A Universe of Truth

Our vast cosmos contained nothing but God’s truth at its beginning. It is a fact that when God created our reality it contained only complete truthfulness. It was a perfect reality until the Devil came into it and brought dishonesty, sickness and every other kind of treachery. However, we should not despair because God’s truth is still the foundation of all creation and He is always in control. The entire universe would disappear into nothingness if truth were removed. When the Almighty creates anything it will necessarily be full of truth because He is truth. Humans are aware that they need to be rescued from the clutches of the Devil. The good news is that God has created a plan that can rescue us. Unfortunately, humans do not always seek the acceptable plan of salvation. Just like every other thing that God does His plan is completely full of the truth therefore we must learn about truth. The Lord leads with unfailing love and faithfulness all who keep his covenant and obey his demands. Psalms 25:10 (NLT)

God’s plan for our entrance into his truth comes to us in the form of a covenant. In everyday language, the agreement is that God will rescue us from eternal damnation if we will devote our life to serving him as our Master. Every part of this covenant is important when we seek to live in the truth because we are obligated to fulfill our part of the gospel contract. Apparently when the protestant church separated from the Catholics they felt that their freedom from man’s religion and enjoying the grace of God required nothing from the individual. The Church is in error when they teach that we have no responsibility for our salvation. Some people even think they are doing God a favor when they serve him. The truth is that we are required to yield ourselves to the direction of God’s spirit. If we fail to do this the covenant is violated and salvation is impossible. John said it this way; You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to him at all.) Romans 8:9 (NLT) Unfortunately, many church people today remind us of the expression “you can’t stand the truth.”

Humans are born ignorant of the truth of God. During our life we are expected to learn the truth and to become the truth that lives here on the earth. The scripture says that our peaceful and righteous lives will cause truth to spring up. Unfailing love and truth have met together. Righteousness and peace have kissed! Truth springs up from the earth, and righteousness smiles down from heaven. Psalms 85:10-11 (NLT) Our godly life sounds so wonderful when the psalmist writes about it. Christians are the product of God’s truth on this earth. This reality is available to anyone that accepts the Gospel into their everyday life. Our God looks down on us with great mercy in his heart. His grace has done everything it possibly can to provide us access to his truth.  We can fully believe in the Lord. For the word of the Lord holds true, and we can trust everything he does. He loves whatever is just and good; the unfailing love of the Lord fills the earth. Psalms 33:4-5 (NLT) May every person receive the Savior as our Lord.

The truth is precious to us and we must be protected after receiving it. In the following verse we see that the truth (called his faithful promises) will give us complete protection. He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; he is my God, and I trust him.3 For he will rescue you from every trap and protect you from deadly disease.4 He will cover you with his feathers. He will shelter you with his wings. His faithful promises are your armor and protection. Psalms 91:2-4 (NLT) It only makes sense that after the Lord rescues us, he would keep us in safety as we serve him.  Teach me your ways, O Lord, that I may live according to your truth! Grant me purity of heart, so that I may honor you. With all my heart I will praise you, O Lord my God. I will give glory to your name forever, for your love for me is very great. You have rescued me from the depths of death. Psalms 86:11-13 (NLT) How exciting that we are rescued and then protected.

In the New Testament we find other things that the truth does for us. Because we are born into the slavery of sin, all of us must find a way to escape. Jesus said to the people who believed in him, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:31-32 (NLT) It is clear that we must have the truth in our lives if we wish to find freedom from sin. As in other places we are told that Christians must remain faithful all our lives. Just knowing the truth is not enough. “How can you show me your faith if you don’t have good deeds? I will show you my faith by my good deeds.” James 2:18 (NLT) It is necessary for the truth to be seen and felt by the people that our part of our lives. Several places in the New Testament we are told to obey God in the truth. Peter said; You were cleansed from your sins when you obeyed the truth, so now you must show sincere love to each other as brothers and sisters. 1 Peter 1:22 (NLT)

When a Christian lives their life filled with truth we can easily identify them as a Spirit filled person. They are always a blessing to other Christians. Of course, people of the world see a Christian and have a restless feeling come over them. According to the Scriptures; Our lives are a Christ-like fragrance rising up to God. But this fragrance is perceived differently by those who are being saved and by those who are perishing. To those who are perishing, we are a dreadful smell of death and doom. But to those who are being saved, we are a life-giving perfume. 2 Cor 2:15-16 (NLT) In other words, we are not like the other people who are a part of this world. This is because our thinking is not what we were born with and our life has changed. Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy. Eph 4:21-24 (NLT)

Proof that we have truth in our life is many times ignored. The Scripture says that love is the evidence we must look for. Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions.19 Our actions will show that we belong to the truth, so we will be confident when we stand before God. 1 John 3:18-19 (NLT) This is a major fact that many of us are overlooking in our lives. Consider this next verse; If we love our Christian brothers and sisters, it proves that we have passed from death to life. But a person who has no love is still dead. 1 John 3:14 (NLT) Love is the bench mark that we look for in a “Christian” and sadly it is missing in many church people today. The religious organization cannot provide real heartfelt love in its members. This is a real individual responsibility that each of us must seek God about. Without help from the Spirit it cannot be a reality in our feelings about other people.

The great news is that someday we will live with God in heaven. This will be truly entering the land of truth. Forever more there will be nothing around us but the truth. Jesus asked the father to; Make them holy by your truth; teach them your word, which is truth. Just as you sent me into the world, I am sending them into the world. And I give myself as a holy sacrifice for them so they can be made holy by your truth. “I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message. John 17:17-20 (NLT) Our heavenly walk begins here on earth and we should be living for God always. It is not difficult because the Spirit guides us. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future. John 16:13 (NLT) Jesus is our everything and he said; I am the way, the truth, and the life. John 14:6

The New Testament contains the truth of a new life available to humans; God has called us to live holy lives, not impure lives. Therefore, anyone who refuses to live by these rules is not disobeying human teaching but is rejecting God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.  But we don’t need to write to you about the importance of loving each other, for God himself has taught you to love one another. 1 Thess 4:7-9 (NLT) God is the truth and we must learn to restrain ourselves now in order to live forever in the beauty of God’s kingdom.  For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the Christians who have died will rise from their graves.  Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever.  So encourage each other with these words. 1 Thess 4:16-18 (NLT)

Because He Must

Humans will always have a lot of questions that involve God. Most of them have to do with our immortality or why stuff happens to us. Of course, the closer we are to God the fewer questions we will have. People that continually question God usually don’t know Him at all. What we do know about God should give us a general idea of His thinking. There are several reasons that can explain God’s actions but most of His dealings on earth are done because He must. The Bible is a self-revelation that God provided so that we might know His purpose. We all know that our righteous Creator cannot do anything that is unrighteous. The Scripture says; For the Lord cometh to judge the earth: he shall judge the world with righteousness, and the people with his truth. Psalms 96:13 (KJV) Justice is a big part of righteousness and therefore as the Judge of everything, God must hand down many penalties that people resent. God also hands out gifts to this world but they will always have a righteous reason behind them. Every evil thing is a violation of God’s righteousness and it will certainly be judged some day.

We were created to be the children of God. It only makes sense that we live in accord with Him and stay ready to follow his divine instructions. Our Creator is himself a Spirit and He is pure, infinite, self-determining, all-intelligent and our rational moral standard. In short He is righteousness forever And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you. Ex 3:14 (KJV) All a human can ever have is an impression of who God is. This is because He is made up of some attributes that are totally foreign to humans. We have no experience with eternity, omniscience, "unchangeablity" or self-existence. God also has some characteristics that we can relate to like love, righteousness, wisdom, or justice. We always understand God better if we serve His Son. Jesus is the exact image of his Father. Because the Spirit of God lives inside of us, all the Trinity can become very real to us. It is still impossible to explain God but a Christian can feel Him deep in their soul. Remember that God does not simply represent love, etc, but He is these things.

Every human must learn that righteousness is a method of living which aligns itself with the nature of God. Because Christians seek to be like God for eternity, we should study the Old Testament to learn about the righteous character of our Creator. The best example for learning about God’s thinking is the way that He deals with Israel. The Jewish leaders tell us that when God created their nation He started with Abraham. Thou art the Lord the God, who didst choose Abram, and broughtest him forth out of Ur of the Chaldees, and gavest him the name of Abraham; and foundest his heart faithful before thee, and madest a covenant with him to give the land of the Canaanites… to give it, I say, to his seed, and hast performed thy words; for thou art righteous: Neh 9:7-8 (KJV) We learn that God always follows through on his promises. This makes our learning His promises imperative if we plan to live with Him someday. Then as we live a godly life it will become evident to us that there are things we also do, because we must.

After Abraham died in the land of Canaan, his sons moved the family into Egypt. They became slaves until God said it was time to return to the land He had promised. And Samuel said unto the people, It is the Lord that advanced Moses and Aaron, and that brought your fathers up out of the land of Egypt. Now therefore stand still, that I may reason with you before the Lord of all the righteous acts of the Lord, which he did to you and to your fathers. 1 Sam 12:6-7 (KJV) In spite of the people’s unrighteousness, God fulfilled every promise. It is interesting that when they were trying to leave even the Egyptians realized that God was righteous.  And Pharaoh sent, and called for Moses and Aaron, and said unto them, I have sinned this time: the Lord is righteous, and I and my people are wicked. Ex 9:27 (KJV) When the Jews were in big trouble they also would cry out to God knowing He was righteous.  O Lord, God of Israel, you are just. We come before you in our guilt as nothing but an escaped remnant, though in such a condition none of us can stand in your presence.” Ezra 9:15 (NLT) To be just is to be righteous.

During the Babylonian captivity, a few Jews began to cry out to the righteous God for mercy. All this evil is come upon us: yet made we not our prayer before the Lord our God, that we might turn from our iniquities, and understand thy truth. Therefore hath the Lord watched upon the evil, and brought it upon us: for the Lord our God is righteous in all his works which he doeth: for we obeyed not his voice. Dan 9:13-14 (KJV) The Jews knew that God allows evil but He will eventually judge it because He mustThe Lord is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works. The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth. He will fulfill the desire of them that fear him: he also will hear their cry, and will save them. Psalms 145:17-19 (KJV) God saves because He must.

Righteousness made a huge change, as far as humans are concerned, when the Son of God came to live and die on this earth. No longer do we have the burden of keeping the law. The New Testament tells us; For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when he held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past, for he was looking ahead and including them in what he would do in this present time. God did this to demonstrate his righteousness, for he himself is fair and just, and he declares sinners to be right (righteous) in his sight when they believe in Jesus. Romans 3:25-26 (NLT) Now we are allowed to live under the righteousness of Jesus. What a relief. God is also grandfathering in all the people that served him before Jesus came into this world. Whether a person lived in the old days or in this modern world the righteousness of God compels Him to give us a way of salvation.

Although righteousness is a free gift we are responsible to accept its ways for our life and then we must yield to the righteous leading of the Spirit. The Scripture plainly says we have a choice of how we want to live our lives. Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living. Thank God! Once you were slaves of sin, but now you wholeheartedly obey this teaching we have given you. Now you are free from your slavery to sin, and you have become slaves to righteous living. Romans 6:16-18 (NLT) It cannot be any clearer, we must chose to live in righteousness in order to be saved. We should understand that we are not earning anything with our righteous living but simply obeying the Word of God to us. It seems that the Devil has confused people on this subject throughout history. May the Spirit make righteousness real to each of us as we listen to His voice.

The Spirit speaks to us in many different ways but the main way is through the Scriptures. You have been taught the Holy Scriptures from childhood, and they have given you the wisdom to receive the salvation that comes by trusting in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work. 2 Tim 3:15-17 (NLT) Here we see that it is the Scriptures can give us wisdom, salvation, truth, conviction, and teaches about righteousness. Everyone can find the Scriptures in this modern day because the Bible is on phones and computers around the world. Even without computers they are aware of God. They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them. For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God. Romans 1:19-20 (NLT)

Unfortunately, many church people today do not study their Bible. Some have said that if they don’t learn what God requires then He will not hold them responsible for their ignorance. That is very bad thinking because the Spirit has spoken to every heart on earth and there is only WILLFUL ignorance of spiritual things and that is sin. Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin. James 4:17 (KJV) The reason we serve the Lord is to please Him. But righteousness is its own reward and someday we will fully realize the wonder of living a righteous life. And now, dear children, remain in fellowship with Christ so that when he returns, you will be full of courage and not shrink back from him in shame. Since we know that Christ is righteous, we also know that all who do what is right are God’s children.1 John 2:28-29 (NLT) Our lives should be all about becoming a child of God and we MUST be like Him.