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Finding Truth

6 FebMar2017 DTaylor SinglePg// Dan Taylor

WE ARE LIVING in a day where truth is being challenged. Society wants Christians to believe in a certain way. They try to tell us that some things are true when they are not. If we're not careful, we can be easily deceived. As Christians, we have to determine what we believe. GOD'S WORD IS THE MEASUREMENT WE HAVE TO USE WHEN DECIDING WHAT TRUTH IS in everything we hear.


Our Presentation

In Second Timothy 2:15, Paul wrote to Timothy, "Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth" (NKJV).

To know what truth is, we must first walk in it ourselves. And to walk in truth means we must make ourselves presentable to God.

Before leaving the house, most people look in the mirror to see if they are presentable. They may ask someone, "How do I look?" Oftentimes, however, we care more about how we look to others than how we look to God. "How do I look spiritually?" is the question that should be asked.

Every area of our lives needs to be presentable to God. Do we look and act differently in front of our Christian friends than we do when we are at work?

Remember, God sees everything. He knows what is done in hidden places. When we're serious about presenting ourselves to God, we won't lead a double lifestyle. We won't act one way with Christians and another way with others.

Once we decide that we always want to make the right presentation—a godly presentation—we're on the path to finding truth.

Being Unashamed

The middle part of Second Timothy 2:15 says, "a worker who does not need to be ashamed." Timothy by nature was a little bashful and shy. Now he was working for the Lord at Ephesus, and Paul was encouraging him on what to do. He was telling Timothy not to be ashamed in his stand for Christ and in doing what God asked of him.

When we make ourselves presentable to God, we won't be ashamed about living out our faith. We won't be concerned about what others think of us. Instead, we can boldly share the Gospel, because we know we are walking in truth.

Jesus is the best example of someone not being ashamed. He presented the truth of God's Word to others without any hesitation. Those who accepted His Words experienced changed lives. And the people who worried about what others thought had a hard time with what Jesus said.

We can be like Jesus. We don't have to be a quiet Christian who stands off in the corner. WHEN WE KNOW THE TRUTH OF GOD'S WORD, WE CAN BE BOLD.


Rightly Divide

Finally, Paul told Timothy to "rightly divide the word of truth." The Strong's Exhaustive Concordance defines rightly divide as "straightway." In other words, it's the quickest point from A to the truth. It's when we knock everything out of the way that's not truth and go straight for the truth.

The way we rightly divide everything we see or hear is to line it up to the truth of God's Word. His Word is what determines what is truth and what is not.

TRUTH IS UNMOVABLE. WE CAN'T MOVE TRUTH TO MAKE SOMETHING MORE CONVENIENT FOR US. Facts can change. Opinions are movable. But the truth doesn't change or move. If we want to get closer to the truth, we can't move truth closer to us. We have to move closer to truth. And the closer we get to the truth of God's Word, the more we change.

When people try to tell us the correct way to think and live, our guide is God's Word. Does what they say line up with Scripture? With the Word as our plumb line, we will know how to speak and act in every situation. And we will never be misled into doing things that do not please God.

 


 


[Editor's Note: Dan Taylor is an instructor at Rhema Bible Training College.]