Identifying Truth

Identifying Truth

Eliezer Roque Cisneros / General

Spiritual Defenses / Doctrine; Truth; Prayer; Devotion; Counterfeit / 1 John 1:8–10

what truth means in scripture

Review

Who are the types of preachers you should avoid?

• Greedy preachers

• Clout chasing personalities

• Blind leading the blind

• Hateful and turned around

• Beware of the false teacher within

• Test it all against Christ

› kneel to pray

Truth: a Central Theme in John

John 18:38 “Pilate said to him, “What is truth?” After he had said this, he went back outside to the Jews and told them, “I find no guilt in him.”

English Standard Version John 18:38

truth

• The Greek term ἀλήθεια; appears numerous times in the writings of John, because truth is a central theme for the way he tells people about Jesus.

Some important places where ‘ἀλήθεια’ shows up

• John 14:6 “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the ἀλήθεια , and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

• Eph 4:21 “assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the ἀλήθεια is in Jesus,”

• Jn 8:44 “You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no ἀλήθεια in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”

• You cannot reliably find truth in the source of errors. don’t try it.

• you can learn nothing from satan that you cannot more reliably learn from god and his word

• “know your enemy” is not in the bible

• Gen 3:5 “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.””

• Some might argue that studying the demons and the devil’s works are a way to attack or defend, but the truth of the matter is that scripture never teaches this. Notice that the devil did tell truths, but he told nothing useful that they couldn’t have known from inquiring of god. Satan has net-zero amounts of truth to provide you.

• If you want to know what happens when you go looking for the devils ideas - please know you may find them much harder to resist than you’re prepared to admit.

• Friends, let me emphasize this again, the devil is the father of lies, and the architect of temptation. If anyone can figure out how to tempt you in just the right way, it’s him. Don’t go teasing the devils tail. you are not stronger in will than one third of the angels.

• Jn 17:17-19 “Sanctify them in the truth; your word is ἀλήθεια . As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth.”

• 1 Jn 1:8 “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the ἀλήθεια is not in us.”

• 1 Jn 1:10 “If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.”

Why Truth Matters

man confronts Error

1 Kings 13:1–10 (ESV) And behold, a man of God came out of Judah by the word of the Lord to Bethel. Jeroboam was standing by the altar to make offerings. And the man cried against the altar by the word of the Lord and said, “O altar, altar, thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, a son shall be born to the house of David, Josiah by name, and he shall sacrifice on you the priests of the high places who make offerings on you, and human bones shall be burned on you.’ ” And he gave a sign the same day, saying, “This is the sign that the Lord has spoken: ‘Behold, the altar shall be torn down, and the ashes that are on it shall be poured out.’ ” And when the king heard the saying of the man of God, which he cried against the altar at Bethel, Jeroboam stretched out his hand from the altar, saying, “Seize him.” And his hand, which he stretched out against him, dried up, so that he could not draw it back to himself. The altar also was torn down, and the ashes poured out from the altar, according to the sign that the man of God had given by the word of the Lord. And the king said to the man of God, “Entreat now the favor of the Lord your God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored to me.” And the man of God entreated the Lord, and the king’s hand was restored to him and became as it was before. And the king said to the man of God, “Come home with me, and refresh yourself, and I will give you a reward.” And the man of God said to the king, “If you give me half your house, I will not go in with you. And I will not eat bread or drink water in this place, for so was it commanded me by the word of the Lord, saying, ‘You shall neither eat bread nor drink water nor return by the way that you came.’ ” So he went another way and did not return by the way that he came to Bethel.

• The prophet preaches against he error of the evil prophets

• he calls sin by it’s right name

man falls for Error

1 Kings 13:11–34 (ESV) Now an old prophet lived in Bethel. And his sons came and told him all that the man of God had done that day in Bethel. They also told to their father the words that he had spoken to the king. And their father said to them, “Which way did he go?” And his sons showed him the way that the man of God who came from Judah had gone. And he said to his sons, “Saddle the donkey for me.” So they saddled the donkey for him and he mounted it. And he went after the man of God and found him sitting under an oak. And he said to him, “Are you the man of God who came from Judah?” And he said, “I am.” Then he said to him, “Come home with me and eat bread.” And he said, “I may not return with you, or go in with you, neither will I eat bread nor drink water with you in this place, for it was said to me by the word of the Lord, ‘You shall neither eat bread nor drink water there, nor return by the way that you came.’ ” And he said to him, “I also am a prophet as you are, and an angel spoke to me by the word of the Lord, saying, ‘Bring him back with you into your house that he may eat bread and drink water.’ ” But he lied to him. So he went back with him and ate bread in his house and drank water. And as they sat at the table, the word of the Lord came to the prophet who had brought him back. And he cried to the man of God who came from Judah, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Because you have disobeyed the word of the Lord and have not kept the command that the Lord your God commanded you, but have come back and have eaten bread and drunk water in the place of which he said to you, “Eat no bread and drink no water,” your body shall not come to the tomb of your fathers.’ ” And after he had eaten bread and drunk, he saddled the donkey for the prophet whom he had brought back. And as he went away a lion met him on the road and killed him. And his body was thrown in the road, and the donkey stood beside it; the lion also stood beside the body. And behold, men passed by and saw the body thrown in the road and the lion standing by the body. And they came and told it in the city where the old prophet lived. And when the prophet who had brought him back from the way heard of it, he said, “It is the man of God who disobeyed the word of the Lord; therefore the Lord has given him to the lion, which has torn him and killed him, according to the word that the Lord spoke to him.” And he said to his sons, “Saddle the donkey for me.” And they saddled it. And he went and found his body thrown in the road, and the donkey and the lion standing beside the body. The lion had not eaten the body or torn the donkey. And the prophet took up the body of the man of God and laid it on the donkey and brought it back to the city to mourn and to bury him. And he laid the body in his own grave. And they mourned over him, saying, “Alas, my brother!” And after he had buried him, he said to his sons, “When I die, bury me in the grave in which the man of God is buried; lay my bones beside his bones. For the saying that he called out by the word of the Lord against the altar in Bethel and against all the houses of the high places that are in the cities of Samaria shall surely come to pass.” After this thing Jeroboam did not turn from his evil way, but made priests for the high places again from among all the people. Any who would, he ordained to be priests of the high places. And this thing became sin to the house of Jeroboam, so as to cut it off and to destroy it from the face of the earth.

• It’s not enough to confront falsehood - don’t think yourself safe because you “say it like it is” calling sin by it’s right name

• don’t get so cocky looking down from your high Watchmen’s Post that you fall for the first lie that dresses up in truth’s clothes

• Knowing error, in the spiritual realm does you a net zero benefit. focus instead on truth

Knowing the Truth > Knowing the Enemy

A counterfeit inspector knows a fake when she sees one, not because she familiarized herself with fakes —Though she may— instead the reason she spots the fake, is because she intimately knows the true.

How Truth Protects and Empowers

English Standard Version Chapter 17

keep them from the evil one

• Notice that christ desires us to be held at a safe distance away from the Accuser. this is not my personal sope-box. it’s not I who tells you to avoid satan. avoid confrontation. it is the word of God. Jesus himself desires that the father make separation between you and the devil.

• How do we stay protected from evil? how? what does Jesus say?

look at John 17:17-19 “Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth.”

John 17:17–19 ESV

Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth.

English Standard Version Chapter 17

I consecrate myself

English Standard Version Chapter 17

sanctified in truth

English Standard Version Chapter 1

his word is not in us.

• According to Jesus, the way to stay at a safe distance is by being sanctified in truth. Christ says the word is truth. What god says is not just true, it’s truth. What god says is what reality conforms to.

• sanctification in truth.

When we say we have not sinned, it means His word is not in us. he’s saying it again with different words: Truth is not in us. his word is truth. His word is not in us 1 John 1:10

Identifying true teaching

Don’t be satisfied with pleasant novelties from the bible. Don’t be satisfied with compelling public speakers and unique takes on the greek or the hebrew

Does it confess christ’s living?

English Standard Version Chapter 4

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3 and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already

• Truth in teaching and in lifestyle will affirm that christ really did live

• He really did live as flesh and bone, blood and sweat, temptations and dissapointments, limitations and expectations, just like you and me

• We will not make excuses for our sin

• we will look to our example in truth, because truly He Did Live

• Hebrews 4:15

Does it change christ’s dying?

• Be watchful for this, around this time of year false teachers pop up all over the place claiming that the manner of his death was not as you have heard.

• Truth in your life will be a recognition of how destructive sin is

• Christ undermines evil by choosing death Colossians 2:15 -

• Jesus Destroyed the doings of Satan John 12:31-33 -

• Death was demanded by the severity of sin Gen 6:5-7 -

• We must behold our sacrifice of truth, because truly He Did Die

Does it deny christ’s resurrection?

English Standard Version Chapter 15

12 Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. 15 We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied. 20 But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. 23 But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. 24 Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. 25 For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.

• If teaching of any kind deny’s the resurrection of Christ, don’t stick around to find out, leave that place, close that video, end that bible study, give your farewell to that pastor.

• Teachings that deny that jesus has the power to defeat sin in your life is teaching that denies that the God himself rose from the tomb on the 3rd day - which the gosple tells us was the beginning of the week.

• When i continue in sin believing christ can’t or wont save me from that, i deny the resurrection

• when i hoard goods and blessings becuase i’ve got mine and you better watch yours, i deny the resurrection

• when i play around with morally ambiguous thoughts, thinking, god is merciful, i deny the resurrection

• when i complain about the church as if jesus was never going to do something about it, as if he wasn’t coming back right now. I deny the resurrection

• Anytime i live in anyway that i let sin and human sinful bent win in my life, i preach it to the world, Jesus never really rose from the grave. Because if he had, he’d have the power to change me.

• we must live with life-changing hope because truly He Did Rise Again

1 Corinthians 15:55 KJV 1900

O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?

Can you Identify Truth?

Comments: as you can tell this sermon was X-LARGE. I fin d that the idea of truth is very politically charged in today's church so wanted to have a small mountain of evidence behind this message. Often we turn 'truth' into more than what the author says it is. I'm often sad that the conversation turns into arguments about objective and subjective reality. the bible authors weren't (predominantly) philosiphors. they were primarily pastors and lay people and fishermen who used ordinary language to say extraordinary things.

stay blessed

-pastor eli