What Is Truth?

Please turn with me in your Bibles to 3 John. We’ve been studying through the Books of John the last few weeks, and one of the main themes is “What is the TRUTH”? In our world today, people teach that truth is FLUID. You have YOUR truth, and I have MY truth. As long as YOUR and MY truth do not conflict, we can just be happy in OUR OWN TRUTH.

When Pilate ordered an innocent Jesus crucified, he justified his actions with the words “What is truth?”

But is truth FLUID? The world would have you believe this. A quick search on Google finds this:

“Our body always knows first what our truth is… trust it. And, when you don’t trust it, acknowledge that too. Because it will reinforce to the Universe that you are listening to you, your higher-self, your intuition, source [whatever name resonates with you]. Remember, you have to know a truth from within not be told the truth. Get out of your head and feel into your body for what resonates now, not what should or could, but what does.”

So basically TRUTH is what you FEEL is true. This is what the world teaches today. Recently an obese man who identifies as a woman went into a YMCA (which stands for Young Men’s Christian Association – so it used to be Christian), into a female restroom, and was arrested for three counts of indecent exposure. The new report states:

“A judge ruled that a transgender woman {Darren Glines}could not have indecently exposed her penis in a YMCA female changing room after agreeing with her claim that she’s too fat for it to be visible. … Judge David McNamee said that there was ‘little dispute as to the facts of the case’ as Glines was authorized by the Executive Director of the YMC to use the women’s locker room. … Jacqueline Brockman said that Glines was allowed to use the facilities at all of the Greater Dayton area YMCA locations. {Lawyers representing Glines stated} ‘It’s unfortunate not only for her, but for the entire community, that the filing of these charges ever occurred. ‘We are grateful that the rule of law and the truth prevailed so that… Glines and the community can move on in peace.’”

You may be tired of hearing about stuff like this, but it’s going to get worst if we do not stand up for what is truth. Truth is not fluid, not based on feelings. As John writes in today’s text:

3 John 1-4 The elder unto the well beloved Gaius, whom I love in the truth. {2} Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth. {3} For I rejoiced greatly, when the brethren came and testified of the truth that is in thee, even as thou walkest in the truth. {4} I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.

Christians Should Have No Problem
Understanding What TRUTH Is

John’s third letter starts being addressed to “the well beloved Gaius”. Who is “Gaius”? First of all, the name itself is a Gentile Name. When God sent His Son into the world to save the world, the Bible tells us that the Gospel came to ALL PEOPLE. This poor, deluded man who thinks he is a woman – Jesus gave His life for him, too.

What is so sad is that – in our world today – we are PROUD of the things we should be ashamed of, but ASHAMED of the things we should be proud of.

The Apostles said,

Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

The Gospel is the “power of God unto salvation” to those who receive it. This man and others deluded by sexual sin and “feelings” need Jesus. They need the Word of God. Truth is NOT fluid, but is FIXED by God. GAIUS is a GENTILE, a man who was very Roman, very NOT JEWISH, but a man who knew Jesus. We know this because he is called “the well beloved Gaius”. This is ONE OF SEVEN DESIGNATIONS GIVEN TO THE CHRISTIAN in this small book.

1. Christians are BELOVED:

BELOVED Gaius (verse 1)
BELOVED (verses 5 & 11)

2. Christians are BRETHREN:

(Verses 3, 5, &10)

3. Christians are CHILDREN of God:

My CHILDREN walk in truth (verse 4)

4. Christians are STRANGERS to this world:

and to STRANGERS (verse 5)

5. Christians are together the CHURCH:

(verses 6, 9&10)

6. Christians are FELLOW WORKERS to the truth:

(verse 8)

7. Christians are FRIENDS to one another:

(verse 14)

All of these designations are shared by Christians because of what Jesus Christ did for us IN TRUTH. Gaius is a Gentile, and was a very common name among the Romans. But as the Gospel went out in the early days of the Church, we see GAIUS and Aristarchus, men of Macedonia, suffered alongside of the Apostle Paul in sharing the Gospel (Acts 19:29). As Paul was persecuted, Gaius of Derbe, and Timotheus; and of Asia, Tychicus and Trophimus – all Gentiles (Acts 20:4) stood next to the Jewish Paul and preached the truth found in Christ. Paul commended “GAIUS MINE HOST” (Romans 16:23), and when he addressed the Church at Corinth stated:

1 Corinthians 1:14 I thank God that I baptized none of you, but Crispus and Gaius …

When Christ was first presented to Rome, the Emperor decreed it a heresy, and Christians to be enemies of the state. So the early Church was persecuted, not only by the Jewish Pharisees who hated Christ, but by the Romans as well. The Romans, like Americans today, were immersed in sexual sin, both homosexual and heterosexual, as well as bestial and pedophilia. Yet as the Gospel went out it changed where it touched. We read again:

3 John 1 The elder unto the well-beloved Gaius, whom I love in the truth.

John loved Gaius IN THE TRUTH. Not in HIS TRUTH, nor in ROME’S TRUTH, but in THE TRUTH. What is THE TRUTH? THE TRUTH is established by Jesus. Jesus said:

John 14:6 … I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

Truth is NOT RELATIVE, NOR is truth FLUID.
Truth is FIXED to God the Son.

Jesus said that He is THE WAY, the Greek ho hodos, the highway you walk on, the journey you take. There are many different pathways that people take, but if you want to go where TRUTH is, you must follow CHRIST. It is not optional to follow Christ. He is THE WAY to truth, THE WAY to God. The Bible says:

Proverbs 16:25 There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.

Those who believe truth is fluid FEEL that their way is right. But their way leads to DEATH. Jesus warned:

Matthew 7:13-14 (ESV) Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. 14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.

Jesus is the NARROW GATE that leads to life. He is the Highway to peace with God, and joy everlasting. The WIDE GATE is the way of the world, the MULTIPLE FLUID TRUTHS that Satan pronounces and false prophets decree. There is no joy in that. Jesus is the WAY.

John 14:6 … I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

Jesus is not only THE WAY, but He is THE TRUTH. You will not find TRUTH apart from Christ. As John spoke to Gaius, he said:

2 John 1 … Gaius, whom I love in the truth.

There is no true love involved if you are loving someone IN A LIE. If a person comes to God apart from Christ the LEAST of their concerns is their sexual arrogance. Apart from Jesus, your life has NO TRUTH, or WARPED TRUTH. Apart from Jesus, the sinner will descend into the GREATEST of sins. Apart from Jesus, the religious will be consumed of evil. It is Jesus Who is the WAY unto God, but He is also the TRUTH, the FIXED TRUTH we walk in. And finally,

John 14:6 … I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

Jesus is “the life” of God. Jesus said told the Pharisees who had the Law:

John 5:40 And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.

You cannot have LIFE apart from Jesus. The devil and the world comes to a person and offers them a type of life, a false sort of life. But this false life from Satan is just his bid to rob you of God’s best. Jesus said:

John 10:10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

If you are in Christ, walking by His Word and living by His side, you will have a blessed life. Why?

Those who are in Christ are bound together BY ONE SPIRIT:

1 Corinthians 12:13 … whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.

You have been MADE TO DRINK INTO ONE SPIRIT. Those who are saved, are Holy Spirit indwelt. Those who are saved are …

Galatians 3:26-28 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. {27} For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. {28} There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus

Because you received Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, you are …

Romans 8:17 … heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.

Once Gaius gave his life to Jesus, he began to walk with Jesus, and try to be like Jesus. But Gaius also POSITIONALLY BECAME a Child of God because of Jesus. We who are saved are “joint-heirs with Christ”. We are to inherit HEAVEN one day, but PERSECUTION today. Whereas we were strangers and foreigners to God (Ephesians 2:19), we who are saved are bow “fellowcitizens with the Saints, and of the household of God” (Ephesians 2:19).

Because we follow Jesus, in this world we are STRANGERS and PILGRIMS. We do not give in to sexual sin or “Pride Month”, but as Children of God stand with Jesus in the truth.

1 Peter 2:11-12 Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul; 12 Having your {Way of Life} honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation.

As Children of God we are to stand with Christ, and to share the Gospel in love to all. But we are to not give in to the lies of Satan. We are to walk in the truth.

There Is No PHYSICAL Prosperity If There
Is No SPIRITUAL Prosperity

3 John 2-4 Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth. {3} For I rejoiced greatly, when the brethren came and testified of the truth that is in thee, even as thou walkest in the truth. {4} I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.

If the SOUL is misaligned, the BODY will be misaligned. If the SOUL prospers, the BODY will prosper. The TRUTH is something not just alleged, but something you live by. C.H. Spurgeon wrote in his devotional Morning and Evening:

The truth was in Gaius, and Gaius walked in the truth. If the first had not been the case, the second could never have occurred; and if the second could not be said of him the first would have been a mere pretense. Truth must enter into the soul, penetrate and saturate it, or else it is of no value. Doctrines held as a matter of creed are like bread in the hand, which ministers no nourishment to the frame; but doctrine accepted by the heart, is as food digested, which, by assimilation, sustains and builds up the body. In us truth must be a living force, an active energy, an indwelling reality, a part of the woof and warp of our being. If it be in us, we cannot henceforth part with it. A man may lose his garments or his limbs, but his inward parts are vital, and cannot be torn away without absolute loss of life. A Christian can die, but he cannot deny the truth. Now it is a rule of nature that the inward affects the outward, as light shines from the center of the lantern through the glass: when, therefore, the truth is kindled within, its brightness soon beams forth in the outward life and conversation. It is said that the food of certain worms colors the cocoons of silk which they spin: and just so the nutriment upon which a man’s inward nature lives gives a tinge to every word and deed proceeding from him. To walk in the truth, imports a life of integrity, holiness, faithfulness, and simplicity—the natural product of those principles of truth which the gospel teaches, and which the Spirit of God enables us to receive. We may judge of the secrets of the soul by their manifestation in the man’s conversation. Be it ours to-day, O gracious Spirit, to be ruled and governed by thy divine authority, so that nothing false or sinful may reign in our hearts, lest it extend its malignant influence to our daily walk among men.

If you are walking in the truth with Christ, then you can rest assured that where ever you are you are in the right place. When Daniel was commanded not to pray, and clearly heard the command of the King, what did he do?

Daniel 6:10 (NIV) Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before.

Daniel was not mounting a BOYCOTT nor a PUBLICITY STUNT, nor even trying to INCITE A RIOT. Daniel matter of factually heard what the King decreed, that God would not be prayed to, then did “just as he had done before”. If a man walks into this Church and tells me “call me a woman”, I refuse to do so. Not because I’m trying to hurt his feelings. But because WHAT HE SAYS IS UNTRUE. If a person comes up to me and says, “call me THEY”, I refuse to do so. Why? Because what this person thinks is factually untrue. What can I expect? What did Daniel expect?

Daniel was thrown in the lion’s den. And Daniel went to sleep on a bunch of hungry lions, because as Daniel said:

Daniel 6:22 My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions’ mouths, that they have not hurt me: forasmuch as before him innocency was found in me; and also before thee, O king, have I done no hurt.

We are called of God as Christians to stand in the truth of Christ. The world will not like this. Rome didn’t like it when Gaius gave his life to Jesus, and America won’t like it when you refuse to follow the foolish lies of Satan. And yet, dear ones,

this is what we must do.

God wants His Children to “walk in truth”. Not as the world defines truth, but as Jesus defines truth. What did Jesus pray for His Church?

John 17:15-17 (ESV) I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 17 Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.

This Bible is truth. What God has left us in this Holy Text is Truth. We are to cling to it, no matter what. Let us close with this:

3 John 1:11 Beloved, follow not that which is evil, but that which is good. He that doeth good is of God: but he that doeth evil hath not seen God.

If you do evil as God defines evil, you HAVE NOT SEEN GOD. You are not saved. If you are not walking in Christ’s truth, you are not a child of God. One of the greatest Evangelists is Billy Graham. When Billy was 16 years old, Evangelist Mordecai Ham was preaching a revival meeting in Charlotte North Carolina. Mordecai started his sermon with “There’s a great sinner in this place tonight”. The Holy Spirit took that arrow, and drove it into Billy’s heart. Here are some of the words Mordecai said:

“There are a lot of Christians who are halfway fellows. They stand in the door, holding on to the Church with one hand while they play with the toys of the world with the other. They are in the doorway and we can’t bring sinners in. And, until we get some of God’s people right, we cannot hope to get sinners regenerated. Now they always accuse me of carrying around a sledge hammer with which to pound the church members. Yes sir, I do pound them, every time I come down, I knock one of the halfway fellows out of the doorway, and every time I knock one out I get a sinner in”.

That’s another way of saying what John said. “He that doeth good is of God: but he that doeth evil hath not seen God”. Where is your life oriented? Are you following Jesus, or are you following the world and Satan? What is TRUTH to you? What are you doing about it? If you are saved, your life is changed. You are no longer enslaved to sin, but are bound to the Savior (Romans 6:14-18).

May God the Holy Spirit draw each and every one to Christ today. Amen and Amen!