Tony Evans - The Reception of Truth (08/01/2022)
God’s revealed Word is the only absolute source of truth, and for it to transform lives it must be heard, received, and obeyed. Drawing from 1 Thessalonians 2:13, 2 Timothy 4:2-4, Hebrews 4:12-13, and Psalm 19, the preacher concludes that abandoning biblical truth leads to deception and chaos, while embracing and acting on it brings restoration, wisdom, joy, and spiritual power.
The Absolute Source of Truth
God is the only absolute source who can give an absolute standard about all subjects. Therefore, the starting place to know truth is what God has revealed. It is the revelation of God.
We all know what it is to have abandoned truth, believed a lie, and paid the consequences for it. We are watching a world do that before our very eyes.
The truth, as revealed by God, in order for it to benefit us, must be received. That is why 1 Thessalonians chapter 2, verse 13 reads, “For this reason we also constantly thank God that when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but for what it really or truly is, the word of God, which also performs its work in you who believe.”
In order for the word of truth to work, it must be received. In order for the truth to do what the truth has been designed and revealed to accomplish, it must be received.
If you do not receive it, it does not change it from being the truth. It changes it from benefiting you as the truth.
Hearing the Truth
He says three things in this verse regarding receiving the truth. First of all, you have got to hear what the truth is. He says in verse 13, “You received the word which you heard from us.” You have got to receive the word. You have got to know what it is that you should be believing.
Paul told Timothy in 2 Timothy chapter 4, “I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by the appearing of His kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance with their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths.”
We are living in a day when people have turned aside to myths—good-sounding, popular myths—because they have abandoned the truth. And one of the reasons is that the truth is not being clearly proclaimed.
He says—Paul to Timothy—“You are to preach,” he says, “the word”—that is, the Scriptures—so that people get the truth. He says, “because there is coming a time when people will want their ears tickled.” They will want their ears scratched. They will not want the truth. They will just want to be placated. They will want to be made to feel good. They will want doughnut sermons.
He says, “rebuke and reprove—correct.”
The Need for Clear Proclamation
We live in a day when—instead of the Word being preached—culture is being preached, race is being preached, politics is being preached, theories are being preached rather than what God says being preached—because nobody wants to be offended.
Well, if you are believing a lie, the truth will offend you. It is going to offend you—not because we are trying to be offensive—but because that is what truth does when you are believing a lie.
We are living in a day when people cannot receive the truth because—in many places—they are not getting the truth. And when I say “truth,” I am not talking about what a person says. I am talking about what God’s Word says.
He says, “Preach the Word.” He says, “Be in season and out of season.” The Greek word for “season” means “convenient.” Preach the truth when they clap—and preach the truth when they boo.
Paul says, “Preach the word when it is convenient—when it is not convenient.”
Ezekiel 2:7—God says, “Speak My word to this rebellious house whether they like it or not.”
Jeremiah chapter 5, verses 30 and 31 says, “A horrible thing has happened to My people—and that is false prophets have taken the pulpit.”
Many people are not able to receive the truth because they are not being given the truth—and you measure the truth by the Word—not by the style, not by the personality, not by the popularity, not by the notoriety—but by its bibliocentricity—whether it is consistent with the revealed will and revelation of God.
The Living Power of God’s Word
Why should the Word trump everything else? Well, Hebrews chapter 4, verses 12 and 13 tell you: “For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of joint and marrow—and is able to judge the thoughts and intents of the heart.”
And there is no creature hidden from His sight—and all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.
He says, “The reason why you want to go to the Word is because it is alive—not a dead book.” It is a living document because it is backed up by a living person.
In verse 12 he talks about the Word of God—and then in verse 13 he says, “and His eyes are open”—because the Word of God is alive. It is backed up by the person of God.
The word “active” has to do with the word we get our English word “energized” from. It has a battery in it. It is alive.
He says it is a two-edged sword. It is not blunt. It is not blunt. It cuts on both sides. It can cut in time and cut for eternity. It cuts on both sides. It is not blunt.
It is able to penetrate to the deepest level of life. It saves and condemns.
He says it is alive—but when you leave the truth and therefore you leave the Word, you do not experience its life. It is a book that does not do anything for you.
Notice what he says. He says that the Word of God—he says is able to penetrate—“piercing into the division of the soul and the spirit.” That is called deep stuff.
This is the physical. The soul and the spirit is the immaterial. He says this thing cuts so deep—when it is allowed to be received—that it can separate what is the inseparable—the soul and the spirit.
You do not even know how to divide something like that. He can tell you what is you versus what is God. Soul—you; Spirit—God—and you do not know which one is God, which one is you.
He said if you get enough Word, it will slice that. It will get so deep.
We live in a culture today that has—as we have said throughout our series—abandoned truth—and it is all over the place. Truth about life, truth about death, truth about marriage, truth about singlehood, truth about identity, truth about government, truth about race, truth about class, truth about culture.
You know—you name the subject—and the abandonment is everywhere. And the tragedy is Christians who have itching ears too—they want to hear the latest and the greatest.
Unfortunately, we are sending a generation of kids to college how to find out how to be more ignorant because of the abandonment of truth.
And he says that the thing that should mark the church of the living God is the proclamation of truth—so that the Word can do its work—because the Word will not do its work if you are not dealing with truth.
Receiving and Acting on Truth
But let us say you are exposed to truth—as we all should be—based on the Word of God. He says then in 1 Thessalonians 2, “You received the truth.”
So the truth that is proclaimed must be received for it to work. Again, if you do not receive it, it is still the truth. It just will not do its work for you.
To receive the truth is to embrace it. That is why the Bible says in Colossians 3:16, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly.” It means it must be embraced—grabbed—held onto—inculcated.
So that raises the question, does it not? How do you embrace truth? How do you embrace truth?
James helps us with that. Let us walk through this for a moment. James chapter 1, beginning with verse 19: “This you know, my beloved brethren. But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger—for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God. Therefore, putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your soul.”
Now, these are already Christians—so he is not talking about getting saved to go to heaven. He is talking about having your life transformed on earth. So he is talking about spiritual transformation.
He says, “I want you to receive”—verse 21—he says, “receive the word implanted.”
So if you really want to see truth—if you really want to receive it—that means to welcome it—embrace it.
He then says, “Put aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness.”
He says, “Receive the word which is able to change you—to save your soul.”
When you bring human wisdom into the equation, you block the flow of truth—a blocker to the truth that keeps the truth from delivering you from whatever it is that you need to be delivered from—or anybody else you know—because you have introduced a foreign subject—and that is man’s view.
That is why 1 Thessalonians 2:13 says, “You did not receive this as the word of men. You received this as the word of God.”
You will never be full if all you do is chew and do not swallow. It may taste good—but you will never get great benefit. You have got to swallow.
The Word must be received.
And how do you help it to be received? He says in verse 22, “But prove yourselves to be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves.”
You are going to trick yourself if all you are doing is hearing it—saying, “Amen.”
“For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror—but once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten the kind of person he was.”
He says, “If all you do is hear it and do not take a step to act on it—which proves that you have embraced it”—your action proves the embrace.
In verse 25: “But one who looks intently”—oh, staring at it—“looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty”—the law that frees you up—“and abides in it”—that means you hang out with it, the truth—“not having become a forgetful hearer”—leaving the sermon at the pew when the service is over—“but an effectual doer”—because that means you have really received it—“this man will be blessed in what he does.”
The Transforming Power of God’s Word
God is after spiritual transformation—but you must hear the Word—read it, hear it proclaimed in whatever ways that happens. You must then receive it—and then, finally—because he says at the end of 1 Thessalonians 2:13, “which can perform the work for you who believe.” It performs. It works. It achieves. It accomplishes. It is not a waste of time. It accomplishes the work.
When you take hold of the Word, the Word takes hold of you. When you take hold of the Word, the Word says, “What goes around comes around”—and you begin to change your thinking, your perspective.
Oh, it does not mean you are perfect. It does not mean you do not have struggles—but you see changes. You do not react at the same level that you used to react. You are not defeated at the same level you used to be defeated—because something is changing—because the Word has been freed to take root—to lodge itself in your soul through your spirit.
So let us culminate this performance of the Word by calling your attention to a psalm. Psalm 19 is a psalm that describes the revelation of God—God revealing Himself.
He says God reveals Himself in two ways—in the world and in the Word.
Verse 1: “The heavens are telling the glory of God, and the expanse is declaring the works of His hands.” He says nature preaches a sermon—and a creation needs a Creator—just the way it is obvious.
And so he spends the first six verses talking about the fact—verse 3—“There is no speech”—nature does not talk—“nor are there words. Their voice is not heard—but the information has gone out.” It is clear in Creation the reality of Almighty God.
Then he comes to verse 7—and he wants to conclude by telling you about the Word. First the world—then the Word.
He says, first, “The law of the Lord is perfect”—and then he gives you the benefit—“restoring the soul.”
“The law”—the law is God’s rule of life—“can restore your innards.” It can turn you inside out. It can give you back the life you thought you lost.
Next, “The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.” You can count on it—sure—to help you to make the right decision—wise.
Wisdom is the ability to make good decisions in life based on God’s truth. It is the skill of righteous living. It is the skill of living life as was meant to be lived—and look at how many bad decisions all of us have made.
He says, “But the word is sure”—and you can bank on it. It will give you right decision-making.
Next, “The precepts of the Lord are right”—the precepts are the doctrines, the theology—“rejoicing the heart.”
You are lacking joy? He says when you learn sound doctrine—biblical truth—and that becomes your modus operandi—it will give you joy.
Now, why does he tell you it will give you joy? Because joy gives you inner confirmation that you made the right decision.
Next, “The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes”—that is, helping you to see clearly.
Says, “The word will help you to see—enlightening.” You are going to see. Oh, you will see behind the obvious. The curtain will be pulled back—and you will be able to see reality based on the Word.
“The fear of the Lord is clean”—he says—“enduring forever.” It will bring you fear of the Lord—taking God seriously. It will bring—you know—it endures. In other words, it does not change with time.
“The judgments”—he says—“of the Lord are true. They are righteous altogether.” They are the divine verdict—judgments. It keeps you from wandering off. It keeps you from going left—or shows you the road back if you have gone left—because you do not know which way to take to get back to where you need to be.
Oh, and by the way—he says—“They are more desirable than gold—yes, than fine gold.”
The Word of God is more important than a check. The Word of God is more important than your salary. The Word of God is more important than your bank account. The Word of God is more important than your 401—not because those things are not important and do not have their place—but you show me a person whose Bible is falling apart; I will show you a person whose life is not falling apart—because they have received the truth.
If there is a radical return to truth—then what the machine of transformation is designed to produce—it will produce—because “All scripture inspired of God is profitable for doctrine, reproof, correction, instruction in righteousness—that the man of God may be thoroughly furnished, completely equipped to live life.”
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In order for God’s Word to work in our lives, it must be activated by obedience. God’s Word is true whether we obey it or not—but it does not become our experience until we walk in that truth—until we act on that truth—until we live out that truth. Then it becomes true for us.
Go to God’s Word and find the truth. Do what it says do—so that you can experience the truth—which means you will not be living a life of falsity—but you will be living out the truth as your experience so that others can see it as you benefit from it.