern Baptist Convention (America’s largest protestant denomination) over global warming and other environmental issues. What does this have to do with Jesus dying on a cross for our sins? Oh how the church in America has fallen from the truth of the word of God. Oh how the major denominations and religions in America have deceived the people to the truth in the word of God for fame, money, power, and ungodly ambition.
When Jesus stood before Pilate the topic of truth also came up, “Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice. 38Pilate saith unto him, What is truth?” (John 17:37-38) Here out of Jesus’ own mouth and in His own words we can begin to get a glimpse of what truth is and how it is truly expressed. Here we read Jesus the living word of God came, “to bear witness unto the truth.” Jesus’ entire life was the truth and nothing but the truth because He was God in the flesh, but what about our lives? I remember reading a statement (not in the Bible but true never the less) about truth, if we speak the truth we will not have to rely on our memory. Our lives are to be true, honest, and righteous before God and the world. We like Jesus are in the world to bear witness unto the truth. Our life is to be filled with righteousness to where honesty and truth is automatic like breathing. We do not have to stop and think to breathe, our life in God is to be the same, righteousness and truth is to be as much a part of our lives as breathing is. This is God’s intention for us, this is what God wants to see in our lives, but is this what we want to see in our lives? Here are some maxims with regards to truth: Truth is never from our perspective, but from God’s eternal view from His sovereignty. Truth is always seen in tough times. Truth is not dependant on our intelligence, skills, or abilities. Truth is not dependant on our emotions, feelings, situations or circumstances. Truth is not dependant on our spirituality or lack of spirituality. Truth cannot be religion, but must always be from a righteous heart.
Truth has a two fold action within us. Truth is not only objective, but when people yield their hearts and lives to the Holy Spirit, the Spirit can then take this truth and incorporate it into their lives until the things which are purely judicial (of judges, law courts, or their duties, careful in forming opinions and making decisions, fair) may be brought down to actual living. The Holy Spirit takes that which is purely objective and judicial, and makes it a reality in our lives until it is incorporated into our being; it will then be a subjective realization. Here is a contrast between the two actions of truth within us. SUBJECTIVE: It is not produced by external stimuli resulting from conditions within the brain and other sense organs. The subjective side of truth means how much of the truth is actually our by experience. The subjective side of truth is the realization of it; it has been personalized; it is experimental in nature. OBJECTIVE: It is external; apart from our self-consciousness and end of action to be reached. While contemplating or mediating we are refreshed. For example someone gives us a lovely nugget of truth which is purely objective, but a little later God brings a little crisis and says, “Now I am going to take the truth and make it a demonstration (subjective realization) in your life.” As truth has a two fold action within us there seems to be two precepts on which truth’s two actions move as we experience God. Please remember, concepts are made from our precepts and it is our concepts we live and move in God. So, if we do not have Godly precepts then our concepts too will be wrong. The first precept = light and life, the positive teachings of the word of God; victory and joy - it is creative. And the second precept = discipline, suffering, and death to self, all of the seemingly negative teachings of the word of God - it is corrective. My friend truth is never ours until it has been personalized. It is never ours until we have laid ourselves open to God in our inner being and the Spirit has been able to bring that truth inward and we have by faith taken hold of it and allowed the truth to do the work in us that it should. It may be creative or perhaps corrective, but whichever it is, it is the tool and means God will be using to affect His desired change in us. Truth is purely progressive in all forms. The heart has to be conditioned continually (often with sorrow, hardship, and pain) for its reception. Truth often softens our heart. It is an invisible miracle in the heart; ten years from now the truth we hold will have a fuller and greater meaning. Truth comes by way of revelation not by mental processes. We can not make up truth, God alone is the author of truth and this truth my friend it seems we must discover again and again. The Holy Spirit is the guide, instructor, and furnisher of the power. Faith is before rest in God and yet, it is so difficult to reduce the natural man and teach him to walk patiently with God in truth, but being able to allow truth to hold us teaches us how to come to a rest in God.
Please note back in John 18:37, we read “Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice.” Here Jesus was answering the question Pilate would soon ask Him by telling Pilate truth is not so much about what, but about hearing and knowing. It we hear then we will know the truth. Jesus said, “To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. 4And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice. 5And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.” (John 10:3-5) The sheep follow because they know the Shepard’s voice and because they know his voice they will follow and be obedient. You see understanding truth is about hearing and knowing. Again, “Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice.” One of the main drives and hungers of the church corporately today is to run from church to church, conference to conference, or music fest to music fest looking for the truth. But the truth is not found in the going and the doing, but in the hearing and knowing. Sadly the major denominations and religions have divided the people out in the going and doing to the point they cannot hear and know God’s truth. In John Chapter 17 we read, “Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; 21That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.” (John 17:20-21) The words “which shall believe” (Strong’s #4102) means the conviction of the truth of anything. It is more than just having faith or confidence, but goes to the heart and soul of knowing and hearing. This is why some Christians cannot grow and mature in God they misunderstand what Jesus was saying here in the real Lord’s Prayer, John Chapter 17. Jesus was not praying for all of the Christians to come into unity with each other. Now that would be nice, but as long as our fleshly desires and lusts reign in our moral bodies this noble desire can never be. Jesus was praying for something greater, He was praying for each and every Christian to come into the unity with the Father (not with other Christians) as He (Jesus) was in unity (or oneness) ”That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee” with the Father. And then each and every Christian can come into oneness (unity) in God and Christ “that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me” so that the world may “believe” (the same Strong’s word #4102 for the conviction of the truth of anything) Christ was sent by the Father. How can the world believe Christ was sent by the Father if we do not walk in the truth of the word of God? How can the world believe in the Gospel message if Christians do not hear God’s voice and come to know Him? My friend unity with God is His intention for our lives and this intention is fulfillment in our lives through limitations and restrictions that bring us to completion.
If we cannot hear God’s voice we will never be able to know the truth, we will never come to know God, but continue in our present day denominational and religious swill of separation, division, and strife. We must get back to the truth that people are not won to Christ by what we have voted on as our doctrinal truth or even what we stand for, but by the preaching of the Gospel message from a broken and contrite man alone. Written by David Stahl
When Jesus stood before Pilate the topic of truth also came up, “Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice. 38Pilate saith unto him, What is truth?” (John 17:37-38) Here out of Jesus’ own mouth and in His own words we can begin to get a glimpse of what truth is and how it is truly expressed. Here we read Jesus the living word of God came, “to bear witness unto the truth.” Jesus’ entire life was the truth and nothing but the truth because He was God in the flesh, but what about our lives? I remember reading a statement (not in the Bible but true never the less) about truth, if we speak the truth we will not have to rely on our memory. Our lives are to be true, honest, and righteous before God and the world. We like Jesus are in the world to bear witness unto the truth. Our life is to be filled with righteousness to where honesty and truth is automatic like breathing. We do not have to stop and think to breathe, our life in God is to be the same, righteousness and truth is to be as much a part of our lives as breathing is. This is God’s intention for us, this is what God wants to see in our lives, but is this what we want to see in our lives? Here are some maxims with regards to truth: Truth is never from our perspective, but from God’s eternal view from His sovereignty. Truth is always seen in tough times. Truth is not dependant on our intelligence, skills, or abilities. Truth is not dependant on our emotions, feelings, situations or circumstances. Truth is not dependant on our spirituality or lack of spirituality. Truth cannot be religion, but must always be from a righteous heart.
Truth has a two fold action within us. Truth is not only objective, but when people yield their hearts and lives to the Holy Spirit, the Spirit can then take this truth and incorporate it into their lives until the things which are purely judicial (of judges, law courts, or their duties, careful in forming opinions and making decisions, fair) may be brought down to actual living. The Holy Spirit takes that which is purely objective and judicial, and makes it a reality in our lives until it is incorporated into our being; it will then be a subjective realization. Here is a contrast between the two actions of truth within us. SUBJECTIVE: It is not produced by external stimuli resulting from conditions within the brain and other sense organs. The subjective side of truth means how much of the truth is actually our by experience. The subjective side of truth is the realization of it; it has been personalized; it is experimental in nature. OBJECTIVE: It is external; apart from our self-consciousness and end of action to be reached. While contemplating or mediating we are refreshed. For example someone gives us a lovely nugget of truth which is purely objective, but a little later God brings a little crisis and says, “Now I am going to take the truth and make it a demonstration (subjective realization) in your life.” As truth has a two fold action within us there seems to be two precepts on which truth’s two actions move as we experience God. Please remember, concepts are made from our precepts and it is our concepts we live and move in God. So, if we do not have Godly precepts then our concepts too will be wrong. The first precept = light and life, the positive teachings of the word of God; victory and joy - it is creative. And the second precept = discipline, suffering, and death to self, all of the seemingly negative teachings of the word of God - it is corrective. My friend truth is never ours until it has been personalized. It is never ours until we have laid ourselves open to God in our inner being and the Spirit has been able to bring that truth inward and we have by faith taken hold of it and allowed the truth to do the work in us that it should. It may be creative or perhaps corrective, but whichever it is, it is the tool and means God will be using to affect His desired change in us. Truth is purely progressive in all forms. The heart has to be conditioned continually (often with sorrow, hardship, and pain) for its reception. Truth often softens our heart. It is an invisible miracle in the heart; ten years from now the truth we hold will have a fuller and greater meaning. Truth comes by way of revelation not by mental processes. We can not make up truth, God alone is the author of truth and this truth my friend it seems we must discover again and again. The Holy Spirit is the guide, instructor, and furnisher of the power. Faith is before rest in God and yet, it is so difficult to reduce the natural man and teach him to walk patiently with God in truth, but being able to allow truth to hold us teaches us how to come to a rest in God.
Please note back in John 18:37, we read “Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice.” Here Jesus was answering the question Pilate would soon ask Him by telling Pilate truth is not so much about what, but about hearing and knowing. It we hear then we will know the truth. Jesus said, “To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. 4And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice. 5And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.” (John 10:3-5) The sheep follow because they know the Shepard’s voice and because they know his voice they will follow and be obedient. You see understanding truth is about hearing and knowing. Again, “Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice.” One of the main drives and hungers of the church corporately today is to run from church to church, conference to conference, or music fest to music fest looking for the truth. But the truth is not found in the going and the doing, but in the hearing and knowing. Sadly the major denominations and religions have divided the people out in the going and doing to the point they cannot hear and know God’s truth. In John Chapter 17 we read, “Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; 21That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.” (John 17:20-21) The words “which shall believe” (Strong’s #4102) means the conviction of the truth of anything. It is more than just having faith or confidence, but goes to the heart and soul of knowing and hearing. This is why some Christians cannot grow and mature in God they misunderstand what Jesus was saying here in the real Lord’s Prayer, John Chapter 17. Jesus was not praying for all of the Christians to come into unity with each other. Now that would be nice, but as long as our fleshly desires and lusts reign in our moral bodies this noble desire can never be. Jesus was praying for something greater, He was praying for each and every Christian to come into the unity with the Father (not with other Christians) as He (Jesus) was in unity (or oneness) ”That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee” with the Father. And then each and every Christian can come into oneness (unity) in God and Christ “that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me” so that the world may “believe” (the same Strong’s word #4102 for the conviction of the truth of anything) Christ was sent by the Father. How can the world believe Christ was sent by the Father if we do not walk in the truth of the word of God? How can the world believe in the Gospel message if Christians do not hear God’s voice and come to know Him? My friend unity with God is His intention for our lives and this intention is fulfillment in our lives through limitations and restrictions that bring us to completion.
If we cannot hear God’s voice we will never be able to know the truth, we will never come to know God, but continue in our present day denominational and religious swill of separation, division, and strife. We must get back to the truth that people are not won to Christ by what we have voted on as our doctrinal truth or even what we stand for, but by the preaching of the Gospel message from a broken and contrite man alone. Written by David Stahl
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