Do You Love the Truth?
By Mark Larson
www.cvillechurch.com
“And then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming; that is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders, and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved” (2 Thess. 2:9-10, NASB). God, in His word, warns us of the danger of being deceived by “the son of destruction (or perdition)” and falling away from the true faith of God (i.e., apostasy) (2 Thess. 2:3). Whatever the “the son of destruction” stands for, it is certain that those who do not have a love for the truth are in special danger of perishing eternally by its wicked and deceptive influences (e.g., false teachers, false religion, antichrist forces – 1 John 2:18, idolatry, etc.).
The Truth Is God’s Word: The truth that must be loved, lest we perish, is the word of God: “Sanctify them in the truth; Thy word is truth” (John 17:17). The truth also stands for the gospel of Jesus Christ: “In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation…” (Eph. 1:13). Only the gospel, the truth, or God’s word has the power to save our souls (Rom. 1:16; 1 Pet. 1:22-23). In contrast, lies, falsehood, or false doctrine brings eternal death to those who follow it instead of the truth (James 5:19-20). Many people today reject the truth and prefer to believe in a lie. As a result, they refuse their salvation (2 Thess. 2:10-12).
What Does It Mean to “Receive the Love of the Truth”?
To be saved, we need to “receive the love of the truth” (2 Thess. 2:10). Many persons claim to love the truth, yet merely claiming so does not mean this is the case. For confidence in our salvation, we must demonstrate to God, by the standard of His word, that we indeed love the truth.
To Receive the Truth into Our Hearts: To “receive the love of the truth” is to welcome it wholeheartedly: “Receive” (Greek: dechomai) – “To receive favorably, give hear to, embrace, make one's own, approve, not to reject: Luke 8:13” (Thayer's Greek Lexicon). There is a big difference between the person who learns the truth merely to acquire knowledge and the person who takes the truth to heart! Those who truly love the truth will receive it with an open and honest heart and hold it fast (Luke 8:15). Those who love the truth receive it with “all readiness of mind” and “search the Scriptures daily” (Acts 17:11) because they really want to know: What must I do to be saved? (e.g., Acts 2:36-38).
To Believe in the Truth: To “receive the love of the truth” also means to believe in the truth. A person will not receive the truth into his or her heart, unless that person unites the truth they hear with faith (Heb. 4:2). No one can expect the truth to have a positive impact in their lives, nor expect it to lead to their salvation, unless they believe in the message: “And for this reason we also constantly thank God that when you received from us the word of God's message, you accepted it not as the word of men, but for what it really is, the word of God, which also performs its work in you who believe” (1 Thess. 2:13).
To Obey the Truth: If we “receive the love of the truth,” then we will obey it. Those who say that they know the truth, and yet do not obey the truth, will not benefit spiritually from it (Rom. 1:18ff.). Those who claim to believe in the truth, yet do not practice it, are not genuine believers of Christ or of His word (i.e., the truth). True believers do more than just believe. They obey! “Jesus therefore was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, ‘If you abide in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free’” (John 8:31-32). These Jews that Jesus spoke to “had believed Him,” yet that was not enough to be His followers. To be true disciples of Jesus, they had to act on their faith. Only if we “abide in” (i.e., continue in, keep, obey) Jesus’ word (which includes the apostles’ teaching 2 Cor. 5:20; Gal. 1:11-12), can we belong to Him. We cannot know the truth only by studying it. We must also render obedience to it. “… ‘If you abide in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free’” (John 8:31-32). “The truth shall make us free” or give us freedom from our sins (John 8:33-36) when we abide in or obey the word of Christ and not by faith in Christ alone (James 2:24).
To Continually Desire the Truth: Those who love the truth will never stop in their quest for deeper knowledge and understanding of God’s word. A genuine love and desire for the truth will continue long after their baptism into Christ: “And I shall delight in Thy commandments, Which I love. And I shall lift up my hands to Thy commandments, Which I love” (Ps. 119:47-48). Bible study has great meaning and spiritual significance for the lover of truth: “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Tim. 2:15, KJV). Never does the person who loves the truth say to himself: “I have arrived!” and cease studying the Scriptures. Instead, he continually feeds his soul with the spiritual manna that he needs to stay strong in the Lord: “… ‘It is written, 'Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God’” (Mat. 4:4, NASB). Love for the truth will lead to a concentrated effort toward our spiritual growth and maturity in the Lord: “Like newborn babes, long for the pure milk of the word, that by it you may grow in respect to salvation” (1 Pet. 2:2).
Those Who Love the Truth, Love the Lord.
The number one reason why a person should have love for the truth is because of his or her love for the Lord: “He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him” (John 14:21).
The Lord Jesus asked Simon Peter: “Do you love Me?” and He asks us that same question today: “Do you love Me?” Our love for the Lord is demonstrated to Him when we love the truth and obey it (John 21:15-17). Do you love the truth?
www.cvillechurch.com
“And then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming; that is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders, and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved” (2 Thess. 2:9-10, NASB). God, in His word, warns us of the danger of being deceived by “the son of destruction (or perdition)” and falling away from the true faith of God (i.e., apostasy) (2 Thess. 2:3). Whatever the “the son of destruction” stands for, it is certain that those who do not have a love for the truth are in special danger of perishing eternally by its wicked and deceptive influences (e.g., false teachers, false religion, antichrist forces – 1 John 2:18, idolatry, etc.).
The Truth Is God’s Word: The truth that must be loved, lest we perish, is the word of God: “Sanctify them in the truth; Thy word is truth” (John 17:17). The truth also stands for the gospel of Jesus Christ: “In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation…” (Eph. 1:13). Only the gospel, the truth, or God’s word has the power to save our souls (Rom. 1:16; 1 Pet. 1:22-23). In contrast, lies, falsehood, or false doctrine brings eternal death to those who follow it instead of the truth (James 5:19-20). Many people today reject the truth and prefer to believe in a lie. As a result, they refuse their salvation (2 Thess. 2:10-12).
What Does It Mean to “Receive the Love of the Truth”?
To be saved, we need to “receive the love of the truth” (2 Thess. 2:10). Many persons claim to love the truth, yet merely claiming so does not mean this is the case. For confidence in our salvation, we must demonstrate to God, by the standard of His word, that we indeed love the truth.
To Receive the Truth into Our Hearts: To “receive the love of the truth” is to welcome it wholeheartedly: “Receive” (Greek: dechomai) – “To receive favorably, give hear to, embrace, make one's own, approve, not to reject: Luke 8:13” (Thayer's Greek Lexicon). There is a big difference between the person who learns the truth merely to acquire knowledge and the person who takes the truth to heart! Those who truly love the truth will receive it with an open and honest heart and hold it fast (Luke 8:15). Those who love the truth receive it with “all readiness of mind” and “search the Scriptures daily” (Acts 17:11) because they really want to know: What must I do to be saved? (e.g., Acts 2:36-38).
To Believe in the Truth: To “receive the love of the truth” also means to believe in the truth. A person will not receive the truth into his or her heart, unless that person unites the truth they hear with faith (Heb. 4:2). No one can expect the truth to have a positive impact in their lives, nor expect it to lead to their salvation, unless they believe in the message: “And for this reason we also constantly thank God that when you received from us the word of God's message, you accepted it not as the word of men, but for what it really is, the word of God, which also performs its work in you who believe” (1 Thess. 2:13).
To Obey the Truth: If we “receive the love of the truth,” then we will obey it. Those who say that they know the truth, and yet do not obey the truth, will not benefit spiritually from it (Rom. 1:18ff.). Those who claim to believe in the truth, yet do not practice it, are not genuine believers of Christ or of His word (i.e., the truth). True believers do more than just believe. They obey! “Jesus therefore was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, ‘If you abide in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free’” (John 8:31-32). These Jews that Jesus spoke to “had believed Him,” yet that was not enough to be His followers. To be true disciples of Jesus, they had to act on their faith. Only if we “abide in” (i.e., continue in, keep, obey) Jesus’ word (which includes the apostles’ teaching 2 Cor. 5:20; Gal. 1:11-12), can we belong to Him. We cannot know the truth only by studying it. We must also render obedience to it. “… ‘If you abide in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free’” (John 8:31-32). “The truth shall make us free” or give us freedom from our sins (John 8:33-36) when we abide in or obey the word of Christ and not by faith in Christ alone (James 2:24).
To Continually Desire the Truth: Those who love the truth will never stop in their quest for deeper knowledge and understanding of God’s word. A genuine love and desire for the truth will continue long after their baptism into Christ: “And I shall delight in Thy commandments, Which I love. And I shall lift up my hands to Thy commandments, Which I love” (Ps. 119:47-48). Bible study has great meaning and spiritual significance for the lover of truth: “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Tim. 2:15, KJV). Never does the person who loves the truth say to himself: “I have arrived!” and cease studying the Scriptures. Instead, he continually feeds his soul with the spiritual manna that he needs to stay strong in the Lord: “… ‘It is written, 'Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God’” (Mat. 4:4, NASB). Love for the truth will lead to a concentrated effort toward our spiritual growth and maturity in the Lord: “Like newborn babes, long for the pure milk of the word, that by it you may grow in respect to salvation” (1 Pet. 2:2).
Those Who Love the Truth, Love the Lord.
The number one reason why a person should have love for the truth is because of his or her love for the Lord: “He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him” (John 14:21).
The Lord Jesus asked Simon Peter: “Do you love Me?” and He asks us that same question today: “Do you love Me?” Our love for the Lord is demonstrated to Him when we love the truth and obey it (John 21:15-17). Do you love the truth?
posted by Mark E Larson | 2:37 PM
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