THE LIVING WORD TRANSCRIPT

Program Air Date - -7-23-06

LESSON TITLE: "GOD'S TRUTH: THE PROBLEM OF INDIFFERENCE TOWARD THE TRUTH"

WELCOME

Our God is truly great and His Son is as well worthy of honor. In fact, in 2 Peter 3:18, we read, "...To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen." Are you glorifying God throughout your daily life?

Good morning, and thanks for joining us for the study of God's Living Word on this His special day! We are glad you have put God first today and that you have decided to give this time to Him. It will be our privilege this morning to sing songs of praise, to study His precious Word, and to approach the throne of God in prayer. So, at this time may we start our praise to God by talking with our Father in prayer. Bow with me please!

(PRAYER)

Now it's time to join in song to praise our God. Our first song of the day reminds us that Christ is able to heal our broken lives. So, at this time won't you join in with the congregation as we sing together, "Bring Christ Your Broken Life!"

(SONG # 1)

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHTS

The need to offer Glory and Praise to God are both confirmed for us in the Bible! In fact, we also are told exactly why we are to "lift Him up!" The reality is Jesus has done so much for us that we should be more than happy to show Him the honor and respect which He is due.

There are many ways to offer glory and praise to God! Besides the reading of scripture there are many songs we sing to offer praise and glory to God. We also praise and glorify God in our prayers. However, we might take it a step further and say that in all that we do and say, we need to offer praise and glory to God. This means that that all we do must be done acceptably in His sight. No wonder Paul made this statement in Colossians 3:17, there we read, "whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him."

Let us end these thoughts by reading what Paul said to the Philippian church in Philippians 1:9-11. There it says, "And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God."

In this passage we learn to make proper decisions, to do our best in all things for the sake of God and to strive to live without offense before His throne. But then we learn that we are to live according to the "fruits of the righteousness." But why? To offer glory and praise to God.

So are you living your life in such a way as to glorify and praise God in all things? If not, do whatever it takes this day to be found in His loving favor! In just a few minutes it will be time to begin our main study of the day. As far as our lesson topic today, we will be continuing our series entitled, "God's Truth." The specific lesson of the day will focus on, "The Problem Of Indifference Toward The Truth!" So, please stay with us this morning and in just a few minutes brother Jerry Sullins will be leading us in this study from God's Word. Once again, brother Jerry is the Director of the Bible Institute of Missouri. Now let's join together in our second song of the day. The name of this hymn, "Because He Lives."

(SONG # 2)

LESSON

Speaker: Jerry R. Sullins

I appreciate so much your presence this morning in allowing us to come into your home to discuss these important matters concerning the Truth. I'm excited about the last few weeks in examination of the Truth because it is such a very important subject.

We must as human beings maintain a proper attitude toward truth.

In Proverbs chapter 23 verse 23 Solomon said that "We should buy the truth and not sell it."

In 2 Timothy chapter 4 around verse 4, there was a problem that the people were having in accepting the truth because they were wanting to have teachers in who would teach themselves something that was not of the truth. In fact, the scripture there says that they would have itching ears and that they should turn their ears away from the truth and should be turned unto fables. So our attitude is so important to the truth because it is through the truth that we should be saved. An attitude is a state of mind or a feeling and we can have a favorable attitude toward the truth or we can have an indifferent attitude, a hostile attitude, or a bitter attitude toward the truth. Actually our attitude in all practical ways determines how we will react to that truth or our conduct toward the truth.

It was Solomon again who said in Proverbs 4 verse 23, "Keep thy heart with all diligence for out of it are the issues of life."

And so my friend, this morning, I want us to consider the proper attitude toward the truth. Maybe some of you remember when Jesus was before Pilate as is recorded in John chapter 18 as Pilate said to Him in verse 37 in John chapter 18, "Are you a king then?" Jesus answered, "You say rightly that I am a King for this cause I was born and for this cause I have come into the world that I should bear witness to the Truth. Everyone who is of the Truth hears My voice." Then Pilate said to Him as you probably remember, he made that statement, "Well, what is truth?" And when he had said this, he went out again to the Jews and said to them, "I find no fault in Him." Well Pilate, of course, I believe that we can say without any real problem here that he was indifferent toward the truth in that very statement that he made.

A knowledge of the Truth is something that saves us. For it was Jesus who said, "You shall know the Truth and the Truth shall make you free." That's John 8 and verse 32.

A belief of the Truth saves us from condemnation as Paul said in 2 Thessalonians 2 verse 13.

Actually when we obey the Truth, it purifies our souls. 1 Peter 1 verse 22 says, "Seeing you have purified your souls in obeying the Truth. See that you love one another with a pure heart fervently."

But the most damaging attitude toward Truth is not one of the ones I just mentioned, but is as has been announced today, indifference toward the Truth. This is a serious problem because it is because of indifference toward the Truth that people do not understand the Truth much less come to an obedience to the Truth.

Now there's some New Testament examples of this and I'd like to call your attention to some of them. First of all I'd like for us to turn to 2 Thessalonians chapter 2 verses 1-12. I'll read this from the New King James version of the scripture. "And with all unrighteousness, deception among those who perish because they did not receive the love of the Truth that they might be saved." These people needed to receive the love of the Truth or have a love for the Truth. And for this reason, God will send them strong delusion. He'll test them and try them that they should believe the lie that they all might be condemned who did not believe the Truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. You see, we're going to be judged by words of Truth and most people are very indifferent about that and so were some of those in the New Testament. It's a deadly attitude, an attitude that will lead us to destruction eternally.

Now we see two specific examples in the New Testament. In Acts chapter 26 verse 10 concerning the life that the apostle Paul used or actually lived in this life, you know he made reference many times to his life as he lived before he became a Christian. He was one who led Christians to their death. He was opposed to the Truth. The Truth had been on the earth in the very image of Jesus Christ the Son of God. It was Jesus who said, "I am the Way, the Truth and the Light." I'm sure that Paul had heard these words before. I know that he had and he realized that those who were following after Jesus believed that they were following after the Truth, but yet he was very indifferent toward the Truth of God's Word and towards the Truth that Jesus Christ indeed was the Son of God.

In Acts chapter 24, the apostle Paul went before Felix, the governor, and he reasoned with him concerning righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come and we know that Felix sent him away and said, "Perhaps at a more convenient season, I will call you again." Now we understand in a few verses after that the reason that Felix had him in prison for so long is so that he might receive money from the apostle Paul. He was not interested in the Truth. He was indifferent to the Truth. He didn't care anything about the Truth.

And we see that very same attitude, I would say, in most people in this world today. Are we going to look around us and say, "Well, most people respect the Truth." Could we really honestly make that statement? I mean much less people accepting the Truth in the secular world, much less in the religious world. Most people are very indifferent toward the Truth. It's not that they necessarily oppose the Truth. They don't even care about it. In fact, as Paul mentioned there in 2 Thessalonians as we just read a few moments ago, these people were so indifferent to the Truth because they did not love the Truth. Then in the religious world, we see the thrust of modernism in the theological seminaries of our countries, in our colleges and universities who hail the fact that they are religious universities, but they have no respect at all for the Truth anymore. In fact, they might ask the same question that Pilate asked, "What is Truth?" They're not really concerned about what Truth is. They simply want to know or they simply want to follow what maybe their forefathers followed no matter what the scripture might say.

But is Truth available to us today? Certainly it is. Jesus said in John 17 verse 17, "Sanctify them in thy Truth." He was speaking to His apostles. Sanctify them in thy Truth. Thy words are true." So He gave the apostles the words. The apostles passed those words on to us. Here is the embodiment of all Truth and yet people so disrespect the Word of God today and are so indifferent to the Word of God today that simply they would rather accept what man says rather than what God says. Well it teaches this indifference toward the Truth today and causes such attitudes to come out of the Christian world such as this: "Well, all that is really important is that someone is sincere." Well, was the apostle Paul sincere when he led Christians to their death? Well, certainly he was. So is all that is important is that we are sincere in what we believe? Certainly not! Colossians 3:17, Jesus said through the Holy Spirit, through the apostle Paul, the words were said, "Whatever we do in word or deed, let us do all in the name or by the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ." And as this philosophy would work nowhere else in the world, the philosophy of, "Well, all that matters is that you're sincere." People want to use it in the religious world.

My friend, this is not the case. This is not what Jesus would have us to believe. Jesus said, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life," John 14:6, "No man can come to the Father except by Me.," and as we stated before, "you shall know the Truth and the Truth shall make you free." Now the apostle Paul didn't believe that sincerity was enough because what did he do? He changed the religion of his family. He changed from the religion of his family and followed after what he knew Jesus wanted him to do because Jesus told him, "Now go into Damascus and there you will be told what you must do." Then Annanias came to him and as you can read in Acts chapter 22, it said, "Now why tarryest thou, arise and be baptized and wash away your sins calling on the name of the Lord."

But to those who are in the church, the churches of Christ, might I say this morning, indifference is not confined to those people who are irreligious. Indifference is not confined to the religious world persay but also to the Lord's church. There's not enough love for the Truth in the churches of Christ today concerning Bible subjects and concerning people's desire to have Bible answers. It was because of the ignorance of God's Word that the children of Israel fell from the faith and so it is in the Lord's church today, it is because of an ignorance of God's Word that the church is falling into apostasy. Indifference leads many a congregation into apostasy. It is indifference to the Words of Truth that causes the world to enter into the church as a whole. There are many people today who will discourage many a preacher from preaching against the very thing that Jesus died on the cross for and that is for the repentance of sins. Many people will say to their preachers today, don't preach on that subject and they'll put pressure on that preacher not to preach on a certain subject because that preacher may be preaching against sin. But I encourage you who are faithful preachers of the gospel of Christ to continue to preach to people about repentance or remission of their sins. That is very necessary in the church today. There is indifference today in the church toward those who would teach false doctrine. There's even a denomination today who is having difficulty in keeping certain types of people out of their organization, their clergy organization because they know as they read the scripture that these type of lifestyles are condemned in the New Testament as well as in the Old Testament. God has never accepted an alternative lifestyle as far as marriage is concerned or an alternative lifestyle for men and women. Therefore, many people are indifferent to that in the denominational world today, but also in the church many people are indifferent toward those who would teach false doctrine. It is clear in the scripture that those who teach false doctrine are to be opposed and those who teach false doctrine are to be encouraged to teach the Truth of God's Word. So it is because of a lack of the love for Truth that some are falling away from the Lord's church and from the favor of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

So my friend, what is your analysis of your life as far as Truth is concerned? Do you believe that Truth will save you and obedience to the Truth will save you? So what is that Truth? That Truth is revealed in God's Word. How can you be saved? Well some people say you can be saved by many different ways, but Jesus is very clear in what one must do to be saved and I'm going to test your understanding of the Truth today. Do you believe what Jesus says you must do in order to be saved? Jesus said, "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved." Do you believe that? Well read it in Mark 16 verse 16. That's what Jesus said you must do to be saved. That is the Truth that is found in God's Word. Are you willing to repent of your sins? Jesus said, "Repent or perish," Luke 13 verse 3. That's the Truth that is revealed in God's Word. Are you willing to obey that Truth or are you indifferent toward it? Are you willing to confess that Jesus Christ is the Son of God? That's what the Truth is in God's Word. Are you willing to obey it and will you be willing to be baptized into Christ for the remission of your sins? That's the Truth that is shown throughout all of the New Testament to be buried with Christ in baptism to arise in newness of life. It is through that obedience to the Truth and your desire to obey that Truth that you will have opportunity for life eternal. So I encourage you today to buy the truth and do not sell it.

(SONG # 3 - "God Is Calling The Prodigal!")

CLOSING COMMENTS

May I again take this opportunity to thank you for joining us today. I hope our time together has been an uplifting and an encouragement to all. Please remember that you are invited back to join us every first day of the week, at 7:30, as we commit ourselves to this time of Worship before God!

But for now, let me ask if you have any questions or comments about today's lesson? Maybe, you would like a free transcript or a cassette tape of this program? Possibly, we could assist you with free Bible materials or correspondence courses? No matter what your need is, please contact us at the following address:

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May we always be careful to show God's truth the respect it deserves and may we never have an attitude of indifference toward it. For it is only God's truth which is able to save our souls.

(Program closing)