The following student report was submitted by Ambassador League Agent Hannah K. during the 2007-2008 League.
Bible Study on Truth
I Samuel 12:24 says "Only fear the Lord and serve Him in truth with all your heart; for consider what great things He has done for you."
Serving God in truth/fidelity, constancy, sincerity in action, character, and utterance is one of the most important aspects of following Jesus Christ, so as to walk in His steps. What He has done for us is so much more than we could ever imagine, and His faithfulness, love, and compassion have been passed down through the generations. His standard is too high for us; as humans, to attain; but by His grace, we can do anything.
In Psalms and Proverbs we find many verses that speak volumes to us about how important truth is in our every day lives. In Proverbs 3:3-4 it says, "Do not let kindness and truth leave you; Bind them around your neck, Write them on the tablet of your heart. So you will find favor and good repute in the sight of God and man". Here we see that if we walk in kindness and truth we will have favor and a good reputation before God and man. In Proverbs 16:6 it tells us "By loving kindness and truth iniquity is atoned for, And by the fear of the Lord one keeps away from evil." Also in Psalms 25:5 it says "Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; For You I wait all the day." Psalms 145:18 says "The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth."
When other people hear the word truth, it brings being truthful to their minds, specifically using their mouths to speak truth to others, and not necessarily being truthful in your every day walk. As my family was discussing what it means to walk truthfully, as opposed to speaking truthfully, we found ourselves thinking of Matthew 7:21-23 "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles? And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS." Here we see Jesus speaking of the importance of obeying His commands, or walking in truth, in order that He would be able to openly acknowledge us before His Father. In John 3:20-21 it says, "For every wrongdoer hates (loathes, detests) the light and will not come out into the light, but shrinks from it, lest his works-his deeds, his activities, his conduct-be exposed and reproved. But he who practices truth-who does what is right-comes out into the light; so that his works may be plainly shown to be what they are, wrought with God-divinely prompted, done with God's help, in dependence upon Him." (Translated by the Amplified Bible) We see here that walking in truth or practicing truth, is referring to our works and doing that which is right in God's sight.
Truth has for many years been something that people have feared because of its strength. For some it is what they fear the most. But no matter how much we try to escape from truth, it hunts us down and eventually finds us. Living truth in one's every day walk is one of the most challenging and thrilling experiences that man can ever accomplish.
Zechariah 8:16 tells us "These are the things which you should do: speak the truth to one another; judge with truth and judgment for peace will be in your gates." We have seen that without truth, and the love of God as a foundation, our lifestyles will crumble. We see so little of truth in this Nation today that we don't have to wonder at the chaos that we see just walking around our hometowns. People want peace, and yet they continually build their whole lives around a lie. When I look at this verse, I think about our country, and the truth that it was founded on, and it saddens me to see that truth trampled upon daily.
Ephesians 4:15 sums all of this up when it says, "Rather, let our lives lovingly express truth in all things- speaking truly, dealing truly, living truly. Enfolded in love, let us grow up in every way and in all things into Him, Who is the Head, [even] Christ, the Messiah, the Anointed One." (Amplified Bible)
