Rewarding Faith:

                           "Knowing the Truth"

 

 

And Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in my word, you are my disciples indeed, and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free”. John 8:31-32.

 

Sanctify them by Your truth, Your word is truth. John 17:17.

 

And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the Lord (Jesus) shall be saved (delivered). Acts 2:21.

 

When believers are in doubt of what is truth they should always revert to the foundation of their belief, which is the living word of God.

 

In the world which we live in today there are more untruths being taught in our society than ever before in history. So this is not a time for Christians to be seeking wisdom and knowledge from a world of unbelievers and those who live in continuous darkness but it is a time for true believers to get back to the living word that was able to save our souls.

 

Look at this verse from James 1:21, In a humble spirit receive and welcome the word, which implanted and rooted (in your hearts) contains the power to save (deliver) your souls.

 

Here we have an honest spiritual truth that the world cannot know. He is talking about continuing in the word of God, and as we do, it has the power to lead us into freedom and victory. This is subsequent to the initial new birth.

 

At the moment of regeneration we become new creatures in Christ Jesus, but only in the spirit man. If the soul and body were out of control prior to the new birth they will be out of control after the new birth. They now need to be dealt with in the spirit realm. Man cannot have true freedom, the kind that Jesus referred to, unless he begins to renew his mind with the word of truth and allow it to lead him into all the truth.

 

The word teaches us that there are two kinds of wisdom, the one from above which is God’s truth and the one from below which is from Satan.

 

This is made clear by Paul in (1 Corinthians 2:6 –7) Yet when we are among the full grown – spiritually mature Christians who are ripe in understanding – we do impart a higher wisdom [that is, the knowledge of the divine plan previously hidden] but it is indeed not a wisdom of this present age nor of this world or the leaders and rulers of this age, who are being brought to nothing and are doomed to pass away.

But rather what we are setting forth is a wisdom of God once hidden (from human understanding) and now revealed to us by God (that wisdom) which God devised and decreed before the ages for our glorification ( that is, to lift us into the glory of His presence).        Note: Ephesians 2:6.

 

Paul is telling us that there is a new wisdom revealed to us by God in His word that if applied to the spirit man and allowed to take root there, sooner or later it will elevate our thinking and begin to raise us up to the mindset of Christ which will eventually impart to us the ability to discern both good and evil. Freedom is being able to speak and to put into action these words of Christ in the garden, “Not my will but Your will be done”.

 

We can gaze into the spiritual promised land through the living word and have Him reveal to us what are those good and perfect gifts that come down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. James 1:17.

 

This is a fact; spiritual maturity does not come to all believers because not all believers will receive the truth that will make them free. Many have been sidelined by earthly wisdom, religious tradition, and personal choices etc., which are used by the devil to keep them in bondage and therefore be of no use to the Father.

 

Whether we agree or not, this is a fact, the body of Christ today consists of many members but very few are ripe in understanding the spiritual side of deliverance made available to the whole church through the word of life.

Listen to Paul teaching the Philippians how mature members of the body of Christ should present themselves.

 

That you may show yourselves to be blameless and guileless, innocent and uncontaminated, children of God without blemish (faultless, unrebukeable) in the midst of a crooked and wicked generation -  [spiritually] perverted and perverse. Among whom you are seen as bright lights – stars or beacons shining out clearly – in the (dark) world; holding out to it and offering to all men the word of life. Philippians 2:15 -16.

 

So we see from this teaching that knowing the truth which comes directly from the word of life can lead a believer to the place in Christ where he is blameless, guileless, innocent, uncontaminated, without blemish and faultless. This is being set free, knowing who we are in the body and allowing our light to shine.

 

To a lot of professing Christians this sounds too good to be true.

 

Why?

 

Because they have never gone beyond the babyhood stage in their spiritual walk. They long to shine as lights in a world of darkness but their light is hidden by the natural temporal things of this world.

 

Once again the writer shows us that the problem with the body of Christ is a spiritual problem.

 

He says, for everyone who partakes of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. Hebrews 5:13 -14.

 

How does one learn to discern both good and evil?

                                                                                                              Could it be by renting worldly videos six days a week and giving the Lord one or two hours on Sunday morning?

 

Maybe by catching all of the daytime soap operas from Monday to Friday and then acknowledging God sometime on the weekend?

I know what will do it, by not missing any professional sports six days a week and then if there’s none on Sunday I can talk to God for a while.

 

These things may seem a little humorous but in a lot of Christian homes these things are a fact of life and there is nothing humorous about it.

 

What must I do to grow spiritually and someday stand and testify that now my senses are exercised and now I can discern both good and evil?

 

Let’s read, “This book of the law shall not depart out of your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, that you may observe to do all that is written in it. For then you shall make yourself prosperous and then you shall deal wisely and have good success. Joshua 1:8.

 

This is good advice but this was under the law, but if this was attainable under the old covenant, what could we possibly expect from the new covenant?

 

Remember Joshua promises prosperity, wisdom to deal wisely and to have good success. How could things get any better than this?

 

Let us read, “But now (today) He (Christ) has obtained a more excellent ministry, in as much as He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises”. Hebrews 8:6.

 

The old covenant would indeed bless and did bless the one who chose to obey the Lord and walk according to His written word. But this covenant was only temporary and a man was only righteous as long as he was in obedience. If he stepped out of obedience he became as any other man, unprotected. Instead of being blessed he became cursed. Deuteronomy 28.

 

Under the new covenant, which was established on better promises, we have access through the new birth to become permanently righteous in the eyes of the Father. Once the spirit man becomes right with God it cannot be taken back or annulled.

 

Through regeneration we are instantly translated from the kingdom of darkness and placed wholly into the kingdom of light. Colossians 1:13. The Amplified says this, the Father has delivered and drawn us to Himself out of the control and the dominion of darkness and has transferred us into the kingdom of the Son of His love.

 

Now that was God’s part, He doesn’t have to do anything else for us, from here on in the ball (the truth) is in our court, as a matter of speaking. Now that we have the ball the only way that Satan can get it back is by deception or trickery. If he can keep us from the word, which happens all too often, then he has us playing by his rules.

 

What do we do?

 

First of all find out what is His commandment. If we learn and practice this then we have the upper hand. What is it? Love one another as I have loved you. Then we begin to train ourselves through the word of truth by renewing our minds and simply believing that what He promised He is well able to perform.

 

But if we begin to regress from the truth and become sluggish and lazy in spiritual matters then the covenant may appear dormant but that is because we are failing to be doers of the word and have slid back to being hearers only. Remember James said that a man is justified by works and not by faith only. James 2:24.

 

Works can be translated as corresponding actions, similar to the Acts of the Apostles.

                                                                                                         What did they do first?

                                                                                                                                                                            They went forth proclaiming the good news and were careful to remain in one accord. Acts 5:42 says, and daily in the temple and in every house, they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ, the deliverer. He was and is the truth, and if you know the truth, The Truth shall make you free.

                                                                                                                                                                                Written by: R W Nagle.