PREACHED:OL,5-23-04,PM

 

“FINDING THE TRUTH”

 

INTRODUCTION:

 

   If you were called as a witness in a trial…

 

A.     You would be asked: “Do you swear/affirm that the testimony you are about to give will be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth…”

 

1.     I have been a bit amused in recent years how a postmodern world deals with this oath since the only conviction is really no conviction at all—everyone has his/her own truth and none is any better or worse than the other!

 

a.     I wonder if a court of law would accept the defense, “My truth tells me it’s all right to steal, and it is judgmental and intolerant for the legal system to pass judgment on my beliefs and punish men for violating what some people think is truth, but is not truth to me.”

 

‚    The question of the hour is the one asked by Pilate, “What is truth?”

 

A.     Again, our times remind me of the statement repeated verbatim in Judges 17:6 and 21:25.  

 

1.     “In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.”

 

ƒ   What, then, is the answer?

 

A.                Is there a standard for right and wrong?

Is there a source for truth in answering religious and moral questions?

 

        B.     We know there must be, because Peter said:

 

1.     “Always be prepared to make a defense, to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you…”  (I Peter 3:15)

 

DISCUSSION:

 

Œ  WHERE DO WE NOT FIND THE TRUTH?

 

        A.     The changing public opinion polls -

 

        B.     The fickle consensus of majority thought -

 

        C.     The solemn conclusions of the courts -

 

        D.     The pressures of political correctness -

 

        E.     The pontificated edicts of the experts -

 

        F.     The warped thinking of the rich and famous -

 

G.               The prating absurdities of special interests -

 

H.     The contradictions of Postmodernism -

 

  WHERE DO WE FIND THE TRUTH?

 

        A.     Father, Son and Holy Spirit -

 

1.     Isa 45:19. “I the Lord speak in truth; I declare what is right…”  John 17:17. “Sanctify them in the truth…”

 

John 14:6. “I am the way the truth and the light…”  18:37. “I have come into the world to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to me.”

 

John 16:13. “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you (apostles) into all truth…”

                       

        B.     The scriptures -

 

1.     II Tim 3:16,17. “All scripture is breathed out…”

 

2.     Psalm 119:160. “The sum of your word is truth and everyone of your righteous rules endures forever.”

 

3.     II Tim 2:15. “Do your best to present…”

 

Ž  WHO CAN FIND THE TRUTH?

 

        A.     Is it the strict possession of the scholars?

 

1.     I Cor 1:18-29. “For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written, ‘I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.’ Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. For Jews demand a sign and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human might boast in the presence of God.”

 

2.     That doesn’t mean we can’t learn from those who have dedicated themselves to genuine scholarship to help others to find the truth for themselves by careful study!

 

B.     Is it private possession of the most powerful and most eloquent preachers?

 

1.     I Cor 2:1-5. “And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that you faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.”

 

2.     Again, Paul said it pleased God by what was preached to save the lost!

 

a.     Preachers are an essential part of God’s plan to reach the world with the gospel!

 

3.     But effective preaching is determined not be ordination or college accreditation—some of the greatest preachers of years past were not formally trained in halls of higher education!

 

D.     No! It can be discovered by diligent study by every accountable man, woman, boy and girl!

 

A.     Acts 17:11. “Now these Jews (Berea) were more noble than those of Thessalonica; they received the word with eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.”

 

1.     This presupposes that one can discover truth by eager, careful examination of the Bible!

 

                                a.     John 8:32

                                       

CONCLUSION:

 

   The story is told about a Christian cobbler with little formal education who ran a shoe repair shop.

 

A.                The old gentleman had a remarkable knowledge of the word of God by a lifetime of careful study, despite his educational inadequacies.

 

B.     One day, a proud young graduate of a local theological seminary came into his establishment and boasted that he could ask the old cobbler any number of questions he couldn’t answer.

 

1.     But the young man was surprised that the old gentleman remarkably knew all the important truths and gave biblical reasons for his beliefs.

 

2.     In frustration the young man said, “Can you tell me what the Urim and Thummim were?”

 

a.     The old gentleman responded, “Well, there’s much I don’t understand about them, but I think the Jewish high priest used them to get answers from the Lord.”

 

3.     But then he added, “Now, Brother, let me tell you something I’m sure of. Today I have a better way of knowing what God wants me to do. If I change only a few letters in those two strange words, I can take this Bible and by usin’ and thumbin’ it, I get all the direction I need from the Lord.”