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WALKING IN THE TRUTH
Posted On 12/15/2007 17:17:31 by Penpower

Walking In The Truth


3 John 1:3 - 4 (NRSV)



3I was overjoyed when some of the friends arrived and testified to your faithfulness to the truth, namely how you walk in the truth. 4I have no greater joy than this, to hear that my children are walking in the truth.

It is one thing to know the truth, another to believe the truth, and still another thing to walk in the truth.


It may be a dangerous thing just to know the truth. The Bible says in Luke 12:47 - 48 (NRSV)




47That slave who knew what his master wanted, but did not prepare himself or do what was wanted, will receive a severe beating. 48But the one who did not know and did what deserved a beating will receive a light beating. From everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required; and from the one to whom much has been entrusted, even more will be demanded.

In talking with some about the Lord, I have had people tell me in judgment of others, “He doesn’t even know better.” as though to know better makes us better than those who do not know better. Not according to Jesus. The one who does wrong because he doesn’t know better will be beaten with few stripes, but the one who knows better, but does it anyway, will be beaten with many stripes.


It is more pleasing to God for us to walk in the Truth we have, than for us to know all the truth and not walk in it.


To walk in the truth is not just memorizing your Church Doctrine. Walking in the truth is doing what the Lord commands us to do. Jesus said, “Why call ye me Lord, Lord, and do not what I say?” We can know the Bible by heart, but we don’t not understand the Word of God until we do what it says.


First truth: Jesus Christ is Truth.


John 14:6 (NRSV)




6Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

John 1:1 (NRSV)


 




1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.


John 1:14




(NRSV) 14And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.


John identifies Jesus with the Word Who became flesh and Who is the Source of Grace. Jesus is the Living Word and is Greater than the written Word.

A grave mistake was made by the Southern Baptist Convention in 2000 when they removed the sentence from the Baptist Faith and Message: “The criterion by which the Bible is to be interpreted is Jesus Christ.” and replaced it with: “All Scripture is a testimony to Christ, who is Himself the focus of divine revelation.” Jesus is not just the focus of divine Revelation, He is the divine Revelation. To say that Jesus Christ is the focus of divine revelation denies that He is the Revelation and make divine revelation the Bible, paper, pen, and ink instead of the Living Word being the divine Revelation.

As a matter of fact, the Southern Baptist Convention removed the words from the Baptist Faith and Message: “the record of God’s revelation of Himself to man” and replaced it with: “The Holy Bible was written by men divinely inspired and is God's revelation of Himself to man.” Even though this sounds harmless enough, it makes God’s revelation Himself the Bible instead of Himself and Jesus Christ the Revelation. This borders on heresy and Idolatry known as Bibliolatry. It is to confine the Revelation of God to paper, pen, and ink when the Bible locates the revelation of God in Jesus Christ:


John 15:15 (NRSV)




15I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father.


John 17:6 (NRSV)




6“I have made your name known to those whom you gave me from the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word.


John 17:26 (NRSV)




26I made your name known to them, and I will make it known, so that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.”


Jesus is the Living Word of God Who became a Man. Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. We worship a living God, not a lifeless book. The source of the Knowledge of God is the Holy Spirit, and Jesus Christ a living and divine Person. God and Jesus are not confined to a book. They are greater than the Book.


You may know every letter, every chapter, every book of the Bible by memory, but still die in your sins. If you do not know the Living Word, Jesus Christ, you will die in your sins. The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 3:6 (NRSV)




6....the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.”

It is the Holy Spirit, the Living Word of God Who gives life. It is the Holy Spirit and Jesus Who reveal the Father, Whom to know is eternal life, not just the paper, pen, and ink in a book.


I am not saying that the Bible is unimportant. It is very important. I speak this way, because the 2000 Baptist Faith and Message demotes Jesus from the criterion of interpreting the Bible to making the Bible the revelation of God, rather than God, Himself and Jesus.


But listen to what the Bible records about the importance of the Scriptures:


Luke 16:29 - 31 (NRSV)




29Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; they should listen to them.’ 30He said, ‘No, father Abraham; but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ 31He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’”


The Bible is the written Word of God and you disregard it at your own peril. But to elevate the Bible above the Person of God and Jesus is as much idolatry as believing that Mary is the Mother of God and intercedes for us before Jesus her son.


Second, not only is Jesus the Truth, but He is our living Lord. To walk in the Truth that Jesus Christ is Lord is to do what He says. Jesus asked in Luke 6:46 (NRSV)




46“Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I tell you?

I was attracted to a little book years ago. The title of it was Faith Spelled ’Do‘! There is a lot of truth in that title.


I have probably told you the story of the tight rope walker who was pushing a wheel barrow across Niagara Falls on a tight rope. A crowd had gathered and was cheering him on with loud praises. After coming back on the rope, he asked the people, “Do you believe I can push a man in the wheel barrow across the Falls and back?” He said to a man he saw jumping and yelling, “I do!”. “O.K., you get in the wheel barrow!” The man immediately ran and got lost in the crowd.


To have saving faith in Jesus Christ we must be willing to obey Him. To walk in the Truth, is to do what Jesus says.


‘Jesus Christ is Lord’ is the most fundamental confession we profess and must be confirmed by obedience.


John 3:21 (NRSV)




21But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God.”


When we do what is true, when we walk in the truth, we testify that we are doing God’s work. We want men to see and know that we are doing God’s work. Jesus said in Matthew 5:16 (NRSV)




16In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.


John 8:32 (NRSV)




32and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”


If we know the Truth, we are free. If we know Jesus, Who is the Truth, we are free. If we walk in the Truth, we are free. To walk in the Truth is to be free, we must lay aside besetting sin, as the author of Hebrews writes in Hebrews 12:1 (NRSV)




1Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us,

Walking in the Truth is walking in freedom of every weight and sin that clings so closely to us.


Make no mistake about it, if you know the Truth, if you know Jesus Christ, you are free to “...lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and to “... run with perseverance the race that is set before us.”


This is the appeal of this message that you walk in the liberty with which Christ has set you free: Galatians 5:1 (NRSV)




5:1For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.


Romans 8:4 (NRSV)




4so that the just requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.



2 Corinthians 3:17 (NRSV)




17Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.


Galatians 5:13 (NRSV)




13For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence, but through love become slaves to one another.


Preachers have a great responsibility to preach the Truth. But truth may be twisted just a little bit resulting in a lie.


I’m sure you have looked through a kaleidoscope and seen to beautiful and colorful mosaic like picture. But you twist the kaleidoscope just a fraction and the picture is changed. The picture may still be beautiful, but it is not the same. And truth can be twisted to sound real good, but it can be deadly.


The Holiness people teach that we can have a second experience of grace and become sinless. The Doctrine is called ‘Sinless Perfection.’ Now, Baptists and others have reacted to this teaching and rightfully we deny that we can live a perfect life. We teach that we sin in thought, word, and deed every day. John says in 1 John 1:8 (NRSV)




8If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.


We rely heavily and justly so on 1 John 1:9 (NRSV)




9If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.


Yes, we do sin in thought, word, and deed every day with sins of commission and sins of omission. And we can confess our sins every evening and go to bed cleansed from all unrighteousness, as clean as a newborn baby.


But some have either consciously or unconsciously twisted the truth to mean they cannot have victory over certain sins.


My wife told me of a humorous thing that happened in her family. When Jo’s older Brother, Jack was 3 years old, Her Mother, Minnie went to visit her Mother’s sister-in-law who had no children of her own. The sister-in-law had numerous tiny blown glapples figures on her coffee table. Jo’s Mother held Jack in her lap firmly. After a while, Jack started squirming and trying to get down. He looked up at his Mother and said, “I’ve just gotta meddle.”


I am afraid that we keep telling ourselves “We’ve just gotta do this and do that.”


What? can I say: “I just gotta cheat on my wife.” or “I just gotta steal.” “I just gotta kill.”? God forbid. By God’s grace, I don’t cheat on my wife; I don’t steal; I don’t kill. And by God’s grace, I can lay aside any besetting sin.


I remember having difficulty with a besetting sin. I’m afraid I thought, “I just gotta do that.” Then I noticed something. I notice that I never cursed. I never took God’s Name in vain. I realized that if I didn’t just have to curse that I didn’t just have to keep on committing that besetting sin.


As I continued to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ, the Living Word, I began to realize that I did not have to sin. Jesus said in John 8:34 (NRSV)




34Jesus answered them, “Very truly, I tell you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin.

and

John 8:36 (NRSV)




36So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.

To overcome any sin that is besting us, we must walk in this truth: Jesus has set us free and we are able not to keep on practicing a besetting sin.


I like to paraphrase Philippians 4:13 (NRSV)




13I can do any thing God wants me to through him who strengthens me.


If you think you can keep from sinning in your own strength, you are mistaken. But you can do anything God wants to do, or you can abstain from doing anything God does not what you to do because Christ, Who is your Strength lives in you and has set you free from the bondage of sin.


It is a matter of walking in the Truth. It is a matter of Walking In Christ.


Are you walking in the Truth that Jesus Christ is Lord? If not, you can begin that walk today.


Are you failed before some besetting sin? You can walk in the truth that Jesus has set you free.



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