Overall Questions: What is truth? How should it affect our Christian lives?

Memory Text: Jeremiah 29:13 NKJV “And you will seek Me and find [Me], when you search for Me with all your heart.”

Sunday – I Am the Truth
John 14:6 NKJV “Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”
John 14:6 Third Millennium Bible ”Jesus said unto him, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life; no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me.”
John 14:6 COMMENTARY BY ALBERT BARNES Truth is a representation of things as they are. The life, the purity, and the teaching of Jesus Christ was the most complete and perfect representation of the things of the eternal world that has been or can be presented to man. The ceremonies of the Jews were shadows; the life of Jesus was the truth. The opinions of men are fancy, but the doctrines of Jesus were nothing more than a representation of facts as they exist in the government of God. It is implied in this, also, that Jesus was the fountain of all truth; that by his inspiration the prophets spoke, and that by him all truth is communicated to men.
John 17:3 NKJV "And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.”
John 17:3 New Century Version “And this is eternal life: that people know you, the only true God, and that they know Jesus Christ, the One you sent.”
John 17:3 SDA BIBLE COMMENTARY Experimental, living knowledge leads to life eternal. There is no salvation in knowledge alone, but neither can there be salvation without knowledge (Rom. 10:13–15). Saving knowledge is here defined as that which is centered upon the “true God,” in contrast with false gods, and upon Jesus Christ. It was the knowledge of Jesus Christ that was strikingly absent from the religion of the Jews.

Monday – The Spirit and Truth
John 16:13 NKJV “"However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own [authority], but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.”
John 16:13 New International Reader's Version “But when the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own. He will speak only what he hears. And he will tell you what is still going to happen.”
John 16:13 COMMENTARY BY ALBERT BARNES Though they had been long with him, yet they were not prepared then to hear of the changes that were to occur; but his death would open their eyes, and the Holy Spirit, making use of the striking and impressive scenes of his death and ascension, would carry forward with vast rapidity their views of the nature of the Christian scheme.

Tuesday – With All Your Heart
Jeremiah 29:13 NKJV “And you will seek Me and find [Me], when you search for Me with all your heart.”
Jeremiah 29:13 Complete Jewish Bible “When you seek me, you will find me, provided you seek for me wholeheartedly.”
Jeremiah 29:13 SDA BIBLE COMMENTARY God makes it plain that He can do nothing for His people unless they seek Him with sincerity of purpose.
2 Chronicles 25:2 NKJV “And he did [what was] right in the sight of the LORD, but not with a loyal heart.”
2 Chronicles 25:2 Good News Translation “He did what was pleasing to the Lord, but did it reluctantly.”
2 Chronicles 25:2 COMMENTARY JOHN WESLEY NOTES He was not an enemy to religion, but a cool and indifferent friend. He was not a man of serious piety; for his heart was not whole with God.

Wednesday – A Conscience Seared
1 Timothy 4:2 NKJV “speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron,”
1 Timothy 4:2 God's Word Translation “These people will speak lies disguised as truth. Their consciences have been scarred as if branded by a red-hot iron.”
1 Timothy 4:2 SDA BIBLE COMMENTARY Apostates often do not sail openly under the flag of error and treason to the cause of Christ. The teachers of deception trumpet loudly their loyalty to the cause of truth, thus better to delude men….“branded with a branding iron.” Some hold that this refers to the insensibility of a conscience that is no longer aware of guilt at wrongdoing in somewhat the same way that searing by a hot iron renders human flesh incapable of feeling, so that it becomes progressively difficult for the Holy Spirit to make any impression on the conscience….Others believe that as a branding iron leaves its mark, so the “doctrines of devils” (1 Tim. 4:1) and hypocritical “lies” (v. 2) make the satanic brand an indelible mark. Hence, as Paul possessed the “marks” of his service to Christ (Gal. 6:17), so these deceivers will bear corresponding marks of loyalty to Satan.
Titus 1:15 NKJV “To the pure all things are pure, but to those who are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure; but even their mind and conscience are defiled.”
Titus 1:15 New Century Version “To those who are pure, all things are pure, but to those who are full of sin and do not believe, nothing is pure. Both their minds and their consciences have been ruined.”
Titus 1:15 SDA BIBLE COMMENTARY Paul here deals with Jewish ritual purity. He distinguishes between those who attempt to compensate for a lack of moral purity by ceremonial purifications, and those who believe that ceremonial performances are not essential to the development of a God-approved life. Paul does not here imply that the Christian is free to engage in practices condemned elsewhere in Scripture, or that Biblical prohibitions regarding moral conduct or dietary practices do not apply to Christians.
Titus 1:15 COMMENTARY BY ADAM CLARKE Their mind is contaminated with impure and unholy images and ideas, and their conscience is defiled with the guilt of sins already committed against God.
Hebrews 5:14 NKJV “But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, [that is], those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.”
Hebrews 5:14 New American Standard “But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil.”
Hebrews 5:14 COMMENTARY BY ALBERT BARNES it is to experienced Christians, who, by long experience, are able to distinguish that which is useful, in pretended religious instruction, from that which is injurious. It refers to the delicate taste which an experienced Christian has in regard to those doctrines which impart most light and consolation. Experience will thus enable one to discern what is fitted to the soul of man, what elevates and purifies the affections, and what tends to draw the heart near to God.
John 7:16-17 NKJV “16 Jesus answered them and said, "My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me. 17 "If anyone wants to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or [whether] I speak on My own [authority].”
John 7:16-17 Holman “16 Jesus answered them, “My teaching isn’t Mine but is from the One who sent Me. 17 If anyone wants to do His will, he will understand whether the teaching is from God or if I am speaking on My own.”
John 7:17 COMMENTARY BY ADAM CLARKE I will give you a sure rule by which ye may judge of my doctrine: If you really wish to do the will of God, begin the practice of it; and take my doctrine, and apply it to all that you know God requires of man; and if you find one of my precepts contrary to the nature, perfections, and glory of God, or to the present or eternal welfare of men, then ye shall be at liberty to assert that my doctrine is human and erroneous, and God has not sent me.

Thursday – Walking in Truth
2 John 4 NKJV “I rejoiced greatly that I have found [some] of your children walking in truth, as we received commandment from the Father.”
2 John 1:4 The Message “I can't tell you how happy I am to learn that many members of your congregation are diligent in living out the Truth, exactly as commanded by the Father.”
2 John 4 COMMENTARY FAMILY BIBLE NOTES Friends of the truth are friends of each other, and earnestly desire each other's highest good; and when they hear that the children of their friends have embraced the gospel, and are walking in the love and practice of it, they rejoice with great joy.
1 John 1:6 NKJV “If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.”
1 John 1:6 The Message “If we claim that we experience a shared life with him and continue to stumble around in the dark, we're obviously lying through our teeth - we're not living what we claim.”
1 John 1:6 COMMENTARY BY ALBERT BARNES How many whose minds are dark on the whole subject of religion, who have never known anything of the real peace and joy which it imparts, who nevertheless entertain the belief that they are the friends of God, and are going to heaven! They trust in a name, in forms, in conformity to external rites, and have never known anything of the internal peace and purity which religion imparts, and in fact have never had any true fellowship with that God who is light, and in whom there is no darkness at all.
Matthew 10:26 NKJV “"Therefore do not fear them. For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known.”
Matthew 10:26 New American Standard “"Therefore do not fear them, for there is nothing concealed that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known.”
Matthew 10:26 COMMENTARY BY ALBERT BARNES He encouraged them by the assurance that God would protect them, and that their truth and innocence should yet be vindicated. It is probable that the declaration, "There is nothing covered," etc., was a proverb among the Jews. By it our Saviour meant, that their innocence, their principles, and their integrity, though then the world might not acknowledge them, in due time would be revealed; or God would vindicate them, and the universe would do them justice. They were, then, to be willing to be unknown, despised, persecuted, for a time, with the assurance that their true characters should yet be understood, and their sufferings appreciated.
Matthew 10:26 COMMENTARY BY WILLIAM BURKITT I will make the excellency of your doctrine and the innocency of your lives shine as the light..As wicked men have cause to fear because their evil deeds shall be made evident, so good men have cause to rejoice because their goodness and good deeds shall be made manifest. Let it be our care to do good, and it shall be Christ's care to discover the goodness which we do, to vindicate it from misconstruction, and set it in its clearest light.

JAMES423

THE bible says that the HOLY SPIRIT come to teach
us all truth


dgrimm60

On the basis of the relational reality of Christ’s indwelling the believers through the Spirit, they are said to possess “the mind of Christ” (1 Cor. 2:16; cf. 12:3) and, to “become partakers of the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4). Hence in their daily lives the “fruit of the Spirit” (Gal. 5:22, 23) is produced.

Since the Holy Spirit does not indwell the believer as an energy that penetrates the soul, but rather as a person, the question about how He indwells human beings arises. Paul, in full agreement with the relational structure of the Spirit’s indwelling, explains that “we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being changed into his likeness from one degree of glory to another, for this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit” (2 Cor. 3:17, 18). Paul declares that sinful human beings can behold the glory of the Lord through the preaching and teaching of the gospel (2 Cor. 4:4, 5), “for it is the God who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ” (verse 6). The indwelling, then, occurs as a result of the specific work of the Holy Spirit. Through the inspiration of the Bible and the illumination of its contents, the Holy Spirit brings the presence of Christ to the consciousness of believers who thus are able to behold “the glory of God in the face of Christ.”

When, as a response to the divine initiative of God in the Spirit, the human heart surrenders in total openness to Christ for the first time, the new birth occurs simultaneously with the baptism of the Holy Spirit as the gift of God’s personal presence (Acts 2:38). The continuous process of indwelling follows. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit in the Christian is not a permanent possession, acquired once and for all at the time of the new birth. On the contrary, it must be a permanent process, daily renewed (1 Cor. 9:27) in further and deeper surrender to the Spirit’s promptings, lest the believer fall into apostasy at the risk of eternal loss (Heb. 6:4–8).

Dederen, R. (2001, c2000). Vol. 12: Handbook of Seventh-Day Adventist Theology (electronic ed.). Logos Library System; Commentary Reference Series (136). Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald Publishing Association.

OVERAGED

THESE are very good points

dgrimm60

I agree. I particularly enjoyed this quote because of the scripture references included in it, and how pertinent they were to the subject:
There are a lot of people who don't realize that this is how Adventists think and teach.

Truth is something I must believe in to set me free from doubt. In order for that to happen I must search for the truth. When, in fact, I have come to the point of belief, I am set free of the doubt. It is like worrying about someone or something you thought was to be in some particular place and find out that it is not the case. Then you go searching for that until it is found, and guess what? You feel a great relief because the fear of the loss or doubt is gone when you have found it. Then you can question that it should have been where you thought it was, but now you are glad you have found it.

So with truth about THE REAL TRUTH from God's WORD. You have always thought that what you believed was the truth, but when you have doubts because you are questioning it because someone has told you different, and you began to see that it makes sense, and so you continue to search and study until you find the TRUTH, it then sets you FREE!

It is a journey into the glory of God when we find TRUTH that sets one free for a life worth LIVING.

A Woman After God's Own Heart,
DLS