John 8:31, “Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; 32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. 33 They answered him, We be Abraham's seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free? 34 Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin. 35 And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever. 36 If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.”
We are engaged in a full-scale spiritual war! Satan has equipped his army with every measure of deception in an attempt to deceive the very elect if it were possible. As the battle unfolds before us, we find ourselves desperately and almost frantically seeking to find the most essential element of our spiritual liberty which is the Truth.
Truth is a precious treasure! It is so valuable that Jesus said that when we find it, we will utilize all our resources to obtain it. Matthew 13:44, “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field. 45 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: 46Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.” Jesus compared the revelation of His Kingdom to finding a treasure hidden in a field or discovering a valuable jewel. Upon such a discovery a prudent man would sell or give up all that he may possess in order to obtain them. That is the Truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and worth the investment of a lifetime to secure.
The Truth is our salvation! 1 Timothy 4:16, “Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.” Paul had left Timothy to shepherd the Church at Ephesus. Now he is writing to him to warn of the troublesome teachers there. These teachers were apparently Jewish Christians who wanted to enforce the Old Testament Law in the Church. They wanted to be teachers of the Law though they did not understand it. 1 Timothy 1:7, “Desiring to be teachers of the law; understanding neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm.”
In the First Century as in the Twenty-First, some teachers denied that the dead are raised. Others said that Jesus never really was human, and still others said He was not divine. But, it seems that the teachers which Paul spoke about spent much time with genealogies, perhaps to exalt themselves as priests or as descendants of David. The Old Covenant Law was so mixed with tradition and fable that their teaching produced confusion instead of enlightenment. The result was questions and vain jangling. 1 Timothy 1:4, “Neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions, rather than godly edifying which is in faith: so do. 5Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned: 6From which some having swerved have turned aside unto vain jangling;” The revelation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ will not cause confusion! 1 Corinthians 14:33, “For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.” (continued)
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