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The Power of Truth
Truth has only one real aim–application. It is not enough to merely ascertain the truth, noir even to appreciate its value. It must be used. It reaches its intention only when it is implemented into men’s lives.
All religious confusion is caused by an improper understanding or rendering of the truth. Obviously, the condition is seen in its simplest form in just plain ignorance. But there are many more subtle ways that truth is ignored. Family prejudice, biases based on background, family problems, and a host of other thing contribute to how we view the truth. But truth is not changed by our mismanagement of it. It remains constant.
God gave the truth. That’s why man can put such confidence in it. Paul said it was "God-breathed" (the Greek word translated with our word "inspired" in II Timothy 3:16-17). That simply mens that man did not concoct the means for his salvation, God did. But man is the prime object of it nonetheless. The truth makes man free from sin (John 8:32). There can be no salvation separate from the acknowledgment and acceptance of truth.
Furthermore, the truth as God gave it is sufficient. The religious world does our Father a great injustice when it invents for itself some religious creed. Such implies that god’s way is insufficient, that it in some way or the other needs man’s help. It is not so!
In the same passage in which Paul said the word as "God-breathed," he says it is sufficient. Listen: "All scripture is given by the inspiration of God...that the man of God might be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto every good work."
Being, the, sufficient, it should be apparent that God will tolerate no changes in His truth. Man has no right to manipulate the truth. He cannot make it better, he can only make it worse. He cannot add to its power, he can only diminish from it. To what promise could he add anything? So implicit is God in regard to the purity of His truth that He pronounces a curse on any person who would make any sort of change in it (Galatians 1:6-9).
Basically, the truth does for man that which man cannot do for himself. First, it introduces him to himself; then to his God; then to his sin; then to his salvation. Following that it:
Feeds our faith. Paul, in Romans 10:17, says, "so then faith cometh by hearing; and hearing by the word of God." The truth is the basis for our confidence in God. The more of His word to which we expose ourselves, the deeper and more abiding our faith. Floyd, the great California preacher, used to say that studying the word of God was like mining–the deeper you dig the richer the lode. It is so. What a system, this faith! How wonderful that it can fill us and then fill us again!
Arouses our hope. Hope is the special energy in man. It makes him work when he is worn to a frazzle. It makes him keep on when he has no more energy of his own. It makes him continue to try when he knows that others in similar situations have failed. It keeps him attached to the goal, no matter the odds. And it is the word of God that agitates that hope, keeps its sharply in focus. Without the constant exposure to the gospel, hope soon fades and with it the energy to pursue courageously in the face of difficulty.
Confirms our confidence. Our trust in God is solidified by our constant contact with the gospel. The more we read of His dealings with His creatures, the more we have faith we have in Him. The scriptures are constantly calling our attention to His immutability, His indefatigable providence, His undying love for us and our plight in this sinful world. All these things, and dozens more, serve to buoy our confidence, attach firmly to His and His control, and cause us great quiescence in the fact of our struggles here below. We need such confidence to do what we must do in our flight toward God.
Brethren, let us ever start with the truth. Let us begin and end with the gospel. There can be no unity on any other basis, no real and lasting peace on any other premise. Let the world beware: God will not look the other way which we are destroying both ourselves and His cause because we want His truth to something other than what it does.
