Title: Tell the Truth
2010.5.23 Sunday morning service sermon
Bible: Ephesians 4:23-25
Title: Tell the Truth
Ephesians 4:23-25 ‘23. be renewed in spirit only, 24. Put on the new man, which after God was created in righteousness and holiness of truth, 25. Wherefore, putting away falsehood, let each one speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members of one another.”
-Amen.
The special difference between man and beast is that he speaks.
As precious as words are, God judges our words.
Matthew 12:36 “... whatever a man speaks for nothing, he will be judged on the day of judgment.”
If you lie and embarrass your neighbors, you will be punished.
Psalm 5:6 “He will destroy the liars...”
Proverbs 21:6 “Gathering wealth with deceitful words seeks death.”
Verse 25 ‘the truth’ is the Greek word, ale deia (ajlhvqeia), which means truth, truth (Jesus, John 14:6).
We would like to share the sermon with the theme of <Speak the truth>.
1. You must admit that you are usually a good liar.
Originally, humans were created to be honest, but after being influenced by a snake when they committed original sin, they became good at lying.
Ecclesiastes 7:29 “...God made man upright, but man has devised many schemes.”
He said to the Jewish religious leaders at the time that he was good at the Bible.
Matthew 23:27 “… like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but inside are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness.”
John 8:44 “You are of your father the devil… and the truth is not in him…”
About a couple of lies that people tell in everyday life
1) Saying you are innocent and boasting about yourself
When we say that we believe in Jesus and our sins are forgiven, we mean that we have been granted forgiveness of original sins and eternal redemption. But even if you believe until you go to heaven, you commit moral, social, and volitional sins. Therefore, the life of repentance must continue. The Salvation Sect (Ock Soo Park) teaches that there is no sin, but it is a lie.
1 John 1:8 “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.”
2) Just saying you love your brother
These days, there are a lot of good expressions such as serving brothers and the local community, etc., but when it comes to agape love, it is not.
1 John 3:15-18 ‘15. ....by this we know love, since he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for our brethren... let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and truth.'
They say that they are a love community and serve only in words, without giving any help, let alone their lives, are all lies.
2. We must first become spiritually new
Text Ephesians 4:23 “Be renewed in the spirit”
A person's spiritual state does not change qualitatively, and the more the world fills it, the more he commits sins. Man must first change his soul anew, and only God can do this eventual change. Because God created the soul and He is the master of the soul.
Mark 10:27 “...with men this is impossible, but not with God, for with God all things are possible.”
Even if you travel around the capital city to find your self philosophically, in the end, your inner self does not change and you return to your original place. Therefore, you should give up your efforts to change yourself and try to meet the Lord only.
2 Timothy 3:7 “Always learning, but never able to come to the knowledge of the truth”
In the case of Nicodemus, a Jewish ruler, he came to Jesus himself and had a conversation. In the words of that time,
John 3:3 “...Unless a man is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
If you look later (John 19:39), you will see that Nicodemus has become a believer and follower of Jesus. Meeting the Lord is a blessing that will bring you a great turning point in your life.
Paul, as a Jewish lawyer, persecuted the Jesuits, met the Lord on the road and was changed in an instant. The way to meet the Lord is to meet people who are ministers of the Bible, the church, and the Word, and who serve God rightly.
3. The power to change is the word of truth
It is said that the history that sanctifies is the truth.
Ephesians 4:24 “Put on the new man, which after God was created in righteousness and true holiness”
John 17:17 “Sanctify them by the truth, for your word is truth.”
1 Peter 1:23 “You have been born again… by the word”
The world is under the control of the devil, so they lie every day. The reason that honest things are so hard to find in the world is because we live by the false spirit of the devil.
Why do we have to tell the truth
Ephesians 4:25 “Speak the truth, for we are members of one another.”
If brothers and sisters exchange lies, they are no longer brothers.
Romans 12:9 says that if you truly love, you will not lie.
God requires sinners to always confess their sins to the Lord with honest words and always confess their sins to the Lord with an honest spirit rather than a large amount of offering or a confession of faith expressed in words, but always tell the truth and be careful not to lie. will be Then I hope you believe that blessings will follow you.