Prayer: In you, O Lord, I have taken refuge; let me never be put to shame; deliver me in your righteousness. Turn your ear to me, come quickly to my rescue; be my rock of refuge, a strong fortress to save me. Since you are my rock and my fortress, for the sake of your name lead and guide me. Free me from the trap that is set for me, for you are my refuge. Into your hands I commit my spirit; redeem me, O Lord, the God of truth (Psalms 31:1-5).
Main Scripture: Read Colossians chapter 3.
And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him (Colossians 3:17).
Associated Scriptures:
“Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you had known me, You would have known my Father also. From now on you know him and have seen him” (John 14:6-7).
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9).
This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, 4 for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. 5 Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God (1 John 5:3-5).
Correlative Quotes:
Faith understood as a verb is about our daily activities and practices and stresses acting on our faith rather than just thinking about it. This kind of faith, in other words, invites us to get out of our theological armchairs and get into the game – the game of life…[1]
Jesus equates Himself with “the truth” in today’s passage and since Christ is Lord over all (John 1:1), we understand that truth is fundamental to the divine nature. .[2] – R. C. Sproul
So we have come to receive his Word as the very Word of God (1 Thessalonians), free from error and contradiction because God is true and not a God of confusion.[3] – John Piper
Justification by works (things we have done) is the heresy of legalism. Justification, as Luther insisted, is by faith only (“faith apart from observing the law,” Rom. 3:28), because it is in Christ and by Christ only, and depends on what he is as distinct from what we are.[4]. – J. I. Packer
Study:
The true, living faith, which the Holy Spirit instills into the heart, simply cannot be idle.[5] – Martin Luther.
Faith, even when it is used as a noun, suggests action; faith is always a verb.
Faith, trust, truth, and hope are repeatedly linked in scripture.[6] Faith is based on trust. Trust finds its credibility in truth. Truth is the essence of faith since faith finds it reliability in trust.
Faith is the foundation upon which hope rests. Hope is the confident expectancy that the truth of God is real and that the future will prove to be exactly what God’s word says it will be for people of faith.
Truth is the basis for faith and God is truth, the only truth that exists. In all of God’s creation, the only truth is God’s truth. This is because He is truth itself.
The dictionary defines truth as, “The actual state of a matter, conformity with fact or reality; verity. A verified or indisputable fact, proposition, principle, or the like; the state or character of being true. Actuality or actual existence. An obvious or accepted fact; truism; platitude.”[7]
This is man’s definition of truth. However, man cannot adequately define truth because it is a “God thing.” The bible says many things about God and truth. Isaiah 65:16 and Psalms 31:5 both use the phrase “God of truth.” This would indicate that there is truth in God.
John 17:17 takes this one step further when Christ says (speaking to God), “Your word is truth.” Not only is God truth, He only speaks the truth. In John 1:1 that “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” If the word is truth and the word is God, then logic tells us that God is Truth. John says (vs. 17), in essence, Jesus is not saying that “your word contains truth,” nor is He saying, “your word is truthful,” he is saying your word and truth are the same things. The Greek word for truth as found in this verse is aletheia (al-ay'-thi-a) which means true or truth.[8]
Probably the most powerful proof text for the statement “God is truth” is found in John 14:6 where Jesus says, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.” Here Jesus says that He is the truth. We know from John 1:1 and 1:14 that the word is God and that the word is Jesus, therefore Jesus must be God. Simple logic would then say, if Jesus is God and Jesus is truth, then it follows that God is truth.
Because God is Truth, He is always truthful. 1 Samuel 15:29 (NASB) tells us that, “the Glory of Israel will not lie or change His mind; for He is not a man that He should change His mind." Psalms 117:2 completes this thought by telling us that God is not only Truth, He is not only truthful, but He is truthful forever.
“For His lovingkindness is great toward us, and the truth of the LORD is everlasting. Praise the Lord” (Psalms 117:2)! Absolute truth is eternally consistent. No matter which way you approach a true statement, it remains unassailably true. When we say that our God is truthful, we mean above everything else that He is internally consistent in His Character and being. Proverbs 30:5 says, “Every word of God proves true.” The Hebrew word for truth means conformance to a standard – God’s standards.[9] – Bill Bright
Once we understand that God is Truth, and we accept that only God is Truth (Romans 3:4, NASB) “let God be found true, though every man is found a liar”, we must see God as the only possible source of truth. Since faith is based completely on truth and God is the truth our faith must be in God alone.
Summary Statement:
Faith is an action. Our salvation is, therefore, based on an action. That action is triggered by God. “Your ‘belief’ does not become true faith until you act upon it in obedience.[10] – J. D. Greear
Lesson within the Lesson:
What happens when a person accepts Jesus Christ as their savior? See 2 Corinthians 5:17.
What is the difference between faith and works? See 2:8-10 and James 2:18.
Why are the works of the Spirit important to the believer? See Romans 8:5-9.
How can a person believe that they are saved and yet we see no change in their lives? See Hebrews 4:1-3.
[1] David Lose, Is “Faith” a Noun or a Verb, davidlose.net/2014/11/is-faith-a-noun-or-verb/ Fair Use Authorization, Section 107, of the Copyright Law,.
[2] R. C. Sproul, God is Truth, by R. C. Sproul, Section 107, of the Copyright Law,ligonier.org, 800.435.4343, Fair Use Authorization, Section 107, of the Copyright Law,.
[3] John Piper, Does James Contradict Paul, By John Piper. Section 107, of the Copyright Law, ©2015 Desiring God Foundation. Fair Use Authorization, Section 107, of the Copyright Law
[4] J. I. Packer, Good works are an expression of Faith, Public Domain, monergism.com/ the threshold/articles/onsite/packer/works.
[5] Martin Luther, Inspirational Quotes, copyright © Beliefnet, Inc. and/or its licensors. Fair Use Authorization, Section 107, of the Copyright Law.
[6] Faith, http://christiananswers.net/dictionary/faith, Fair Use Authorization, Section 107, of the Copyright Law.
[7] Truth, © 2015 Dictionary.com, LLC., dictionary.reference.com/browse/truth?s=t, Fair Use Authorization, Section 107, of the Copyright Law.
[8] Biblesoft's New Exhaustive Strong's Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. Fair Use Authorization, Section 107, of the Copyright Law, Biblesoft and International Bible Translators, Inc.
[9] Bill Bright. God, Discover His Character, Campus Crusade International, © Published June 1st, 2002 by New Life Publications, Fair Use Authorization, Section 107, of the Copyright Law.
[10] J. D. Greear, Faith in Action, © 2016 J. D. Greear, jdgreear.com/my_weblog/ 2012/08/faith-is-action.html, Fair Use Authorization, Section 107, of the Copyright Law,
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