Our text for this week is Ephesians 4:25:
When we think of truth and error, we often relate it to doctrinal truth and error. Doctrinal truth is of course important, but walking in truth requires far more than just doctrinal truth. We can know all doctrines accurately, but if we are prone to deception and cheating in our relationship with others, we are walking in deception and promoting the kingdom of darkness instead of the kingdom of God.
One of the most basic contrasts between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of darkness is that God’s kingdom is built upon truth, but the power of the evil one is deception. The devil is the father of lies, but grace and truth are realized through Jesus. Therefore, the more firmly we are established in the kingdom of God, the more devoted to truth we will be. Likewise, every deception that we allow to remain in our life will be an open door for the evil one into our lives.
Because this present world is so full of deception, one of the greatest treasures that we can have is truth. One of the greatest gifts that we can have to help us navigate through this life is the ability to discern truth from lies. Seeking truth, and the discernment for distinguishing it should therefore be a basic devotion of every Christian. The foundation for this is our own devotion to truth without compromise.
As we are told in II Thessalonians 2:10, we must not only have the truth in the last days, but we must have “the love of the truth” to keep from being deceived. There can be a big difference between having truth and loving it. We can want truth, even doctrinal truth, for many evil reasons, such as just proving our own positions, or to attack churches or others who may have some doctrinal error. Those who have a sincere love of the truth should also walk in love when they use the truth. Only then will we use the truth that we have been entrusted with is to help set others free, not to attack them.
One deception that we have seen frequently seduce people is the lie that if they are doing things which are not in their heart then they are hypocrites. Many have fallen into drug use or illicit sex because they feel that they are not following their true heart if they do not do what they desire to do. This may seem foolish to some, but deception is very deceptive, and many are falling to this foolishness.
We are not being an “honest” person by doing what is in our heart in such cases—we are being a carnal, sinful person. Doing what we feel is not how we walk in truth, but how we walk in the evil, fallen nature while denying Christ. Truth is not a feeling—truth is a Person. Jesus is the Truth. Walking in truth is abiding in Him. Would Jesus do the things we feel compelled to do? As He prayed in John 17:17, "Sanctify them in the truth; Thy word is truth.” Following carnal desires because it is what we desire to do is not being true to ourselves, but submitting to the ultimate lie—the very same lie that deceived Eve. This is not an issue of whether we are being true to who we really are as much as whether we are going to live by the flesh or the Spirit, as we are told in Romans 8:5-9:
For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace,
because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so;
and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him.
To walk in truth we must “deny ourselves,” or our fallen, carnal natures, crucify them, and determine that obedience to God and pleasing Him is more important to us than any other personal gratification that we could have. In John 14:6 Jesus said, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me.” In John 4:23-24, He says, "But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."
As our text for this week exhorts us to “lay aside all falsehood,” this begins with us laying aside our tendency to deceive ourselves by trying to justify that which is clearly forbidden by the Scriptures and is a violation of the Spirit of God who lives in us. As John 3:21 states, "But he who practices the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God."
In John 8:32 we are told, “and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. " The truth is that you were created too noble, too exalted as a child of the most high God to continue submitting yourself to the base lies of the enemy and to obey him rather than the King that you gave your life, and body to.