Nothing But The Truth - Pastor Stacey Shiflett
- Pastor Shiflett
- May 31
- 7 min read
Nothing But The Truth
Proverbs 23:23 Buy the truth, and sell it not; also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding.
Intro:
A. The Cost of the Truth – “Buy the truth…”
What is the truth worth to you? It will cost you!!
How much are you willing to invest to have access to the truth?
How valuable is it to you?
It will cost you:
· Preconceived Ideas — opinions you formed before examining the evidence.
· Predetermined Conclusions — decisions you made before hearing the whole truth.
· Predominant Positions — beliefs you hold simply because they are familiar, popular, or traditional.
· Predictable Outcomes — the results you expected before truth disrupted your plans.
QUOTE: You cannot buy the truth while holding onto everything the truth came to correct.
B. The Companions of the Truth – “…also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding.”
When you buy the truth, you do not receive truth by itself.
Truth never travels alone.
It is accompanied by some priceless companions.
· Wisdom: the ability to apply truth rightly.
· Instruction: the willingness to be taught by truth continually.
· Understanding: the discernment to see life through the lens of truth.
Wisdom teaches us what to do.
Instruction teaches us how to do it.
Understanding teaches us why it matters and how to implement it.
Where truth is welcomed, wisdom grows, instruction is embraced, and understanding deepens.
But the opposite is equally true.
Reject the truth, and its companions leave with it.
Instead of wisdom — there is foolishness.
Instead of instruction — there is ignorance.
Instead of understanding — there is confusion.
You cannot abandon truth and expect clarity.
You cannot reject truth and reap wisdom.
You cannot sell the truth without severing ties to its companions.
C. The Compromise of the Truth — “…and sell it not…”
Truth must never be traded, twisted, or tossed aside.
Once truth has been purchased, it must be protected.
It must not be exchanged for a message that is more “relevant,” more acceptable, or less offensive.
Truth is not ours to editorialize, rationalize, sanitize, or modernize.
It must not be sold for:
Power — changing the message to gain influence.
Position — compromising our convictions to secure advancement.
Prestige — sacrificing truth for recognition or applause or support
Possessions — putting a higher premium on material gain than above eternal truths
Popularity — abandoning truth to win approval from the crowd.
The temptation to sell the truth is always present.
· Some sell it for comfort – the truth can make people very uncomfortable
· Some sell it for convenience – advocating truth is harder than pushing lies
· Some sell it for acceptance - the pull of popular approval outweighs the benefits of truth
· Some sell it to avoid criticism, conflict, or cost. – holding to truth can isolate you
But whatever the price offered, truth is far too valuable to sell.
You may pay dearly for the truth, but you cannot afford to lose it.
Here are two strong biblical examples of people who “sold the truth.”
Example 1: Judas Iscariot
Matthew 26:14-16
· Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went unto the chief priests,
· And said unto them, What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you?
· And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver.
Judas knew the truth.
He walked with Truth incarnate.
He heard the sermons, saw the miracles, and witnessed the sinless life of Christ.
Yet he sold the truth for thirty pieces of silver.
Example 2: Pontius Pilate
John 18:37-38
· 37 Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice.
· 38 Pilate saith unto him, What is truth? And when he had said this, he went out again unto the Jews, and saith unto them, I find in him no fault at all.
Pilate knew Jesus was innocent.
· 38 I find in him no fault at all.
· Luke 23:4 I find no fault in this man.
But when the crowd cried louder and political pressure mounted, Pilate surrendered truth to preserve his position.
The word “truth” is found 224 times.
The phrase “the truth” is found 82 times.
Part 2
I. The Source of the Truth
Pilate stared Jesus in the face and asked, “What is truth?”
God is truth
· Deuteronomy 32:4 He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he.
· Romans 3:4 God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar;
Jesus Christ is truth.
· John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
· Revelation 19:11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.
The Holy Spirit is truth.
· John 14:17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.
· John 15:26 But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:
· John 16:13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.
The Word of God is truth.
· Psalms 119:142 Thy righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and thy law is the truth.
· John 17:17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.
The house of God is the pillar and ground of the truth.
· 1 Timothy 3:15 But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.
II. The Sinner and the Truth
They can refuse to believe the truth. (it is a choice)
· 2 Thessalonians 2:12 That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
They can avoid the truth.
· Jeremiah 9:3 And they bend their tongues like their bow for lies: but they are not valiant for the truth upon the earth; for they proceed from evil to evil, and they know not me, saith the LORD.
· Jeremiah 9:5 And they will deceive every one his neighbour, and will not speak the truth: they have taught their tongue to speak lies, and weary themselves to commit iniquity.
They can miss the truth.
· 2 Timothy 3:7 Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.
They can resist the truth.
· 2 Timothy 3:8 Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith.
They can turn away their ears from the truth.
· 2 Timothy 4:4 And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.
They can change the truth into a lie.
Romans 1
· 24 Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:
· 25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.
They can lie against the truth.
· James 3:14 But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth.
They can be destitute of the truth.
· 1 Timothy 6:5 Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself.
The word destitute: deprived, robbed, stripped, lacking what is necessary for survival.
It is a person who is spiritually bankrupt.
Paul describes these men as having:
· Corrupt Minds – Their thinking has been polluted. They no longer reason from truth but from pride, tradition, or personal agenda.
· Perverse Disputings – They thrive on argument, controversy, and endless debate rather than sincere pursuit of truth.
· Counterfeit Theology – “Supposing that gain is godliness.” They measure spirituality by advantage, influence, money, or outward success.
To be destitute of the truth is a tragedy because truth is not a luxury — it is a necessity.
Notice Paul’s instruction: “from such withdraw thyself.”
III. The Saint and the Truth
We can know the truth.
John 8:32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
1 Timothy 2:4 Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.
1 John 2:21 I have not written unto you because ye know not the truth, but because ye know it, and that no lie is of the truth.
We can err from the truth.
· James 5:19 Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him;
We should be OF the truth.
· 1 John 3:19 And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him.
We should speak truth in your heart.
Psalm 15
· 1 LORD, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill?
· 2 He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart.
We should obey the truth.
· 1 Peter 1:22 Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently:
We should rejoice in the truth.
· 1 Corinthians 13:6 Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;
We should walk in truth.
2 Corinthians 4:2 But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.
2 John 1:4 I rejoiced greatly that I found of thy children walking in truth, as we have received a commandment from the Father.
3 John 1:4 I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.
