Commitment to the Truth

Commitment to the Truth I. A gospel ministry should reflect that of the Lord Jesus Christ's. A. He is the truth. JOH 14:6. B. He came to bear witness of the truth. JOH 18:37; ROM 15:8. C. His ministers are charged to teach and command what He taught and commanded. MAT 28:19-20 c/w ROM 9:1; GAL 2:14. D. Truth and its minister will not always be popular. JOH 3:20-21; GAL 4:16. 1. One may be called to stand alone for the truth's sake. 1KI 18:19; JER 15:17. 2. One cannot please men and serve Christ. GAL 1:10. 3. If one is looking to be universally popular, he should look elsewhere. LUK 6:26. E. The great desire of a minister of Christ should be to know Him as He is revealed in the Scriptures so that he might know and declare the true God. JOH 5:39; 1JO 5:20-21. 1. A primary duty of Christ's minister is to cast down men's imaginations and bring their thoughts into captivity to Christ's obedience. 2CO 10:5. 2. This cannot be done unless the minister first gives heed to his own solemn acquaintance with the truth. 1TI 4:16; 2TI 2:15. 3. A minister therefore must love the truth of God's word which He has magnified above His own name. PSA 138:2; 119:162-163. 4. This love of truth will compel him to contend ardently for it. JER 20:9; JUDE 1:3. II. Truth is very exclusive. PSA 119:128; GAL 1:8-9. A. To affirm truth as absolute is to reject all opposition to it as a lie. ROM 3:4. B. This requires making distinctions between truth and error. 1JO 4:6. C. Light can have no communion with darkness. 2CO 6:14. D. It is for the love of ambiguous grayness that Christianity is losing its light and accordingly accommodating sin. Where are those who are valiant for the truth? JER 9:3. E. Woe unto the minister who does no better than turning men from darkness to grayness. JER 23:32; ROM 16:18 ct/w ACT 26:18; MAT 6:23. F. Woe unto the minister who knowingly compromises truth out of fear or out of love of self. JER 1:17; 48:10; 1CO 9:16. G. Woe unto the minister who teaches error for profit. TIT 1:11. III. Satan, the father of lies (JOH 8:44), competes with the truth so as to obscure God and His will. A. There are false gods. 1CO 8:5-6. B. There is a false gospel. 2CO 11:4. C. There is “another Jesus” (2CO 11:4) and “false Christs” (MAT 24:24). D. There is a false spirit. 2CO 11:4; 1JO 4:1. E. There is a false prophecy. 2PE 2:1. F. There are false apostles. 2CO 11:13; REV 2:2. G. There is a false ministry. 2CO 11:15; 2PE 2:1. H. There is a false church. ACT 19:35-37. I. There are false ordinances. 1CO 10:21; COL 2:20-23. J. There is a false grace. 1PE 5:12 c/w ROM 11:6. K. Not making distinctions between right and wrong/truth and falsehood is an error itself. ISA 5:20; MAL 2:17; 1CO 13:6. Commitment to the Truth Page 1 of 2 IV. The knowledge of the truth is necessary for: A. deliverance from falsehood. EPH 4:13-14. B. proper worship. JOH 4:22-24. C. proper service. JOH 15:21; 16:1-3. 1. Dedication to an error does not justify the error. 2. You can think and feel you that you are serving God when in reality you are not. PRO 14:12; ACT 26:9-10. V. One cannot truly say that he is committed to Jesus Christ unless he is committed to His truth. A. Is a person truly committed to Christ if he is not committed to His gospel? MAR 8:38. B. Can a person say he is truly committed to Christ if he is not committed to His kingdom? LUK 10:9-12. C. Can a person truly say that he is committed to Christ if he is not committed to His ordinances? LUK 7:29-30; ACT 2:41-42; JOH 13:13-15; LUK 6:46. D. Can a person say that he is truly committed to Christ if he is not committed to His ministry? JOH 13:20. E. Commitment is required so far as one is able. 2CO 8:10-12. 1. Learning is progressive. God does not expect men to know everything before they will do anything. PRO 4:18. 2. However, continual learning that never yields commitment is another story. 2TI 3:7. 3. A person who has been given sufficient information to commit to what is right, but does not do so puts himself in a very delicate position. JAM 4:17; LUK 12:47-48. F. If one is resolved to follow truth no matter where it leads, God will show it to him. JOH 7:17. G. If one is resolved to not love the truth, God will show him strong delusion. 2TH 2:10-12. VI. Commitment to God's truth is the most important concern: above concerns for comfort, wealth and security. MAT 10:32-39. A. To find one's life, one must count his own life loss for Christ by fully committing to His truth. MAT 16:24-26; PHIL 3:7-8. B. Assuming Christ's burden is the way to peace and rest. MAT 11:28-30. C. This bondage brings freedom. JOH 8:31-32. Commitment to the Truth Page 2 of 2