THE TRUTH—LOVE IT, OR LOSE IT!
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BEFORE a person can be saved, he must love, respect, and believe the truth. He must recognize its value for what it is, and especially in contrast with that which is false. Christ asserted, "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me" (John 14:6). In praying to God the Father, Jesus said, "Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth" (John 17:17). Christ was the embodiment of the truth, and the Word of God the revelation of it. If we do not love and appreciate the truth, we will lose it (even after accepting it). It is that simple. Delusion and error will take its place.
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-- I --
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The Great Apostasy
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 This truth is brought out when the apostle Paul told the Thessalonians about the great falling away that would come before Christ came back. Having warned them of this apostasy, he concludes what he had to say with these words, "…Because they received not the love of the truth that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness" (II Thessalonians 2:10b-12). Nothing could be plainer, could it? Love it, or lose it.
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The Product of Paganism
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 The same truth is alluded to in the first chapter of Romans, only here Paul goes back to the earliest of times in history to illustrate it. From creation all of mankind knew (or knew of) the true God. However, that was not true for long; the situation changed. We are told that finally "they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened" (1:21). They "changed the truth of God into a lie, and…For this cause God gave them up" (1:25,26). Delusion sets in. They become steeped in idolatry and the perverted practices of sodomy (and wrongs of all kind). (Read Romans 1:18-32). That describes the Gentile world in Paul’s day.
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"Buy the Truth"
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 How we need to recognize the priceless value of truth, love it, and appreciate it! This is most important. Proverbs, that great book of wisdom, admonishes, "Buy the truth, and sell it not; also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding" (Proverbs 23:23). Jesus gave two parables that vividly illustrate this. He said, "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. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it" (Matthew 13:44-46)
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"No Greater Joy"
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 The apostle John knew this unexcelled joy in association with truth. He wrote to Gaius, "The elder unto the wellbeloved Gaius, whom I love in the truth. Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth. For I rejoiced greatly, when the brethren came and testified of the truth that is in thee, even as thou walkest in the truth. I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in the truth." (III John 1-4). Yes, Love "rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth" (I Corinthians 13:6).
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Complimentary Elements
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 Truly, love and truth compliment and amplify one another. Psalms 85:10 has other elements, besides the love of truth, beautifully merging with truth. Notice. "Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other." Then love and truth combined have a bearing on the way truth is spoken. Not only are we to love the truth or lose it, Ephesians 4:15 says that we are to be "speaking the truth in love."
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-- II --
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 Let us get back to what we were saying. Great and wonderful as truth is, we will lose it if we don’t love it. If we do not truly love the truth, we will become bored by that "old, old story we have heard so long" and lust for something else. We will want to be in vogue with the times. We may think it is too dogmatic, too "strait and narrow." Not "modern" enough. A materialistic mindset and an inclination of wanting to reshape Christianity into a materialistic mold may be a factor. "Let’s make Christianity more compatible and palatable to the world."
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The Solemn Charge to Timothy
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 Thoughts of this nature may have been in Paul’s mind when he wrote II Timothy. He would soon die a martyr. Hard times were in store for the church. A modified message might be better, some would think. In view of this, Paul solemnly admonished, "I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick [living] and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; Preach the word; be instant [ready] in season [eu-kairos, good seasons], out of season [a-kairos, no season at all]; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time [kairos, season] will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry [fulfil thy ministry]" (II Timothy 4:1-5).
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Lusting for Something Else
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 Did you notice what Paul said? It was because of "their own lusts" they would turn away their ears from the truth and be turned to fables. That was the factor involved. Men love the truth, but when they tire of it, they LUST for something else. Lust is unlawful desire.
 This is what happened to the children of Israel in the wilderness. The lord God graciously provided them manna from heaven, as they had their needs met, but they became tired of it. We read, "And the mixt multitude that was among them fell a lusting: and the children of Israel also wept again, and said, Who shall give us flesh to eat? We remember the fish, which we did eat in Egypt freely; the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlick: But now our soul is dried away: there is nothing at all, beside this manna, before our eyes" (Numbers 11:4-6).
 And that is just exactly what happens when men no longer love the truth. It may be the mixed multitude in our midst that lusts first and cries out for fleshly things. (And the mixed multitude of unconverted people seems to be always with us). Then, it isn’t long until the whole church can be carried away with this mentality. "The Scriptures are boring; we need something more exciting and different. The Bible doesn’t really mean that." Obviously they don’t love the truth and are ready to lose it.
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Problems in Our Society
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 Yes, there are so many things in our society today that would make man inclined to lust after something else, or not really highly esteem or love the truth in the first place. In fact, the very nature of our society itself is a basic part of the problem. Our society is multi-cultured with hundreds of religious denominations. Couple that with the mindset of subjective relativism, and we really have a mess. The unique and distinctive edge of truth is knocked off as truth and error are homogenized together to make up the mixed-up, modern mindset. In such a context, truth and error are equally esteemed. The distinguishing of truth from error doesn’t seem to enter the average person’s mind. "I’m okay, you’re okay" is the great American way. "It doesn’t make any difference what you believe, just so long as you are sincere." Truth is not loved and esteemed as the truth, and, therefore, truth is lost. Love it, or lose it!
 There is much extra expounding that could be done on this subject, but we think the point has been established by our repeated emphasis in this brief article: THE TRUTH, love it, or lose it! Initially, if we do not highly esteem and love the truth, we cannot be saved. Then if we do not continue to highly esteem, love and be thankful for the truth, we will not keep it for long. We will be deceived and enter into a state of delusion as we lust after things other than the truth.
 Again: THE TRUTH, love it, or lose it! 
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(from VOL. 36, NO. 4, 1998)
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