“Having therefore obtained help of God, I continue unto this day, witnessing both to small and great, saying none other things than those which the prophets and Moses did say should come. . . But he said, I am not mad, most noble Festus; but speak forth the words of truth and soberness.” (Acts 26:22, 25, AV)
As a boy, I used to watch a show called “To Tell the Truth.” On the show they would have three people who all claimed to be the same person of some notoriety. One of the three would be the real person of notoriety, the other two were impostors. The panel of actors who were contestants would ask questions of the three to determine if they were the real person and then each would indicate their choice of the real person. They would have to determine who was telling the truth.
Today there are many people telling tall tales. I have known a person who told such tall tales that no one believed him. In fact, he often could not keep track of his own stories and often contradicted himself in other stories and clearly in his abilities. In the ministry, I had a man claim to have cancer and took a lot of money from the church and others, only to discover that he did not have cancer at all. It was just a ploy to get money. The point to this is that truth matters. Yet, unfortunately, today there is a great distrust of what people say because so many are deceptive.
Paul is presenting the facts to King Agrippa regarding the situation of the threats of the Jews. When he spoke of the suffering and resurrection of Jesus, Festus accused Paul of being out of his mind. To this, Paul stated, “I am not mad, most noble Festus; but speak forth the words of truth and soberness.”
Paul’s words were true because they were the truths presented in the Scriptures. These were the words of the prophets and Moses. The Old Testament Scriptures contained hundreds of prophesies regarding Jesus’ life, his death, and his resurrection. The Scriptures were filled with foreshadows of the work of Christ. The word of God is truth. It is the absolute, complete, and unchanging truth (John 17:17).
Today we life in an era of distrust. People distrust the media, politicians, and one another. Falsification of facts has become so commonplace that people do not know what to believe. Yet there is one and only one source of truth, the Bible. It is the only truth upon which one can stand with all confidence.
God has called preachers to proclaim the truth. The only reliable preaching comes from a clear exposition of the biblical text. Everything else is prone to error. It is not just for the preacher to proclaim the biblical text, but also for every believer in Jesus Christ. Every Christian must seek to be a master of the Scriptures so they will truthfully share the word of truth (2 Tim 2:15).
It is vital for us to tell the truth. For it is the truth of God’s word that is the basis of a person coming to faith. “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17, AV). Jesus stated, “If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:31–32, AV).
Remember to tell the truth, the absolute eternal truth of God’s word.
Renewing the Heart 