God places the highest premium upon truth and truthfulness. Falsehood and deceit are among some of the sins he most abhors. In the list of the seven things that God hates in Proverbs 6:16-19, no less than three of the seven concern an assault on truth and truthfulness, “a lying tongue”, “a heart that devises wicked schemes” and “a false witness who pours out lies”. Hypocrisy, living untruthfully, was the target of some of Jesus’s fiercest criticisms. And yet, we live in a time and place in which concern for truth and truthfulness has never seemed at a lower ebb. Given that, it might come as a complete surprise, to some at least, that Jesus made a direct correlation between the summum bonum of the Christian life, that is to see God, and the essential need for personal truthfulness. This morning we turn to one of the most significant statements in all of scripture, Matthew 5:8, in a message entitled “The Blessing of True Spiritual Purity”.
Glorifying God by Encouraging
All People to Pursue a Lifelong,
Joyous Relationship with Jesus Christ