Truth Is Not a Right

Preparatory Reading: Ps 19; Isaiah 44:9-20; II Cor 4:1-7; II Thes 2:9-15; II Tim 2:23-26; 3:1 – 4:4.

Introduction:

1. We recently completed a sermon series of John 6, where clear truth about Jesus was missed by most.
2. Jesus explained that the elect would believe on Him by divine enablement to do so (6:37,44-45,63).
3. Jesus did not feed 5000 to help them believe; He hid from them due to their carnal lusts (6:15,26).
4. When they objected, He did not explain His words but rather their blindness (6:36-37,43-45,60-65).
5. Jesus eventually drove them all away by various tactics including hard, offensive doctrine (6:27-61).
6. He made no effort to keep any of them, and in fact asked His apostles if they would leave (6:67-71).
7. Before that, Jesus appealed to the first Baptist preacher for the truth that he had taught (John 5:33).
8. Before that, Jesus told the Samaritan woman the true God required truth in worship (John 4:20-24).
9. What is truth? It is the only accurate, correct, right, and reasonable data declaring the reality of God.
10. Preparatory reading about idolatry in Isaiah 44 should move you by God mocking idols and diviners.
11. This simple sermon is to confront us with the reality of truth and resulting responsibility toward it.
12. Paul showed truth a blessing, our duty of thanksgiving, and our duty to hold fast (II Thess 2:9-15).
13. In the context is an example of deception against truth – the order of stated events (II Thess 2:1-3).
14. Paul warned of danger when Christians would choose fables over truth (II Tim 3:6-7,13-17; 4:2-3).
15. Some assumptions will be made to keep the study of modest length and focus on the crucial issues.
16. God is a God of truth, cannot lie, swears to confirm truth, etc., but He blinds men neglecting truth.
17. God has graciously led us over several decades with much light and conviction to learn truth, and we have documented the things He has taught us and the rare probability of the blessed combination.
18. Those leaving us must compromise numerous points of doctrine and practice to worship anywhere.
19. The truth is an incredible blessing, and God has revealed truth in the Bible for all parts of our lives.
20. God chose us for today’s great compromise of truth; let us respond with David, Is there not a cause?

Examples of Truth and Lies

1. These examples could be multiplied indefinitely, for Satan and men are given to lies.
2. These few examples remind and convict us of the danger of lies and blessing of truth.
3. Man’s arrogant thoughts are ignorant and worsening (Job 11:12; Ps 94:11); consider same-sex marriages, transgender issues, etc., known recently by most to be perverse.
4. Our first, greatest president was bled to death by ignorant doctors (Ge 9:4; Le 17:11).
5. Ignaz Semmelweis, a doctor in Vienna, tried in 1847 for hospital washing (Leviticus).
6. A flat earth is stupid (ships on the horizon, lunar eclipse, etc.) or scripture (Is 40:22).
7. Capital and corporal punishment are obvious, historical, scriptural (Ge 9:6; Pr 22:15).
8. Think about Adventists following William Miller’s folly of 2300 years (Dan 8:9-14).
9. Think about Benny Hinn corrupting Acts 2:17-21 for his ministry (see Acts 2:16!).
10. Think about Joe Smith corrupting I Cor 15:29 for baptism for dead relatives by M.H.
11. Think how confused 95% of Christians are about baptism’s subject, mode, and result.
12. Think how many have lied about alcohol and temperance and condemned our Lord.
13. Think about only Jesus Christ saving us (John 14:6; Acts 4:12; I Cor 3:11; I Tim 2:5).
14. Note simple verses many Christians corrupt (Jn 3:5; Gal 5:4; He 4:13; Re 13:20; etc.).

Truth Is Not a Right

1. Natural man proudly assumes that truth is his right, easily obtained, and owed to him.
2. A right is something another owes you due to debt or your person, position, or value.
3. Since any god he allows is by his own imagination, God must love him and bless him.
4. Modern Christians, ignorant and proud, cannot accept God blinding or deceiving men.
5. Our first parents chose a lie in Eden; we forfeited truth and have been held captive by the father of lies since (Gen 2:17; 3:6; John 8:44; Eph 2:1-3; II Cor 4:1-7; Rev 12:9).
   1. We love our lying father until liberation (John 8:44; Eph 2:1-3; Luke 11:21-22).
   2. This point – lies for punishment for rejecting revealed truth – is important to grasp.
   3. God promised strong delusion for lies to those rejecting truth (II Thess 2:10-12).
   4. This is no different than the message of Lady Wisdom via Solomon (Pro 1:24-33).
   5. This is the same as God’s promise to Israel for religious hypocrisy (Is 29:9-16).
   6. Ahab learned the painful lesson with multiple lies before dying in battle (I Kgs 22).
   7. In Christ’s religion, the rich get richer and the poor get poorer (Luke 19:11-27).
6. All hate creation, providence, conscience (Ps 19:1-6; Ro 1:18-20; 2:12-16; Ac 14:17).
7. God does not owe truth; our persons and proclivities beg lies (Ps 14:1-3; 58:3; 51:5).
8. Deceitful hearts convince men of anything contrary to God (Jer 17:9-10; Prov 22:15).
9. The sure way to rouse the hatred of men is to preach the moral truth of God (Jn 8:45).

Truth Is Only By Revelation

1. Deception is terrible – to believe a lie is the truth – to not know your dear truth is a lie!
2. No man believes a lie as a lie – he is sure his lies are truth and boldly boasts of them.
3. He is confident he has more than sufficient evidence and proof for his conclusions.
4. Truth comes from God, and since truth is good, it is therefore a blessing, not a curse.
5. It is not by rationalization or reasoning but only by God revealing it to the unworthy.
6. Learning truth requires both God sending and preparing (Rom 10:12-18; Acts 16:14).
7. So we are Bible Christians depending on His revelation (Ps 119:128; II Tim 3:16-17).
8. God owes it to none and mocks (Is 44:9-20); God deludes others (II Thess 2:9-12).
9. Our holy book is clearly supernatural … https://letgodbetrue.com/sermons/index/year-2001/why-i-believe-the-bible/.
10. Prophecy is first of many proofs … https://letgodbetrue.com/sermons/index/year-2010/glory-of-fulfilled-prophecy/.

Truth Is a Privilege

1. Truth is a blessing God gives to those He has chosen for the privilege (II Thess 2:13).
2. A life without truth is a cursed life – you live and then die believing that lies are truth.
3. Jacob thanked God for the privilege of truth he had though unworthy of it (Ge 32:10).
4. God gave His revealed truth to Israel and no other nations of the earth (Ps 147:19-20).
5. The filthy feet of men are made beautiful by the good news they bring (Isaiah 52:7).
6. Rejoice that God has blessed us above prophets and righteous men (Matt 13:16-17).
7. Therefore, we should pray for truth, since it is mere favor from God (Ps 25:4; 119:18).

Truth Is an Opportunity

1. God revealed truth to Israel for their advantage over all other nations (Deut 4:5-8).
2. God’s truth gives even simple men advantage over others (Ps 19:7-11; 119:98-100).
3. Men and kings from all nations came to hear the wisdom of Solomon (I Kings 4:34).
4. Lady Wisdom has truth (Pr 3:13-18; 4:5-13; 8:6-21; 18:1; 22:17-21; 23:23; 29:18).
5. The apostles turned the world upside down with the truth (Acts 19:23-28; 17:6; etc.).
6. Continuing in God’s word and obeying it brings His blessings (Luke 11:28; Jas 1:25).

Truth Is a Responsibility

1. God is a God of truth and expects worship in truth, thus our duty arises (Jn 4:20-24).
2. To whom much is given shall much be required, which applies to truth (Lu 12:47-48).
3. A neglect of truth will cause God to take away what you think you have (Luke 8:18).
4. Even kings were commanded to get a copy of the scriptures for truth (Deut 17:18-20).
5. Turning from truth brings judgment (Is 30:8-14; Jer 11:21-23; Am 2:11-16; 7:12-17).
6. Rejecting truth brings severe consequences (Pr 1:24-33; 8:36; Heb 2:1-3; 10:26-31).
7. Turning from truth brings God’s judgment of deception and delusion (Isaiah 29:9-16).
8. We are pillar and ground of it … https://letgodbetrue.com/sermons/index/year-2006/pillar-and-ground-of-the-truth/.

God Hides Truth and Deceives Many

1. God blinded and deceived men in the Old Testament (Ex 4:21; Deut 2:30; Josh 11:20; II Sam 24:1 cp I Chr 21:1; Ezek 14:6-11; 20:23-26; Ps 81:11-12; Isaiah 63:17; 66:4).
2. It is an axiom of the gospel that God hides truth (Isaiah 6:9-13; Matt 11:25-27; 13:10-17; 15:12-15; Acts 28:25-28; I Cor 1:17-24; 2:1-5; 3:18-20; etc.).
3. It is an axiom of the gospel that God blinds and deceives men (John 12:40; Acts 4:27-28; 7:42; Rom 1:18-32; II Cor 4:3-7; II Thess 2:9-12; Rev 17:17; etc.).
4. God is the Author of Confusion … https://letgodbetrue.com/sermons/index/year-2002/is-god-the-author-of-confusion/.

Truth Is Rejected and Resented

1. If the simple assumptions above are true (and they are), then natural men oppose truth.
   1. They assume they think truth! They assume that they discover truth! All is vanity!
   2. So they hate any teaching contrary to their thoughts that would restrict their lusts.
2. The Bible warned of false Christs, false apostles, and falling from truth (I Tim 4:1-3).
   1. There must be a great apostasy before the man of sin was revealed (II Thess 2:1-3).
   2. It warned of another Jesus, spirit, and gospel to deceive Corinth(II Cor 11:3-4).
   3. A time would come (now here) that most Christians would turn away (II Ti 4:3-4).
3. This is not new, for it occurred in the O.T. church of Israel (I Kings 22; Isaiah 30:8-11; 59:12-15; Jer 5:1; 11:21-23; Amos 2:11-16; 7:12-17; Micah 2:6-11).
4. New Bible versions annually with changes in words, doctrine, style, etc. are part of it.
5. Ridiculous fads like holy yoga that mix Hinduism devil worship and following Christ.

Truth Is Rare …

1. Buddhism, Hinduism, and Islam enslave about half the earth’s population in gross darkness.
2. Of 2 billion Christians, 1 billion are Mary-worshipping, baby-sprinkling, God-eating heretics.
3. Of 900 million Orthodox and Protestant, 850 million cannot even sort out scriptural baptism.
4. Of 50 million Baptists, some are ordaining women, some compromising baptism, etc., etc.
5. We are in perilous times of the last days, when truth is nearly gone (II Tim 3:6-9,13; 4:3-4).
6. If God seeks worshippers to worship in truth, then acceptable worship is rare (John 4:23-24).
7. If you are not worshipping in truth, then you believe a lie and your worship is worthless!

If truth is a right …

1. Why did Jacob feel so unworthy and thankful for the truth God had shown Him (Gen 32:10)?
2. Why did God harden Pharaoh’s heart after he asked, “Who is the LORD?” (Ex 7:13; 14:8)?
3. Why did God give His laws to Israel only (Deut 4:5-8; Ps 147:19-20; Amos 3:2; Rom 3:1-2)?
4. Why did God direct Micaiah and an angel to lie to King Ahab (I Kings 22:15,19-23)?
5. Why did God seal up the Bible to Israel by blinding the eyes of their teachers (Is 29:9-16)?
6. Why did God promise to deceive prophets that carnal Christians would seek (Ezek 14:1-11)?
7. Why did God give Israel bad statutes and pollute them by their own gifts (Ezekiel 20:25-26)?
8. Why did God send a famine in the land of Israel of hearing God’s words (Amos 8:11-14)?
9. Why did Jesus Christ direct His apostles to not preach to the Gentiles (Matthew 10:5-6)?
10. Why did Jesus Christ not provide cities with means He knew would work (Matt 11:20-24)?
11. Why did the Lord of heaven and earth hide the truth from educated men (Matt 11:25-26)?
12. Why did Jesus Christ preach in parables to keep men from the truth (Matthew 13:10-11)?
13. Why did Jesus tell His disciples to let Pharisees lead men into a ditch of lies (Mat 15:12-14)?
14. Why did Jesus teach that even what a man thought he had would be taken away (Luke 19:11-27)?
15. Why did Jesus say His mission was of judgment to make the seeing blind (John 9:39-41)?
16. Why did God harden Jewish hearts to miss truth (John 12:40; Acts 23:23-28; Rom 11:7-10)?
17. Why did Paul turn away from the Jews to leave them in their rebellion (Acts 13:46-48)?
18. Why did God allow and overlook nations walking in their own stupidity (Acts 14:16; 17:30)?
19. Why did the Holy Ghost forbid Paul from preaching in Asia and Bithynia (Acts 16:6-10)?
20. Why did the Lord open the heart of Lydia but not others who heard Paul (Acts 16:14)?
21. Why did God threaten to blind the Jews that would not believe Paul’s teaching (Acts 28:25-28)?
22. Why did God take men rejecting Him and give them over to a reprobate mind (Rom 1:28)?
23. Why did God send men other than what they wanted, so they would hate it (I Cor 1:17-24)?
24. Why did Paul not use his oratory or rhetoric skills to convert more to the truth (I Cor 2:1-5)?
25. Why did God not command the light of the gospel to shine in all human hearts (II Cor 4:3-7)?
26. Why did God send strong delusion to some men so they would believe a lie (II Thes 2:9-12)?
27. Why did God not grant repentance to all men so they could see the truth (II Tim 2:25-26)?
28. Why did God appoint some men to stumble over the Lord Jesus Christ (I Peter 2:6-8)?
29. Why did God write the Bible to be hard to understand and thus destroy men (II Pet 3:15-16)?

So what should we do …

1. Thank the God of heaven for giving any truth you have to unworthy wretches (Gen 32:10)!
2. Thank God always from a sense of debt for His choice from eternity to give it (II Thes 2:13)!
3. Beg the God of heaven to not take His Holy Spirit from you and leave you blind (Ps 51:11)!
4. Please your jealous God by being entirely devoted to Him (Ex 34:14; Job 12:16; Heb 13:4)!
5. Take heed therefore how ye hear, because He will take truth away from you (Luke 8:18)!
6. If sins caused the blindness we have read in this sermon, then you must end your sinning!
7. Desire to learn the precious truth He has revealed in a book requiring reading, study, and preaching.
8. You must pray for divine enlightenment by the Spirit (Ps 119:18; Eph 1:17-19; Jas 1:5)!
9. Tremble before Him and His words in order to have Him draw near unto you (Isaiah 66:2)!
10. We cannot be ashamed of the truth or ever fear those who hate it (Prov 29:25; Jer 1:17)!
11. Search the scriptures and prove all things to use the means of truth (Acts 17:11; I Thes 5:21)!
12. Humble ourselves before God lest He consider us among the proud (I Kings 3:7; Ps 131:1-3)!
13. Have a holy motive for the truth that will please God to reveal more (Jer 9:23-24; Ps 119:11)!
14. You must obey what you learn, lest He remove any (John 7:17; Rom 11:19-22; Heb 2:1-3)!
15. We must keep and defend that which has been committed to us (I Tim 3:15; 6:20; Jude 1:3)!
16. Avoid evil communications from any source that would corrupt doctrinal truth (I Cor 15:33)!
17. Get ready for heresies to test your love of the truth by separating church members (I Cor 11:19)!
18. Never modify the truth, but allow it to divide and separate among men (II Corinthians 2:15-17).
19. Check yourself to make sure you have not turned your ears away from truth (II Tim 4:3-4).
20. Beg the Lord to teach you more of His truth (Psalm 25:4-5; 43:3; 86:11; 119:18,66; Eph 1:17-19).
21. Rather than believe, we must try spirits, by apostolic doctrine, just as John wrote (I Jn 4:1-6).
22. Ministers must be tenacious for truth and intolerant of error (I Tim 6:20-21; II Tim 2:15-18).
23. Husbands must take the oversight of their wives and confirm them in the truth (I Cor 14:34-35).
24. We should learn the truth well enough to answer the certain words of truth to any (Prov 22:17-21).
25. Use your pastor; God gifts, convicts, leads, judges them for you (Jer 3:15; Mal 2:7; II Tim 3:16-17).
26. Ministers must be very careful and very faithful in the word (II Tim 2:15; I Tim 4:13-16; Mal 2:1-9).
27. We cannot change any doctrine or practice without a tsunami of evidence (Rom 16:17-18; I Cor 16:31; Eph 4:14; Col 1:23; I Thess 5:21; II Thess 2:15; Titus 1:9; Heb 4:14; 10:23; Rev 2:25; etc.).
28. Avoid distractions in doctrine like so many today e.g. tabernacle furniture, passover (Heb 13:9; etc.).
29. Let us tremble at the word of God like we should (Is 66:1-2,5; Ezra 9:4; Prov 28:14; Ps 119:161).
30. God chose us for today’s great compromise of truth; let us respond with David, Is there not a cause?

For Further Study:

1. The sermon outline, “What Is Truth?” exalts the value of truth in an effeminate and compromising generation.
2. The sermon outline, “Truth Is Fallen in the Streets: Do you Care?” for a reminder of the importance of truth.
3. The sermon outline, “Is God the Author of Confusion?” proves that God has and will blind men to the truth.
4. The sermon outline, “God Hates Compromise,” for a reminder of how strict God is about the truth.
5.  The sermon outline, “Noble Hearers,” which reviews the character and practices of virtuous listeners.
6. The Proverbs commentary, “Proverbs 23:23,” which explains and applies the words: “Buy the truth.”
7. The Proverbs commentary, “Proverbs 29:18,” corrects and applies the words: “Where there is no vision.”
8. The Proverbs commentary, “Proverbs 18:1,” applies the words: “Through desire a man, having separated himself.”
9. The sermon outline, “Ancient Landmarks,” listing many points of doctrine and practice of Biblical truth.
10. The sermon outline, “Every Word of God,” listing about 20 examples of arguing truth from a single word.
11. The sermon outline, “Pillar and Ground of the Truth,” for the role of the local church promoting truth.
12. The sermon outline, “Not All Christians Are the Same,” lists criteria by which to judge other Christians.
13. The sermon outline, “Bring It Back to the Bible,” explains and proves the rule and provides examples.

“Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes. Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in thy sight.” Lord, we are blessed and honored to be Thy babes. Have mercy upon us, and open our eyes and hearts to behold the precious truth of Thy words. Amen.