Make your ways known to me, LORD; teach me Your paths. Guide me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; I wait for You all day long. Psalms 25:4-5 HCSB
If you have ever spent much time in the courtroom or even watched many courtroom dramas on television, then you can probably recite this phrase-the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help me God. When someone is called upon to testify in court, they are sworn in and testify under oath. They solemnly swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. They are usually required to face the Bible or place their hand on the Bible while doing so.
The problem we face today is there is very little truth going around. We are inundated with lies and false teachings. We are trying to be dumbed down to believe these lies. The more lies that we believe the easier it is for us to be controlled by those who are lying to us. Think about that for a minute. If I can make you believe a lie, I can manipulate your actions. We act based on what we believe. If you believe the sky is falling, you are more likely to seek shelter, right?
If we aren’t firmly rooted in God’s truth, then we can easily fall for a lie. I know this because I’ve been there, done that and got the t-shirt. There are many promises in God’s word that are wonderful, beautiful promises. Many of them have qualifiers, they are not for everyone. But if you don’t have a good strong knowledge of God’s word, people can pull them out of context and lie to you. A prime example of this Romans 8:28. This verse in its entirety says that all things work for the good of those that love the Lord and are called according to His purpose. I’ve often heard people quote it by saying, “All things work for the good for those that love the Lord.” This is a half truth. A half truth is a lie. It does not say that if we just love the Lord all things will work out good for us. It says those who love the Lord and are called according to His purpose. This means those who love the Lord and are being obedient to Him. This means those who love the Lord and are doing what God has called them to do. Many people claim to love the Lord, but they don’t love Him enough to obey His commands. Now if we love God wholeheartedly we want to obey Him and do what He calls us to do, but that’s another blog for another day.
If you have not invested in a good study Bible, I strongly suggest you do so. But, more importantly get into a good solid Bible study where you can discuss what you are learning and get your questions answered. Get into a good Bible teaching church where the pastor preaches the truth from God’s word.
Don’t be misled by the lies that many preachers are telling us today. Many churches today want us to think it’s all good. My friend, most of what we have today is garbage, it is not good. We must be able to discern the truth from the lies. We must be able to know when someone is pulling scripture out of context or twisting it into a lie.
Just because a preacher says Jesus’ name a few times or talks about God doesn’t mean that he is preaching the truth. Psalms 119:105 says your word is a lamp for my feet and a light on my path. Psalm 119:160 says the entirety of God’s word is truth and His righteous judgments endure forever. John 16:13 says when the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. 2 Peter 1:21 tells us that no prophecy ever came by the will of man but came from godly men speaking from God as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. 2 Timothy 3:16 tells us that all scripture is God breathed. Titus 1:2 tells us that God cannot lie. From these verses we see that the Bible was written by Holy men speaking God’s word. We also learn that the Bible is true because God is incapable of lying.
My friend if you don’t stand firmly rooted in the truth that is found in God’s word, you will fall for anything. I know this from personal experience. I beg of you today to enter into a deep, loving relationship with your Lord and Savior. We do this through continual prayer and through the study of God’s Holy Word. Then, and only then, will you know the whole truth and believe nothing but the truth.
Have a great day!