July 15, 2010 The Truth Is...

July 15, 2010
Read Jeremiah 37 - 39

Jer 37:16-17 Jeremiah was put into a vaulted cell in a dungeon, where he remained a long time. 17 Then King Zedekiah sent for him and had him brought to the palace, where he asked him privately, “Is there any word from the LORD?”

Jer 38:20-22 “Obey the LORD by doing what I tell you. Then it will go well with you, and your life will be spared. 21 But if you refuse to surrender, this is what the LORD has revealed to me:

Jer 39:18 I will save you; you will not fall by the sword but will escape with your life, because you trust in me, declares the LORD.’”

DO YOU hold back the truth? When you see someone doing something dramatically wrong, do you tell them? Or not?

Often we keep the truth a secret because we don’t want to offend someone. Sadly, the Christian mindset is this: Pointing out sin to someone is judging them.

But it’s not. Scripturally spoken, telling someone that they are sinning is an act of love that points them to right living with others, with God, and hopefully, eternal life!
But we hold back because we don’t trust that the Truth saves people from their sin.

Our sin shames us. Submitting to that shame and saying, “I am a sinner.” means I must release my life from those harmful “pleasures” and live right in God’s sight. But sadly, we love the lie of sin and hate the truth of salvation.

God’s people rejected God’s accusing words spoken through Jeremiah. They asked for God’s Word, but they hated the message. And Jeremiah suffered.

But Jeremiah trusted God’s truth and stood God’s ground to speak the truth. The truth is, we must tell the truth. The truth is, only the Truth saves.