The Truthfulness of God

Truth real truth comes from only one place. It is not dependent upon our feelings.

It is fact driven. It is true whether it speaks to matters of salvation whether it speaks to matters of science, whether it speaks to matters of history, no matter what the Bible addresses it speaks with pure truth. When we as Christians say that God's truth is universal and untrue dream world pushes back told the truth is relative to objective truth is downright offensive today on Renewing Your Mind, Dr. Steven Morrison continues his series on the attributes of God with the message of the radical countercultural claim that God is absolute truth in this session we come to the truthfulness of God.

The truthfulness of God means that he is the God of truth and that he speaks only the truth. God is the author of truth. He is the source of truth, he is the determiner of truth. He is the arbitrator of truth.

He is the final judge of all truth. He is the ultimate standard of all truth is the truthfulness of God to which we want to direct your attention. What is truth. Pilot said that what is truth to put it in one word, truth is reality. It is the way things really are. Truth is veracity. Truth is actuality it's the way things actually are. Truth is not how things may appear to us to be truth is not what we want something to be truth is not what the majority say something is truth is not what some exit poll would determine reality is now truth is that which is consistent with God himself. God is truth. Truth is that which is consistent with the mind of God. It is all that which is consistent with the will of God. The glory of God the being of God and everything that does not line up with the holiness of God and the perfections of God is not true. God is the standard in the source of all truth as we consider this very important attribute of God, and there are several features that I want to set before you.

I have some nine characteristics of truth that I want us to be locked in on number one. Truth is divine. I've already alluded to that in this introduction, but truth is God's truth.

In other words, truth does not originate in this world. Truth does not originate with man. Truth must come down from above. Truth must be given to us by divine revelation God is truth. God the father, God the son God the Holy Spirit. We know that God the father is truth.

We read in Psalm 31 verse five. You have ransomed me oh Lord, God of truth Isaiah 6516. He is identified as the God of truth. Jesus Christ is also identified as the truth is he not one of our favorite verses in all Scripture John 14 six I am the way and the truth, not a truth, the truth, the definite article is critically important. There is no truth outside of the Lord Jesus Christ has a monopoly on the truth, he is the truth now is he just speak the truth, he is the truth. Ephesians 4 verse 21 is a glorious verse it says as truth is in Christ, if indeed you have heard him referring to Christ and have been taught in him, just as truth is in Jesus.

It's all in Jesus. There is no redemptive truth outside of the Lord Jesus Christ. Every other religion does not tell the truth. Every other supposed religious leader does not tell the truth. Only Jesus tells the truth he is the truth, and the Holy Spirit is identified as the spirit S.

The spirit of truth John 1417 the spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, John 1526 when the helper comes, we know who that is, as the Holy Spirit H when the helper comes, the Paraclete, whom I will send to you from the father. That is the spirit of truth in John 1613, we hear it again for the third time in the upper room discourse, but when he, the spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth. Who else could guide us into all the truth except the spirit of truth. We all need to have the Holy Spirit to be our teacher, do we not God's appointed human teachers, but there is only one primary teacher T and that is God himself who must guide us into the truth now. Second, Nunnally is truth divine.

It is absolute and that is to say, truth makes exclusive claims not inclusive exclusive claims when it speaks, it is the sole and ultimate standard for that which is right whenever the Bible speaks of truth and never has an indefinite article in front of it, a truth, it is always the definite article V. The truth of the Bible.

For example, is identified in second Timothy two verse 15 as the word of truth in a departure from the word of God is to pursue that which is not true. To pursue that which is an error to pursue that which is a lie. To pursue that which is false. Satan is identified as the antithesis of the truth. Jesus said in John eight verse 44 you are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth. Jesus address this to the most religious and outwardly spiritual people on planet Earth. The Pharisees said your of your father the devil, you do not stand in the truth.

Paul wrote in Romans three verse four. Let God be found true and every man be found a liar. Truth is absolute. It is concrete, there is right and there is wrong, and it draws a very thin but bold line in the sand makes a clear distinction between one thing and another truth is discriminating. Truth is entirely incompatible with the wisdom of this world and the teachings of men third truth is objective and we say objective, we mean that it is propositional.

It is revealed and clearly defined words that have precise meaning, truth is revealed in specific teachings specific doctrines and the word of God is true. As we noted earlier, down to the smallest jot in the smallest tittle. It is truth down to its most minute part of the entire Bible is inerrant and it is infallible. It has verbal play nary inspiration I Jesus said in Matthew five verse 18. For truly I say to you, and you know, whenever Jesus says, for truly I say to you that is like taking out a yellow highlighter pen and just underscoring it that what I'm about to say to you is of critical importance.

Now everything that Jesus said was true, but some things rise to a higher level of importance than other things, and Jesus would flag our attention by prefacing his important statements by saying, truly, truly, I say in the truth. Truth, verily, verily, how does the rest of the verse go truly, truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the law, until all is accomplished. This speaks so clearly that objective truth down to its most minute detail as recorded in the written word of the living God. It is pure unadulterated truth. It is strictly cognitive. It's not subjective. It is not dependent upon our feelings. It is fact driven.

It is true whether it speaks to matters of salvation whether it speaks to matters of science, whether it speaks to matters of history, no matter what the Bible addresses it speaks with pure truth now for truth is singular.

When we say it is singular, we mean it stands as one body of truth. It never contradicts itself. It's never competing against itself how one statement is never canceling out another statement. It is all interwoven to form one perfect tapestry of truth. Every stone is brought together to comprise one temple of truth that fits together perfectly. It is one body of divinity. It is one system of theology. It all holds together to form one network of truth James Montgomery Boyce great pastor and preacher of yesteryear rights. Truth is singular. It is not in fragments that would require us to speak of truth plural in the sense of unrelated facts or items.

Boyce says truth holds together. Therefore there is no phase of truth that is not related to every other phase of truth and Boyce writes all things that are true are part of the truth and stand in a proper and inescapable relationship to God, who is himself the truth is why when we open our Bibles in Genesis and when we conclude in Revelation, it all just fits together seamlessly. It forms one word of truth. Jude 3 says that we must earnestly contend for the faith. Definite article V, the faith, referring to the Christian faith of truth. We must earnestly contend for the faith once for all delivered to the saints. There is but one singular body of truth as this relates to God himself. He doesn't speak out of both sides of his mouth.

He doesn't say one thing to one group and something else to another group. He doesn't have one way of salvation for the Jew in a different way of salvation for the Gentile know it is. It is all the same truth for every man, every woman on planet Earth. That is why is it, as I travel around and and have opportunity to preach the word of God.

What I preach in one city is what I preach in another city. What I preach on one continent is what I preach on another continent. This book is singular truth that every man, every woman on planet Earth must hear because God himself is truth and there is no other truth number five it's immutable that we we've Artie talked about that so we don't need to spend a long time here. But remember, this is all woven together and interrelated God's truth is immutable. It's it's unchangeable God does not change his truth does not change his word does not change forever. Oh Lord your word is settled in heaven. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our Lord stands forever.

It is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one stroke of the letter of the law to fail. That was Psalm one 1989 Isaiah 40 verse eight Luke 16 verse 17 no truth of Scripture will ever be an old no truth of Scripture will ever be abrogated. Truth is always truth now let me make one point of application here. Some churches are wanting to be contemporary great preach the truth. Contemporary has nothing do with style music. It has everything to do with the substance of the message. There is nothing more up-to-date than the Bible. There is nothing more contemporary and current then the truth of the word of God, the most contemporary church is a church that is Bible teaching Bible preaching God's word is more up-to-date than tomorrow's newspaper. It speaks the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, it's immutable and has nothing to do with the culture around us and has everything to do with the truth of God's word now number six for talking about elements of God's truth. His character is truth universal all truth is universal and we've already touched on this to 1° or another, but truth is true for everyone in every place. Truth is true everywhere in every culture and every situation without exception, the truth transcends societies. It transcends cultures.

It transcends generations. It transcends gender, it transcends age groups. Consequently, there is not one way of looking at the world in one part of the country that's different from another part of the country I go to California regularly. I preach there.

There a lot of interesting things that happen in California and a lot of interesting people but I've also found the strongest Christians in America in California as well.

You go take a stand one way or another in California on then you either love the Lord your you're not time it is one of the two.

There's very little in between.

And here in the South. Sometimes everybody saved you know, supposedly my daddy was a deacon at the church.

My granddaddy this and on and on and on with us and it doesn't matter which coast were standing on or what part of the country. We are in. There is but one book of truth. It is the word of God and it does not speak with stuttering or mumbling, it speaks straightforward, it is universal. No matter where people are on the globe. It is the truth that they need to hear it is universal. That is why even at this link near national conference that were about to have. We have people coming from Brazil and Europe, and in all over the world to sit with us and this truth will all be the same for all of us now number seven.

Truth is illuminating and when we say truth is illuminating, we mean that it shines light and enables us to see the world properly. Psalm 119 verse 105 says your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path is a very dark world in which we live is not.

And to make sense of the world is a challenge to each one of us, and there is only one way for us to understand the world of business in the world of politics in the world of entertainment in all of the different facets of culture and society and that is to have the bright shining torch of the word of God that enlightens our mind.

It gives us the mind of Christ. It allows us to see the world around us and and life around us and to size up what is going on in the world, all the truth is so illuminating. You can put a child of God in a basement with the lights off but they have a Bible and a little flashlight and they can read the truth and they can know more about what's going on out in the world and what reality is, out in the world than all the news anchors on television and all of the up and up government leaders in this world.

No, it's the one who has the word of God has the most illuminating insight into reality all around, and without the word of God, one is left in the dark. There's 1/8 quality that I want you to see and that is that the word of God is trustworthy, which means it is reliable.

It is entirely dependable.

It is sure and steadfast. It is unfailing. It is worthy of our trust in an hour commitment. It has never faltered. It has never failed. No one has ever believed what the truth says and been misled of the truth has never made a wrong diagnosis of a man's problem or of a woman's life of the truth always tells it like it is. It is never given an in accurate estimate of the way things are.

The truth has never offered the wrong counsel, nor given the wrong solution nor offered the wrong remedy. John MacArthur writes the Bible contains no contradictions, no errors and no unsound principles.

The Bible is not filled with absurdities and contradictions and fantasies. It is entirely consistent with itself and perfectly consistent with all that is true. The facts set forth in Scripture are reliable. The historical events described in the Bible are true history, not mythological or fanciful, or allegorical the doctrines taught in the Bible are without error. The details of Scripture are accurate details from day one of creation to the ultimate consummation of Christ's return Scripture itself, MacArthur writes, is completely free of all errors and all deficiencies." No one man in his word cannot be separated. Neither can God and his word and because God is holy God can only tell the truth, he is the God of all truth. He is to be believed as a final element of truth that I want you to note and that is the truth is authoritative. It possesses the power to make assertive demands upon our lives. Truth is never just interesting. It's never a mere suggestion is never something for us simply to ponder or to consider. Neither is it simply one option among many voices out there to which we must give our attention. Note truth is sovereign truth has the right to rule our lives.

Truth is demanding truth calls for the verdict.

Truth requires our response. We cannot simply learn the truth and be a hearer of the truth without becoming a doer of the truth, it is incumbent upon us to incorporate the truth by obedience and by faith into our very lives. No one can be saved, apart from the truth, no one can be sanctified apart from the truth. You can't get there from here. Without the truth. The truth is absolutely essential. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of Christ, and Christ is the truth teacher how we thank God that he tells it like it is to us how we thank God that when he speaks to us.

It is sure veracity. He tells us the reality and the actuality of the way things are in the way that we must live in a way that we must believe, thankfully, were not left to wonder what God requires of us. We have the truth of his word in Scripture this week on Renewing Your Mind. We have been pleased to feature Dr. Steven Lawson series the attributes of God is described God's omnipresence is omniscience, omnipotence, the mutability and today God's truthfulness. These are only five of the 16 lessons in the series that you can request them all onto DVDs when you contact us today with a donation of any about. Also including Dr. Lawson's newest book, one that came about because of this teaching series. It's titled show me your glory. And as Dr. Wasser goes into further detail on these attributes of God request. Both of these resources when you contact us today in the just a reminder this is the last day were making this offer available. Our phone number is 800-435-4343. You can also give your gift to make your request online@renewingyourmind.org. Let me remind you that our resource library is constantly expanding your leader ministries and that you can explore audio and video teaching series. When you download the free link in your app content is refreshed daily so you will always find something new to learn to search for Liggett here in your app store will in Romans chapter 6 pulses that we are not under law but under grace. So does that mean we can ignore Old Testament laws. What is next week as Dr. RC Sproul addresses the question in this series God's law in the Christian bus on Thursday and Friday next week. RC will look at what the Bible teaches about civil disobedience. I hope you'll join us.

Beginning Monday here on Renewing Your Mind