“And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (Jn. 8:32). “Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth” (Jn. 17:17). “You are near, O Lord, and all your commandments are truth” (Psa. 119:151). “The entirety of Your word is truth, and every one of your righteous judgments endures forever” (Psa. 119:160). “Buy the truth, and do not sell it, also wisdom and instruction and understanding” (Prov. 23:23).

The preceding Scriptures, and countless others, refer to “truth,” what it is, and what it can do. God’s “word is truth” (Jn. 17:17). God’s “truth” can make one “free” from the bondage of sin (Jn. 8:32). Through God’s truth one can be sanctified, hallowed, or set apart to the service of God, etc., etc. However, in order for “truth” to accomplish its divine intent in our hearts and lives, it has to be obeyed (1 Pet. 1:22), but in order for it to be obeyed we must “know the truth” (Jn. 8:32). But before we can really know the truth, we must have the proper attitude toward truth. Tragically, however, history is filled with many examples of those who had an improper attitude toward truth.

Examples of Some Who Had An Improper Attitude Toward Truth

1. Apostate Judah, the Southern Kingdom. God instructed Jeremiah to “...say to them. This is a nation that does not obey the voice of the Lord their God nor receive correction. Truth has perished and has been cut off from their mouth” (Jer. 7:28). In fact, their attitude toward truth was so bad that God told Jeremiah to “Run to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem; see now and know; and seek in her open places if you can find a man, if there is anyone who executed judgment, who seeks the truth...” (Jer. 5:1).

2. The apostate Jews described by Isaiah. Note Isaiah 59:14: “Justice is turned back, and righteousness stands afar off; for truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter.” With truth having “fallen in the street,” is it any wonder that the people’s hands were “defiled with blood,” v. 3; that they trusted “in empty words” and spoke “lies,” v. 4; that their “feet” ran “to evil,” v. 7; that “justice” was “far from” them, v. 9; that they looked “for justice” and found “none,” v. 11; that their “transgressions” were “multiplied against” God, v. 12, etc.?

3. The Gentiles described in Romans 1:18 – people who suppressed “the truth in unrighteousness.” With this attitude, though they once “knew God,” they “did not glorify Him as God,” their “foolish heart was darkened,” they professed themselves “to be wise,” but “became fools,” they “changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man,” “served the creature rather than the Creator,” were given over “to vile passions,” and committed every conceivable immorality? Cf. vs. 20-23 and 25-26.

If One has The Proper Attitude Toward Truth He will:

1. Love the truth. When the apostle Paul penned the second letter to the saints at Thessalonica he warned of a coming apostasy. And one significant factor leading to that departure from the faith was that many “did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved,” who therefore “did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness” (2 Thess. 2:10, 12). One who really loves the truth will make every effort to “buy the truth, and sell it not” (Prov. 23:23). He will gladly surrender his own preconceived opinions, family traditions, and the doctrines and commandments of men in order to embrace the truth.

2. He will seek to “rightly” divide “the word of truth” (2 Tim. 2:15). This will require much study, much effort, and a determination to analyze every verse in its proper context.

3. He will regard divine truth as inspired of God. Indeed, “all Scripture is given by inspiration of God” (2 Tim. 3:16). The Holy Spirit Who “knows the things of God,” revealed those “things” in “words” to inspired men, and they were written down for our information and guidance (1 Cor. 2:11-13; Eph. 5).

4. He will regard divine truth as complete. Jesus said the Holy Spirit would guide the apostles “into all truth” (Jn. 16:13). Peter, an inspired apostle, said “His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue” (2 Pet. 1:3). If “all truth” was revealed in the life time of the apostles, this leaves no room for the doctrine of “progressive revelation,” the claims of Joseph Smith and the book of Mormon, the hallucinations of Ellen G. White, or a host of others who claim, or have claimed to have received special “revelations” beyond what is contained in the Bible!

5. He will regard truth as understandable! The truths proclaimed by the apostle Paul were “revealed by the Spirit;” they were written down in words, and Paul said “by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ” (Eph. 3:3-5). The saints at Ephesus were admonished to “not be unwise,” but to “understand what the will of the Lord is” (Eph. 5:17). Would we be commanded to “understand...the will of God” if it were impossible? God forbid!

6. He will obey the truth. Peter wrote his first epistle to those who had “purified” their souls “in obeying the truth” (1 Pet 1:22). And having obeyed the truth, one must continue to “walk in the truth” (3 Jn. 4; Psa. 86:11).

7. He will hate error! David said “I love Your commandments more than gold, yes, than fine gold! Therefore all Your precepts concerning all things I consider to be right; I hate every false way” (Psa. 119:127, 128). Properly understood, it is impossible to “love” truth without hating error! Worded differently, one’s hatred of error is in direct proportion to his love of truth. The “Christian” who can be indifferent toward religious error should honestly question his love for truth!

8. He will “test the spirits!” An inspired apostle admonished, saying, “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world” (1 Jn. 4:1). The Bereans were described as “fair minded...in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so” (Acts 17:11). Any preacher can be wrong! God is always right! His law is “perfect” (Jas. 1:25). A man’s message is only right if it measures up exactly with what the Bible teaches. And any preacher “worth his salt,” and worthy of respect, wants the people in his audience to compare what he says with what the Bible teaches. A failure to do so could contribute to his being a blind leader, and his audience being blind followers, and all headed for the proverbial “ditch” (Matt. 15:14).

9. He will expose teachers of error! The apostle Paul, whose love for the truth, was unquestioned, urged the saints at Rome to “note those who cause divisions and offenses, contrary to the doctrine” they had learned; he described them as serving “their own belly,” and using “smooth words and flattering speech,” to “deceive the hearts of the simple” (Rom. 16:17, 18). Teachers of error should not be ignored; they should be exposed! Hymenaeus and Philetus were identified by name as having “strayed concerning the truth, saying that the resurrection is past already,” and were charged with overthrowing “the faith of some” (2 Tim. 2:17, 18).

Conclusion: As it relates to the destiny of our souls, nothing is more precious than the truth. Let us each make certain that we have the proper attitude toward the truth, that we “rightly” divide the truth, that we “walk in the truth,” and that we be “fellow workers for the truth” (2 Tim. 2:15; 3 Jn. 3 & 8).