Walking in Truth pt.2

Q: What does the Bible say about walking in truth?

The Bible emphasizes walking in truth as embodying obedience to God's commandments and living according to His Word. Walking in truth, as discussed in 2 John and 3 John, reflects a believer's commitment to live in obedience to God's commandments and to embrace truth and love as central aspects of their faith. John expresses great joy when witnessing others walking in truth, indicating that this is not merely a private matter but one that influences the community of believers. Walking in truth means aligning one's behavior with the teachings of Christ and living out the love that comes from a genuine relationship with Him.

Q: Why is obedience to God's commandments important for Christians?

Obedience to God's commandments is crucial for Christians as it demonstrates love for God and aligns us with His will. In 2 John 6, the apostle John clarifies that love is defined by walking according to God's commandments. This obedience signifies not merely adherence to rules but a heartfelt response to God's love and grace. As Christians, our lives are meant to reflect the transformative power of Christ, shaping our behavior and interactions. Following God's commandments cultivates a relationship with Him and serves as an evidence of our faith; it shows that we have been changed by the grace of God, thus enabling us to walk in holiness and truth.

Q: How do we know that salvation is a work of God?

Salvation is known to be a work of God as it is through His grace, not of works, that we are saved. Ephesians 2:8-9 explicitly states that we are saved by grace through faith, and this not of ourselves; it is the gift of God. This emphasizes that salvation is entirely a sovereign act of God. It is He who initiates and completes the work of salvation in the hearts of believers, transforming them into new creations in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17). The doctrine of sovereign grace reinforces this by revealing that God's choice precedes human action. This affirms our assurance in Christ, as our salvation is not dependent on our merits or efforts but solely on His grace.

Thank you, Sally. I go back to 2 John. This is the text and I dealt so long with the truth itself, I didn't really deal with what it means to walk in it. So, tonight we will. 2 John, look again with me at verse Three, it says, grace be with you, mercy, peace from God the Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Father in truth and love.

I rejoiced greatly that I found of thy children walking in truth as we have received a commandment from the Father. Verse six, and this is love that we walk after his commandments. This is the commandment. As you've heard from the beginning, you should walk in it. Then John, 3rd John, verse 3, I rejoiced greatly when the brethren came and testified of the truth that is in thee. Even as I walkest in the truth, I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth. Now, walk, as you know, means one thing. It means behavior. It means how you live. That's what it means. Conversation, same thing. It's your conduct. It's not only how you live, but the way you're headed.

We just read that in Ephesians 2, didn't we? We used to walk according to the course of this world, the way this world was headed. But God turned us. Now no doubt, all believers in here, We're both blessed and convicted by everything we read, aren't you? I was. That's good. I'm glad.

If you're not convicted by sin, you're not led by the spirit of God. And that's what he does, doesn't he? He convicts us of sin, righteousness, judgment, takes the things of Christ, shows them unto him, rebukes, reproves, corrects. If we're not chastened, if these things don't correct us and chasten us, we're not God's children. He doesn't love us. For whom the Lord loveth, He chasteneth. And God is so good that His chastening is mostly by His Word. Isn't it? It's so good. You do the same with your children, don't you? You don't, every little thing they do, break out the whip, but you rebuke them, don't you? You correct them with your word. Our God is so good.

The fact of the matter is, salvation, and Barnard used to say this, He said, salvation is God reproducing the character of Jesus Christ in a human being. Our old man doesn't resemble Christ. We lost that image completely. But this new creature in Christ, created in the image of Christ Jesus, holy, unblameable, unapproved, which God predestined for us to be, conformed to his image.

That's salvation, Ephesians 2.10.

You love Ephesians 2.8, don't you? You love the rest of them? Yeah, we do. We're his workmanship. Salvation's not of works. You know that. Not our behavior. It's not our life we live.

It's Christ's life. But it says that we're his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus. Christ in us. Created in Christ Jesus unto good works. which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. All right? That's what it said. What it is, is we have a change of masters.

Ephesians 2, again, we were under the dominion of the captivity of the God of this world, the prince of the power of the air, the children of disobedience are under his dominion. But a stronger than he came and led captivity captive. And we'll give you a wonderful illustration from Bunyan's book, Holy War, in a minute. But he came and took captivity captive, took his people from him.

And we've been called from darkness to light, got new minds, new hearts, new life. Walk from darkness to light, course of this world, paths of righteousness. Walking with the world, walking with God. walking by sight, loving ourselves, walking by faith, loving God, loving each other. Let me say this very loud and clear.

You know these things. You've heard me preach too many times. But for someone hearing this out there, our walk, our behavior, our way of life does not merit us any favor with God. It's not merit, it merits nothing. Only the merits of Jesus Christ. Give us life, eternal life. Our walk, our behavior, our way of life does not determine our salvation. Christ's life determined our salvation. His life was our righteousness, is our righteousness. His death, payment for our sins, our redemption, right? However, if Christ is not truly, we read that walking in truth or truly, if Christ is truly not our life, if we're not crucified to the world and the world to us, if we're not crucified with Christ, crucified to the world and the world to us, if we do not walk with God, if we're walking still according to the course of this world, There's no life in us.

We haven't been saved. Right? That's what we read in Ephesians 2. And you, hath he quickened, who walked, but not no longer. There's an old man, and I'm not going to deal with this too much. I've dealt with it too many times. There's an old man, and he's never going to get any better. He's as bad as he ever was. But there's a new man created in righteousness that loves God, loves holiness, loves truth. Obedient? Every child of God is a sinner. And every child of God will stumble and fall. Listen to this. I love this.

A man came here one time and I just happened to quote it the first time I'd ever seen him here. He lives right down the road here. I talked to him and he finally came. He came one time and he heard this verse and came up afterward and just rejoiced over it and never came back. But it says a just man falleth seven times, and he rises up again. Rises up again. How does he rise again?

The Lord quickens us. Raises us up. Picks us up. Quickens us, chastens us, picks us up, and we keep walking. Stumble and fall. Get back up. Keep walking. Keep walking. Running the race before us. How? How? What's Hebrews 12 say? How do we run this race? How do we walk and not stumble and fall? Looking unto Jesus, the author and the finisher of the faith. Looking unto Him. The reason we fall is we take our eyes off Him. Simon Peter was doing what was humanly impossible to do. He was walking on the water.

Don't ever use that term lightly or flippantly. Don't make fun of that. Don't laugh when somebody does. It's blasphemy. Okay? He really did. The Lord gave him. Here's the wonderful thing. They were all scared to death in that ship and the Lord came walking on the water. He said, I've overcome the world. There's nothing for him to walk on the water. Sin had no nothing in him. But this world threatens to drown us. We can't rise above it. Can we? We can't walk above it.

What Simon did. How? Looking at Jesus. He said, Lord, if it's you, bid me come to you walking on the water. He had to get to him. Like a little child scared to death. The Lord said, come. Didn't he? And he did. Got out of that boat. Kept his eyes on Christ. He had to give to Christ. And he kept walking. He's walking on the water. A deep ocean. Waves and all right. But he took his eyes off. Oh my. He began to sink. What happened? What happened?

So, the reason we fall, stumble and fall, we're not looking to our Lord. We're not calling. Peter's greatest prayer we pray, Lord save me. We're not calling, we're not praying, we're not seeking, we're not looking. We get distracted, we start drowning in this world. With the world, if we're with the world, evil communications corrupt good manners. That's a fact, we know it's true, I know it's true.

The purpose of this, Hebrews 10, go with me to Hebrews 10. The purpose of this message, glory of God, to declare the truth of God's word, whole counsel by our Lord, keep back nothing profitable from us, to encourage us all to keep walking, keep looking to Christ, walking. Keep walking this walk of faith, this pilgrimage, and not quit. Not go back.

Encourage us to walk with God like Enoch. Enoch walked with God 365, 300 years. Noah walked with God. He lived, how long did he live? 600 years, something like that. Abraham, all of them walked with God. I want to encourage us all to walk with God until the day we walk on into glory. I want us to die in faith and walk right on into glory. Is that what you want? That's the purpose of this message. Walk with God. Hebrews 10, verse 23. Let us hold fast to the profession of our faith. What's that? It's Christ. Let's hold to Him without wavering. He's faithful. Let us consider one another. John read Philippians 2. Good choice, John. Let us look on the things of others, he said. It's all through the Scripture, Jim. Start thinking about ourselves and we'll get in self-pity. I was just in it yesterday. We'll get down and depressed and we'll act ornery. But let's not think of ourselves.

Think of him. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, who, equal with God, made himself of no reputation, took for himself the form of a servant. Let this mind be in you. Consider one another. That's what he did, didn't he? Provoke unto love and good work, not forsaking the assembly of ourselves together as a matter of some years, but exhorting one another. And so much more as you see the day approaching. Come on, brother. Come on, sister. Don't quit now. Now is our salvation nearer than when we first believed. Some of you are getting old. Yeah, Margaret, I'm looking right at you. Getting old. Ed, Edwin, Jeanette, Nancy, John. Not getting old, you are old.

Now is our salvation nearer. Don't quit now. If we sin willfully. after we've received the knowledge of the truth. No salvation. Certain fearful looking. The coming of God. Look at verse 37. A little while he shall come, he that shall come will come and will not tarry. Now the just shall live by faith. We're going to look at the walk of faith. If any man draw back, he says, my soul shall have no pleasure in it. But we're not of them who draw back under perdition, but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.

You've heard this story so many times, you're going to hear it again. You've heard all my illustrations. But this is as good as I know. Maybe some of you hadn't heard it, but Brother Don Bell came here 35 years ago. First time he came here when I became pastor.

And we were going to the peaks of Otter at the time. We'd been there and I told him about it and I wanted him to see it. And so we went there, took him there, just me and Don. And it's a mile and a half to the summit of Sharp Top, 4.4 miles to Flat Top. That's a long walk. But a mile and a half, that steep climb up to the sharp top. And I told Don about it. I said, the view is just wonderful. There's two ways you can get to the top of that mountain. You can take a bus, or you can walk.

Well, we were pretty young then, 35 years ago. And so we started walking. Well, as we often do, we're talking about the things of our Lord. Like Pilgrim and his companion in Pilgrim's Progress. They said, I love that. They were going along and Pilgrim said, come brother, let's have profitable discourse. The two disciples on the road to Emmaus were talking of all these things. What happened? Christ was with them. There were two or three together.

Well, Brother Don and I were talking and walking and talking and walking and talking about the Lord. We walked a little while and it's getting steeper and steeper. I said, Don, I said, how much further? I said, well, there's a sign. It can't be much further. Got to the sign. It said, you've come half a mile. You got a mile to go. Don said, let's take the bus.

I said, no, we've come this far. Let's keep going. So the whole way we were exhorting one another. We'd keep going. And I'd say, yeah, let's take the bus. No. And we talked, and as we talked, it made the journey less difficult, more pleasant. And we walked and talked and walked and talked, and lo and behold, we reached the summit. And when we got up there, we were both spellbound.

The view was 360 degrees. It was worth the climb. We forgot about the pain. Come on, brother, don't quit now. We're going to see Him. It's real soon now. Real soon. It's worth it. It will be worth it all, that's all I'm saying, when we see the Lord Jesus. Hebrews 11 verse 13, look at this.

These all died in faith, not having received the promises, having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them. Are you persuaded? Do you know whom you have believed? You know Him, that's life eternal. To know the living and true God and Jesus Christ whom He had sent. To know Him. Paul said, oh I might know Him, win Christ and be found in Him.

Is that your desire? Is it really? Truly, in truth, they were persuaded, embraced. If you laid hold of Christ like Jacob, I will not let you go unless you bless me. Have you? Do you? And confessed they were strangers and pilgrims on this earth. You're the same person that old man is saying. Hadn't God made you different?

Huh? You didn't have trouble with the world before. You didn't have an enemy in the world before, did you? Huh? You were liked by everybody. You had lots more friends than you do now. You didn't have any friends then. Right, these are your friends. The only true friends.

Yes, they are, because they're like Christ. And they that say such things, verse 14, do you say that? You declare plainly they seek a country. And these people truly, if they'd been mindful of that country from which they came out, they might have had opportunity to have return. But they weren't thinking about that. Lot's wife did. You know what happened to her, don't you? They desire a better country, that is, a heavenly. Wherefore God is not ashamed to be called there. God, he prepared for them a city. I love Hebrews 11, don't you? 10, Philippians 2, Ephesians 2.

Now Christ is not only our life, life eternal, but he's the way we wanna live in it, isn't it? He's how we wanna be, how we wanna act, talk, walk. I hate myself. I want to be like Christ, don't you? Christ is not only our substitute, he's our example. And I don't know why any believer could possibly hate that word example. I don't know why they do. But Peter said it, Christ suffered leaving us an example that we should follow. It's all through the scripture.

If you love and admire the Lord Jesus Christ, you want to be like him. I've told you so many times about my older brother whom I love so much, and he was. He was a model child, just an obedient son, an example as a son, as a brother to me. He was a believer. a citizen, a hard worker, and I wanted to be just like him. I wanted to walk like him, talk like him. I caught myself emulating everything he did, from the way he sat down, the gestures, the way he folded his arms. I wanted to be just like him. Well, how much more the Lord Jesus Christ, don't you? If you love and admire him, you want to be like him. A new man. Bunyan's Holy War. John Bunyan wrote at least two books when he was in prison. Pilgrim's Progress, Holy War. Did he write Jerusalem Center Saved? He wrote a lot.

He was in prison a long time. He could have gone, he was in, 12 years, was he 12 years? He could have left any time if he just agreed to not preach the truth. Think about that. He had a blind daughter he loved dearly, and his wife and daughter would come to visit him, and she would plead with her daddy. He wouldn't leave. He wouldn't leave. Many men love father, mother, son, or daughter more than he's not worthy of me. Oh, and didn't the Lord lead that man to write something wonderful?

Pilgrim's Progress. Holy War, I think I might like it even more. It's a story of the town of Mansoul. Mansoul. It was owned by El Shaddai's God. Emmanuel is the son of God, you know. Well, Mansoul lived with God, but Diabolus, the devil, came. came to the ear gate and the eye gate of the city. Lust of the eyes, ears, he talked to Eve, deceived her. And the town of Mansoul opened the gates to him freely, opened a gate, come on in, and he did.

And he took them all captive. He quieted the recorder, that's the conscience, He did all these things. He set up residence in the palace in the middle of town. That's the heart. And he had the whole town in captivity. He closed all the windows in all the towns so it would be darkness. And they were all in captivity. And somebody sent out a message.

It said, send Mr. Wet Eyes. and called on El Shaddai to send Emmanuel to save us. And he came. Emmanuel came. Son of God. Jesus Christ. This is a true story. Holy War is not, but it's a true story. Christ came to take captivity. Well, Emmanuel came to the ear gate.

He wouldn't open it. Came to the eye gate, wouldn't see, they're blind, they're deaf, you know what he did? Broke it down. He wouldn't open the ear gate, wouldn't open the eye gate. Have any eyes to see, they don't see, any ears to hear, they won't hear, but God came, broke down that hard heart, opened the eyes, opened the ears, and he came in. You know what he did first thing? Went to that palace and took old Diabolus captive and led him, paraded him down the street for all to see. Your captor is in chains! And you know what? Listen to this.

The people were so thankful So grateful that Emmanuel had saved them from captivity, from darkness to light. That as He walked down the street, they admired Him so much. They loved Him so much. They were so thankful. They all got behind Him and they stepped in His steps. They want to walk just like Him. Following Him. They didn't follow Him before.

Look what it got them. Now, oh, to be like thee, blessed Redeemer. We sing that song. That's a good book, because it comes from the good book. Now, I have 50 verses of Scripture about the believer's walk. That's just a little portion of many. And I'm not going to get to it.

But I was gonna turn to Genesis 5 where it says, Enoch walked with God. He had 65 years old and he walked with God. He had 300, or had sons and daughters and he walked another 300 years, 365 days he walked with God. Can you walk with God? How many children do you think he had in 365 years? How many teenagers at one time in his house did he have? 20, 30, 40? How many jobs? How hard did he have to work to support that family? Can you walk with God and have ten teenagers in a house? Can you walk with God and have to make a living and all that?

He did, by the grace of God. Noah walked with God. Thee have I seen righteous. Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. God made him righteous, just, and he walked with God. How long did he walk with God? 600 and some years. But he worked on an ark every day, six, maybe seven days a week. He worked on that ark, didn't he? And walked with God. You think you got responsibility? But he walked with God, didn't he? Ain't that what it says? He walked with God.

I do want you to turn back to, well, Jeremiah, turn to Jeremiah 6. You need to commit this to memory, this verse of scripture. We've looked at it, preached on it. But do you remember Psalm 119, the whole, Psalm 119, the whole psalm, you know, is concerning God's word. I hope you read it.

It says, blessed are the undefiled in the way, that is, in Christ, who walk in the law of the Lord, who walk in his word. Blessed are they that keep his testimony. They walk in his way. How shall a young man cleanse his way? Take heed to the word, walk in it. Jeremiah 6, look at verse 16. Thus saith the Lord. Have it. Thus saith the Lord, stand in the ways, look around you. See, look around you.

How's this world headed, the course of this world? Is that the way you want to go, young people? Is that the way you want to go? It's headed for destruction. Ask for the old paths wherein is the good way and walk therein. You'll find rest for your soul. Didn't Christ say, take my yoke upon you and learn of me. I'm meek and lowly in heart and you'll find rest for your soul. What is it to walk with God? It's to walk, or what is it this walk? It's to walk with God or this walk in truth and walk truly. It's to walk with God and not with the world. You can't walk with the world and walk with God.

You can't. You hear me? I didn't say that. The Lord did. Amos 3, 3. Can two walk together except what? They'd be agreed. The world is 180 degrees from the truth. You can't walk with that. Evil communication, corrupt good manner. Yoke to Christ, you're going to go all the way to glory. Yoke to people in this world, you're going to go to perdition. Do you hear me? I'm not the one saying that.

The Lord is. How can light have fellowship with dark? You can't. and light doesn't rub off, it only reproves. We act like those we walk with. You know that? We're conformed to those we walk with. Yes, sir. Walk with the Lord. Walk with Christ. Follow Him. Commune with Him. That's what it means to walk with God. Commune with Him. Talk with Him. Call on Him. Above all things, Hear Him. Listen to Him. Don't listen to the world. The God of this world is a liar. And all men, David said, I said, all men are liars. They're not out to do you good. They're out for what they can get out of you.

Walk with God. Look to, walk with, follow him, look to Christ. What is this walk in truth? It's to walk by faith. Second Corinthians, quickly. Second Corinthians chapter four. It's to walk by faith. Walk by faith. Look at Second Corinthians four. Oh my. John, you wondered where to start reading, where to stop in Philippians? What about this? In 2 Corinthians 4, look at verse 18.

While we look not at the things which are seen, But the things which are not seen, the things which are seen are temporal. The things which are not seen are eternal. Verse one, we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, chapter five, we have a building of God, and house not made with hands, eternal in the heaven. In this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house, which is in heaven.

Do you really? Do you really? That's walking truth. That's a true desire. Is it? If so, being clothed, not being naked. We're in this tabernacle, we've grown, do you? Being burdened. This is a true walk, in truth. Not just to be unclothed, but clothed upon.

Not just to be done with our troubles, but to be like Christ. And it says in verse 6, we're always confident. knowing that while we're at home in the body, we're absent from the Lord, but we walk by faith, not by sight. We're confident, I say, willing rather to be absent from the body, to be present with the Lord. Are you willing? That's a true one. Paul said, I'm a straight betwixt the two. He said, I'd rather depart and be with the Lord, which is far better, but for you, it's probably maybe him.

It's to walk by faith, looking to Christ, looking unto Jesus, author of our book and finisher of our faith, looking to Him. It's to walk in His Word. Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly. His Word is a light under our feet and a lamp under our path, light under our path. The Word of God. is our roadmap, if you will. It's our instruction. It's Him. It's our Father speaking to us. Walk in the Spirit. To walk in the Spirit. Galatians 5, we read, don't grieve the Spirit. Sin grieves the Holy Spirit.

You know, our motive is not to be seen. We don't take any. We're ashamed. I'm often disappointed in my brothers and sisters, and there's one person I'm more disappointed in than anybody else. It's me. We don't take any comfort or assurance or anything in ourselves, anything we do or have done. All our confidence, our assurance is in Christ, isn't it?

It really is. But here's what he says. He says, you walk in the Spirit, you'll not fulfill the lust of the flesh. If any man hath not the Spirit of God, he is none of his. He leads us, he guides us, he reproves us, doesn't he? He convicts us. He consciences us. He brings up our conscience and tells us, here's the way, walk in it. Doesn't it? All the time. And we grieve him, don't we? Sad to say. Don't do it. Don't grieve the Holy Spirit. Don't quench the Spirit. Walk in the Spirit.

Read that for yourself in Romans 8 and all the way through there. Hear, heed, follow, walk. To walk in truth is to walk in love. Didn't our Lord say love is the fulfillment of the law? The first four commandments of the ten are toward God and the next six are toward man. It begins with God, love to God, fulfillment of those, love to man, fulfillment of the rest of it. The greatest evidence of salvation is love. Oh, no, no. Faith is evident. Now abideth faith, hope, and love, and the greatest of these is love. Know what it says? It's easy to say, you believe. Right? The Pharisees said these things. They didn't do them. That's what the Lord said.

Love. Love is a fulfiller. Love in the heart. Love for God. If God gives you a love for Him, it'll make you fall out of love with this world. It's the only thing that will. God shows you the love of His love for you in Christ on Calvary's tree. You'll not only fall out of love with yourself, you'll abhor yourself. You'll hate yourself for what Christ had to do to put away your sin. You'll love the brethren more than you love yourself, knowing what love Christ showed to you. Love never fails, right? Faith, give way to sight. Hope, reality. Love, never fails. Never fails. It falters. It falters. That's why there's so many exhortations to keep to love one another, right? Why does He keep telling us to love one another? Why does He keep telling us? I love you. You love me. It's evident. Isn't it? It is to me.

Why does He keep telling us to do that? Because our love is so fickle and fallible and failing and faltering. We can leave our first love like Ephesians, but not lose it. That's good news. What do you leave it for? The world. It corrupts true love, doesn't it? Oh, and then it rebukes you and reproves you. It falters, but it doesn't fail. To walk in truth is to walk circumspectly. You read that with me, didn't you? Ephesians. Five, that means walk before God. Half of our conduct is out of sight of man. Isn't it? But not God. That will tempt you. Won't it? I sure will. David grieved and he said this in his repentance. Against thee and thee only have I done sin and done this evil in thy sight.

So is to walk circumspectly before God, before the world. We don't want to bring reproach on our Lord, do we? What does the Lord require of thee? In Micah 6, 8. Walk humbly before thy God. Walk humbly with thy God. Walk in humility, meekness and loneliness. Those who walk in pride, he's able to abase. And if God's people do, and they do, we all do, boy, he'll quickly show you. You ain't nothing without me. To walk in truth is to walk as Christ. Our Lord, and this is what Peter said of the Lord. He said he went about doing good. Went about doing good. My whole life has been a lot of bad. A lot of bad. I want to be a do-gooder. Don't you?

Serve God's kingdom. Our Lord is holy. Scripture says in Philippians, it said, as in this world we're to live, it says, I don't want to misquote it. He quoted it in Philippians 2. It says, You may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and a first nation. You read that? Well, it says of our Lord, He was holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners. That's what it said. He was separate from sinners. He didn't think like them. He didn't act like them. He didn't walk like them. He didn't talk like them. But he was a friend of sinners.

Aren't you glad? Aren't you glad? Well, I want to be like that. I want to be like him. Don't you? You're preaching Christian living. I sure am. That means the life of Christ. Don't you love the life of Christ? Don't you admire and glorify and honor the Lord Jesus Christ for the life he lived? Don't you wanna be just like him? Holiness, godliness, Titus 2. Our Lord, and that involves being love, mercy, grace, longsuffering, forbearance, Forgiveness, this is holiness. This is what it is to be like Christ. Compassionate, kind. 1 Corinthians 13, those descriptions of love are descriptions of Christ's love, aren't they? Don't you want to love like that? What's wrong with that? Anything wrong with anything I've said?

I'm going to close with this example from the Scripture, Acts 3. Go over there and I'll close with it. John said that he rejoiced that the children of the elect lady were walking in the truth and that Gaius, the man, was walking in the truth, walking with God, walking in love, walking by faith, walking circumspectly. In Acts chapter three, look at this, I love this. I'll close with this story, this illustration. Peter and John went up together into the temple, the hour of prayer being the ninth hour. That's what God's people do, don't they? Certain man, lame from his mother's womb, another lame man says he was lame from birth, said he never had walked. That's all of us, isn't it? Before Christ came, before the gospel came.

They laid him daily at the gate of the temple. That's what my parents did. That's where they brought me. This place, beautiful place, where the beautiful Lord, altogether lovely Christ and the gospel was preached, laid me there, but I hadn't walked yet by faith. I was dead. They laid him there to ask alms, and seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple asking alms, what they could get out of him. I remember going back to church as a teenager. There was a man who was a building contractor, and I thought, I'll get a job. I wasn't interested in Jesus Christ. But God.

Peter fastened his eyes on him with John. Look on us. And he gave heed, thinking, well, we're going to get some money out of it. Peter said, silver and gold have I none, but such as I have given to thee. Oh, this is unsearchable riches. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk. Took him by the right hand, lifted him up. He lifted me out of the deep miry clay. Settled my feet in the straight narrow way. He lifted me up to a heavenly play. Lifted him up. And immediately his feet, his ankle bones received strength and he leaping up Stood!

Where do you stand, brothers and sisters? On Christ the solid rock. All other ground is sinking sand. All other ground is sinking sand. You walk with Christ on a solid rock, you won't sink! Like Simon Peter. Leaping! It says he's leaping up, walked, by faith, entered, where'd he go? He's on the outside. Now where is he? In the temple. With God's people. Where's he walking? To walk with God, to walk with God's people, to walk in the temple where your feet are in a straight path. Pleasant place. Oh, my fibrous chef's feet were covered under the table. Oh, my.

And it says, he entered with them into the temple, walking, leaping, your heart ever leap? You hear the gospel. Does it? But it ain't beating then. I look forward to the day I see somebody's heart leap. Our young people, somebody. I have, just recently. Praising God. And all the people saw him walking and praising God. They knew it was him, but they were filled with amazement.

Something's happened to him. He never had walked before. He never had come in this place before. He never was interested before. Oh, he is now. You can't keep him out. And the next time everybody meets, this old fella's gonna walk in that place. You're gonna see him again, and again, and again, and again, till he walks like Enoch. Brothers and sisters, let us walk in truth. Okay, stand with me.

Walking in Truth pt.2

Key Quotes

What does the Bible say about walking in truth?

Why is obedience to God's commandments important for Christians?

How do we know that salvation is a work of God?

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Walking in Truth pt.2

Key Quotes

What does the Bible say about walking in truth?

Why is obedience to God's commandments important for Christians?

How do we know that salvation is a work of God?

Sermon Transcript

About Paul Mahan

Comments

More from Paul Mahan

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