Buy the Truth

Mark Dunagan
06/17/12 - Sunday Morning

Buy the Truth

There are two significant passages, one in the Old Testament and the other in the New that place an emphasis on doing whatever is necessary to acquire the truth:

• “Buy truth and do not sell it” (Proverbs 23:23).
• “And with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved.  And for this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they might believe what is false, in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness” (2 Thessalonians 2:10-12).

I Will Hear the Truth

In both passages, it is simply assumed that one will encounter the truth.  I will have an opportunity to buy it.  So the reason why people end up lost is not because they never heard the truth, or never had an opportunity to accept it.  In other passages the “truth” is equally called the gospel message (Galatians 2:5; Ephesians 1:13; Colossians 1:5 “in the word of the truth, the gospel”), and this message goes out to everyone (Mark 16:15).

It is Not Enough To Hear

Simply hearing the truth does not save a person.  Neither it is enough to say, “Well I can’t argue against that; it is the truth”.  I must actually seek it out, love it, buy it, embrace it and obey it (2 Thessalonians 1:8; 1 Peter 1:22) and all of this out of love. And I will spend eternity being so glad that I choose to make the best investment one can make.

I am Not Born with It

Both of these passages present truth as something that is outside us, something that one must “buy” and “receive”.  It is logical to conclude then, that the truth is not something that I am simply born with (Jeremiah 10:23), or what might sound good to me or something that everyone will just naturally accept.  Neither is the truth whatever seems to “work for me” at any given moment (Proverbs 16:25). Rarely will it be that something that I am just “comfortable with”. 

It Has a Cost

The word “buy” informs us that the truth is not free.  It will cost us something.  It will make demands upon us.  Therefore, I already know that the truth is not a collection of ideas that I can accept without making any adjustments or changes in my life.  As previously noted, in order to end up saved, I must obey the truth (Romans 2:8; Galatians 5:7). It is clear that the Holy Spirit places loving the truth as the key reason why one does or does not perish.  If I love the truth, I will not perish, if I do not—no matter what else I do—I will still perish.  There is no acceptable substitute for loving the truth.

When Tempted to Sell It

The fact the Solomon says, “Do not sell it”, infers that we will be pressured at times to sell the truth.  And one can foresee many situations in which one might be tempted to discard the truth:

• When a lie is far more comfortable and convenient at a given moment, while the truth may insist we do something difficult.
• Wickedness may offer us the opportunity of instant pleasure, while the truth may tell us to wait (2:12).
• A lie may easily shift the blame to someone else, while the truth insists we own up and admit when we are in the wrong.
• A lie may temptingly say we “deserve something”, while the truth insists that Jesus deserves rather our loyalty.
• A lie might make us better liked in our social circle, while the truth might make us less unpopular with those around us (Matthew 5:10-12).

Loving the Truth is Reasonable

God would only persuade us to “buy” something, if it was good for us.  God is a merciful and patient God and if a refusal to love the truth results in perishing, then refusing to love the truth must be a very stubborn act on a person’s part.  Here are some reasons why I believe the truth is something that we should love:

• We should love the truth for its very nature. It is the truth. Honest and reasonable people do not want to build their live upon a lie.
• It is the truth that comes from God.  What a blessing to realize not only do we have a wonderful Creator, but that Creator has spoken to us!  What a day of great rejoicing!
• Every soul is worth more than the whole world. Praise Him!
• The truth does not lie to me.  It is straight with me about what will result in my salvation or happiness and what will not. Thank heaven!
• The truth informs you that your Creator loves you so much that He sent His Son to die for your sins (John 3:16). Hallelujah!
• The truth tells me that I have the same value that everyone else has (Romans 2:11). The truth tells me that I have the same opportunity to be saved as everyone else has (Acts 10:34) and a clear picture of what will happen in the end if I obey God (Romans 2:6-11), and if I don’t. 
• The truth does inform me about hell—but that does not surprise me.  I look around at how people treat other people, at the horrible things people do to each other, and the existence of justice being served should be no surprise. 
• The delightful surprise is the existence of heaven (Revelation 21:4-7).  It's almost too much to grasp that after all the sinful acts I have committed, that upon repentance, God has washed me and now actually wants me there with Him, and not just for a visit, but eternally.  I understand hell, I see people "working really hard" to get there, but heaven?  Who deserves such bliss?  I stand amazed that God offers heaven as the reward to the faithful.  How unimaginably wonderful (Romans 8:18)! 

Regarding The Deluding Influence

“How can a Holy God send a deluding influence?” some may ask.  “I thought that God had nothing to do with evil?” (1 John 1:5).  Good questions. Consider this:

• A deluding influence is a natural consequence, for if I reject the truth, then the only thing left to believe in (for everyone believes in something), is a lie.
• This influence arrives only after a person decides not to love the truth.  Observe the language of the text, “and for this reason” (2:11).  So this is something that happens after a person hears the truth and decides to reject it and the God behind it.
• We are warned in advance about his happening, just like King Ahab was warned in advance by God that he was being set up (1 Kings 22:19-23).  This advance warning is given as a strong incentive to love the truth.
• This is equally a just punishment for anyone who hears the truth from such a loving God and selfishly decides to turn away.  “That they may all be judged who did not believe the truth” (2:12). 

Took Pleasure in Wickedness

Finally the real motivation for not loving the truth surfaces.  We are going to take pleasure in something.  We are either going to love the truth or we will love some sort of sin.  Everyone enjoys and loves something.  How foolish to tell myself, “Don’t worry, Mark, you can ignore the Bible and still end up doing okay in life."  “You can reject the Bible, or pick and choose in the Bible what you want to keep in your life, and you will do just fine”.  To the contrary, this passage says there are major mental, emotional and spiritual and eternal consequences for not loving the truth.  One is that I will end up building my hopes, dreams, life and future on some sort of lie.  Another is that I will spend my life thinking I am okay—and yet end up lost in the end.  I will end up living a deluded existence.  Another is, I will lose my ability to think straight. Determine in your own heart and mind to love truth. You will be eternally glad that you did!

Mark Dunagan | mdunagan@frontier.com
Beaverton Church of Christ | 503-644-9017
www.beavertonchurchofchrist.net