“Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth?” (Gal. 4:16)
“Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.” (John 17:17)
When you are confronted with truth from the Word of God, what is generally your response, conviction in encouragement, or despondency because of a lack of conviction within yourself?
Are you resolute in your acknowledgement of the particular truth revealed to you, to apply yourself to it for His glory, or is there apprehension within you because of the modification of your life that will be required if you adhere to it?
Many who profess to serve the Almighty tend to pick and choose certain truths from the Scriptures for either one or two of those reasons, either seeing them as beneficial to them or detrimental, one is accepted, the other neglected. Consider here as an example Ephesians 2:8,
“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:”
The truth is that salvation is a free gift of God, the lie is that we must perform some work towards our salvation, and that unless we do so, we cannot claim, so to speak, salvation. But that singular lie is perhaps the most prevalent one ever expounded upon by mankind.
The following verse is an absolute truth.
“And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.” (Acts 16:31)
Yet many will say that belief itself is a work, totally negating the gift.
Truth my friends, truth from the Scriptures is not open for debate, but we do so nearly every day, we debate it within our minds, we debate it with those we know, with those who attend religious organizations who have subtly twisted His truths for their own advantage.
I cannot do what I am called to do unless the Lord reveals His truths to me, in fact, unless He does, I will not do so, for I would rather be silent than unintentionally disrespect Him. I can think of fewer greater sins than to speak for the Most High, to attempt to expound upon His words, without a firm and unswerving knowledge that what I am saying is unquestionably His truths. I tremble at the thought of being wrong.
I have questions that only God Himself can answer, those, if I dare to speak or write about them, I will always place the words “in my opinion,” or use words such as “conjecture.”
“But unto the wicked God saith, What hast thou to do to declare my statutes, or that thou shouldest take my covenant in thy mouth?” (Psalm 50:16)
It is incomprehensible for me to think that there are people out there who intentionally deny certain truths of the Scriptures, who speak of His truths without full knowledge of what they are speaking about. When I happen to hear them, I think of Satan in the garden, as well as our Savior answering him in the wilderness with nothing but the written Word.
There are many things to pray for, wants and needs, requests and praise, but I can think of nothing more important to ask the Living God for than that He would reveal His truths to us. Without that, there is only one alternative, a lie.
“Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life.” (John 6:68)
Studying to show yourself approved means intense contemplation, fervent prayers, but above all, accepting His truths when the Holy Spirit reveals them to you, whether they are beneficial or detrimental to you personally.
Until you accept the truths written in the Word of God, you can never in all truthfulness say, “Thy will be done.”