Speaking of one of his political opponents Winston Churchill said, “He occasionally stumbles across the truth put manages to pick himself up and hurries off as though nothing had happened.”
Alas, some professing believers are also like that.
For the gospel driven believer, however, truth is of utmost importance. In the Bible we encounter such expressions as these:"Those that know the truth;" (1 Tim 4:3b); "Those that obey not the truth;" (Romans 2:8; Galatians 3:1; Galatians 5:7);"The truth as it is in Jesus;" (Ephesians 4:21); "Belief of the truth;" (2 Thessalonians 2:13);"Acknowledging of the truth;" (2 Tim 2:25);"The way of truth;" (2 Peter 2:2);"We are of the truth;" (1 John 3:19); "Destitute of the truth;" (1 Timothy 6:5);"Sanctify them through thy truth;" (John 17:17);"I speak forth the words of truth;" (Acts 26:25);"The Spirit of truth will guide you into all truth" (John 16:13).
It would seem obvious then that truth is no slight matter with God. We must, therefore, be careful at all times to tell the truth about Christ and His gospel. There can be no room for compromise.
So what is the truth concerning Jesus?
He is the eternal Word (John 1:1); God manifest in the flesh (1 Timothy 3:16); the Alpha and Omega (Rev 1:8; 1:11; 21:6; 22:13); the True Light (John 1:9-12); the Bread of Life (John 6:48); the Resurrection and the Life (John 11:25); the Good, Great and Chief Shepherd (John 10:11;Heb 13:20;1 Peter 5:2). the only way of salvation for "Neither is there salvation in any other for there is no other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved" (Acts 4;12).
The big question is, not whether or not we know these scriptures, but rather, do we stand by them and proclaim them? --Are they a part of us? Has their truth taken a hold of us? Has the word of the Lord become the Voice of the Lord to us? As Luther said of the words of scripture,”These are not words for reading, but for living.”
Before he was saved, the apostle Paul was the ringleader of the self-righteous and a violent enemy of the Lord Jesus. But, with great grace and power, the Lord Christ apprehended Him and reduced him to nothing. From that point onward Paul went in pursuit of his new Master. He was like a man possessed having discovered a new love and passion. The reality of Christ and His purposes on earth now consumed him. Paul now walked by faith, believing the truth of the gospel not just generally, but personally (Gal 2:20). He was now gospel driven!
The gospel will not allow us to merely live with the theory of God or with speculation about Christ-—- for the gospel is the explosive power of God unto salvation (Rom 1:16). As we honor the words of God and trust what they say about Jesus we not only honor the One who wrote them, but we also enjoy their life giving power. We glorify Christ in believing what He tells us. If the word says we have full right of access by the blood of Christ to the Father, we believe it. If the whisper comes that we do not, we smell the bad breath of the Devil.
What a privilege we have to take a hold of the truth of Jesus by the Spirit through the written word, to delight in Him, to worship Him, to enjoy Him, to work for Him and to thank the Father for who He is and for what he has done..
And that’s the Gospel Truth