Unveiling the Existence of Truth through Biblical Insights
Delve into the concept of truth as explored in the Bible, examining the importance of living by a standard of truth and the consequences of rejecting it. Explore how a lack of truth leads to chaos, drawing parallels from the book of Judges to our modern world.
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Presentation Transcript
Goals To convince you that Truth exists and to know what Truth is To instruct that denial of truthful living and judgment are synonymous To help you plan to live lives of conviction and honesty.
Getting Started Determine whether or not these statements are fact or fiction. Springfield is the second most popular city name in the US The Oakland Athletics have won the second most number of World Series Championships of any franchise in the Major Leagues. Your body creates and destroys one million red blood cells per second. Jiffy (as in, I ll be back in a jiffy ) is not an actual unit of time. The longest a chicken has ever witnessed to fly is 48 seconds.
Digging In + Discussion Questions The truth can be weird sometimes, can t it? The Bible says a lot about truth. Over 200 times the word truth is mentioned in Scripture. That s a lot! There is one thing that cannot be denied: Truth exists. Do you know who doesn t believe in truth? Do you know anyone who says that what s right for you may not be right for me ? What do you think of that?
Digging In Some things just are. The Bible makes a strong case that the truth exists, but beyond the Scriptural claims, there are very few people who do not believe in truth or that there is a right and wrong. It s common sense almost: the Truth just is. The question comes from what is the standard of Truth. On this point many people disagree, including people in your family, your friends, your teachers, and celebrities. People claim to have their own truth. Before we look at Scriptures concerning the Standard of Truth in our lives, it s important to realize what life is like if there s no standard.
Read Judges 17:6 and 21:25 Judges 17:6 6 In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as they saw fit. Judges 21:25 25In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as they saw fit. In this particular historical period for Israel, similar to our world today, people sort of made up their own mind on what to do. They personally answered questions of what was right and wrong. They had their truth and didn t force things on one another. It was every person for him or herself. This produced as vicious cycle Live in covenant relationship with God, live freely Do what they want, don t repent, fall out of favor with God
Read Judges 17:6 and 21:25 It s clear in the book of Judges (and in our world) that if you don t have a standard of living, chaos ensues. But what s the standard. We talked a few minutes ago about how many times the Bible talks about Truth (over 200). We talked last week about how Jesus claimed to be the Truth. But did you know that of the 200 mentions of Truth in Scripture, over 70 instances are from the mouth of Jesus in the Gospels. Over 30 are in Matthew alone. Let s look a few up:
Matthew 5:18, 5:26, 17:20, 21:21 Matthew 5:18 18For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Matthew 5:26 26Truly I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny. Matthew 17:20 20He replied, Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, Move from here to there, and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you. Matthew 21:21
Discussion Questions What is it that Jesus says again and again? Why do you think Jesus said this so often? Do you think Jesus can be trusted? Why/why not? Why don t you think more people uses Jesus as their standard? If Jesus says over 30 times in Matthew that He is telling us the truth, what would keep you from using Him as you standard of right and wrong?
Truth Is... Truth cannot be relative. Sure there are gray areas sometimes. But there is a Standard of Truth, and His name is Jesus. He may not tell us everything we ll ever need to know, but everything we know and decide upon can be view through the lenses of Jesus approval. This is what being a disciple is about. Decisions concerning how and when to speak, who to date, and what your career will be, etc., should be reserved for the Truth-giver, Jesus, to influence.
Repentance is an important part of living a life of Truth, recognizing right from wrong and living the right way. Be brave and honest about the things you do that you know Jesus doesn t approve of things that are wrong. List these things under the title My Own Way. Think about why you know they are wrong. Ask God to show you the Truth. Read Psalm 53 to yourself and recite it as a prayer to God to help you try to live differently from now on. My Own Way The fool says in his heart, "There is no God." They are corrupt, and their ways are vile; there is no one who does good. God looks down from heaven on the sons of men to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God. Everyone has turned away, they have together become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one. Will the evildoers never learn those who devour my people as men eat bread and who do not call on God? There they were, overwhelmed with dread, where there was nothing to dread. God scattered the bones of those who attacked you; you put them to shame, for God despised them. Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion! When God restores the fortunes of his people, let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad! Personal Repentance Activity
Making It Real + Closing Prayer What other sources of right and wrong could influence someone? Which ones are most common today? How much do you think Jesus influences your life compared to these other influencers? How often do you simply do what is right in your own eyes ? In Judges, Israel found themselves in trouble having lived their own way. When this happened, they cried out to God and, without fail, God saved them.
