Christ, the Truth

(Article for publication week of 12-14-2011 AD)

“I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father but by Me” (John 14:6).

Much could be said concerning Christ being the only way to God. It is only through the suretyship and mediation of Christ that any can be saved. Much could also be said regarding Christ being the life, for it is only by salvation through Him that we have everlasting life. However, the focus of our attention this week is in this statement, Christ proclaims He is “The Truth.” Now, we know that Christ proclaimed the truth, but what does it mean that Christ is “The Truth”?

First of all, this is a plain statement of Christ’s Deity. He is God Who cannot lie (Titus 1:2). It is Divine Impossibility for God to lie (Hebrews 6:18). When our Lord says, “I am the Truth”, He is declaring that “in Him is light“, and there is no darkness at all in Him (I John 1:5). One of the many proofs of the Deity of Christ is that He has all the attributes of God. The veracity of Christ is indisputable proof that he is God. Christ is infinitely more than a truthful man, He is the Truth.

Secondly, this is a declaration of the salvation that is in Christ and nowhere else. The Lord Jesus Christ is the gospel, which is the truth. John 1:17 tells us “the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.” Our Lord is eternal God, but He became a Man. “The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the father,) full of grace and truth.” It is the Person of Christ Who saves poor sinners. He became flesh that he might work out a perfect righteousness for His people. He actively obeyed the law of God, so that God counts the believer in Christ as being obedient to His law. He suffered as a sin bearer to satisfy the justice of God and turn away His holy wrath from all who believe in Christ, Who is the Truth. In the Lord Jesus Christ “mercy and truth are met together” (Psalm 85:10). This is the truth of the gospel.

Salvation is in Christ Alone, who is truth Personified. Salvation is not in the schemes and efforts of man, it is in a glorious Person. Christ is the Person of the Gospel. Without Christ, we have no gospel. But because of Christ, we have a glad announcement to make. “We preach Christ” (I Corinthians 1:23). We preach the One Who is the Truth. Christ, Who is the way, the truth and the life has finished the work of salvation. Salvation is in Him, and Him alone. May the Holy Spirit bless you to receive the Truth.

God’s Enduring Truth

(Article for publication week of 12-7-2011 AD)

“For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting; and His truth endureth to all generations” (Psalm 100:5).

The God Who cannot lie has been pleased to reveal Himself to us by His inspired and infallible word, that is the Bible. The Bible is the truth of God. It is “His truth.” The inspiration and infallibility of the Bible is inseparable from the very veracity of God.

By inspiration of scripture we mean that God breathed His word into the human instruments that actually penned it. God used several methods of inspiration in transmitting His word to us. The Ten Commandments were actually engraved by God’s Own finger (Exodus 31:18). Much of the first five books of the Bible, perhaps all of it, were mechanically dictated by God to Moses (Exodus 20:1). God gave the prophets a message to declare, and then commanded them to write it out (Isaiah 1:1). The Holy Spirit gave the apostles perfect recall of Christ’s life and words so that when they wrote out the gospels they had perfect memory of what the Holy Spirit inspired them to write John 14:26). When John wrote the Book of Revelation, God gave him visions and then instructed him to write out what he saw (Revelation 1:19). Regardless of the particular instrumentality and mechanics that God employed in the inspiration of the Bible, it is all ultimately His word. It is His truth, not the opinions or fancies of men.

The character of God requires an infallible Bible. He is the God Who cannot lie (Titus 1:2). Beware of false prophets who suggest that we cannot be sure of the integrity of the Bible. Beware of modern translations that have notes that question the authenticity of any part of the scriptures. All such is the work of the devil who tempted our first parents by asking, “Hath God said?” God has magnified His word above all His name (Psalm 138:2). To question the word of God is to question the very truthfulness of God. An honest man is rightfully offended when any one questions his word. How much more so the God of the Bible Who cannot lie and has magnified His word above all His name!

The God who cannot lie has promised to preserve His word to all generations. As long as the world stands, God’s word shall endure. The enemies of Christ have many times and at many places sought to destroy the word. The devil and his ministers continue to attack it. But the Bible endures by the sovereign providence of our great God. God is so determined to sanctify His people by the word of truth that He shall preserve His word for them.

Dear readers, when you open up your Bibles thank God for its inspiration, infallibility, preservation and translation. The Bible in your hands is a testimony to the truthful character of God. God cannot lie. It is Divine Impossibility for Him so to do. Never doubt the word of God, for it was written and preserved by Him Who cannot lie.