OUR DUTY TOWARD TRUTH

WE MUST LOVE THE TRUTH (2 Thess. 2:10). Before truth can have a positive effect upon one's life, he must have a love for the truth that he might be saved. This will insure that our motives in approaching God our pure and that we are able to discern truth from error (John 7:17). Those who do not have a love for the truth will be deceived by Satan's lies and perish (2 Thess. 2:10).

WE MUST KNOW THE TRUTH (Jn. 8:32; 1 Tim. 2:4). God's word is truth (Psa. 119:142; Jn. 17:17), and He has revealed His truth for man's good (Deut. 29:29). Therefore, unless one would believe God to be cruel and malicious, we must accept that God's word can be understood and known by all who desire such knowledge (Eph. 3:3-4; 5:17). Jesus said "ye shall know the truth" (Jn. 8:32). God desires that "all men ... come to the knowledge of the truth" (1 Tim. 2:4).

WE MUST BELIEVE THE TRUTH (2 Thess. 2:12-13). Believing God is not a blind leap in the dark. His truth is a presentation of evidence designed to bring men to belief (Jn. 20:30-31). Each individual is responsible to weigh the evidence, determine it credible and conclude it believable. Those who disbelieve do so because they do not choose to consider the evidence properly (if at all). Instead, they have pleasure in unrighteousness.

WE MUST OBEY THE TRUTH (Gal. 5:7; 1 Pet. 1:22). Because God has given commands, His truth demands an obedient response on our part. Truth is not a spiritual smorgasbord of options for us to pick and choose from. The sum of God's word is truth (Psa. 119:151, 160). Everything He has revealed on a subject constitutes the pattern to be obeyed (Rom. 6:17). Therefore, we are responsible to "handle aright the word of truth" (2 Tim. 2:15). To neglect just one part of it constitutes sin by which one will perish eternally (James 2:10).

WE MUST WALK IN TRUTH (2 John 4; 3 John 3-4). This Bible reference to "walk" has reference to one's manner of life. The righteous will incorporate God's truth into his life and walk therein. Whatever the circumstance, he will not compromise it (Prov. 23:23). It will be a "shield and a buckler" for he who takes refuge in God (Psa. 91:4). And, it will be the standard by which he worships God (John 4:23-24).

By Dan Richardson

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