Telling The Truth Doesnt Mean Sharing Everything You Know
Some people think that since God wants us to be honest, they must fully answer every question people ask. Thats not true. If someone asks how much money you make, how heavy you are, or who you voted for, you are under no obligation to share that information. You could simply say, I prefer not to say.
What do you think?
9. Does being honest mean you never should keep something private? Why or why not?
What Is Truth In The Bible
Since the ancients hypothesized about the meaning of truth, and Pontius Pilate at the trial of Jesus retorted, What is truth?, people throughout history have echoed those exact words.
Today, whether people ask the question outright, their actions speak loudly enough that their belief is that truth is not a defined absolute, but is relative and a moving target. The Bible would say otherwise.
1. John 17:17 Sanctify them in the truth Your word is truth.
2. 2 Corinthians 13:8 For we cannot oppose the truth, but must always stand for the truth.
3. 1 Corinthians 13:6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
Speak The Truth In Love
Ephesians 4:15-16
Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.
Ephesians 4:25
Having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.
Proverbs 12:17
Whoever speaks the truth gives honest evidence, but a false witness utters deceit.
Psalm 15:1-2
O Lord, who shall sojourn in your tent? Who shall dwell on your holy hill? He who walks blamelessly and does what is right and speaks truth in his heart.
Zechariah 8:16
These are the things that you shall do: Speak the truth to one another render in your gates judgments that are true and make for peace.
James 5:12
But above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your yes be yes and your no be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation.
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If We Say That We Have No Sin We Deceive Ourselves And The Truth Is Not In Us 1 John : 8
Even though we all know that we are sinners, it can be easy to get to a place where we feel like weve hit our peak or that weve put out all the fires of sin in our lives. Yet, we are reminded here that if we think we have reached the point of no sin, we are deceiving ourselves or lying to ourselves and we are not abiding in truth. We cause inner confusion and speak lies within ourselves. We must always remember that only Christ is sinless.
But Speaking The Truth In Love May Grow Up In All Things Into Him Who Is The Head Christ Ephesians : 15
When we talk about the right way to tell the truth, Paul makes it clear to us here. We are to speak the truth in love. When we tell the truth, we shouldnt be harsh or accusatory, or sarcastic, we should tell it in love. Its all about the motive behind the truth and judgment that you are telling. When we look in the Gospels, we see that Christ speaks the truth, but in love, with the right motives. When we speak the truth in love, we become more like Christ who showed a great compassion for those to who He spoke the truth.
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Warnings Against Lying And Deception
Exodus 20:16
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
Proverbs 6:16-19
There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers.
Proverbs 11:1
A false balance is an abomination to the Lord, but a just weight is his delight.
Proverbs 12:22
Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, but those who act faithfully are his delight.
Proverbs 14:25
A truthful witness saves lives, but one who breathes out lies is deceitful.
Proverbs 19:9
A false witness will not go unpunished, and he who breathes out lies will perish.
Luke 12:2
Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known.
Romans 1:18
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.
1 Corinthians 13:6
Love does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.
1 John 1:6
If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.
1 John 1:8
If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
Revelation 21:8
What Does It Mean To Know The Truth
Bringing a spiritual perspective to daily life
Christ Jesus said, “Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” . That’s a wonderful promise that can be taken seriously, especially when you feel the need for some sort of healing – whether the difficulty is injury, illness, financial hardship, a troubled relationship, or anything else. But just what does it mean to know the truth?
For something to be known, it really has to be true. You can’t know – correctly – that the earth is flat or that the sun revolves around the earth, although for centuries people thought they knew those fallacies to be accurate. They didn’t know they believed.
The Bible has much to say about truth and directly relates it to God. In fact, the definition of truth in “Harper’s Bible Dictionary” includes the statement that “God is truth.” And this is how He is understood in Christian Science, the Science by which Jesus healed. “Science and Health With Key to the Scriptures,” written by Mary Baker Eddy, frequently uses Truth as synonyms for God. Knowing the truth, then, is knowing God in some degree. Daily study and prayer to understand Him better are the best means to this end. He is and knows only good. The Bible says that God is “of purer eyes than to behold evil” . And you can find specific truths God knows about His creation, which will abolish any evil belief that is troubling you – as well as the physical effect of that belief.
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Bible Verses About The Power Of Truth
What is truth according to Christianity? In Christian epistemology, Truth is ultimately a person, the second person of the Holy Trinity, Jesus Christ. Furthermore, truth is the authentic reality of our life, the opposite of falsehoods.
While not always valued by others, it is most certainly favored by God and our hopes of ensuring wholesome relationships. We may think we are clever enough to fool other people, God, or even ourselves, but little do we know of the ultimate consequences of our attempts to deceive reality. However painful or awkward the truth may be, it is “truly” our only opportunity to create harmony and receive God’s grace. The Bible reminds us of the power of truth quite frequently and we’d be wise to follow its advice. These Bible verses about the power of truth are just what I needed today.
Here are 20 Bible verses about the Power of Truth. May these scripture quotes help you to muster the courage to live honestly.
Subjective Truth Vs Objective Truth
And I really appreciated that prayer for Ukraine. Like everybody else, I follow the media. I’m quite a big fan of history. There’s something called propaganda and that is when a nation, states or large organisations come up with their own version of the truth because they want you to think or feel something. And they try and control the media. I know Putin’s a powerful man, but I’m not scared of him. And I’m going to suggest that he and his organisations disseminate absolute nonsense about Ukraine.
The definition of war is an armed conflict between nations or people groups, and Putin and the Russian government, are saying this is not a war. It’s a mission. And what they’re doing is they’re manipulating language to try and explain away what they’re doing. And I do pray for peace in Ukraine. We’re not here again to talk about evil and suffering. But human beings have free will, and when one nation’s collective freewill is used to impose and bully and attack another nation’s freedom and their own sovereignty, that’s an abuse of freewill. And it’s great when people can pray. It’s also great when people can show whatever form of solidarity and practical help that they can send.
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How To Keep Your Faith Strong
Being honest is not always easy. As Christians, we know how easy it is to fall into sin. Therefore, you need to work at being truthful, and it is work. The world does not give us easy situations, and sometimes we need to really work to keep our eyes on God in order to find the answers. Being honest can sometimes hurt, but knowing that you are following what God wants for you will make you more faithful in the end.
Honesty is also not just how you speak to others, but also how you speak to yourself. While humility and modesty is a good thing, being too harsh on yourself is not being truthful. Also, thinking too highly of yourself is a sin. Thus, it is important for you to find a balance of knowing your blessings and shortcomings so you can continue to grow.
Proverbs 11:3 – “Honesty guides good people dishonesty destroys treacherous people.”
Romans 12:3 – “Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Donât think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us.”
God Is Spirit And Those Who Worship Him Must Worship In Spirit And Truth John : 24
Jesus statement here should shape the way we worship. If we desire to truly worship God, how can we worship in spirit and truth? The way we can worship in truth is by worshipping Him according to what His truth says. For example, we should be careful to abide by His Word and the way we worship should conform to what scripture prescribes for worship. Otherwise, we are worshiping by our own standards, which is a lie compared to the truth. If you want to know more about that, check out Romans 12. Let us strive to be true worshipers of Him who is worthy of praise.
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Truth According To The Bible
So what, then, does the Bible say about truth? It might surprise you that the question What is truth? is itself found in the pages of Scripture. When standing trial before the Roman governor Pilate, Jesus said to Pilate, For this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.8 Pilate responded by asking, What is truth?9
If only Pilate had known that the truth was standing before him, looking him in the eye.
Truth Is a Person
You see, the Bible teaches that truth isnt just an abstract idea or philosophical puzzle. Instead, truth is a personthe person of Jesus Christ, to be exact. Jesus said to his disciples, I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.10 The Apostle John, reflecting on the whole of Jesus life, wrote, The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.11 In Jesus, the truth took on human nature.
But, for Christians, Jesus is far more than just a truthful person he is the truth incarnate. The Apostle Paul tells us that in Jesus, all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form.14 So Jesus is the truth in human form because he is God in human form. In Jesus, the truth came to earth to confront our lies, transform our minds, heal our hearts, fill us with joy, and liberate us from slavery to deceit.
God Is True
Jesus Said To Him I Am The Way The Truth And The Life No One Comes To The Father Except Through Me John 1: 6
Finally, Jesus Himself says that He is the truth. As we mentioned, if God is truth, then each of His three persons are also the embodiment of truth. Jesus here quite plainly claims to be the truth which is interesting as Scripture also reveals to us that He is the Word. You can see how all of this comes together and we always arrive at the conclusion that if we want to seek truth, we must seek God. Truth and God cannot be separated and therefore, we always know where to find truth when we seek it out.
If theres one thing that is clear from all of these verses that surround the subject of truth, it is that despite what the world tells us, the only place we can find truth is in God. If we want to find truth, thats where we need to go. In fact, He lays it out for us right there in His Scriptures! Let us always recognize and remember that God gifts us with everything that we need to not only survive but to thrive. Find truth in Him and be revived by His refreshing nature.
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God Guides Us In The Truth
Psalm 25:5
Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation for you I wait all the day long.
Psalm 43:3
Send out your light and your truth let them lead me let them bring me to your holy hill and to your dwelling!
Psalm 86:11
Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth unite my heart to fear your name.
John 16:13
When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.
1 John 2:27
But the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no liejust as it has taught you, abide in him.
The Idea Of Worldview
And the other thing that Sharon and I talk about a lot is this whole idea of worldview. So, worldview is the lens of which you look at through the world. So today we had Frontline, which is the church both you and I attend that Crowd’s part of. We had Chine McDonald talking about her book called “God is not a white man”, which I think is a great book, and you should definitely read it. And we talked about what does the Bible say about racism with Tony a few weeks ago?
But a worldview would be I am a white, heterosexual, middle class, man living in the north of England, I have a certain way of viewing the world, right? And you’re similar, but even you and I have different lenses in which we look at the world. You’re a teacher, I’m a businessman. And so that automatically brings certain differences. And so, when it comes to tolerance and difference, you have to understand the lens through which you’re looking at the world.
And this was one of Chine’s points that actually there are different lenses, she used the phrase mosaic where there are different people, different cultures. And, missionaries for years would go and anglicise people. They taught people how to eat with a knife and fork rather than celebrating diversity in culture, which was, you know, that’s the bit that was missing.
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My Little Children Let Us Not Love In Word Or In Tongue But In Deed And In Truth 1 John : 18
We may not think about it like this sometimes, but telling someone the truth is, in fact, an act of love. Someone who loves is someone who speaks truth. Of course, there are correct and incorrect ways to tell the truth, but overall, truth is a thing associated with love and faithfulness. You wouldnt tell someone who is deathly sick that they are okay because you love them, right? Rather, God calls us to love in deed and in truth by proclaiming His kindness and truth and telling the truth in the right fashion.
What Is Bruce Talking About In The Comments When It Comes To The Skips
Phil – Well, this is a very good example of truth, Matthew, and it’s a great chance for me to get my point across. My brother’s version of events is in 1978, in the house where we grew up that my parents still live in which is near Sutton, in Surrey, or South London. We ate our pack of crisps when we came home from school at the end of the day, and our preferred packet was almost always Skips. And in those days, you could only get Skips Prawn Cocktail. And my brother thinks that I ate a whole family size pack back in those days. And I’m going to say that it’s possible. It’s possibly true I did eat the whole pack. This is truth and reconciliation. I probably did it out of retaliation for him eating some KP Discos the day before and it becomes this big joke.
And I think like so many stories in so many families, no one can actually remember what really happened. But every now and again say for example, we’re together and we’re having a meal, I will nick food off his plate and I’ll go “That’s because you stole all the KP discos in 1978” and then he’ll eat my food and he’ll go “That’s because you took all the Skips”. I’m being facetious and it is silly. It is funny but unfortunately if you’re not careful this is how sometimes people fall out. You can’t even remember what you fell out about but you’ve decided to take offence. I’m moving away from truth on a whole another biblical topic of forgiveness, truth & reconciliation.
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