May God be pleased to bless us
together this evening as we consider his word. Let's turn to the Gospel
of John, chapter 18, in just three words, in verse 38. The
Gospel of John, chapter 18, and three words in verse 38. What
is truth? These were the words that Pilate
spoke when Jesus had spoken to him and answered the question,
are thou a king then? And Jesus had said, thou sayest
that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for
this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto
the truth. Everyone that is of The truth
heareth my voice. And that evoked the question
from Pilate, what is truth? Well, the Lord didn't answer
that question. And it seemed that Pilate, in
any event, carried on then fairly quickly because he went out and
spoke to the Jews and told them, I find in him no fault at all. Well, we know sadly that Pilate
was not a true believer. But the question that he poses
is surely a question that everyone asks at some time in their life. What is truth? Everyone should
ask that question. It is a very important question
because there are many things in this world which are not truth. And we do not want to be deceived. I'm sure none of us want to be
left and to be deceived. The Saviour speaks about the
devil and gives us words about him. In the 8th chapter of this
same Gospel, we read where the Lord says in verse 44, Ye are
of your father the devil. And the lust of your father ye
will do. He was a murderer from the beginning,
and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When
he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own, for he is a liar
and the father of it." So we have a very clear statement there
that our adversary the devil is a liar, he always has been
and he always will be. And it is therefore so important
for us to not listen to what the devil says. We should think
and remember that the devil does not change. He is a liar, he
always has been, he always will be. We only have to go back,
don't we, to the Garden of Eden, when he tempted Adam and Eve,
when he posed the question, hath God said? He knew what God had
said. He posed the question to Adam
and Eve, or to Eve rather, and to then be able to tell her that
there was no need to believe and do those things which the
Lord had spoken to them of. And so we have that tragic case,
that tragic time, that tragic example, and that should be before
us as a great warning light as we travel on today. Well, the
great important aspect is that we need to know what the truth
is. So in answer to that question,
what is truth? If you had to write down this
evening an answer to that, what is truth? What would you write? What would you say? That's worth
thinking about, isn't it? What is truth? What would you
say? If somebody asked you, and there
are many occasions when no doubt there are opportunities and people
will ask us, well, why do you believe this and what is the
truth of it? Well, the Lord Jesus gave us
the answer. He tells us in the 17th chapter
of John, the 17th verse, it's easy to remember, isn't it? John
17 and verse 17. And it's this. He says, sanctify
them through thy truth. Thy word is truth. Thy word is truth. So if anybody
asks you, what is truth? You can tell them that thy word,
that means the word of God, that means the Bible, is truth. And people may ridicule you today. They always have done. They've
always ridiculed the truth. People have not believed the
truth. Don't be surprised today if you
are ridiculed for the truth. But we need to stand very firm. Because this is the foundation
of true religion. Everything which is outside of
the Word of God cannot be classified as being the truth. But we know
the Word of God is true and it's very pure. And again, perhaps
people may speak and ridicule you and say, You know the Bible
is only a translation and we know that is so. And we know
that the Bible as written originally was perfect in the original Hebrew
and Greek and Aramaic. But we're thankful today that
we have a reliable, accurate translation of the Word of God. No translation can be perfectly
accurate because it's so difficult to translate some words. But
nonetheless, through the mercy and favour of God, we today have
a very accurate translation before us that we're able to rely upon. And so therefore, if we are questioned
with that statement, what is truth? To be able to come in
and say, well, thy word is truth. The word of God is truth. And
if we stand firm on that place, then you see everything will
work together. If we start trying to eliminate
parts of the Word of God as not perhaps true or perhaps not necessary,
then we leave ourselves open to being destroyed. But you see,
if we stand firm for the truth of God as it is revealed in the
Word of God, then that cannot be overthrown. You only have
to consider the wonder of it Because just thinking very simply
about how the words were made and created. Those words that
we spoke from this morning in Isaiah 66, the opening verse.
It speaks of the eternity of God and how he made all things. The heavens is where he resides
and the earth is his footstool. We see the greatness of God set
before us and we can read about that again and again through
the Word of God. There are so many references
to the truth of it. So if people try and ridicule
the Word of God and try and ridicule especially the early chapters
in Genesis, which they do and they will, Well, you need to
refer them to the Word of God. This, of course, may mean a certain
amount of study in the Word of God. You may not be able to just
refute it immediately when people criticize and speak against the
Word of God. It may mean that you have to
study the Word of God and to find that there are those words
and those encouraging texts which are strengthened to our faith
and prove the Word of God to be true. And then as we follow
the pattern of the Word of God, it's very wonderful to follow
the pattern and to think the sequence of all those things
which occurred. They didn't just happen by chance. They weren't just some casual
occurrence. They were all carefully planned
and ordained by God. And they all work together. They're
all woven together. And they all direct us to the
Lord Jesus Christ and to his shed blood. That is the theme
that runs right through the Word of God. And perhaps you might
say, well, I don't understand it that way. Well, perhaps we
need to just carefully seek the Word of God and to read it and
to pray over it. And you will see there is that
glorious thread running through it. And that is an evidence and
a most powerful evidence that the Word of God is true. What is truth? The Word of God
is true. And it starts of course with
the fall of man. It starts with that original
sin and it leads us right through, right through how that sin was
to be atoned for, so many evidences in the Old Testament, so many
occasions when the picture is before us of the need that blood
had to be shed, the animals slain, to show that death had to occur
in order to satisfy the demands of a holy God against sin. Well, we can just think of some
of those situations You think of the very early days in Genesis
and the Lord Jesus, he made those coats of skin for Adam and Eve
to cover their nakedness. And evidently, to produce those,
there was the death of the animals and the blood was shed. And then,
of course, you can come on to when Noah went out of the ark
What did he do? Offered up sacrifices to God.
What happened in Abraham's life? He offered up sacrifices to God,
and more especially, of course, when he had to take his son to
offer him up. And we know that there was that
glorious picture of that substitute with that ram caught by its horns
in the thicket, taken as a substitute instead of Isaac. And what occurred? Death, bloodshed. You see, the
shedding of blood proved the death of the sacrifice. That's why it is so significant
for us to realise the truth of those words, without shedding
of blood, there is no remission of sin, no forgiveness. And then,
as we move on to the truth of God, following this glorious
pattern, we come to the time when Israel were in Egypt. How were they to escape? They
could have been delivered very quickly, couldn't they? But the
Lord ordained there should be all those plagues which were
brought upon the Egyptians to build up to that great and glorious
occasion when the Passover was instituted. And that was a night
never to be forgotten. And my friends, it never will
be forgotten. because it signified so gloriously there, the lamb
slain, the blood shed, safety under the blood, the truth of
God. What is truth? That is true. It's a wonderful picture for
us today to realize what it produced because it brought about freedom
to Israel. Everyone, came out of Egypt. There wasn't a hoof that was
left behind. God's work is a perfect work. It's a complete work. And
then we see then, when they come out of Egypt, and in the wilderness,
Moses directed, commanded by God to bring forth all those
ceremonies which so clearly typified the death, and the resurrection
of the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. Those many, many sacrifices
which were carried out, the death of the animal, the bloodshed,
what did it do? It directs us to Christ, the
truth of God. The pattern is being continued
and we see more and more a fullness in it. greater fullness as these
things are shown to us through the Word of God. And as we meditate
upon these wonderful things, think of the tabernacle which
was erected, think of then the temple that was erected, and
think of what it represented. All those things directed the
offerer and the worshipper to the Lord Jesus Christ. We know
of course it was couched in dark things, but now with the New
Testament we can see in some measure the glory of it, the
truth of God's Word, all being brought about gradually, slowly,
in accordance with God's decreed will and purpose. So Israel were
brought to offer those sacrifices, and of course we see then more
clearly, do we not, the work of the high priest, typifying
the Lord Jesus Christ, having to go into the most holy place
on that day of atonement, not without blood, that annual occasion. What a glorious time it was,
brought to the people's attention the need for atonement. And so
we see that carried on, really, right down to the time of the
Lord Jesus Christ. I know there were certain intermissions
in that situation, but nonetheless, the picture was still there,
because they did possess the law, the law of God which is
set forth, of course, in the first five books of the Bible.
And there we find very clearly the instructions and the pictures
of how these things were to be carried out and ordained. And
so we find then these things were continued. How many efforts
there were to dispose and to get rid of Israel, and if possible
to get rid of these blessed ceremonies, but they all failed. And everything
you see will fail that is against the great and blessed plan of
Almighty God. His purposes move on. And so
we come then to the time of the Lord Jesus Christ. And what do
we see there? We see the fulfilment of all
those Old Testament prophecies. You think of the vast volumes
which were prophesied about the fallen state of man, about their
sin and the need to be atoned for, and we see the glorious
fulfilment of that in the death of the Lord Jesus Christ. What
is truth? Well surely there's no greater
fulfilment of the truth of God than when the Lord Jesus Christ
was slain and died upon that cross at Calvary. What a wonderful
fulfilment that was. Look back over all those years
of history and all those times which pointed to the death of
the Saviour and to the resurrection of the Saviour. and to the intercession
of the Saviour. They're all typified, they're
all set before us in the Word of God. So what is truth? My friends, we have tremendous
evidence, do we not, of the truth of God's Word. There's no reason
at all to doubt it. Now the devil will try, as he
always has done, to raise up to us questions, questioning
certain aspects. My friends, we need to revert
to the Word of God and to point to the Saviour, point to His
redeeming blood. You see, the devil cannot overcome
that because it is true and it was fulfilled in the death of
the Lord Jesus Christ. And in his death, what did he
do? He conquered. The devil no doubt
thought he'd conquered when the Saviour died, but he died to
rise again, a conqueror over sin, death, hell and the grave. And we today rely upon the truth
of God's Word. We can't rely on anything else,
but we can rely upon the Word of God. And so, as we find ourselves
today in a disbelieving world, don't we? The world today is
always trying to find reasons why they should not believe in
the Word of God. Not believe it. And we find the
Apostle, when he spoke to Timothy, he warns us what's going to come
in the last days. And it would seem very clearly
we are in the last days. We don't know, of course, how
many more days there will be permitted to this earth to continue. But it would seem we are in the
last days. And we're told in the last days
perilous times shall come. Well, we see them, do we not,
on the horizon? Well, they are there in certain
aspects. They are perilous times. And
then this describes what the people will be like. For men
shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud,
blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural
affection, truce-breakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce,
despises of those that are good, traitors, heady, high-minded,
lovers of pleasures rather than lovers of God. Then he goes on,
having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof. From
such, turn away." Well, that is a picture, isn't it, of the
state of the world today, the state of our own nation today.
And the apostle goes on to speak about them. And he says, for
of this sort are they which creep into houses and leave captive
city women laden with sins, led away with divers lust, ever learning,
and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. Because
they are trying to find truth outside of the word of God. And they never will. Truth is
contained in the Word of God. And we see vast sums of money,
people trying to prove the Word of God to be wrong and to have
cause to believe other things. Well, as Paul goes on now, as
Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also. Resist
the truth, men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith. But they shall proceed no further,
for their folly shall be manifest unto all men as theirs was also. And then he addresses Timothy
in this way and it's good for us to realize that we have instruction
to guide and help us today But he says thou has fully known
my doctrine manner of life purpose faith long-suffering charity
patience persecutions afflictions Well, we have a record ourselves
of what that meant. We know that he was speaking
to Timothy here and it was fresh, these situations, which he's
now highlighting. But nonetheless, they're recorded
in the Acts of the Apostles for us to read and to know and to
see what the Apostle had to face and what he had to endure. And
these things are true. And they are proved to us in
the Word of God as the Apostle is able to speak of them. And
so we should recognise the fulfilment of those things which the Apostle
is speaking, or spoke to Timothy, and how relevant they are to
us today. The apostle goes on and says,
yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer
persecution. The Word of God is true. And
you and me therefore today should expect to suffer persecution
in one way or another. What is truth? The Word of God
tells us what truth is. and what we should expect as
we live in this world today. And we shouldn't be surprised
at the awfulness of scenes which occur and which may well develop. No, we are to be found resting
then upon the promises of our God and not relying upon the
theories of poor, weak and sinful men. And what that really means
is that we are to have our faith not in ourselves, but resting
in what God has indeed done. And the Apostle, when he wrote
to the Thessalonians, encourages in these words of truth, in the
second epistle, and the second chapter, and the 13th verse,
he says, but we are bound to give thanks always to God for
you brethren, beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the
beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the
Spirit and belief of the truth." If the Lord gives us faith to
believe in His Word, it is to believe in the truth of His Word. And we all need faith to believe. Because of the opposition we
face from our reasoning mind. Our natural reasoning mind is
so badly influenced by the devil. And we need therefore that living
faith to believe the true word of God. Thy word is truth. What is truth? The word of God
is truth. And may you and I be blessed
with this wonderful favour of having the sanctification of
the Spirit and belief of the truth. And then of course the Lord Jesus
himself in an earlier chapter. You remember that we commenced
this 18th chapter with those words when Jesus had spoken these
words and he'd previously been praying to his father in that
great and glorious chapter, the 17th chapter in John, and prior
to that he'd been addressing his disciples in the upper room
on that Passover night. And one of the wonderful truths
that that contains is the Lord encourages His disciples and
of course the Church of God with these words, let not your heart
be troubled. And it may be troubled and it
probably will be troubled. That's why there are such blessed
words to encourage us. Let not your heart be troubled. As we see things to trouble us.
And the Lord tells us why we should not be troubled. Believe
in God. You believe in God, believe also
in me. In my Father's house are many
mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to
repair a place for you. And if I go to repair a place
for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself that
where I am there, you may be also." So we have here a wonderful
prospect for the Church of God to recognise that that although
we may be troubled with many things in this life, we are to
look beyond this life. We are to look forward to that
inheritance which is incorruptible and undefiled and which is reserved
in heaven for those who are kept by the power of God through grace
unto salvation. This is the truth of God's word. What is truth? This is true. This is what should encourage
us, as you and I press on through life, to realise, yes, there's
a rest that remains for the people of God. And as the devil may
sometimes encourage us to spend all our time on the things of
time, then to be able to remind him that here we have no continuing
city. but we seek one to come. That
is an eternal city. And this is the truth of God's
word. What is truth? This is truth.
And may this encourage us so that we're able to live in this
world rightly, to work for our living rightly, but also to hold
everything with a light hand, realising that we're just a lodger,
really, in this world. We're passing through. It's not
our home. Well, the Lord moves on in this
same chapter when Thomas asked him a question. Thomas said,
Lord, we know not whither thou goest, and how can we know the
way? Well, the Lord gives a glorious
answer. I am the way, the truth, and
the life. No man cometh unto the Father,
but by me. So we can know that the Lord
Jesus Christ is the way and the truth and the life. What is truth? Christ is truth
and he shows us the way. He shows us direction for our
journey through life. He doesn't leave us in a vacuum.
He tells us, Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of
the world. But realise that we have a great
and glorious Saviour, a great and glorious God, who condescends
to look upon us and to count us as his friends. Ye are my friends. says the Lord. And my friends, we are God's
friends. If we do His will and follow
His words and follow His commands, ye are my friends. Well, let
us be the friends of the Saviour and not the friends of the old
devil. You see, being friendly with
the devil will only bring us into trouble. It won't be a truthful
way. You'll find you get mixed up
in unbelief. You'll find you get mixed up
in lies, mixed up with the cares of life, so that you find your
soul will become barren, famished, and there'll be no spiritual
growth, as it were your grinds will halt. Well, then to remember
that what the devil's, the picture he's painting, He paints a worldly
scene. He desires us to be taken up
with the things of the world. But remember that we are pilgrims
and strangers on this earth, that we're passing through it.
We're not resting here. There'll be time to rest in glory
when we get beyond this world. And so to be thankful then that
we have such a wonderful word set before us here as the Lord
Jesus says, I am the way. If we need direction as to what
is the true way, what is truth, what is the true way, the Lord
Jesus Christ has shown us in his word. He's shown us very
clearly what that way is and that way is to follow a despised
and crucified man. It's to face those times of opposition,
and face those times of persecution, and face those times of indeed
opposition. Indeed, as we come to the end
of the 16th chapter, the last few words that the Lord spoke
in the upper room He tells us, Behold, the hour cometh. Yea,
it is now come that ye shall be scattered, every man to his
own, and shall leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, because the
Father is with me. These things have I spoken unto
you, that in me ye might have peace. In the truth there is
peace. in the world, ye shall have tribulation. But be of good cheer, I have
overcome the world." The Lord Jesus Christ has overcome. Isn't
that a great, wonderful truth of encouragement for us, as we
now find ourselves walking in the same evil world that the
Saviour walked in? And yet you see, He overcame. And we shall, by his grace, overcome
through him. We are more than overcomers through
him that loved us. That means not to rely on our
own ability, on our own strength. That means casting all our care
upon the Lord Jesus Christ. And that's not easy. It's a glorious
word. but our flesh likes to try and
carry on a bit by itself. The Lord says, casting all your
care upon him, for he careth for us. Ponder that great truth. I think the Lord cares for us. And if he cares for us, he's
leading us into the truth. And that truth is in Jesus. Everything we regard to the Savior
is pure. Yes, there's no sin in the Savior. His life was spotless. What a
wonderful example we have of the truth. I am the truth. Looking unto Jesus, the author
and the finisher of our faith. Well, the apostle, when he wrote
to the Hebrews, He came near to the end of that epistle. He
tells us, Wherefore, seeing we also are compassed about with
so great a cloud of witnesses, all those who have heard the
truth, who walked in the truth, have obeyed the truth. Wherefore,
seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of
witnesses, let us lay aside every weight And the sin which does
so easily beset us, let us run with patience the race that is
set before us." This is the path, the ordained path. And the Word
of God encourages here, you see, to lay aside every weight. All those things which hinder
are running the race that is set before us. Naturally, In
a race, we don't want weights, do we? People who are running,
they don't have heavy clothes on, they don't have weights on
their feet, do they? And therefore, the Word tells
us to lay aside. If there are those things which
are hindering us in our spiritual race, in our spiritual life,
and you may know one, you may know of a weight, a weight which
is a real problem. And it's hindering you. You know
one of the biggest weights? The evil heart of unbelief. That's
a pretty big weight. My friends, what does the apostle
say? Let us lay aside. Lay aside every
weight. Because what it really means
is we're not relying on the truth. We're not trusting in the truth.
We're trusting in ourselves. But Jesus is the truth. Let us
lay aside every weight, and the sin which does so easily beset
us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us.
Don't forget, it's not an easy race. It's a race of tribulation,
and it's a race which we need to run with patience. Patience. You and I need patience to run
this race. But the answer is before us.
looking unto Jesus, who is the truth. What is truth? Jesus is the truth. Looking unto
Jesus, the author and the finisher of our faith, who for the joy
that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame,
and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For
consider him that endures such contradiction of sinners against
himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds." And so
as we run this race, realizing that it is the race that is set
before us, where we found looking unto Jesus, who is the truth,
and not to turn away from the truth, not to listen to the insinuations
of the old devil, who would always try and sidetrack us and turn
us out of the way. What is truth? Thy word is truth. My friends, may that be a wonderful
thought, an encouragement to us as we journey on day by day,
to remind ourselves and to tell the devil, thy word is truth. And that which perhaps you are
relying upon for your salvation And perhaps the devil is tempting
and saying, well, that wasn't of any value at all. If it's
from God, if it's his truth, it will stand. And the devil
will not be able to overthrow it, although he will attempt
to. I've said on a number of occasions
the little account of John Warburton, when he was wonderfully blessed,
And he was so blessed, he went into a field and danced about
in the field, praising God. And the devil came and said to
him, I did that. And so John Warburton said, all
right, devil, do it again. Of course, the devil wasn't able
to. And so may we then be given that
faith to believe. That which our soul is resting
upon is the truth of God, and it can therefore not be taken
away. The devil didn't do it, God did
it, for his honour and for his glory. What is truth, thy word
is truth. Amen.