NORTHSHORE CHURCH OF CHRIST

Jesus said as he stood before Pilate, "You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice."

Pilate replied, "What is truth?" And he walked out. John 18.37-38

My generation and the next have abandoned truth. The majority have walked out on Jesus and refuse to listen to Him.

What is truth? Do you know what it is? Do you care to know? Do you believe in truth?

People hate truth. They hate Jesus because He speaks truth. They hate Christians because we teach the truth Jesus taught us.

Truth can hurt. It's like looking in a mirror. Little hairs are growing in places we didn't expect. That mole hasn't shrunk. Our eyes are not quite symmetrical. Our deficiencies and imperfections stare back at us.

Truth hurts because it means there is a right and a wrong. We always want to be right, but Truth intrudes and exposes our biases, our faults, our ignorance. We'd rather remain foolish than be proven wrong.

If you are interested in Truth, you are interested in Facts. You want to know exactly what happened so you can make a proper judgment. People don't seem to care about Facts these days. If a study published by Random University supports your ideas or desires, are you quick to share it? Or do you first research to verify its claims? If someone posts a picture or video on social media which supports your favorite cause or political leaning, are you quick to share? Or do you first double-check sources to make sure you are sharing Facts?

In our highly-polarized political climate, we should exercise extreme caution to speak only facts and truth. Do not share things which you don’t know are true. Especially if someone writes or posts something sensational that gets you fired up, take time to consider before lending your support and passing it along. Is it true? Is it right? Is it helpful?

Jesus stood before Pilate and told him about Truth. Those who love Truth love Jesus. I mean spiritual truth: the Truth of the gospel, the Facts of the Creator, the Reality of King Jesus.

But most join Pilate and walk away scoffing, "What is truth?"

Fact: On the last day, the words Jesus has spoken will judge ALL those who reject Him (John 12.48).

You say, "But I don't believe in Jesus." Your belief doesn't change the Facts. Please understand this vital point. You can believe in Santa Clause, but that doesn't make him exist. You can disbelieve in an objective morality, but that doesn't make it vanish.

You say, "But I don't feel like God exists." Facts don't care about our feelings. Feelings change nothing. You can feel that someone is a murderer and a rapist—that doesn't make it true. You can be a murderer and rapist and feel like you're not guilty of anything—that doesn't justify you.

If you are interested in Truth, search for and examine Facts. Pay close attention to them. Submit to them. Once you discover it, don't lie against the Truth by living contrary to it. The most important Truth everyone on earth needs to discover is that Jesus Christ is the Sovereign Lord. The Truth of His lordship carries eternal consequences.

Just as Satan is the father of lies and liars, so God is the Father of truth-tellers and truth-seekers.

No place for a deceiver exists among the people of God. It is said of Jesus, "No deception was found in His mouth," and that's exactly what the Father wants from His children.
 

There are six things that the Lord hates,
seven that are an abomination to Him:
haughty eyes, a lying tongue,
and hands that shed innocent blood,
a heart that devises wicked plans,
feed that make haste to run to evil,
a false witness who breathes out lies,
and one who sows discord among brothers. (Proverbs 6.16-19)

Part of growing up in Christ is learning to speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4.15).

It's one thing to speak truth with a neighbor and another to temper that truth with love. I'd love to tell everyone what their glaring faults are and how to fix them--isn't that truthful? Perhaps. But it probably misses the mark of love by a wide margin. When I'm so focused on others' faults and foibles, I tend to also miss my own, pride creeps in, and I end up looking down upon my brothers and sisters. So love must temper truth.

However, we must always speak the truth with one another.

Have you ever seen an adult lie to a child? This kills me. A father didn't want his child to know he kept guns in the case, so he told the child the case held his fishing rods. What happens when the child finds out what's really in the case? Perhaps he doesn't explicitly connect the dots ("Dad's a liar!"), but at least subconsciously he learns it is okay to lie to cover things up.

What's worse is when a parent outright lies to another adult in front of the child--"No, my husband's not home right now; you'll have to call back later," while said husband sits in the living room watching TV. The child learns lying is okay in order to avoid inconvenience.

Lying kills trust. If you lie to me even about a small matter, it then makes me wonder about anything you say in the future. If you're okay twisting, tweaking, or otherwise adjusting the truth, I lose confidence in your word overall.

Is there a path to redemption after you lie? Can trust be rebuilt? Yes, it can. But trust is earned over a long period of time, and once trust is betrayed, rebuilding it requires another long road of consistent truthfulness.
 

Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another (Ephesians 4.25).

Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, but those who act faithfully are His delight (Proverbs 12.22)

Picture this: your spouse is not in the room. You're chatting with some friends, and suddenly the conversation turns to spouses. One lady says her husband never considers her feelings anymore—he just does whatever he wants. You commiserate because your husband has lately been getting on your nerves, and several recent episodes tumble from your mouth as you vent your frustration. There! It's been said. You feel better. You can go on with life.

Wrong!

You have just engaged in a bit of character assassination, and it was against the one person who should be closest and dearest to you!

God said in the Ten Commandments: you shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

"But what I said wasn't false!" you protest.

Wasn't it, though? Think back on the words used. Did you huff resignedly, "That's just how he is!" Did you insist, "he never..." or "he always..."? Did you allow your frustration to color your language with hyperbole? Did you keep in mind the good he has done for you, or were you only thinking of the recent trouble?

When we use words like never and always, we lie, because it's almost never true! Test it out...

"He never considers my feelings first." That's an animal and not a man you've just described.

"He always throws his dirty socks on the floor." Has he never once hit the laundry basket even by mistake?

"She never wants to do what I want to do." Was that what attracted you to her in the first place?

"She always says just the thing to get on my nerves." And I'm sure you always respond with a gentle answer to turn away her wrath.

Husbands and wives, can we agree that we sometimes do bear false witness against our spouses? We need to quit. It's not healthy, it's lying, and it's sinful.

We ought to remember that our moods change. Murder is committed when people act in the throes of anger. Paul commanded,

"Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members of one another. Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil" (Ephesians 4.25-27)

All these commandments work together. Anger often prompts us to falsehood as we modify and reshape the truth to serve our own purposes. The best thing to do in our anger is usually BE STILL! Don't act! Wait. Take a breath and count to 10… or 100... or 1,000… whatever it takes to cool off. If we speak in anger and frustration, we are apt to sin.

Next time you feel frustrated with your spouse, try some of these options:

1. Pray about it. Laying the problem out to God often exposes our own faults in the matter. It helps to lay our problem at the feet of the one who loves us most.
2. Don't talk to your spouse immediately. Take some time before you address the problem.
3. Don't complain about your spouse to others.
4. Even while you are upset, do something nice for your spouse—just because.
5. Ask yourself why you feel so strongly about it. Was she intentionally trying to hurt you? Does he even know how what he did or said affects you? Be honest.
6. Pray about it again. Has God revealed anything to you?

I have found most issues tend to vanish given time and breathing room. I'd love to know how this technique works in your relationship.

Anger and lies give the devil a foothold in your life, so always speak the truth with your spouse!

About 600 years before Christ was born, while Jehoiakim was king of Judah, Jeremiah dictated words from God to Baruch the scribe, who wrote them on a scroll.

“I am banned from going to the house of YHWH,” Jeremiah told Baruch, “so you are to go, and on a day of fasting in the hearing of all the people in YHWH’s house you shall read the words of YHWH from the scroll that you have written at my dictation. You shall read them also in the hearing of all the men of Judah who come out of their cities. It may be that their plea for mercy will come before YHWH, and that every one will turn from his evil way, for great is the anger and wrath that YHWH has pronounced against this people.”

Baruch followed Jeremiah’s instructions. All the people of Judah proclaimed a fast and came to Jerusalem, and Baruch read Jeremiah’s words from the scroll in the house of YHWH.

A fellow named Micaiah heard Baruch’s reading and slipped away to tell the officials in the king’s house that someone was in the temple reading words against the people of Judah. The officials sent for Baruch to bring his scroll so he could read it to them.

They told Baruch, “Sit down and read it.”

After he finished, the officials looked around at each other with fear in their eyes. “We must report these words to the king,” they decided. Turning to Baruch, they said, “How did you write all these words? Was it at Jeremiah’s dictation?”

Baruch answered, “He dictated all these words to me, while I wrote them with ink on the scroll.”

The officials then said, “Go and hide, you and Jeremiah, and let no one know where you are.” They knew there could be serious blowback from the king because the words were harsh towards his kingdom.

They brought the scroll to Jehoiakim, and the king had his man Jehudi read it to him in the presence of all the officials. In the fire pot before them, they had a hot fire going because it was winter, and Jehoiakim began taking the parts of the scroll that Jehudi had finished reading, cutting them off, and throwing them into the fire. Three of his men—Elnathan, Delaiah, and Gemariah—urged the king not to burn the words, but he wouldn’t listen to them. Jehudi finally finished reading, and the king threw the last scrap of paper into the fire.

There was no fear in the king or any of his servants who had just heard the words. They had just burned the word of YHWH—it was gone. They didn’t believe it would come to pass.

The king ordered that Baruch and Jeremiah be seized, but YHWH made sure they were hidden from the king’s designs.

Do you think that was the end of the story? Can men just burn and ban the word of God and remove His hand from upon them? Can we simply set God’s word aside with no consequence? Does burning the Bible make God vanish away?

The word of YHWH came to Jeremiah again: “Take another scroll and write on it all the former words that were in the first scroll, which Jehoiakim the king of Judah has burned. And concerning Jehoiakim you shall say, ‘Thus says YHWH, you have burned this scroll, saying “Why have you written in it that the king of Babylon will certainly come and destroy this land, and will cut off from it man and beast?” Therefore thus says YHWH concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah: He shall have none to sit on the throne of David, and his dead body shall be cast out to the heat by day and the frost by night. And I will punish him and his offspring and his servants for their iniquity. I will bring upon them and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem and upon the people of Judah all the disaster that I have pronounced against them, but they would not hear.’”

The first word was a warning; the second word was a promise of judgment. The first word was a hand of mercy extended and an opportunity for repentance; the second word was a firm expectation of God’s wrath.

You can attempt to ban God’s word. You can try to cast off His restraints. You can plan your own life and do it all your way. But God’s word will come upon you in the end. He will do what He intends.

We must not ban God’s word personally. He is my God and your God, and we are subject to His direction in every aspect of life. He formed me in my mother’s womb.

We must not ban God’s word as a family. He is our God. He formed and designed the family and set a purpose for father, mother, and children.

We must not ban God’s word in the marketplace. He demands honest scales.

We must not ban God’s word in the town square. He demands justice and will punish those who accept bribes and who judge with partiality.

We must not ban God’s word in the country’s capitol. The kings of the earth are subject to YHWH. God gives kings a mandate to punish wrongdoers and protect the innocent.

Burning the word of the Lord today is just as bad as it was for Jehoiakim, and those who do rightly fall under the judgment of God almighty. Help us, Lord, to bow our knee to King Jesus, love His word, and do it all the days of our lives.

(See Jeremiah 36 for the events recounted above.)

Do you know where to go to find wisdom? Wisdom means “skill,” and we see men and women through the Bible have wisdom in various ways. Some have wisdom in woodworking or metalworking or art or music. Some have wisdom in understanding nature and life. Wise people are skillful in life. Where does one find true wisdom?

Job 3–27 contains a debate between Job and his three friends, and Job 28 is a continuation of Job's reasoning. The main question of the chapter arrives in verses 12 and 20, but watch how Job builds up to the question in verses 1-11:

1     “Surely there is a mine for silver, And a place where gold is refined.
2      Iron is taken from the earth,
        And copper is smelted from ore.
3      Man puts an end to darkness,
        And searches every recess
        For ore in the darkness and the shadow of death.
4      He breaks open a shaft away from people;
        In places forgotten by feet
        They hang far away from men;
        They swing to and fro.
5      As for the earth, from it comes bread,
        But underneath it is turned up as by fire;
6      Its stones are the source of sapphires,
        And it contains gold dust.
7      That path no bird knows,
        Nor has the falcon’s eye seen it.
8      The proud lions have not trodden it,
        Nor has the fierce lion passed over it.
9      He puts his hand on the flint;
        He overturns the mountains at the roots.
10   He cuts out channels in the rocks,
        And his eye sees every precious thing.
11   He dams up the streams from trickling;
        What is hidden he brings forth to light.

Through this gorgeous imagery, Job transports us into the recesses of the earth, into the mines, into the center of the rock. What does man find hidden there in the darkness? He finds precious things: gold, silver, iron, glittering jewels, sparkling dust.

What's the point, Job? We read on...

12    “But where can wisdom be found?
        And where is the place of understanding?
13    Man does not know its value,
        Nor is it found in the land of the living.
14    The deep says, ‘It is not in me’;
        And the sea says, ‘It is not with me.’
15    It cannot be purchased for gold,
        Nor can silver be weighed for its price.
16    It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir,
        In precious onyx or sapphire.
17    Neither gold nor crystal can equal it,
        Nor can it be exchanged for jewelry of fine gold.
18    No mention shall be made of coral or quartz,
        For the price of wisdom is above rubies.
19    The topaz of Ethiopia cannot equal it,
        Nor can it be valued in pure gold.
20    “From where then does wisdom come?
        And where is the place of understanding?

Verses 12 and 20 create an inclusio, which is a section bracketed by two nearly identical statements. The twin statements expose the main point of the section: "Where can wisdom be found, and where is the place of understanding?"

We brilliant humans can search and find so many wonderful, valuable, precious items hidden in the earth...but can we find wisdom in any of those places? Man doesn't even know the value of wisdom—it cannot be measured like gold or silver. You cannot find wisdom in the ocean, you cannot purchase wisdom from a merchant, and you cannot measure wisdom's value using any earthly economic system.

So, Job again asks, from where does wisdom come?

21    It is hidden from the eyes of all living,
        And concealed from the birds of the air.
22    Destruction and Death say,
        ‘We have heard a report about it with our ears.’
23    God understands its way,
        And He knows its place.
24    For He looks to the ends of the earth,
        And sees under the whole heavens,
25    To establish a weight for the wind,
        And apportion the waters by measure.
26    When He made a law for the rain,
        And a path for the thunderbolt,
27    Then He saw wisdom and declared it;
        He prepared it, indeed, He searched it out.
28    And to man He said,
        ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom,
        And to depart from evil is understanding.’ ”

Wisdom is hidden from mankind. There is a wisdom which comes with age and experience, but not the wisdom which Job seeks: the wisdom of the ages, the rock-solid truth, the understanding of life. That wisdom is hidden from all the living. In fact, those irresistible forces of nature, Destruction and Death, have only heard rumors about wisdom!

God understands wisdom. Of course He does! Being the Creator of this life, He surely knows how this life operates! He sees and establishes everything. He's the one who created the physical laws in the first place. Even wisdom He spoke into being.

But God not only understands wisdom, He gracefully reveals wisdom to us! He says to man, "The fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to depart from evil is understanding."

Apart from God's revelation, man cannot be truly wise. The most learned scientist, the most widely-traveled archaeologist, the most introspective guru among men still has not found wisdom until he opens up the word of God and examines what God has actually revealed about man and about Himself. In His word we find truth and wisdom; those things which are hidden from mankind God teaches through special revelation.

Does that fill you with excitement? Isn't that brilliant? Doesn't that make you want to dig into God's book and share it with your children? That's the way I feel, too!

Let us fear the Lord, our Maker. Let us depart from evil. Therein lies wisdom.