Intro

I met my friend Joel in 1994.  He was 18 and I was 22 when he came to the college/career group at Arcadia Presbyterian Church where my dad was pastor

Joel had a history in high school of excessive drug use and extreme promiscuity.  But he came to a point in his life where he got sick of the lifestyle that he was a part of—and scared of where that lifestyle was taking him.

So Joel gave his life to Jesus Christ and became a passionate disciple of Jesus.  That, however, didn’t mean that he didn’t continue to struggle with the sins of his former life.

In 2002, Robin and I lived in Glendora, CA, where I was the High School ministry director at Glenkirk Presbyterian Church.  I’m a bit of a night owl, so on this particular night I was still up reading at 1:00 in the morning.

There was a knock on the door and when I looked through the peephole, I saw that it was Joel.  I let him in and he walked past me with a blank look on his face.

For the next 20 minutes he sat at my table, not saying anything.  I asked him what was going on, but the only thing he could say was, “I don’t think I could ever tell you.”  I kept thinking, “What did he do??  Kill somebody?!”  And then he left.

The next day he told me what had happened.  He and another friend of mine named Eric had decided that they were going start growing marijuana in Eric’s attic.  Eric had fronted the money for the equipment and Joel had done all the research on how to do it.

The reason Joel came to my apartment that night was because he was having a major crisis of conscience.  He realized that he wanted out, but he didn’t know how to do it since Eric had already put up several thousand dollars.  When he told Eric that he wanted out, Eric told Joel that he would sue him for the money for the equipment he had bought.

Joel didn’t know what to do.  So I told him, “Joel.  This is one of those times when the truth is going to set you free.  Let Eric sue you!  Just tell the judge the truth—that you guys were going to grow pot in Eric’s attic, but that you realized that was wrong and you wanted out.”

I went with Joel to small claims court on the day of their court appearance.  It was embarrassing when the judge asked Joel what the equipment was for and he told the judge that they were going to grow pot.  Everyone in the courtroom let out an astonished gasp and laugh.  No one could believe he had just said that.

But when Eric tried to convince the judge that they were going to grow orchids, you could see the judge getting redder and redder in his face because he knew Eric was lying to him.

In the end, Joel won the case.  The truth really did set him free.

 

We’re continuing our series on the Full Armor of God and today we’re talking about the Belt of Truth.

God has given us Truth as something that can help us as we face the battles of our lives.

But what is truth?  This was the question that Pontius Pilate asked Jesus just before his crucifixion:

 

John 18:27-38

"You are a king, then!" said Pilate.
      Jesus answered, "You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me."

"What is truth?" Pilate asked. With this he went out again to the Jews and said, "I find no basis for a charge against him.

 

That’s a question that all of us ask at one time or another.  What is truth?

I.      In Our culture today

    A.   There are a lot of different ideas about what truth is

        1.     We live in a time that a lot of people are calling “postmodernism”

            a)     One of the hallmarks of the postmodern worldview is the idea that truth is relative

            b)    Whatever you want to believe, that’s what’s true for you

            c)     That’s a very loosy-goosy kind of approach to truth

            d)    The problem with this approach to truth is that you can never really be sure about anything

                    (1)  Truth becomes little more than your opinion

        2.     On the other extreme is a very different approach to truth

            a)     Truth is always black and white

            b)    Truth is a set of propositions that must be accepted and believed

                    (1)  If you don’t accept these propositions, then you’re wrong

                    (2)  In regard to Christianity, people see Christianity as getting others to assent to certain truths or propositions

            c)     The difficulty here is that this perspective leaves little room for asking questions when it   comes to ultimate truth

                    (1)  And you’ve got to admit, we all have questions

                    (2)  We all have doubts

                    (3)  We all wonder at times, “Does God really exist?”

                                    (a)    Was Jesus really the Son of God?

                                    (b)   Did Jesus really rise from the dead?

                                    (c)    Was Jesus really born from a virgin?

                                    (d)   Did all those miraculous stories really happen?

                    (4)  But this view of propositional truth, there’s no room for questions

 

II.   So, what does the Bible say about Truth?

    A.   I did a search of the word “truth” in the Bible and not once does the Bible use that word to refer to a doctrine of belief or some sort of propositional statement

        1.     According to the Bible, Truth is something much more than a set of propositions

        2.     Here are some verses that talk about Truth

            a)     Psalm 86:11 - Teach me your way, O LORD, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name.

            b)    Psalm 119:30 - I have chosen the way of truth; I have set my heart on your laws

            c)     2 Peter 2:2 - Many will follow their shameful ways and will bring the way of truth into disrepute.

                    (1)  Look at how these verses talk about Truth

                                        (a)    “walk in your truth”;  “the way of truth”

                                        (b)   Truth is a lifestyle

                                        (c)    It’s a way of living

                                        (d)   We live our lives in accordance with Truth

                                        (e)   Our lives are—or ought to be—a reflection of Truth

                    (2)  Ok, so we’re getting closer to understanding what truth is

        3.     If we look at some more verses, we find that in the OT, truth is often used almost synonymously with the idea of justice

                    a)     Isaiah 59:15 - Truth is nowhere to be found, and whoever shuns evil becomes a prey. The LORD looked and was displeased that there was no justice.

                    b)    Zechariah 8:16-17 - These are the things you are to do: Speak the truth to each other, and render true and sound judgment in your courts; do not plot evil against your neighbor, and do not love to swear falsely. I hate all this," declares the LORD.

                    (1)  So, Truth is a lifestyle, and Truth is closely connected to justice

        4.     In the Gospels

                    a)     79 out of 104 instances of the word truth, the word is being used by Jesus when he says…

                                    (1)   “I tell you the truth”

                                    (2)  Over and over again—“I tell you the truth,” “I tell you the truth”

                                                                (a)    Jesus is the source of truth

                                                                (b)   You want to know what the truth is, ask Jesus

        5.     Which is why I think this is the ultimate statement on Truth in the Bible

                    a)     John 14:5-6 - Thomas said to him, "Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?"  Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

                    b)    Jesus is Truth!

                                    (1)  Truth is not a set of ideas, or doctrines, or opinions

                                    (2)  Truth is a person—Jesus Christ!

                                    (3)  Jesus is Truth

                                                                   (a)    Jesus is reality

                                                                    (b)   Jesus is ultimate reality

 

               

 

III.           [What that means for you]

    A.   That’s a pretty radical understanding of truth

        1.     When Truth is a person, that gives you a lot more freedom in how to approach truth

            a)     Suddenly, you can ask questions of Truth

            b)    Just like when you have questions of a person with whom you have a relationship

                    (1)  You can ask questions of Jesus

                    (2)  You can say, “Ok, I don’t get this, Jesus.  Help me figure this out.”

        2.     It also changes the way you live your life

            a)     It changes the way we see the world

            b)    When we understand that Jesus is Truth—that Jesus is the ultimate reality

                    (1)  Then we begin to understand that there is more to what we see with our eyes

                    (2)  When we understand that the reality of the world is that Jesus is present and active, it changes the way we live

                    (3)  When we understand that Jesus is present and at work in our lives, we’re less anxious

                                        (a)    We just don’t have to worry as much

                            (i)      About our jobs

                            (ii)    About our finances

                            (iii)   About our families

                            (iv)  About our health

                            (v)    About our relationships

                                        (b)   Jesus is there and he’s at work

                            (i)      He’s doing things even when we can’t see it

    B.   Paul and Silas in prison

                        [read Acts 16:22-34]

        1.     Paul and Silas had a deeper understanding of the Truth of their situation than most people would have

            a)     Yeah, they had been beaten and flogged and thrown into prison

            b)    But they knew that Jesus was present and active in that situation

            c)     It looked like the truth of the situation was that they were done for

            d)    But the reality was that Jesus was doing something

                    (1)  He was preparing the jailer to believe in God’s power so that he and his whole family would be saved—spiritually saved

        2.     When we see the world through the eyes of Truth—that Jesus is present and active—our whole outlook on life changes

            a)     We don’t live in fear anymore

            b)    We don’t live with crushing anxiety anymore

            c)     We don’t live with timidity anymore

            d)    We don’t live with self-centeredness anymore

            e)     Instead,

                    (1)  We live with anticipation of what God might do even in the midst of circumstances that seem overwhelming

                    (2)  We live with peace, knowing that God is taking care of us

                    (3)  We live with excitement, always wondering what God is gonna do next

 

 

Conclusion

Consider what your life would be like if you understood life like that.

How would your life be different?

What would you do now that you wouldn’t do otherwise?

What risks would you take?

What would you give up?

What would our church look like if every single one of us had this kind of a perspective on life?

Would we come here on Sunday morning because, well, that’s what you do on Sunday mornings if you’re a Christian?

Or would we come here, thinking, “Man, I wonder what God is gonna do this week at church?”

Would we go to bed on Saturday night and think to ourselves, “Boy, I’m so excited that it’s finally Sunday again!  I can’t wait to go to church tomorrow!”

 

What would it look like if we all put on our Belt of Truth?  What would it look like if we all really believed that Jesus is the Truth?