Truth Is

Truth Is
“Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth” (1 John 3:18).

As one sits and watches “Sound FX” on the NFL network and discovers what these players are thinking as they play the game, one must wonder what people are thinking when they make decisions in life. What goes through the mind when they make the decisions that will impact their future? Are they basing their decisions on what will bring blessings in the eternal afterlife? These are important questions to the one who is concerned about where they will spend eternity.

When God revealed His word as truth (John 17:17), He ruled out any opinions man might have of that truth. What man thinks cannot take precedence over the words He spoke. Man’s opinion has no effect on what God’s grace reveals to us. When we hear the words of truth, we must think in accordance with what God’s love is trying to open our minds to receive. Only truth can set us free from the judgment that will put our souls into eternal condemnation (John 8:32). As good as man’s ideas are, when it comes to truth our minds are too limited: “I know, O LORD, that a man's way is not in himself, Nor is it in a man who walks to direct his steps” (Jeremiah 10:23).

It is beyond understanding when a man thinks he has the capability to out rule God’s commands. Only God can tell us what we must do to live in a covenant relationship with Him. A girl’s friends can live in a relationship with her, but only her husband can live in a marriage or covenant relationship with her. The church lives in a covenant relationship with God because they have accepted His terms of that covenant. They do not try to put their “I think so” in place of God’s “I say so.” The world may have some kind of relationship with God, but a covenant relationship can only take place when we accept the boundaries of this covenant.

There is no telling what a person is thinking when they accept false doctrine. The Bible is the source of truth and it is accessible to all for finding and applying truth (Acts 17:11). It seems like history has a way of repeating itself. Israel did well when they walked in the Lord’s truth, but found their way to trouble when they chose not to heed God: “Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes And clever in their own sight!” (Isaiah 5:21). Woe is the result of disregarding truth.

When God says “repent and be baptized… for the forgiveness of your sins” (Acts 2:38) and then says it again and again, what is a person thinking when he or she tries to come up with another plan for His salvation. The Hebrew writer reminds us Who knows about salvation: “For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things, and through whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to perfect the author of their salvation through sufferings” (Hebrews 2:10). We will do well to close our minds to fleshly wisdom and open our hearts to the grace of God that has appeared to bring His teaching (Titus 2:11-14). Let’s stop the madness that runs rampant through the hearts and minds of the generation in which we live. Let us be the example of someone who does not heed his own mind, but searches the Scriptures to know what truth is and how we can accomplish the will of God through our understanding of His truth. Truth is God’s way of life.