I Am He

Q: What does the Bible say about truth?

The Bible teaches that truth is a person, specifically Jesus Christ, who said, 'I am the truth.' The Bible speaks of truth not as a mere concept or set of doctrines, but as a person—Jesus Christ. In John 14:6, He declares, 'I am the way, the truth, and the life.' This indicates that the truth is found in a relationship with Him, rather than through religious practices or moral laws. Jesus reveals that while many may study doctrines or scriptures, true understanding of truth comes from knowing Him. He emphasizes that truth is divine, originating from God, making it imperative to seek understanding through faith in Him.

Q: How do we know Jesus is the truth?

We know Jesus is the truth because He is the revelation of God and fulfills all Old Testament prophecies. Jesus confirmed His identity as the truth by the divine authority with which He spoke and the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies regarding the Messiah. He stated, 'When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am' (John 8:28), indicating that His crucifixion and resurrection validate His claims. His ability to perform miracles and teach with authority, coupled with fulfilling every prophecy about the Messiah, demonstrates that He is indeed the truth sent from the Father. The truth is not merely an abstract principle but is embodied in Christ.

Q: Why is it important for Christians to know the truth?

Knowing the truth is crucial for Christians as it leads to freedom from sin and religious bondage. For Christians, knowing the truth is essential as it liberates them from the chains of sin and the weight of false religious practices. Jesus said, 'You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free' (John 8:32). This freedom involves being released from legalism, self-righteousness, and the bondage of traditions that hinder true worship. The truth allows believers to live in the light of Christ's grace and forgiveness, ensuring that their relationship with God is based on His work rather than their own. In knowing Christ, they find true peace and assurance before God.

John 8, 32. He said, and you shall know the
truth, and you shall know the truth,
and the truth shall make you free. Now we've read those words, we've
heard those words, haven't we? We know that our Lord spoke them
But are you familiar with where he spoke those words? Where the
Lord said that, and you, and you shall know the truth, and
the truth will make you free. Do you know to whom he spoke
those words? When we're reading the Bible,
I've told you so often, find out who's speaking. Find out
to whom he's speaking. and try to find out what the
subject is. What is this truth? What's he
talking about? The truth. To whom did he say
that? Where did he say it? To whom? And what is this truth? Now, if you go back to verse
20, you'll find out where he spoke these words. He wasn't
out on a street corner. He was in the temple. He was
in Jerusalem, in the temple, in the most hallowed religious
place on earth, where men assembled in the name of God. It says in
verse 20, these words spake Jesus in the treasury as he taught
in the temple. That's where these words were
spoken, in the temple, in Jerusalem, in this hallowed sacred religious
place. Now, to whom did he speak to?
Well, he was speaking to the Jews. He was speaking to worshipers. He was speaking to men who revered
Moses. They said, Moses, we have Moses.
We believe Moses. We studied Moses. We searched
the Scriptures. These men were not dummies. These men were men who were schooled
in the scriptures. They revered Moses. They were
men who defended the law. They were not lawless people. They were men like the Apostle
Paul, before he met Christ, who said, concerning the law, I was
blameless. They sought to keep the law.
They were men who came to the temple. They were men who taught
the scriptures. They were men who tithed everything
that they had, even their herbs, mint, anise, cumin. They were
men who studied the scriptures and taught the scriptures. They
were rulers of the Jews. And these were men who thought
they knew the truth. I can identify with them. These men were raised in the
tradition of their fathers. They were raised in religion.
They were taught religion and a zeal for God from their youth,
as I was. Went to church regularly, took
an active part in the church services, read the Bible, went
to school, studied in school, became a preacher, pastor of
the church. Thought I knew the truth. These
men thought they knew the truth. But my friends, the truth is
not a form of worship. The truth is not a form of worship, even if it be a correct form.
And the truth is not a system of doctrine. Most of the doctrine
to which most of the religious people hold is the doctrine that's
been handed down to them. They've established the doctrine
and then gone to the Bible to prove it. But truth is not a
system of doctrine. It's not the Protestant, Catholic
or Jew that has a corner on the truth. It's not the Baptist or
the Methodist or the Nazarene or the Pentecostal or whomever
that has a corner on the truth. Truth is not a system of doctrine.
A man can know much doctrine and many doctrines and not know
the truth. We're not talking about truths, we're talking about
the truth. Not truths, truth. You shall know, our Lord didn't
say you shall know some truths. You'll know the truth, and the
truth will make you free. And truth is not a law of morality
and behavior. These were, these were men who,
one of them stood in the temple and he said, I'm not like other
men. He said, I'm not an adulterer, I'm not an extortioner. He said,
I tithe, I fast twice a week, I give alms to the poor. I'm
not like this publican back here. My friends, the truth is a person. It's not a form of worship, it's
not a system of doctrine, it's not a law of morality and behavior. Christ said, I am the truth. I am the way, the truth, and
the light. He is the truth, I'm going to
show you that in a moment, and to know this person is to know
the truth. Whatever my abilities or intelligence
or position or whatever, to know this person is to know the truth.
And to believe this person is to believe the truth. And to
walk with this person is to walk in truth. Now there's a key word
in this passage. I'm going to go verse by verse
through the words of our master here. He came down to thee and
he said, and you shall know the truth and the truth shall make
you free. But I'm going down the words
that our Lord spake to these people before he said that. And
there's a key word. It is the word I am. Look for
it. Listen to it. I am. Now before we read it, I want
you to turn to a passage of scripture in the book of Exodus. Exodus
chapter 3. This is very important. Exodus chapter 3. You see, God
appeared to Moses. Israel had been in Egypt 400
years in captivity and bondage. God raised up a deliverer called
Moses. Moses spent his first 40 years
in Egypt. And then he spent the last 40
years, he was now 80 years of age, he spent the last 40 years
in the desert. God preparing, equipping his
servant, his deliverer, to go down into Egypt and lead the
people out. And God had not spoken to him evidently in all these
40 years. He'd been there in the desert,
tending the sheep. But finally the Lord spoke to
him. 80 years of age, been in the desert for 40 years. And
God said, Moses, I want you to go down into Egypt and tell Pharaoh,
let my people go. Lead all of my people. There
were now 2 or 3 million of them. They went into Egypt 70. Now
there were 2 or 3 million. And God sent Moses to deliver
him out. But Moses said to the Lord in
Exodus 3 verse 11, Moses said to God, the Lord, you know, appeared
to him in the burning bush, spoke to him, who am I? Who am I that
I should go unto Pharaoh and that I should bring forth the
children of Israel out of Egypt? And he said, certainly I will
be with thee. And this shall be a token unto
thee, that I have sent thee, when thou hast brought forth
the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God upon this mountain. And Moses said unto God, Behold,
when I come unto the children of Israel, and I say unto them,
The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you. And they say
to me, What's his name? What's his name? Who is this
God of our fathers? What's his name? What shall I
say to him? What is thy name? And God said
to Moses, now listen, in the Bible from which I'm reading
is capitalized, I suppose it is in yours too, I am, I am. I am that I am. Not I was, not I shall be. I
am. The ever-present, omniscient,
omnipotent, omnipresent God. I am. I am that I am. And he said, Thus shalt I say
unto the children of Israel, I am hath sent me unto you. All right, now back to our text.
And remember those words, I am, and let's look at verse 23 of
John 8. Truth, truth, you shall know
the truth, and the truth will make you free. Now verse 23,
and he said to them, in the temple, these religious men who thought
they knew the truth, he said to them, you're from beneath,
I am from above. You're of this world. I am not
of this world. Now this I know about truth.
If you're looking for truth, if I'm looking for truth, don't
look for it on this earth. Don't look for it from the men
of this earth. Truth must come from God. Truth must come from above. You
can You can get the best minds of this world, whether they're
men in politics, or men in business, or men in religion, or whomever,
get the best minds of this world together. And while they know
many things about their world, and many things about their professions,
and many things about their philosophies, they know nothing about God.
Did you know that? Truth, Christ said, you're from
beneath. I'm from above. You're of this world. I'm from
heaven, I am. Truth does not originate with
men, it comes from God. The scripture says this, no man
has seen God at any time. The only begotten hath revealed
him. No man knoweth the Father. but
the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal him." Listen to what
Job said in Job 11. In the 11th chapter of Job, verse
7, can you by searching find God? Can you find out the Almighty
unto perfection? What's higher is the heaven.
What can you do? We're from beneath. We're of
this world. If we learn anything about God,
it's got to come from God, not from us. We can sit around and
say, well, I think God's like this. Well, if you've got a hundred
men, you've got a hundred different opinions. If you've got a thousand
people, you've got a thousand different opinions. It's high
as the heaven. What can you do? It's deeper
than hell. What can you know? Verse 9, the
measure thereof is longer than the earth and broader than the
sea. You know what Paul said about this in Romans 11? Turn
over there and read what Paul said about finding God, searching out the
wisdom and glory of God. In Romans chapter 11, verse 33,
Paul said, Oh, the depths. Oh, the depth of the riches,
both of the wisdom and knowledge of God, how unsearchable are
His judgments and His ways past finding out. I know you hear
a lot of people talking about God this and God that and they
know all about God, but it's not so. Verse 34, Who hath known
the mind of the Lord? I hear preachers who are so dogmatic
on what they know God's going to do, that God has done. Who
knows the mind of God? Who knows? Who hath been his
counselor? Who hath first given to him that
it shall be recompensed unto him again? What does God owe
me? For of him, and through him,
and to him are all things, to whom be glory for ever and ever.
So here's the first thing our Lord says in verse 23. You're
from beneath. I am is from above. You're of the earth. I am from
heaven. And we're going to know any truth
at all. It's not going to start down here. It's not going to
be figured out. It's not going to be concluded. It's not going to be, now we've
come to this conclusion. No, it's got to be by revelation. Totally, completely by revelation.
And it's got to come from Him. I am. Alright, verse 24. I said therefore to you, because
truth is only from God, the truth is only from above, not of the
earth. I said therefore unto you, if
you do not believe that I am," you notice the word he there,
is it in italics in your Bible? A different type of print, italics.
What that means, I heard one fellow say one time, that means
emphasize that, no, that means eliminate that. Those words in italics have been
added by the translators. And it's alright, it doesn't
change the meaning over here if you know what it means. But
he said here, since truth is from God, and truth is from above,
and there's no, let God be true and every man a liar. Me, you,
every man. Now men know God's been pleased
to give us natural gifts and talent. Some of you fellas and
you ladies are just and sharp, and you know your field, but
this is not your field. This isn't my field. God's not
my field. We're of the earth. We're from
beneath. He's from above. Anything I know
about God has to come from Him, has to be revealed. It doesn't
originate here. And he said, If you don't believe that I who
speak to you and I whom God had sent, if I'm not I am, then you're
going to die in your sin. You're going to die in your blindness.
We're blind, we're going to stay blind. If God doesn't send us
a messenger, if God doesn't send us a revelator, if God doesn't
send us someone to show us who he is, and revealing himself
to us, then we're going to die in our sins. We're going to die
in our blindness, we're going to die in our ignorance. You're from beneath, I'm from
above. Now if you don't believe that I'm from above, if you don't
believe that God sent me, if you don't believe I am, I am
God. Moses didn't know anything until
God spoke to him. You don't know anything and I'm
not either until God speaks to us. How does he speak to us?
Hebrews 1. You've got to turn over here
to this with me. Hebrews 1. How does God speak to us? How
does God speak to us? In Hebrews 1, verse 1, listen
to it, God, who at sundry times and in different
manners spake in time past to the fathers, but the prophets.
Yes, he spoke to Israel by Moses, Abraham, David, But he hath in
these last days spoken to us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of
all things, by whom he made the worlds, who, being the brightness
of his glory," the only way I can see the glory of God is to see
Christ, who's the exact, expressed the exact image of his person.
Show us the Father, the disciple said. He said, you see me, you've
seen the Father. He upholdeth all things by the
word of his power. When he by himself purged our
sins, he sat down on the right hand of the majesty on high."
Now, if you don't believe that I am, there's not going to be
another messenger. Christ is the last messenger.
Christ is the messenger of whom all the other messengers spoke.
Search the scriptures. You think in them you have life?
They are they that testify of me. To him give all the prophets
witness. Now he's come. And he says, I
am. I am. Moses says, what's your
name? I go down there and they say,
what's his name? What's your name? What am I going to tell
him? I am. And that's exactly what Christ
Jesus said standing here in the temple. I am. And if you believe
not that I am, You're going to continue in your form, you're
going to continue in your doctrines, you're going to continue in your
error, you're going to continue in your ignorance, you're going
to continue in your blindness, you're going to die in your sin,
if you don't believe that I am. Now, then said they, they spoke,
they knew what he was saying, they knew who I, these old, these,
as I said to you, these men were not like Brother Scott Richardson
said one time, they didn't come into town on the back of a pickup
truck. These fellas knew the scriptures.
And when he said, I am, they got frustrated, fearful,
upset, then said, David, who are you? I understand. Don't
you? You're a man. We know your mother. We know your brothers and sisters.
We know where you came from. We know you're from Nazareth.
You're the carpenter. And here you're standing here
saying these great and marvelous and wonderful things. Who, just
who are you? God performed a thing here that's
never been heard of. God became a man. Great is the
mystery of godliness. God was manifest in human flesh. The man came up to you today
and said, I am. What would you say? I am. You'd say, you're going
to have to have some proof, old boy. And that's what these fellows
are saying. Who are you? And Jesus said to
them, verse 25, even the same that I said to you from the beginning,
from the beginning of this message. Look at verse 12. This is the
beginning when he started talking to them. He said, verse 12, Then
spake Jesus again to them, saying, I am the light of the world. He that followeth me shall not
walk in darkness, shall have the light of life. It's the same. It's the same. It hasn't changed.
The message hasn't changed. I'm not changing my message.
He didn't change Him. He is the Son of God. I am. That's what I said to you
from the beginning. Your doubts won't change it,
your debates will not change it, your discussions will not
change the fact that I am the way, I am the truth, I am the
light, I am the door, I am the break, I am the water, I am God. Hadn't changed. In the beginning
was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God,
and all things were made by him. Without him was not anything
that was made that was made, and the Word was made flesh,
and dwelt among us. God came down here. God came
down here in our flesh, speak in our language as a man, and
revealed himself to us. The angel said that to Joseph,
said, Mary's with child. Don't be afraid to take her to
be your wife, because that holy thing, that holy thing, you give
it a name, not conceived of a man, conceived of the Holy Ghost,
born without a human father, that holy thing, a man, yet God,
That holy thing in her shall be called the Son of God, which
is a fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah, called his name Immanuel. You know what that word means,
Immanuel? Immanuel means God with us. God with us. God with us. Now they said, who are you? He
said, the same as I told you to start with. in this message, the same that
John told you in those early days, and the same back yonder
in the beginning of all creation, in the beginning, God. I am. And verse 26, he says this, and
I've got many other things to say to you. I've got many things to say to
To say and to judge of you. Here's what he's saying. He's
saying, I have many other things to say about you. Things that
will judge you. Because he said in John 5, I
know you. He knows me. You know what he
said about us in John 5? These are strong words. In John
chapter 5, verse 42. He said, I know you. I know you. You have not the love of God
in you. We're not born with the love of God in us, we're born
with the love of self in us. I know you, he said verse 43,
I'm come in my father's name and you receive me not. Let another
come in his own name and him you will receive. How can you
believe? You receive honor one of another.
You're not seeking the honor that comes from God. I know you.
I know you, he said. I've got a lot of other things
to say about you and to you that will judge you because I know
you. You don't have God's love in you. You won't receive Him
whom God sent. You're not looking for the honor
of God. You're looking for the honor of this flesh. And you
don't believe the ones God sent. Listen to verse 45. Don't think
that I'll accuse you to the Father. You're already accused. He didn't
come to condemn the world. It was already condemned. You're
already accused. There's one that accuses you,
the one in whom you trust. Moses is going to accuse you.
For if you'd have believed Moses, you'd believe me. Moses wrote
of me. He said in verse 26 there, I have many things to
say that will judge you, and he that sent me is true. And
I speak to the world those things which I've heard of him. I speak
those things about you which I've heard of him. I speak those
things to the world which I've heard of him. You see, the Messiah
said, The words that I speak are not my words, they're the
words of him that sent me. While Jesus Christ is God, yet
he came from God. As the representative man, as
the federal head, as the messenger of God, he came not to do his
will, but the will of him that sent him. Not to speak his words,
but the word of him that sent him. And he says, verse 27, it
says here, they understood not that he spake to them of the
Father. These were difficult words for
them. Turn back to John 6 a moment. John 6, verse 60. Look at this scripture here.
Now the word disciple sometimes talks about the twelve. Sometimes
it talks about just people who were following him. In this case,
it talks about just people who were following him, verse 60,
John 6, listening to him. Many, therefore, of his disciples,
when they heard this, they said, this is a hard saying. These
are strong words. These are mysterious words. God
becomes a man. I am God. The Father has sent
me, yet our God is one God. And here you speak of God the
Father and the Son of God and the Spirit of God. These are,
when they say hard words, they're hard to understand. They're hard
to comprehend. They're hard to fathom. They're
hard for me to put together. It's a hard saying. Who can hear
it? Who's able to understand? When Jesus knew in himself that
these disciples murmured, he said, does this offend you? My telling you who I am, who
sent me, what I came to do, is that offensive? My taking unto
myself the glory of God himself, does that offend you? Listen.
And if you see the sun ascend up where he was before, you're
looking at me now, and I'm telling you that I'm God in human flesh,
will you see me fairly exalted to where I was? On the throne, the only revelation
of God. But it's a spirited quickening.
It's the Spirit that gives life. The flesh doesn't profit anything.
That's what I said, truth from above. You're not going to find
out anything down here, getting together and comparing notes.
Flesh will profit you nothing. You're not going to look down
or in or about and find out anything about God. You're going to have
to look up. It's got to come from Him. That's what he said,
it's the spirit that quickeneth, it's the spirit that gives life,
it's the spirit that gives understanding, it's the spirit that gives light.
The flesh profiteth nothing. Nothing, not a thing in this
world. And the words that I speak to you, they're spirit, they're
like my words, but there's some of you that believe not. Jesus
knew from the beginning who they were that believed not and who
should betray Him. And He said, therefore, said I unto you, no
man can come to Me except it were given him of My Father.
And from that time, most of them just left and walked no more
with Him. I can't comprehend God. I can't
understand God. What can you know? It's higher
than the heavens. It's deeper than hell. It's broader
than the sea. It's longer. But I can't understand
one who speaks my language and talks to me, whom God had sent,
Christ Jesus. And I believe him. And that's
when the disciple, he turned to the disciples, after all those
folks left, he turned to the disciples there in verse, in
John 6 verse 67, and he said to the 12th, will you go away? And Simon Peter answered, and
Peter didn't have a corner on the truth either. He had a lot
of rope sailing ahead of him. He said, well, Lord, to whom
shall we go? That's a good question. To whom shall I go? You have
the words of eternal life. And we believe and assure that
you're the Christ, the Son of the living God. We got nowhere
else to go. Truth is from above. Truth is
from God. Truth has to be manifested in
human flesh. Now, a lot about you we don't
understand. A lot about you we don't know.
A lot about you we can't comprehend. This holy thing, this is unheard
of. A man, God in human flesh? I don't know. I'm confused. I'm troubled. But I do know that
you have the words of eternal life. I do know you're the Son
of God, so I'm going to hang around. You. We're going to stay with you.
All right, verse chapter 8, now back to my text. Now, he's going
to clear it up a little bit for us here. Verse 27 said, They
understood not that he spake to them of the Father. And then
verse 28, Then Jesus said to them, When you have lifted up
the Son of Man, then shall you know that I am. No he there. Lifted up the Son
of Man? Yes, crucified him. When that
takes place, when you've crucified me, then you're going to know
that I am. You see, his crucifixion with
his resurrection. A lot of people have been crucified
before he'd been crucified, but they hadn't risen from the grave.
He wasn't the first man crucified, nor the last one. But everybody
who was ever crucified stayed in the ground. He arose, and
appeared to many, and after forty days ascended right before their
eyes to heaven. Now when you've lifted up the
Son of Man, when you've crucified Him, you're going to know that
I am. Because His crucifixion, His
resurrection, His exaltation, is accompanied by and followed
by such manifestations of divine truth and glory. This has to be the Messiah. You
see, his death and resurrection fulfilled every promise of the
Old Testament. You know, I told our young people
here one time that there was a fancy ball in a foreign country. handsome prince invited all the
beautiful girls of the kingdom to come. And there was a girl
named Cinderella who had two ugly sisters. She was kind of
the workhorse around the house and they weren't very pretty,
but they were going to the ball and she was going to stay home.
But a fairy godmother appeared to her and said, I'm going to
send you to the ball. She was very beautiful. And she waved
her magic wand and She got a dress for Cinderella and beautiful
glass slippers and beautiful hairdo and turned a pumpkin into
a coach and some rats into horses and sent her to the ball. But
she said, you better be home at midnight because when the
clock strikes midnight, your coach is going to turn back to
a pumpkin and your horse is back into rats and your dress is going
to disappear. The clock struck midnight and
she ran down the steps and dropped her slipper. Went out and lay
up in the prince. He'd fallen in love with her
and he found that slipper. That's all he had to go on, that
slipper. If he could find a girl who could
wear that slipper, he'd find Cinderella. So he began to go
all over the kingdom with that slipper in his hand, trying to
find a girl that could wear it. And I've got the promises of
the Old Testament, and the prophecies of the Old Testament, and the
patterns of the Old Testament, and the pictures of the Old Testament,
the Passover lamb, the brazen serpent lifted up, the sacrifice
of Abel, the tabernacle, the priesthood, the sacrifices, the
promises of God, the King shall reign in righteousness. Psalm
22, you study this morning, He'll die but He'll arise. If I can
find the one who fits all of those pictures, types, promises,
and patterns, I got me a Messiah. Well, when he was crucified,
he said, when you lift up the Son of Man, then you'll know
I'm He. That's when I found it out, found
out at the cross. He didn't stay dead. He arose.
And He fits every one of these pictures. That's right. It's not the Baptist church.
It's not the Catholic Church. We've got all our forms and ceremonies
and confirmations and all these things, you know. We're going
through the motion, the ritual. Listen, truth's a person. Truth's
a person. Verse 28, Jesus said, when you've
lifted up the Son of Man, when you've crucified Him, and God
raised Him and made Him both Lord and Christ, then you're
going to know that I am. and that I do nothing of myself.
But as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things. This
is a fulfillment of the whole Bible. Genesis to Malachi. And he that sent me is with me. The Father hath not left me alone.
I do those things that please him. God was in Christ reconciling
the world unto himself. I'm not preaching And the true
preachers of God are not preaching some kind of experience, or emotionalism,
or whoop-de-doo, or that sort of thing. We're preaching a person. Jesus Christ is God, the revelation
of God, the appearance of God, the glory of God, the expressed
image of God. Believe Him. To whom shall you
go? But I'll turn to my philosophy.
Truth's not from down here, it's from above. But I'll turn to some religious
form or ceremony. It won't help you. You've got
to turn to a person. Verse 29, Well, thank God, it
says here, verse 30, And as he spoke these words, many believed
on him. That's all they had to. You say,
put all you've got there is words. That's all they had to. They believed his word. That's
all Abraham had. Abraham believed that God was
able to do what he said. That's all. That's all. It's the word. My word shall
not return unto me void. James 1.18, out of his own will,
begat he us with the word of truth. 1 Peter 1.23 says, We
are born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible seed,
by the word of God. Romans 10 said, Faith cometh
by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. There it is. As he spake these words, many
believed on him. I don't know all there is to
know about him. I haven't laid hold of that for
which I've been laid hold. I haven't apprehended or robbed,
but I'm going to look to him. I'm going to keep looking to
him, because that's where truth is, he's I am. But here's the
big if, right here, verse 31. Then he said to those who believed
on him, those that believed on him, now he said if, if you continue in my word, then
are you my disciples indeed. Not just in profession, not just
in noise. Not just in feeling, but in deed. You see, continuing, persevering
in the Word of God in Christ is not a condition of faith,
it's the evidence of faith. It's the evidence of faith. How
do I know that I believe him? I stay with him. I continue to
look to him. I keep coming to him. That's
how I know I'm in him. If a man perseveres and continues,
then he's Christ's disciple indeed. You see, true faith, true faith
is not just an idle confession of profession. It's an experience. It's a life of God. And true
faith, if it's there, if a man believes God, if he believes
Christ, It throbs in his pulse. It looks out of his eyes. It
lights up his countenance. It softens his touch. It mellows
his voice. It bows his head. It bends his
knee. It opens his hand. It curbs his
tongue. It humbles his heart. It orders
his steps. It gives him a hearing ear and
a seeing eye. and a forgiving spirit and a
peace of conscience. Not in perfection, but in the
seed, in the bud, and in his good time in the bloom. And then
he said, verse 32, and you'll know the truth. And you'll know the truth. You've got the truth. When you
have me, you have the truth. And it'll set you free. It'll set you free from the curse
of the law, from the condemnation of sin. It'll set you free from
all this religious form and tradition that's got people so bound, doing
what they don't want to do, giving what they don't want to give,
going where they don't want to go. Just set you free from all that
tradition and form. Set you free. Set you free from
legalism, professing, claiming self-righteousness, self-justification,
defending yourself, wearing a veneer that's not you. Just be yourself. Because all those sinners out
there know what you are and you know what they are. And we're
all looking to Him. We're not looking in here, not
looking out there. We have no confidence in the flesh. One
of my friends, I was preaching up in the country near here.
It was Hap Yates. I was preaching him up Dingus.
It's kind of a honky-tonk up on top of the hill there, you
know where it is. A little carry-out store or something. Hap went
in there to get something. A fella asked him who he was. He said, I'm pastor of this church
down here. He said, we're having a meeting tonight. Why don't
you come out? He said, oh, you don't want a fella like me down
there. Ab said, you're the kind of fellow we do want down there,
because we're all the same kind of fellows you are. The only
difference is the grace of God made the difference. So come
on. You know, people have a strange
idea about, and their religion, that's what their religion is.
It's a do-good religion, full of do-gooders that don't do good, but profess to do good. That's
right. But this religion, and I hate
to call it that, this salvation is for sinners. It makes a man
a new creature. Like I said, it changes that
person, brings him to Christ. But it doesn't do away or annihilate
his old nature. He's still a man. He's still
got problems, a lot of them. God helps him with them, but
he's still got them. But it delivers you from that
legalism. The truth delivers you from claims and hypocrisy. It delivers you from self-righteousness.
It delivers you from worry and fear. There's no condemnation
to them who are in Christ. And it delivers you from judgment.
It delivers you from condemnation. Someday you'll stand before God,
but you won't stand before God in yourself. You'll stand before
God in Christ. And God's not going to condemn
Christ, is He? But how can He condemn us in
Him? You shall know the truth. Truth will make you free. And
oh, I tell you, what a freedom it is.

I Am He

What does the Bible say about truth?

How do we know Jesus is the truth?

Why is it important for Christians to know the truth?

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I Am He

What does the Bible say about truth?

How do we know Jesus is the truth?

Why is it important for Christians to know the truth?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

Comments

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