The Truth Shall Make You Free — Sermon by Rev. Steve Dantin

please be

seated you know with Thanksgiving coming

up on us uh many of us will have the

opportunity to be around relatives some

of us uh and uh I think every family

probably has a relative that uh they

might view as somewhat

peculiar uh I had such a relative he was

my Uncle Ronald he was uh married to my

uh paternal grandmother's sister my Aunt

Grace so he was my uncle by marriage

Uncle Ronald was a was a Baptist

Minister I first came to to know him

when I was a small kid he was first uh

uh pastor of the First Baptist Church in

Greenwood

Mississippi and things kind of went not

sort of downhill from him Uncle Ronald

was the kind of guy that that had uh he

had all the answers for just about

everything and he was very opinionated

and uh if you need an an answer on any

subject he could absolutely give you

that answer and uh after he left

Greenwood Mississippi he went to DLo

Mississippi and he was the first Baptist

uh pastor of the First Baptist Church in

DLo Mississippi and then believe it or

not if I'm lying I'm dying after he left

D Mississippi he went to Olo

Mississippi Olo is a wide spot in the

road halfway between Hattisburg uh and

Colombia Mississippi uh I'm familiar

with both of those two towns I went to

the university I graduated from the

University of Southern Mississippi in

Hattisburg and I was born in Colombia

had a lot of relatives in Colombia I

worked in Colombia on weekends as a disc

jockey and so uh I would pass through

Olo going back and forth to school and

uh one thing that Uncle Ronald could do

uh is the man could plant a vegetable

garden I mean he could The Joker could

he could grow some groceries and and my

aunt was a good cook now Uncle Ronald

looked a lot like and I know I'm maging

myself here he looked a lot like

President lynon Johnson he had sort of a

an expression of a studious buffoonery

kind of

like my fellow

Americans I come to you tonight anyway

that that was his his expression well I

love to go there coming back between uh

uh Columbia and going back to school and

on Sunday nights my aunt would fix

Sunday dinner and I always had an open

invitation and the food was great so I

always took him up on that invitation

and Uncle Ronald's crowning uh uh

achievement in his garden was

strawberries I mean he could flat grow

some strawberries and every Sunday

evening for dessert he would have a bowl

of vanilla ice cream covered in

strawberries well also what happened on

Sunday nights was the Ed Sullivan Show

would come on again I'm aging myself

most people don't know who Ed Sullivan

is maybe may have seen him if you're

under UH 60 uh on YouTube but if you

were ever uh to become a star in the

United States you had to appear on The

Ed Sullivan Show uh Michael Jackson uh

Elvis Presley uh The Beatles I could go

on and on and on appeared on The Ed

Sullivan Show also Jim Henson and his

Muppets would appear on The Ed sullon

Show and this particular Sunday night

Uncle Ronald was sitting there watching

The Muppets come on The Ed Sullivan Show

as he was eating his bowl of ice

cream then he made a pro profound

statement

you know that's not a real

pig I said Uncle R I believe you're

right about that he said shoot you

right Pig wouldn't wear a dress like

that I mean not with them

shoes Uncle Ronald had a way of of

making pronouncements that were uh in in

light of his own truth claim in this

case he got it right but you never know

what might be coming out of his

mouth you know people today often talk

about the concept of my truth and the

opinion that truth is relative and

completely determined by their own point

of

view so with that in mind let's

pray heavenly father in this confused

culture and world that we live in truth

is under attack

but truth is

fundamentally about who you

are you know the truth you are the truth

you are the Fountain Head of all truth

as all truth comes from

you help us to know and love and

understand you all the more so that we

may have that Divine reference point to

determine what is

true and what is not

true you know as Christians we need to

have a sense that there is absolutely no

direction or facet of life to which we

can head in which God has not spoken

there's no facet or sphere in which God

has not given us the answers to the

fundamental questions of life now this

includes science philosophy ethics

Church community social order family

state law arts and media labor and

history each of these areas overlap and

they are indeed the building blocks for

an ultimate framework for a Biblical

world

viw based upon God's ultimate and

absolute truth and as we understand the

magnitude of what God has done in this

Arena it's life transforming the point

point of following Jesus isn't simply so

that we can be sure of going to a better

place than where we are after we die

it's so that the kingdom of God can

break into this present world through us

right

now but first it begs this

question why did Jesus Come into the

world you know there's so many answers

to that question but you as we

understand from today's Gospel Jesus

actually very objectively and very

specifically answers this question the

answers as I've said is in today's

Gospel and you may be familiar with this

scene Jesus is standing before Pilate

now can you imagine the angels in heaven

leaning forward to hear the answer that

Jesus is about to give because the king

and creator of the universe is standing

before a ruler of Earth and he's about

to tell him why he was born he'd been

silent all through the night during the

entire trial but now Jesus begins to

speak so let's pick it up in John

18 pilate then went back inside the

palace and he summoned Jesus and asked

him are you the king of the Jews is that

your own idea Jesus asked or did others

talk to you about me am I a Jew pilate

replied your own people and chief

priests handed you over to me what is it

you've done Jesus said my kingdom is not

of this world if it were my servants

would fight to prevent my arrest by the

Jewish leaders but now my kingdom is

from another place you are a king then

said pilate Jesus answered you say that

I'm King in fact the reason that I was

born and the reason I came into the

world is to testify

to the

truth now one really knows that you

testify uh in accord of law most most

most times and there's a trial going on

and and in which Jesus has just told us

is the reason for his

Incarnation and what is on trial is the

truth and we are familiar with this uh

this issue of Jesus being on the witness

stand but because that's what all four

gospels are they are the witness stand

of Jesus testifying to the truth the

entirety of the four gospels attest to

that in the Book of Matthew alone he

says I tell you the truth over 75 times

in the Gospel of John truly truly I say

to you over 25 times now this is

prominent throughout all of the

scriptures John 1:17 says for the law

John 1:17

was given through Moses but Grace and

Truth came through Jesus Christ John

John 14:6

14:6 I am the excuse me I am the way the

truth and the life no one comes to the

father except through me now there's no

problem talking about Jesus as being the

way or the life but what does he mean

when he says he is the

truth John

John 17:17

17:17 sanctify them by the truth your

word is truth

God is spirit and his worshippers must

Worship in spirit and in truth and of

course John 8:32 then you will know the

John 8:32

truth and the truth will set you free

truth is what sets captives free Jesus

comes to ex exemplify and radiate

absolute truth and he sets captives free

not to open the prison doors of the

truly guilty but to free us from the

Captor

and what takes us

captive lies and it's the truth that

sets us

free Jesus once again in today's Gospel

says I will ask the father and he will

give you another helper or counselor to

be with you forever the spirit of Truth

and when he says in John 16:13 but when

John 16:13

he the spirit of truth comes he will

guide you into all truth we're getting a

picture now that truth just might be

extremely

important first Timothy says this is

good and pleases God our savior who

wants all men to be

saved and come to a knowledge of the

truth when we begin to study this we're

finding that there's a very close link

between the issue of

Salvation and the issue of Truth

in Ephesians 6 we're enjoined to put on

the armor of God and the very first

piece of the armor the belt of Truth the

last piece of armor the sword of the

spirit

truth even the Old Testament is fill

with this issue it was the prophets

lament Isaiah cried truth has stumbled

in the streets Jeremiah truth is

perished it's vanished from their lips

Isaiah again truth is nowhere to be

found but an interesting statement is

made by Paul as he's writing to Timothy

and he says this Jesus who while

testifying before pilot made the good

confession pointing back to the moment

when Jesus stood before Pilate in

today's Gospel and stated that he had

come to

testify to the

truth so how do we respond how do we

react to the

truth the scripture tells us the time

will come when men will not put up with

sound Doctrine instead to suit their own

desires they'll gather around them a

great number of teachers to say what

their itching ears want to hear they

will turn their ears away from the truth

and turn aside to

myths you know we suppress the truth we

distort the truth we reject the truth

and follow evil and we exchange the

truth of God for a

lie again Jesus before Pilate for this

reason I was born came into the world to

testify to the truth and what's

interesting is Jesus next words he then

says everyone who is of the truth that's

in the English Standard Version that uh

uh d s read everyone who is of the truth

or if it's an NIV everyone on the side

of Truth listens to me the implication

here is that there is another side that

there are

sides now this doesn't play well with

our tolerant world this idea being sides

can't we just all get along but Jesus is

actually bifurcating the world here

everyone on the side of Truth listens to

me the scripture is so consistent first

John we are from God and whoever knows

God listens to us but whoever is not

from God does not listen to us this is

how we

recognize the spirit of truth and the

spirit of

falsehood this is what Dr Dale tacket

who was the organizer and facilitator of

the truth project calls the cosmic

battle this battle between truth and

lie and it is the battle that has raged

from the very beginning of creation the

moment that Satan entered in the garden

his immediate words were did God really

say you will not surely die and we saw

it from the very beginning a lie that

countered God's truth and the LIE

continues to this

day you know it makes one Wonder uh when

God created the crown jewel of his

creation man and he explains to the

Heavenly Host all the angels in heaven

before he he he creates man

uh he explains to the Heavenly Host

about man having a free will we wonder

if this might be the Catalyst of

jealousy and pride for the Archangel

Lucifer also known as Satan before his

fall God lays out that man can think and

create and procreate and that he's a

free agent who can

choose to worship Him and Satan's

enraged and he walks away saying yeah

lay out another truth claim and we'll

see if he chooses to worship you he then

enters the garden laying out his claims

of did God really say you will not

surely die and all of creation hangs in

suspense to see if we choose God's truth

claims or

Satan's and we chose

poorly and the rest of the book is

played out and the battle rages on

second Thessalonians the coming of the

Lawless one will be in accordance with

the works of Satan displayed in all

kinds of counterfeit miracles signs and

wonders and in every sort of evil that

deceives those who are perishing they

perish because they refuse to love the

truth and so be saved now there's

another connection to Salvation for this

reason reason God sends them a powerful

delusion so that all will be condemned

who have not believed the truth but have

delighted in

wickedness but we ought always to thank

God for you Brothers loved by the Lord

because from the beginning God chose you

to be saved how through the sanctifying

work of the spirit which is the spirit

of Truth and through belief in that

truth once again how closely linked is

the issue of Salvation with the issue of

Truth

absolute

truth probably the greatest biblical

narrative about this battle and the

underlying issues associated with it

comes in John 8 Jesus is speaking and

the issue of the father comes up and the

Jews say Abraham is Our Father and Jesus

says no you have another father then

they say God is our Father and Jesus

says no God is not your father then he

says a shocking statement he says you

belong to your father the devil and you

want to carry out your father's desire

he was a murderer from the beginning not

holding to the truth for there is no

truth in him when he lies he speaks his

native

language for he is a liar and the father

of all lies yet because I tell you the

truth truth you do not believe me if I

am telling the truth why don't you

believe me he who belongs to God hears

what God says the reason you do not hear

is that you do not belong to

God that is Jesus

speaking if what Jesus is saying is

true and it is he's describing our

sinful nature he's describing why we

find ourselves wanting to do the lies of

the World the Flesh and the devil World

the Flesh and the devil doesn't that

sound so fundamental for an Anglican

Church you don't hear that too often in

an Anglican Church here at the Baptist

Church well let me translate for you

world of the Flesh and the devil Society

our sinful nature and the enemy of our

souls that's the World the Flesh and the

devil we do these things because our

nature wants to do them how often have I

done them and followed them and then

said how

stupid and I feel like some of you may

have done the same thing you know

there's a close connection between sin

and deceit and deceit is simply a lie

Romans 7 sin deceived me 2 Thessalonians

every sort of evil that deceives those

who are perishing Ephesians 4 put off

your old self which is being corrupted

by its deceitful desires Hebrews 3 so

that none of you may be hardened by

sin's

deceitfulness what we really see here is

an antithesis between the true claims of

God and the lies and illusions of the

World the Flesh and the devil on the one

side we can look at truth and the truth

claims of God and then ask ourselves

well what does the world say about this

for instance if you look at the issue of

unity as in for this man this this

reason a man shall leave his father and

mother and cleave to his wife and the

Two Become One flesh what will the world

try to do with this

Unity divide it diversity that which God

says shall not come together what does

the world do unite it if God declares

and designs in social order that there

Rose how does the world respond jealousy

I won't play that

role if God declares that we're

responsible for our actions the world

responds with blame not my fault must be

somebody else's

fault where there is Authority we

respond with Rebellion When God says to

delegate there is tyranny when he

declares Freedom there's

bondage the evidence is clear every sin

that besets us can be traced back

fundamentally to a belief and a

lie this is a battle of World Views it

is the cosmic battle it is a battle

between the truth claims of God and the

lies and illusions of the World the

Flesh and the devil on this side the

truth claims of God are consistent and

logical they make sense they work and

even in a fallen world we can follow

them they lead to peace and prosperity

and happiness and opposed to that the

web of lives of the World the Flesh and

the devil and it's illogical it has

holes in it it's inconsistent and it

leads to the most Grievous weeping and

wailing and moaning and disorder in

death we think that postmodernism is new

it's not new it's tweaked a little bit

maybe some new

jargon but it's the same old

lie our spou defined truth as that which

corresponds to reality as perceived by

God because God's perception of reality

is never distorted it is a perfect

perception of reality truth is that

which affirms

propositionally the nature of

reality as it

is interesting word real reality Noah

Webster author of the first American

English dictionary in 1828 defined truth

as quote Conformity to fact or

reality exact accordance with that which

is or has been or shall be we rely upon

the truth of the scriptural prophecies

end of quote truth is reality Sproul

goes on to say

when the Apostle Paul teaches in Romans

1 about the universal oppression and

suppression of God's revelation he gives

us the reason for

it that we exchange the truth of God for

a lie in order to serve the creature

rather than the Creator and that's been

the

swap that's been the trade we trade in

the Majesty of God to worship a bamboo

tree or a totem pole or a lizard or some

Uh current way of looking at society and

all the issues that we see today I could

name them all but I I won't do it at

this point but you know what I'm talking

about how foolish is that how foolish

it's

insane and what's the definition of

insanity the loss of touch with

reality and not just the loss of touch

with reality but believing that the LIE

is real because when you believe that

something is real we react upon that

perceived reality our actions reflect

what we believe to be really

real our faith just like truth is not a

feeling our hope is not a feeling our

faith overcomes our feelings and that's

why it comes back to the truth claims of

God those times when you don't feel like

it those times when you are sure there's

no other way you don't reach out to have

faith in faith we reach out to have

faith in

him Jesus wants to connect our faith

with our actions and emotions in reality

what we believe is really real is

exactly how we act our actions and

emotions are tied directly to what we

believe is really real tack it and his

conclusion of the first installment of

the truth project asked all participants

to ask themselves this

question do you really believe that what

you believe is really

real the Holy Spirit the spirit of Truth

dwelt with the disciples during Jesus

Earthly

Ministry but because of Pentecost he

would dwell in them and for those of us

who've accepted the Saving Grace and

lordship of Jesus and the Holy Spirit

the spirit of Truth dwells in us

too and for those who have not accepted

that Saving Grace and lordship it's just

as available to you too by praying a

simple prayer at one of the communion

prayer

stations you can know the truth and it

will indeed set you free ask of the Lord

and you will receive

and that is the truth the whole truth

and nothing but the truth so help us

Lord Jesus amen