The courts ask witnesses to tell "the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth." Truth is said to be stranger
than fiction" and 'it's own reward. " Movie producer Sam Goldwyn is reputed to have told his employees, "I want everyone to
tell me the truth, even if it costs him his job." An understandable desire with undesirable consequences! Daniel Webster remarked
that 'There is nothing so powerful as truth," and Oscar Wilde rightly observed "A thing is not necessarily true because a
man dies for it."
Man seeks truth (or he should). And there are many kinds of truth: geographical truth, historical truth, grammatical truth,
chemical truth, mathematical truth, biological truth.
That Kentucky lies south of the Ohio River is geographical truth. That the Declaration of Independence was signed July
4, 1776 is historical truth. That a subject must agree with its verb is grammatical truth. That water is composed of two parts
hydrogen and one part oxygen is chemical truth. That "2 + 2 = 4" is mathematical truth. That blood flows through our heart
and in our veins is biological truth.
And just as truth exists in all these other realms of life, so there is such a thing as Religious truth" as well!
Religiously, what is truth? That's what Pilate asked (John 18:38). But we don't have to wonder, guess, speculate, imagine,
or conjecture what religious truth is: Jesus plainly said that God's Word is truth (John 17: 17). Yes, the Bible is truth
(Psalm 119:160).
The truthfulness of any religious teaching or practice can be discerned by applying the standard of God's Word to it. In
plain words, if some particular religious teaching or practice is taught in the Bible, it is true; if some particular religious
teaching or practice is not taught in the Bible, or is contradictory to something that is taught in the Bible, that teaching
or practice is false.
See how easy that is to find out?
So. seek truth!
Truth makes us free from sin (John 8:31-32). Truth must be spoken (Ephesians 4:15); truth must be taught (Ephesians 4:21);
truth must be obeyed (Galatians 3:1; 1 Peter 1 :22); we must be established in the truth (2 Peter 1: 12); and the church itself
is the pillar and ground of the truth (1 Timothy 3:15).
Some won't receive the love of the truth (2 Thessalonians 2: 10). Some resist the truth (2 Timothy 3:8). Some lie against
the truth (James 3:14). Some hold the truth in unrighteousness, or try to change the truth of God into a lie (Romans I: 18,
25).
But let all who read these words be among those determined to "...buy the truth, and sell it not ..." (Proverbs 23:23).
