Proverbs: Wealth, Defense, and Justice

For Love of the Truth

Transcript: AI Transcript

Professor: John Weaver

Subject: Old Testament Studies

Genre: Sermon

Dictation Name:

Date: 2024-08-25

Synopsis: John Weaver expounds Proverbs 23:23, emphasizing the command to acquire truth, wisdom, instruction, and understanding at any cost and never part with them. He explains why people reject truth—due to spiritual blindness, unwillingness to admit error, love of sin, suppression of truth, and failure to fulfill their kingly duty to search it out. The sermon warns that rejecting the love of the truth leads to delusion and damnation, and urges believers to hold fast to the truth.

[John Weaver] You can open your Bibles to the book of Proverbs, chapter 23 and verse 23. Proverbs 23, verse 23. Very simple verse. A verse that I think probably many of you know and probably have quoted in times past. Look at it. Proverbs 23, verse 23. All it says is this, buy the truth and sell it not. Also wisdom and instruction and understanding. So the title of the lesson this afternoon is for love of the truth. Truth is indeed an absolutely wonderful commodity. It's also extremely rare in our day and time as well. Many individuals think that they really want truth, but in reality they do not want truth because they never search for it. They never actually look for it. They never study for it.

[John Weaver] And the truth of the matter is when most people stumble upon truth, they just simply ignore it and walk on by as if it doesn't even exist. Someone has said very aptly that most people at one point in their lives stumble over truth. And when they do, they get up and dust themselves off and continue to walk as if they had not stumbled over absolutely anything. And that's true.

[John Weaver] Many of you have been in a courtroom. Some of us have been witnesses in legal trials. And it's interesting that when you are called as a witness in a courtroom, you place your hand on the Bible, and you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God. And an interesting thing is, the prosecutor and the defense attorney most often really and truly do not want the whole truth. What they want is a partial truth.

[John Weaver] show that they will either get their defendant acquitted or the man condemned, one of the two. And I've done this before, and I know other people that have. The prosecutor will ask a specific question, and he wants a specific answer. And I say, I will answer that, sir. with this explanation. No, no, no, no. Just answer the question. No. I'm going to answer the question if I can explain my answer, because I took an oath to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. And the way you pose the question, it would not be the whole truth. It would just be a partial truth. So, the truth of the matter is, most people really do not want the truth. You see, a partial truth, presented as a whole truth, is a lie. You can ask your child, did you eat the last apple?

[John Weaver] And he will respond, no. Well, is he telling the truth or is he telling a lie? Well, both. He didn't eat the last apple, he only ate a half of it. So, the point I'm trying to make is this, a half-truth presented as a whole truth is an untruth. It's a lie. So the truth of the matter is most people really truly do not want the truth, that is for sure, because they're not interested in studying, they're not interested in reading, they're not interested in anything other than the fact they're just totally and completely satisfied with what they know. And even if it's a partial truth or no truth at all, look if you would at how people are raised. And I'm not just talking about in this country, think about the folks in India.

[John Weaver] and all the many gods they have, the false gods they have. Think of the Islamists. Think of all these people. Think of the Roman Catholics. Look at how people are raised and look how difficult it is to get someone to accept the truth when you've been raised in error all of your lives.

[John Weaver] Now, when we're talking about truth, there's another interesting thing is there are some people They believe that they have arrived at all truth. They are on the apex, they are on the pinnacle of truth, and since they have the truth and you do not have it, or since they have the truth and you do not agree with them and see what they see and understand what they understand, then they look down upon you as someone absolutely ignorant, someone who is so stupid, that you cannot even discern your right hand from your left hand. You say, were there people like that? Of course. If you'll hold Proverbs 23 and look in your Bibles very quickly to the book of John chapter 7, you'll find the Pharisees were exactly like I just described. Because in John chapter 7, beginning there with verse 45, John 7 verse 45, Then came the officers to the chief priests and Pharisees, and they said unto them, Why have ye not brought him? They sent these officers to bring Jesus Christ to them.

[John Weaver] And the officers answered, Never man spake like this man. Then answered them the Pharisees, Are you also deceived? Have any of the rulers of the Pharisees believed on him? But this people who doeth not the law are cursed."

[John Weaver] Now, the interesting thing is, The word knoweth is the word gnosko, when it literally means to know, to perceive, to understand. So they say the people that do not know or perceive or understand this law are cursed. And the word cursed, by the way, is a word which means a curse, to be excrucible, and to be exposed to divine vengeance. And in other words, here's what the Pharisees were doing. They were treating people who did not see what they saw or understood what they understood with absolute contempt and said that they were a miserable people and they were under the curse and the judgment of God. While at the same time you have to remember that the Pharisees were in error and in heresy and did not have the truth, they believed the lie. That is why they actually hated Jesus Christ because he was exposing their error and he was exposing their heresy. And yet they looked down upon those who did not know what they knew, or at least what they thought they knew.

[John Weaver] I don't know if you know people like that. I do. I even know some preachers like that. But there's an interesting verse that the Apostle Paul gave that really exposes that kind of thinking. And that's found in 1 Corinthians chapter 8 and verse 2, where the apostle Paul said, if any man think that he knoweth anything, he knoweth nothing as he ought to know. So Paul says, when you think that you have arrived, when you think that you have all truth, you don't know anything at all, period.

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to go back to Proverbs 23 and verse 23, and I want you to look at this verse. It's an absolutely wonderful verse. It's full of instruction. He says in Proverbs 23 and verse 23, buy the truth and sell it not. Also, wisdom and instruction and understanding. Now, I want you to consider, first of all, the word buy. It is the Hebrew word kanah, which means to buy, to purchase, to acquire. Buy it. You are to consider truth as the most valuable commodity.

[John Weaver] You're not to quibble over the price. Whatever the price is does not matter. He says you are to buy it.

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to note in verse 23 there are actually four things that you and I are to have, that we are to possess. and each of them are extremely valuable. First of all, he says, by the truth, and saith it not, so we must have truth. And then he said also, wisdom and instruction and understanding. Now, let me just say this about the word truth. He said, by the truth. The Hebrew word is the word emeth, and it means truth Truth is divine instruction. Truth as a body of revealed knowledge, which would refer, obviously, to the Bible or the Holy Scriptures. So when he's saying by the truth, he's talking about all the truth that God has revealed in His Word. You've often heard that the Old Testament, actually, the first five books of the Bible, the books of Moses, are known as the Torah. Sometimes it's referred not just to the first five books, but to the totality of the Old Testament. But the word Torah means authoritative instruction or authoritative direction.

[John Weaver] So it would be the same thing when he says, buy the truth and sell it not. He's talking about authoritative instruction and direction that's given to us in the Bible.

[John Weaver] Now look at verse 23. Here's the second thing that we're to buy. and to possess, and he said also wisdom.

[John Weaver] Now the word for wisdom is the Hebrew word kokmah, and it refers to wisdom, skill, prudence, and discernment. Now I don't know if you are familiar with this term, you should be, but you will hear theologians, you will hear Bible scholars talk about the wisdom literature in the Bible. the wisdom literature in the bible that was the job songs proverbs song of solomon equally yes please guess what the word for wisdom the wisdom literature is the same word so when he's talking about getting wisdom he's talking again about getting divine He says in verse 23, buy the truth and sell it not, also wisdom and instruction. So the third thing that we are to buy is instruction.

[John Weaver] Here is an item that most people do not want. God commands us to buy it. By the way, I never told you this, but I'm telling you now. When he said, buy the truth, it is an imperative, which means it is a command. Buy the truth and sell it not. Then he said also wisdom, and now he says instruction. Why do I say that most people do not want instruction? Here's why. The Hebrew word is nsar, and it literally means instruction.

[John Weaver] correction, rebuke, chastening, and discipline. How many of you really want chastening? How many of you really want discipline? Most people do not want discipline. They do not even want rebuke. You have to remember something. When he says that we are to, by instruction, You can be instructed in two ways. You can be instructed by words, that is teaching like I'm doing now. Or you can be instructed by rods.

[John Weaver] That's the way we instruct our children. We use words and we also use rods. Remember that passage in Proverbs 13 in verse 24 where the Bible says, He that spared the rod hated his son. But he that chasteneth him loveth him. He that spared the rod hated his son, but he that chastened him betimes, or between times, or whenever is necessary, demonstrates that he loves him. And in Proverbs 29, verse 15, the rod and reproof give wisdom, but a child left to himself is a shame to his mother. So he says, the rod and reproof. So you have the rod and you have the words as well. And there's an interesting verse in Micah chapter six in verse nine. It says, Hear ye the rod and him who hath appointed it. So God then does indeed point rods for us. So he tells us that we are to buy the truth, we're to have wisdom, who would have instruction. And the fourth thing that we are to have in verse 23 is understanding.

[John Weaver] Now, the word for understanding is the Hebrew word, binah, and it refers to understanding and discernment. And this word is translated as wisdom twice in our Bible.

[John Weaver] Now, let me point something out. I can use an expression like this on the one hand and on the other hand, or I can use it in one sense of the word and in another sense of the word, so that's what I'm going to do. So, in one sense of the word, if you really possess truth, you will possess wisdom and instruction and knowledge. Okay? In another sense of the word, If you do not possess truth in the strictest sense of the word, you do not possess all of these things because they could be what you and I would call individualized.

[John Weaver] Let me give you an illustration. Someone has said knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit and not a vegetable. That's true. It is a fruit. It's not a vegetable. Wisdom is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad. So you can have knowledge, but if you don't know how to use that knowledge or how to apply that knowledge, then you're not necessarily going to have wisdom.

[John Weaver] So in one sense of the word, you could say, well, I have God's word. I've got God's truth. And yes, I do have wisdom. Yes, I do have instruction. Yes, I do have understanding. In another sense of the word, you could say, well, I have the truth, but I don't know how to use it. I don't know how to apply it. And let me just put it to you very plainly. Truth not understood and truth not applied happens to be absolutely worthless. So, if you do not know how to use truth, that truth is worthless to you.

[John Weaver] John Gill said it like this. He said, also, wisdom, instruction, understanding, that is, buy these things and sell them not. Wisdom is to be prized above everything. It is the principal thing and should be gotten. All means should be used to obtain it. It may be bought without money, it should be asked of God who gives it liberally, and being had should be held fast. The instruction of the Scriptures give The instruction of the gospel, the instruction of wisdom, should be valued above gold and silver, and diligently sought after, should be laid fast, hold on, and not parted with. Understanding of divine and spiritual things is to be gotten, and happy is the man who gets these things."

[John Weaver] Now, let me show you. I want you to look back in your Bibles, first of all, to the book of Proverbs chapter 4. And look, if you would please, at verse 5. Proverbs 4 and verse 5. Look what God says, Proverbs 4 verse 5, Get wisdom, get understanding, forget it not, neither decline from the words of my mouth. Get wisdom, get understanding, forget it not. Now look down in verse 7. He says, Wisdom is the principal thing, therefore get wisdom. And with all thy getting, get understanding. Now if you look in Proverbs chapter 16 and verse 16, Proverbs 16 and verse 16, he asks, How much better is it to get wisdom than gold, and to get understanding rather to be chosen than silver? How much better is it to get wisdom than gold, and to get understanding rather to be chosen than silver?

[John Weaver] I want to give you a quote by Matthew Henry, and I want to give you this quote just so I can give you one absolute jewel right in the middle of this quote. Listen to what he says. We must buy it, that is, be willing to part with anything for it. He does not say at what rate we must buy it, because we cannot buy it too dearly. But we must have it at any rate, whatever it costs us.

[John Weaver] We shall not repent of the bargain. When we are at expense for the means of knowledge and resolve not to starve so good a cause, then we buy the truth.

[John Weaver] Now listen to this statement. Riches should be employed for the getting of knowledge rather than knowledge for the getting of richness. He goes on to say, when we are at pains in searching for truth and after truth, then we come to the knowledge of it and may distinguish between it and error, then we buy it. So we're commanded then to buy the truth and sell it not, and along with that truth, wisdom, instruction, and knowledge. So here's my question. Since God has commanded us to have these things, Why is it we do not have them in our lives? Oh, we may have a little taste of some of them, but we do not have wisdom to the degree that we need it. We do not have knowledge to the degree that we need it. We do not have understanding to the degree that we need it. So, why is it we do not have these things?

[John Weaver] I could also answer that, in one sense, with the words of our Lord in John 8 and verse 46. Because Jesus Christ said, looking at the Pharisees, which of you convicted me of sin? And then he says this, and if I say the truth, why do you not believe me? So that's a good question. If you hear the truth, why do you not believe the truth? Why do we not receive the truth when we hear it? Wow. I want to answer that question for you. I want to show you why most people do not receive the truth. Here we go. First of all, by nature, as depraved individuals, we are blind to the truth. We can't see it.

[John Weaver] The Bible says in Ephesians chapter 4 verses 18 and 19, listen carefully, having the understanding darkened. What? Having the understanding darkened. How? And being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them who have given themselves over unto lasciviousness with all uncleanness. What? Being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them. So God tells us by nature, we're absolutely blind to truth. You remember the passage in 1 Corinthians 2 and verse 14, where he said, but the natural man, that is man by nature, unsaved man, but the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God. Listen to this. For they are foolish unto him, neither can he know them, because their spirit is discerned. So the natural man, the unsaved man, does not have the ability, he does not have the capacity to understand spiritual things.

[John Weaver] I want to show you a good illustration. I want you to look in your Bibles to the book of John chapter 18. John chapter 18. And let's begin reading there with verse 37. Just to show you how blind people really are by nature. In John chapter 18, verse 37, Jesus Christ is standing before Pilate. The Bible says in verse 37, Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king.

[John Weaver] In other words, that's equivalent to saying, You said it, buddy. You nailed it. Yes, I am a king. That's what he said. Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Everyone that is of the truth heareth my voice." Isn't that interesting? Everyone that is of the truth heareth my voice. Pilate says unto him, what is truth? Truth was standing right in front of him and he did not see it. Truth was speaking to him and he did not hear it. Jesus Christ said, I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no man cometh in father but by me. So here, Jesus Christ is standing right in front of Pilate, and Pilate still wants to know what truth is.

[John Weaver] So first of all, people will not receive the truth because of their depravity, of the blindness of their heart. Secondly, hang on to this one, many people do not want the truth, Because it proves them wrong, and that they have been in error most of their lives. It even gets worse than that. Because it also proves that their parents were probably in error, their grandparents were in error, their friends are in error. And so they're going to refuse the truth, they're going to reject the truth, because to receive the truth and admit the truth means, I have to say, I'm wrong. I've been wrong. I want you to look at this.

[John Weaver] Turn in your Bibles to 2 Timothy chapter 2. 2 Timothy chapter 2. And let's begin reading there in verse 24. And I can assure you, I understand this verse. I've experienced this verse a multitude of times. So, in 2 Timothy chapter 2, verse 24, the Bible says,"...and the servant of the Lord must not strive, but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient." Hang on. Why must we be apt to teach? Why must we be patient in meekness instructing those that oppose themselves?

[John Weaver] Someone who will not listen, someone who's going to argue against the truth, someone who's going to refuse and reject the truth is opposing himself. I'll demonstrate how and why before I close. He said, In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves, if God, for adventure, will give them repentance through the acknowledging of the truth, and then they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will. So when do men recover themselves out of the snare of the devil? The answer in verse 25 is when they acknowledge the truth. When do they acknowledge the truth? The answer in verse 25 is when God gives them repentance. Why then must the servant of the Lord not strive with thee, gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, in meekness instructing those who propose themselves, if God, for adventure, will give them repentance.

[John Weaver] Now, let me tell you something, folks. Change comes hard. Change in our thinking comes hard. Change in our belief system comes hard. And when you have been taught error for a long period of time, it is even far more difficult.

[John Weaver] Now, I will give you a personal illustration. When God saved me and called me to preach, I had three or four pastor friends who took me under their wing and taught me a lot of things. I loved those men. I respected those men. In fact, one of those men, I was converted under his ministry. And so he was very, very special to me. And all of these men had graduated from Bob Jones University. So, upon their recommendation, I went to Bob Jones University.

[John Weaver] And I had a teacher there, his name was Dr. Richard Gaynor. I had him in several classes. One of them was Pauline Epistles. And I was sitting in his class, and you've got to remember, when I went to the university, I was married, and I had a child, so, and I'd worked, so I was not a little young thing. I was young, but not a teenager. And when I heard Mr. Gaynor teaching, it hit me that what he was saying was contrary to what I had been taught and what my pastor friends had been teaching me.

[John Weaver] And I sat in my desk and I said to myself, if he's right, I'm wrong. If he's right, All of my friends are wrong. And I'll be honest, I didn't mind being wrong myself, but I did not want my friends to be wrong. So I raised my hand and he called on me. This happened to be right before we went on the summer break. It was the first of May. He called on me, he said, yes.

[John Weaver] And I stood up and I said, Mr. Gaynor, You know that what you're saying is not true. You're just saying that because you want to be accepted by an intellectual elite. I was angry. I was upset because I knew, I knew if he's right, all my friends are wrong. He looked at me and he said, Mr. Weaver, Shut up and sit down. I'll see you after class. Well, I did. But after class, I was still upset. I was still angry.

[John Weaver] So I stormed up to his desk. And he looked at me, he said, you realize I could have you expelled from this university. I said, yes, sir, I know that. He said, you realize I could report you to the discipline committee and you would have more problems. I said, yes sir, I know that. Then he looked at me and he said this, but I'm not going to do either. And instead of him, you know, being upset that I basically called him a liar. Instead of him being upset, he looked at me And he said, I do know that you study. And I did.

[John Weaver] And I made A's in his class and A's in about every subject. He said, I do know that you study. He said, so here's what I want you to do. I want you to go out this summer and go ahead and preach like you're going to preach. And when you come back in the fall, because this is my sophomore year, when you come back in the fall, he said, we will resume this conversation. And he said, but there's one thing I'm going to ask you to do.

[John Weaver] I said, what is that? He said, you must remember this. You always allow the Bible to interpret your experiences. You never allow your experiences to interpret the Bible. And that summer, God opened my eyes like you would not believe. And when I went back to school in the fall, the first person I went to was Dr. Richard Gaynor. I went to his office. I knocked on the door.

[John Weaver] I said, Sir, I just came by to apologize and ask your forgiveness. You were right. I was wrong. If you can get all those students back together," I said, I will be glad to stand up and apologize in front of all of them. And he looked at me and said, you don't need to apologize in front of them. He said, I'm just happy that God opened your eyes. Isn't that amazing?

[John Weaver] By the way, we're still friends. He's much, much older than I am, but he's still alive and we're still friends. But I'm just saying, change is very difficult. When you've been taught something all your life and all of a sudden you realize it's wrong. Let me show you. Look in your Bibles to the book of Acts chapter 6. You remember, they're about to stone Stephen to death and they're summoning some false witnesses. But I want you to look what they say. Acts chapter 6 and verse 14. Look at what they say. In fact, let's read verse 13. And they set up false witnesses which said, this man seetheth not to speak blasphemous words against this holy place, that it be the temple and the law. Now look what they said, for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth shall destroy this place and shall change the customs which Moses delivered unto us. Guess what? Jesus Christ did destroy that place and he did change the customs. But what they're saying is, we don't want to change.

[John Weaver] We're happy with what we've got. We're not going to change. Change comes hard. So there are some people just do not want to confess and do not want to admit my grandpa was wrong. My mama and daddy were wrong. I'm wrong. It's very, very difficult. Here's a third reason most people will not receive the truth. And that is because It exposes their wickedness. If you look in your Bibles to John chapter 3. John chapter 3.

[John Weaver] And notice what our Lord says there in verses 19 and 20. John chapter 3 verse 19. Our Lord says, And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men love darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved." Now look what he said, and this is the condemnation that light is coming to the world and men love darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. Then he says, everyone that doeth evil hateth the light. Neither cometh in the light. Why? Because they don't want their deeds reproved or exposed.

[John Weaver] Let me give you a good illustration. Years ago, I had a family in our church for hours past. The wife was normally a Christian lady, but she taught in our Christian school. The children of this family were in our church, and in our Christian school as well. This lady's husband was an extremely likable man. You could not help but like him. You could not help but love him. He was such a kind individual, he would give you the shirt off his back. He would. But he was unsafe, and about once a month, he had to pitch a good drunk. If you could call a drunk good, but he would get good and drunk.

[John Weaver] He was a hard worker. And he made good money and he supported his family, but once a month he's just going to get drunk. That's all there is to it. So one day I was talking to him and I asked him, I said, why? And he would come to church every now and then. He wouldn't come often, but every now and then he would come. So I asked him, I said, Why is it you do not come to church more often? I said, your wife wants you to come. Your children want you to come. I want you to come. Our people want you to come. Why is it you do not come to church more often? And he looked at me and he said, Preacher, do you want me to tell you the truth or lie to you? I said, I want you to tell me the truth. He said, I'll tell you why I don't come more often.

[John Weaver] He said, because I know that you are right and I am wrong. And he says, I know that when I come, I am condemned for my sins. And I'm going to tell you the reason I don't come. He said, right now, I just love my sins too much. At least he was honest. He was honest. He hated the light. He would not come to the light lest his deeds be reproved. That was it.

[John Weaver] But I'm thankful to report to you that after a number of years God did save him, and he's an active member in that church even today. That is for sure.

[John Weaver] Now, let me give you the fourth reason why people will not receive truth. And that is because truth is suppressed by them. You will have to look at Romans chapter 1 to understand this point. So if you look in Romans chapter 1, in verses 18 and 19. Romans chapter 1, verses 18 and 19. Because many people do not understand this passage. When you read it, it's almost confusing until you understand one word. Romans chapter 1 verse 18, For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who hold the truth in unrighteousness. Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has showed it of them. Now go back to verse 18. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who hold the truth in unrighteousness. How do you hold the truth in unrighteousness? Well, when you understand that the Greek word is atecho and it literally means to hold down, to suppress, to hinder, to restrain, to hold back.

[John Weaver] In other words, here's someone that may have heard the truth at one point. He may have been taught the truth by his parents, may have heard some preacher preach the truth, and yet what he's doing, he's not thinking about it, he's not contemplating on it, he knows that he's heard it, but he's holding it down, he's suppressing it by his constant and continual wicked, unrighteous acts. In other words, he holds it back, he suppresses it.

[John Weaver] Now, the interesting thing is when you look in verse 18, And he holds the truth in unrighteousness, that is the Greek word atikia, and it means that which is contrary to God's law, that which is a violation of God's law, that which is not righteous. And so he's someone who is continually sinning and doing that which is wicked to keep the truth from coming up in his mind. He didn't want to think about it. He didn't want to meditate upon it. Now, here's a problem. According to 1 Timothy chapter 4 verses 1 and 2, someone like that can have a seared conscience. A seared conscience.

[John Weaver] What in the world is that? Well, if you do something that is wicked and wrong, often enough, frequently enough, long enough, you get to where it never bothers you. Have you ever wondered how someone can be a professional hitman? I read an article about some of these beautiful Mexican women, and yes, they had pictures of them. I forget the word that they called them, But these women were just killed mercilessly.

[John Weaver] And they were paid to do that. And they, you know, didn't bother them. I just read, oh, several years back about one young man who was in a gang. And he had a girlfriend and they had two children. And the leader of the gang suspected her of giving information to the police. He had no real knowledge of it. He just suspicioned that. And so he ordered his gang member to murder his live-in wife and two children. Guess what he did? He took him out on a picnic, fed him, murdered his wife and two children because the gang boss told him to do it.

[John Weaver] You stop and ask, how in the world can anyone do something like this? Because you do something long enough, it doesn't even bother you. You look at what is happening in some of these Venezuelan gangs, you look at what is happening in these Islamic countries, it doesn't bother these people. Their conscience is seared. Here's the fifth reason, and I'm going to say this as far as Christians are concerned. Here's the fifth reason that we do not really have wisdom, truth, instruction, and knowledge.

[John Weaver] This may take just a little bit of explanation. And that is because we have not realized our position as kings and priests unto our God. If we are kings and priests unto our God, that means, therefore, we have kingly and priestly duties, responsibilities, obligations, and privileges. Let me just give you two verses. Let me quote them. You are familiar with them. The first one is found in Revelation 1 in verse 6. For the Bible is speaking about Jesus Christ, and it says, And he hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father.

[John Weaver] To him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. He hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father. Then when you get to Revelation chapter 5 and verse 10, the Bible says, He hath made us unto our God kings and priests, and we shall reign with him on earth.

[John Weaver] Now, without going into great detail, I want to show you one of our kingly beauties. I want you to turn in your Bibles, if you would, to the book of Proverbs, chapter 25, and look, if you would please, at verse 2. Proverbs 25 and verse 2. In fact, we'll read verse 1 as well. These are also the Proverbs of Solomon, which the men of Hezekiah, King of Judah, copied out. Look at verse 2.

[John Weaver] It is the glory of God to conceal a thing, but the honor of kings is to search out a matter. It's the glory of God to conceal a thing, and it's the honor of kings to search out a matter. I've had people ask me, why doesn't God spell out everything of every problem, of every situation in the Bible, where we could just turn to a passage and read it and know exactly what to do? Well, if God did that, you couldn't carry your Bible around.

[John Weaver] It'd be so big and bulky. But what He has done, He's given us principles And we are responsible before Him to search out these principles so that we will know how to live and how to act.

[John Weaver] Now, so it's the glory of God to conceal a thing, but it's the honor of Kings to search out a matter. So let me ask you a question. How many of you have just simply walked on your property and you just reached down and picked up several Several ounces of gold every day is just lying there on the surface and maybe you're picking up a little silver every day. Does that happen on your property? Doesn't happen on my property either. You know why? Because gold and silver are extremely valuable and they're also extremely rare. And if you're going to get gold and silver, you have to mine it.

[John Weaver] You have to dig for it. You have to search for it. okay i don't realize you can pan forward if it's in the river but usually you're talking about mining and that is very difficult hard laborious work now i want to show you something i want you to turn in your bibles to the book of proverbs chapter two i want to just read this and then i'm going to come back and emphasize certain words with my voice. So I want you to look at this. Proverbs chapter 2, let's begin there with verse 1.

[John Weaver] God says, My son, if thou will receive my words and hide my commandments with thee, so thou incline thine ear unto wisdom and apply thine heart to understanding, yea, have thou Christ after knowledge and lifted up thy voice for understanding, If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures, then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God. Now let's go back. Watch this. My son, if thou will receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee, so thou incline thine ear to wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding. Yea, if thou cryest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding, if thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures, then and only then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God." Wow!

[John Weaver] Now, let me ask you a question. If you knew for sure, absolutely, if you knew there was a treasure chest full of silver and gold hidden on your property. And it's gold coins and silver coins from hundreds of years ago, which makes it far more valuable than modern day gold and silver. You know it's on your property. You just don't know where, but you know it's there.

[John Weaver] And so what you do, you take your shovel and you go out and you dig for 15, 20 minutes and you say, wow, this is hard work. I don't think I'm going to do this. And you turn around and go back in the house and get your glass of tea and sit down where it's cool. Would that happen with you? And I know it wouldn't. If you knew that treasure chest was on your property, you wouldn't stop digging until midnight.

[John Weaver] And if you gave out of steam, you would try to rent a backhoe. Your yard would look like a modern-day highway full of potholes. Because you want that silver and you want that gold. This is exactly what God is saying in Proverbs chapter 2. You know what the Bible says? Listen to this. Psalm 111 and verse 2. The works of the Lord are great, sought out of all of them that have pleasure therein. The works are not sought out of people who do not have pleasure in them. They're only sought out of people who do have pleasure in them.

[John Weaver] So it's our duty, it's our responsibility, it's our obligation, it's our privilege to study and to show ourselves approved unto God, workmen that needeth not to be ashamed. Now, I want to tie this together because I title this message, For the Love of the Truth. I want you to look in your Bibles to the book of James chapter 3. Here's an interesting verse. James chapter 3. And look, if you would please, at verses 13 and 14. James 3, verse 13.

[John Weaver] The question is asked, Who is a wise man and dude with knowledge among you? Let him show out of a good conversation his works with meekness and wisdom. But if you have bitter envy and strife in your hearts, glory not and lie not against the truth. Hang on. Look at what he said. But if you have bitter envy and strife in your hearts, glory not and lie not against the truth.

[John Weaver] So let me make something clear that's very obvious in this passage. You can lie in more ways than one. You don't have to use your tongue to lie. Your attitude, your disposition can be a lie, because bitter ending and strife happens to be dispositions. It happens to be attitudes.

[John Weaver] Now, look what he said. If you have bitter ending and strife in your heart, he said, glory not and lie not against the truth. Now, the word truth here happens to be the word aletheia. And the word aletheia actually means truth, actual truth. Truth is revealed in the Bible. It would refer to objective truth. So he says, glory not and lie not against the truth. So what is truth? Well, that's what Pilate asked Jesus Christ, what is truth? Well, the interesting thing is the Bible gives us the answer to that, because the word of God, the Bible is referred to over and over as the Word of Truth. John 17, 17, our Lord said, Sanctify them by truth, thy word is truth. James 1, 18, Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth. Over and over, the Bible, the Scripture is called the Word of Truth. So we know that the Scriptures are the Word of Truth. Secondly, the Sovereign God is truth.

[John Weaver] Deuteronomy chapter 32 and verse 4. The Bible tells us that God is truth. Whatever He does, He does in truth. You'll find the same truth in Psalm 31 and verse 5. And of course, you know that the Son of God, Jesus Christ, is truth, for He said, In John chapter 14, I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no man cometh to the Father but by me. When you get to John 1 in verse 17, the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. And we know that Jesus Christ is God in the flesh, for the Bible says, for it pleased the Father that in Him should all the fullness of the Godhead dwell bodily. So Jesus Christ is truth incarnate. And then did you realize the Spirit of God is called the Spirit of Truth in John 14, John 15, and John 16?

[John Weaver] Now, when you look at James 3 and verse 14, He said, but if you have bitter envy and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. So, if we're living ungodly, if we're living in error, if we're living in sin, if we're living disobediently, what are we doing? We're lying against the truth. That means we're lying against the Scriptures of God, we're lying against the Sovereign God, we're lying against the Son of God, and we're lying against the Spirit of God. Wow! You can lie.

[John Weaver] It bore ways in one. Now, the interesting thing is this. In the Old Testament, they lied against God. In the New Testament, we do the same thing. But I want you to see this. Look back in your Bibles to the book of Hosea. Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos. Look in Hosea, chapter 7, and we're going to look at verse 13. Hosea 7 and verse 13. Look at this. Look what God says about Israel. In fact, you can read verse 1. He said, When I would have healed Israel, then the iniquity of Ephraim was discovered, and the wickedness of Samaria. For they commit falsehood, look at that, and the thief cometh in, and the troop of robbers falleth without.

[John Weaver] That's not the verse I wanted, but I'm just showing you in the context he's talking about his own people. Look what he says in verse 13. Woe to them, for they have fled from me, destruction unto them, because they have transgressed against me, though I have redeemed them, yet they have spoken lies against me. So here's a good question. Or are you lying against God? And you can lie against Him with your attitude, with your disposition as well.

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to turn in your Bibles to the book of 2 Thessalonians chapter 2. I want to show you why people are perishing. Why our children perish. Why our grandchildren perish. Why, in the end, everyone perishes. Look in your Bibles, if you would please, to 2 Thessalonians chapter 2, and let's begin reading there with verse 10. 2 Thessalonians 2 and verse 10. The Bible says,"...with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish." Why are they perishing?

[John Weaver] because they received not the love of the truth that they might be saved." Wow, look at this. What happens when you do not receive the love of the truth? Verse 11, and for this cause God shall send them strong delusion that they should believe a lie. What happens when you believe a lie? That they all might be damned who believed not the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

[John Weaver] You know, most people have never really considered this reality. If you do not have the truth, the only thing left is error. If you do not understand truth, the only thing left is for you to believe a lie. So our Lord says people were perishing because they received not the love of the truth that they might be saved. And when they do not receive the love of the truth, God sends them a strong delusion. In other words, if you will not believe the truth, you will believe a lie. And if you believe the lie, you're going to be damned. Because you receive not the love of the truth.

[John Weaver] Now, the Bible tells us in the book of Titus chapter 1 and verse 9, holding fast the faithful word as we have been taught. You and I are obligated to what truth we have, we are to hold it fast. Hebrews 2 and verse 1 tells us not to let it slip. I want to show you two verses and then we'll close. I want you to turn to 1 John chapter 4. 1 John chapter 4. Look at this. 1 John chapter 4 and verse 6. Look at what the Bible says. 1 John 4 verse 6. We are of God. He that knoweth God, heareth us. He that is not of God, heareth not us. Look at this. Hereby know we the spirit of truth and the spirit of error. John says, look, we're the representatives of Jesus Christ. We're the representatives of God. He that knows God hears us. He that is not of God heareth not us, and hereby we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error. So what is the spirit of error?

[John Weaver] The spirit of error is a rejection of the truth. It's the belief of the lie. Then if you look in your Bibles to 2 John chapter 1 and verse 2, 2 John chapter 1 and verse 2, here's an interesting statement. For the truth's sake, which dwelleth in us, and shall be with us forever." Have you ever stopped to think about this? How in the world could those martyrs sing psalms, praise God, and quote scripture as they were being burned alive. How could they endure such torture? And the answer is, for the truth's sake. For the truth's sake, because the truth dwells in us, and those who have the truth in the Word of God cannot deny it.

[John Weaver] You remember what the Bible says about overcoming the enemy? And they overcame him. How? By the blood of the Lamb, by their own testimony, and they loved not their lives unto death. So if we love the truth, we'll hold to the truth regardless. Our Lord said, by the truth, sell it not. Also wisdom, instruction, and knowledge. And when God gives you truth, when you see it from his word, hold it fast.

[John Weaver] Never, ever let it slip from your grasp. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to thee this day. We thank you for your word. We thank you for your truth. And Lord, we pray that you would give us truth. that we may rejoice in it before thee. In the name of Jesus Christ we ask and pray. Amen.

For Love of the Truth

John Weaver | SermonAudio

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	SermonAudio
Media ID	82624182841571
Subject	Old Testament Studies
Course	Proverbs: Wealth, Defense, and Justice
Genre	Sermon
Date	2024-08-25
Dictation Name
Book	Book 083: Proverbs: Wealth, Defense, and Justice — Chapter 6
Source Timed Segments	83

Formatted Transcript

Introduction: The Rarity and Value of Truth

Truth is a wonderful but rare commodity; most people stumble over it and ignore it, never truly seeking it.

You can open your Bibles to the book of Proverbs, chapter 23 and verse 23. Proverbs 23, verse 23. Very simple verse. A verse that I think probably many of you know and probably have quoted in times past. Look at it. Proverbs 23, verse 23. All it says is this,

Scripture Reading — Proverbs 23:23

"Buy the truth and sell it not. Also wisdom and instruction and understanding."

So the title of the lesson this afternoon is "For Love of the Truth." Truth is indeed an absolutely wonderful commodity. It's also extremely rare in our day and time as well. Many individuals think that they really want truth, but in reality they do not want truth because they never search for it. They never actually look for it. They never study for it.

And the truth of the matter is when most people stumble upon truth, they just simply ignore it and walk on by as if it doesn't even exist. Someone has said very aptly that most people at one point in their lives stumble over truth. And when they do, they get up and dust themselves off and continue to walk as if they had not stumbled over absolutely anything. And that's true.

Partial Truth Is a Lie

Using courtroom oaths and a child's half-truth, Weaver illustrates that a partial truth presented as whole truth is a lie, and most people do not want the whole truth.

Many of you have been in a courtroom. Some of us have been witnesses in legal trials. And it's interesting that when you are called as a witness in a courtroom, you place your hand on the Bible, and you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God. And an interesting thing is, the prosecutor and the defense attorney most often really and truly do not want the whole truth. What they want is a partial truth. to show that they will either get their defendant acquitted or the man condemned, one of the two. And I've done this before, and I know other people that have. The prosecutor will ask a specific question, and he wants a specific answer. And I say, "I will answer that, sir, with this explanation." "No, no, no, no. Just answer the question." "No. I'm going to answer the question if I can explain my answer, because I took an oath to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. And the way you pose the question, it would not be the whole truth. It would just be a partial truth." So, the truth of the matter is, most people really do not want the truth. You see, a partial truth, presented as a whole truth, is a lie. You can ask your child, "Did you eat the last apple?"

And he will respond, "No." Well, is he telling the truth or is he telling a lie? Well, both. He didn't eat the last apple, he only ate a half of it. So, the point I'm trying to make is this, a half-truth presented as a whole truth is an untruth. It's a lie. So the truth of the matter is most people really truly do not want the truth, that is for sure, because they're not interested in studying, they're not interested in reading, they're not interested in anything other than the fact they're just totally and completely satisfied with what they know. And even if it's a partial truth or no truth at all, look if you would at how people are raised. And I'm not just talking about in this country, think about the folks in India.

The Pharisees' Contempt for Those Without Their 'Truth'

The Pharisees in John 7 looked down on those who did not know the law as they did, yet they themselves were in error, illustrating pride in false knowledge.

Now, when we're talking about truth, there's another interesting thing is there are some people who believe that they have arrived at all truth. They are on the apex, they are on the pinnacle of truth, and since they have the truth and you do not have it, or since they have the truth and you do not agree with them and see what they see and understand what they understand, then they look down upon you as someone absolutely ignorant, someone who is so stupid, that you cannot even discern your right hand from your left hand. You say, "Were there people like that?" Of course. If you'll hold Proverbs 23 and look in your Bibles very quickly to the book of John chapter 7, you'll find the Pharisees were exactly like I just described. Because in John chapter 7, beginning there with verse 45, John 7 verse 45, "Then came the officers to the chief priests and Pharisees, and they said unto them, Why have ye not brought him?" They sent these officers to bring Jesus Christ to them.

And the officers answered, "Never man spake like this man." Then answered them the Pharisees, "Are you also deceived? Have any of the rulers of the Pharisees believed on him? But this people who knoweth not the law are cursed." Now, the interesting thing is, the word "knoweth" is the word ginosko, which literally means to know, to perceive, to understand. So they say the people that do not know or perceive or understand this law are cursed. And the word "cursed," by the way, is a word which means a curse, to be execrable, and to be exposed to divine vengeance. And in other words, here's what the Pharisees were doing. They were treating people who did not see what they saw or understood what they understood with absolute contempt and said that they were a miserable people and they were under the curse and the judgment of God. While at the same time you have to remember that the Pharisees were in error and in heresy and did not have the truth, they believed the lie. That is why they actually hated Jesus Christ because he was exposing their error and he was exposing their heresy. And yet they looked down upon those who did not know what they knew, or at least what they thought they knew.

The Command to Buy Truth, Wisdom, Instruction, and Understanding

Proverbs 23:23 commands believers to acquire truth (divine instruction), wisdom (skill and discernment), instruction (correction and discipline), and understanding (discernment).

Now, I want you to go back to Proverbs 23 and verse 23, and I want you to look at this verse. It's an absolutely wonderful verse. It's full of instruction. He says in Proverbs 23 and verse 23, "Buy the truth and sell it not. Also, wisdom and instruction and understanding." Now, I want you to consider, first of all, the word "buy." It is the Hebrew word kanah, which means to buy, to purchase, to acquire. Buy it. You are to consider truth as the most valuable commodity.

You're not to quibble over the price. Whatever the price is does not matter. He says you are to buy it. Now, I want you to note in verse 23 there are actually four things that you and I are to have, that we are to possess, and each of them are extremely valuable. First of all, he says, "Buy the truth and sell it not," so we must have truth. And then he said also, "wisdom and instruction and understanding." Now, let me just say this about the word truth. He said, "Buy the truth." The Hebrew word is the word emeth, and it means truth. Truth is divine instruction. Truth as a body of revealed knowledge, which would refer, obviously, to the Bible or the Holy Scriptures. So when he's saying "buy the truth," he's talking about all the truth that God has revealed in His Word. You've often heard that the Old Testament, actually, the first five books of the Bible, the books of Moses, are known as the Torah. Sometimes it's referred not just to the first five books, but to the totality of the Old Testament. But the word Torah means authoritative instruction or authoritative direction.

So it would be the same thing when he says, "Buy the truth and sell it not." He's talking about authoritative instruction and direction that's given to us in the Bible. Now look at verse 23. Here's the second thing that we're to buy and to possess, and he said also wisdom. Now the word for wisdom is the Hebrew word chokmah, and it refers to wisdom, skill, prudence, and discernment. Now I don't know if you are familiar with this term, you should be, but you will hear theologians, you will hear Bible scholars talk about the wisdom literature in the Bible. The wisdom literature in the Bible—that was Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Song of Solomon, Ecclesiastes. Yes, please. Guess what? The word for wisdom, the wisdom literature, is the same word. So when he's talking about getting wisdom, he's talking again about getting divine wisdom. He says in verse 23, "Buy the truth and sell it not, also wisdom and instruction." So the third thing that we are to buy is instruction.

Here is an item that most people do not want. God commands us to buy it. By the way, I never told you this, but I'm telling you now. When he said, "Buy the truth," it is an imperative, which means it is a command. "Buy the truth and sell it not." Then he said also wisdom, and now he says instruction. Why do I say that most people do not want instruction? Here's why. The Hebrew word is musar, and it literally means instruction, correction, rebuke, chastening, and discipline. How many of you really want chastening? How many of you really want discipline? Most people do not want discipline. They do not even want rebuke. You have to remember something. When he says that we are to buy instruction, you can be instructed in two ways. You can be instructed by words, that is teaching like I'm doing now. Or you can be instructed by rods.

That's the way we instruct our children. We use words and we also use rods. Remember that passage in Proverbs 13 and verse 24 where the Bible says,

Scripture Reading — Proverbs 13:24

"He that spareth the rod hateth his son, but he that chasteneth him loveth him."

He that spareth the rod hateth his son, but he that chasteneth him betimes, or between times, or whenever is necessary, demonstrates that he loves him. And in Proverbs 29, verse 15, "The rod and reproof give wisdom, but a child left to himself is a shame to his mother." So he says, the rod and reproof. So you have the rod and you have the words as well. And there's an interesting verse in Micah chapter 6 and verse 9. It says, "Hear ye the rod and him who hath appointed it." So God then does indeed appoint rods for us. So he tells us that we are to buy the truth, we're to have wisdom, we're to have instruction. And the fourth thing that we are to have in verse 23 is understanding.

Now, the word for understanding is the Hebrew word binah, and it refers to understanding and discernment. And this word is translated as wisdom twice in our Bible.

Truth Without Application Is Worthless

Knowledge alone is insufficient; wisdom is knowing how to apply truth. Truth not understood or applied is worthless.

Let me give you an illustration. Someone has said knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit and not a vegetable. That's true. It is a fruit. It's not a vegetable. Wisdom is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad. So you can have knowledge, but if you don't know how to use that knowledge or how to apply that knowledge, then you're not necessarily going to have wisdom.

So in one sense of the word, you could say, "Well, I have God's word. I've got God's truth. And yes, I do have wisdom. Yes, I do have instruction. Yes, I do have understanding." In another sense of the word, you could say, "Well, I have the truth, but I don't know how to use it. I don't know how to apply it." And let me just put it to you very plainly. Truth not understood and truth not applied happens to be absolutely worthless. So, if you do not know how to use truth, that truth is worthless to you.

John Gill said it like this. He said, "Also, wisdom, instruction, understanding, that is, buy these things and sell them not. Wisdom is to be prized above everything. It is the principal thing and should be gotten. All means should be used to obtain it. It may be bought without money, it should be asked of God who gives it liberally, and being had should be held fast. The instruction of the Scriptures, the instruction of the gospel, the instruction of wisdom, should be valued above gold and silver, and diligently sought after, should be laid fast, hold on, and not parted with. Understanding of divine and spiritual things is to be gotten, and happy is the man who gets these things."

Why People Reject the Truth

Five reasons: natural depravity and blindness, unwillingness to admit error, exposure of wickedness, suppression of truth, and failure to realize our kingly duty to search out truth.

I could also answer that, in one sense, with the words of our Lord in John 8 and verse 46. Because Jesus Christ said, looking at the Pharisees, "Which of you convicteth me of sin?" And then he says this,

Scripture Reading — John 8:46

"And if I say the truth, why do you not believe me?"

So that's a good question. If you hear the truth, why do you not believe the truth? Why do we not receive the truth when we hear it? Wow. I want to answer that question for you. I want to show you why most people do not receive the truth. Here we go. First of all, by nature, as depraved individuals, we are blind to the truth. We can't see it.

The Bible says in Ephesians chapter 4 verses 18 and 19, listen carefully,

Scripture Reading — Ephesians 4:18-19

"Having the understanding darkened."

What?

Scripture Reading — Ephesians 4:18-19

"Having the understanding darkened."

How?

Scripture Reading — Ephesians 4:18-19

"And being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them who have given themselves over unto lasciviousness with all uncleanness."

What?

Scripture Reading — Ephesians 4:18-19

"Being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them."

So God tells us by nature, we're absolutely blind to truth. You remember the passage in 1 Corinthians 2 and verse 14, where he said, "But the natural man," that is man by nature, unsaved man, "but the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God." Listen to this. "For they are foolish unto him, neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." So the natural man, the unsaved man, does not have the ability, he does not have the capacity to understand spiritual things.

I want to show you a good illustration. I want you to look in your Bibles to the book of John chapter 18. John chapter 18. And let's begin reading there with verse 37. Just to show you how blind people really are by nature. In John chapter 18, verse 37, Jesus Christ is standing before Pilate. The Bible says in verse 37,

Scripture Reading — John 18:37-38

"Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king."

In other words, that's equivalent to saying, "You said it, buddy. You nailed it. Yes, I am a king." That's what he said. "Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Everyone that is of the truth heareth my voice." Isn't that interesting? "Everyone that is of the truth heareth my voice." Pilate says unto him, "What is truth?" Truth was standing right in front of him and he did not see it. Truth was speaking to him and he did not hear it. Jesus Christ said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no man cometh unto the Father but by me." So here, Jesus Christ is standing right in front of Pilate, and Pilate still wants to know what truth is.

So first of all, people will not receive the truth because of their depravity, of the blindness of their heart. Secondly, hang on to this one, many people do not want the truth because it proves them wrong, and that they have been in error most of their lives. It even gets worse than that. Because it also proves that their parents were probably in error, their grandparents were in error, their friends are in error. And so they're going to refuse the truth, they're going to reject the truth, because to receive the truth and admit the truth means, "I have to say, I'm wrong. I've been wrong." I want you to look at this. Turn in your Bibles to 2 Timothy chapter 2. 2 Timothy chapter 2. And let's begin reading there in verse 24. And I can assure you, I understand this verse. I've experienced this verse a multitude of times. So, in 2 Timothy chapter 2, verse 24, the Bible says,

Scripture Reading — 2 Timothy 2:24-26

"...and the servant of the Lord must not strive, but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient."

Hang on. Why must we be apt to teach? Why must we be patient?

Scripture Reading — 2 Timothy 2:24-26

"In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves."

Someone who will not listen, someone who's going to argue against the truth, someone who's going to refuse and reject the truth is opposing himself. I'll demonstrate how and why before I close. He said, "In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves, if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth, and then they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will." So when do men recover themselves out of the snare of the devil? The answer in verse 25 is when they acknowledge the truth. When do they acknowledge the truth? The answer in verse 25 is when God gives them repentance. Why then must the servant of the Lord not strive, but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, in meekness instructing those that oppose themselves, if God peradventure will give them repentance?

Now, let me tell you something, folks. Change comes hard. Change in our thinking comes hard. Change in our belief system comes hard. And when you have been taught error for a long period of time, it is even far more difficult.

Now, I will give you a personal illustration. When God saved me and called me to preach, I had three or four pastor friends who took me under their wing and taught me a lot of things. I loved those men. I respected those men. In fact, one of those men, I was converted under his ministry. And so he was very, very special to me. And all of these men had graduated from Bob Jones University. So, upon their recommendation, I went to Bob Jones University.

And I had a teacher there, his name was Dr. Richard Gaynor. I had him in several classes. One of them was Pauline Epistles. And I was sitting in his class, and you've got to remember, when I went to the university, I was married, and I had a child, so, and I'd worked, so I was not a little young thing. I was young, but not a teenager. And when I heard Mr. Gaynor teaching, it hit me that what he was saying was contrary to what I had been taught and what my pastor friends had been teaching me.

And I sat in my desk and I said to myself, "If he's right, I'm wrong. If he's right, all of my friends are wrong." And I'll be honest, I didn't mind being wrong myself, but I did not want my friends to be wrong. So I raised my hand and he called on me. This happened to be right before we went on the summer break. It was the first of May. He called on me, he said, "Yes." And I stood up and I said, "Mr. Gaynor, you know that what you're saying is not true. You're just saying that because you want to be accepted by an intellectual elite." I was angry. I was upset because I knew, I knew if he's right, all my friends are wrong. He looked at me and he said, "Mr. Weaver, shut up and sit down. I'll see you after class." Well, I did. But after class, I was still upset. I was still angry.

So I stormed up to his desk. And he looked at me, he said, "You realize I could have you expelled from this university." I said, "Yes, sir, I know that." He said, "You realize I could report you to the discipline committee and you would have more problems." I said, "Yes sir, I know that." Then he looked at me and he said this, "But I'm not going to do either." And instead of him, you know, being upset that I basically called him a liar. Instead of him being upset, he looked at me and he said, "I do know that you study." And I did. And I made A's in his class and A's in about every subject. He said, "I do know that you study." He said, "So here's what I want you to do. I want you to go out this summer and go ahead and preach like you're going to preach. And when you come back in the fall," because this is my sophomore year, "when you come back in the fall," he said, "we will resume this conversation." And he said, "But there's one thing I'm going to ask you to do."

I said, "What is that?" He said, "You must remember this. You always allow the Bible to interpret your experiences. You never allow your experiences to interpret the Bible." And that summer, God opened my eyes like you would not believe. And when I went back to school in the fall, the first person I went to was Dr. Richard Gaynor. I went to his office. I knocked on the door.

I said, "Sir, I just came by to apologize and ask your forgiveness. You were right. I was wrong. If you can get all those students back together," I said, "I will be glad to stand up and apologize in front of all of them." And he looked at me and said, "You don't need to apologize in front of them." He said, "I'm just happy that God opened your eyes." Isn't that amazing? By the way, we're still friends. He's much, much older than I am, but he's still alive and we're still friends. But I'm just saying, change is very difficult. When you've been taught something all your life and all of a sudden you realize it's wrong. Let me show you. Look in your Bibles to the book of Acts chapter 6. You remember, they're about to stone Stephen to death and they're summoning some false witnesses. But I want you to look what they say. Acts chapter 6 and verse 14. Look at what they say. In fact, let's read verse 13. "And they set up false witnesses which said, This man ceaseth not to speak blasphemous words against this holy place, that is the temple, and the law." Now look what they said, "For we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth shall destroy this place and shall change the customs which Moses delivered unto us." Guess what? Jesus Christ did destroy that place and he did change the customs. But what they're saying is, "We don't want to change."

"We're happy with what we've got. We're not going to change." Change comes hard. So there are some people just do not want to confess and do not want to admit my grandpa was wrong. My mama and daddy were wrong. I'm wrong. It's very, very difficult. Here's a third reason most people will not receive the truth. And that is because it exposes their wickedness. If you look in your Bibles to John chapter 3. John chapter 3.

And notice what our Lord says there in verses 19 and 20. John chapter 3 verse 19. Our Lord says,

Scripture Reading — John 3:19-20

"And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved."

Now look what he said,

Scripture Reading — John 3:19-20

"And this is the condemnation that light is come into the world and men loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil."

Then he says,

Scripture Reading — John 3:19-20

"Everyone that doeth evil hateth the light. Neither cometh to the light."

Why? Because they don't want their deeds reproved or exposed. Let me give you a good illustration. Years ago, I had a family in our church for hours past. The wife was a normally Christian lady, but she taught in our Christian school. The children of this family were in our church, and in our Christian school as well. This lady's husband was an extremely likable man. You could not help but like him. You could not help but love him. He was such a kind individual, he would give you the shirt off his back. He would. But he was unsaved, and about once a month, he had to pitch a good drunk. If you could call a drunk good, but he would get good and drunk.

He was a hard worker. And he made good money and he supported his family, but once a month he's just going to get drunk. That's all there is to it. So one day I was talking to him and I asked him, I said, "Why?" And he would come to church every now and then. He wouldn't come often, but every now and then he would come. So I asked him, I said, "Why is it you do not come to church more often?" I said, "Your wife wants you to come. Your children want you to come. I want you to come. Our people want you to come. Why is it you do not come to church more often?" And he looked at me and he said, "Preacher, do you want me to tell you the truth or lie to you?" I said, "I want you to tell me the truth." He said, "I'll tell you why I don't come more often."

He said, "Because I know that you are right and I am wrong." And he says, "I know that when I come, I am condemned for my sins. And I'm going to tell you the reason I don't come." He said, "Right now, I just love my sins too much." At least he was honest. He was honest. He hated the light. He would not come to the light lest his deeds be reproved. That was it.

But I'm thankful to report to you that after a number of years God did save him, and he's an active member in that church even today. That is for sure. Now, let me give you the fourth reason why people will not receive truth. And that is because truth is suppressed by them. You will have to look at Romans chapter 1 to understand this point. So if you look in Romans chapter 1, in verses 18 and 19. Romans chapter 1, verses 18 and 19. Because many people do not understand this passage. When you read it, it's almost confusing until you understand one word. Romans chapter 1 verse 18, "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who hold the truth in unrighteousness. Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them, for God hath shewed it unto them." Now go back to verse 18. "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who hold the truth in unrighteousness." How do you hold the truth in unrighteousness? Well, when you understand that the Greek word is katecho and it literally means to hold down, to suppress, to hinder, to restrain, to hold back.

In other words, here's someone that may have heard the truth at one point. He may have been taught the truth by his parents, may have heard some preacher preach the truth, and yet what he's doing, he's not thinking about it, he's not contemplating on it, he knows that he's heard it, but he's holding it down, he's suppressing it by his constant and continual wicked, unrighteous acts. In other words, he holds it back, he suppresses it.

Now, the interesting thing is when you look in verse 18, "and he holds the truth in unrighteousness," that is the Greek word adikia, and it means that which is contrary to God's law, that which is a violation of God's law, that which is not righteous. And so he's someone who is continually sinning and doing that which is wicked to keep the truth from coming up in his mind. He didn't want to think about it. He didn't want to meditate upon it. Now, here's a problem. According to 1 Timothy chapter 4 verses 1 and 2, someone like that can have a seared conscience. A seared conscience.

What in the world is that? Well, if you do something that is wicked and wrong, often enough, frequently enough, long enough, you get to where it never bothers you. Have you ever wondered how someone can be a professional hitman? I read an article about some of these beautiful Mexican women, and yes, they had pictures of them. I forget the word that they called them, but these women were just killed mercilessly. And they were paid to do that. And they, you know, didn't bother them. I just read, oh, several years back about one young man who was in a gang. And he had a girlfriend and they had two children. And the leader of the gang suspected her of giving information to the police. He had no real knowledge of it. He just suspicioned that. And so he ordered his gang member to murder his live-in wife and two children. Guess what he did? He took him out on a picnic, fed him, murdered his wife and two children because the gang boss told him to do it.

You stop and ask, how in the world can anyone do something like this? Because you do something long enough, it doesn't even bother you. You look at what is happening in some of these Venezuelan gangs, you look at what is happening in these Islamic countries, it doesn't bother these people. Their conscience is seared. Here's the fifth reason, and I'm going to say this as far as Christians are concerned. Here's the fifth reason that we do not really have wisdom, truth, instruction, and knowledge. This may take just a little bit of explanation. And that is because we have not realized our position as kings and priests unto our God. If we are kings and priests unto our God, that means, therefore, we have kingly and priestly duties, responsibilities, obligations, and privileges. Let me just give you two verses. Let me quote them. You are familiar with them. The first one is found in Revelation 1 and verse 6. For the Bible is speaking about Jesus Christ, and it says, "And he hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father."

Scripture Reading — Revelation 1:6

"To him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen."

He hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father. Then when you get to Revelation chapter 5 and verse 10, the Bible says, "He hath made us unto our God kings and priests, and we shall reign with him on earth." Now, without going into great detail, I want to show you one of our kingly duties. I want you to turn in your Bibles, if you would, to the book of Proverbs, chapter 25, and look, if you would please, at verse 2. Proverbs 25 and verse 2. In fact, we'll read verse 1 as well. "These are also the Proverbs of Solomon, which the men of Hezekiah, King of Judah, copied out." Look at verse 2.

"It is the glory of God to conceal a thing, but the honor of kings is to search out a matter." It's the glory of God to conceal a thing, and it's the honor of kings to search out a matter. I've had people ask me, "Why doesn't God spell out everything of every problem, of every situation in the Bible, where we could just turn to a passage and read it and know exactly what to do?" Well, if God did that, you couldn't carry your Bible around. It'd be so big and bulky. But what He has done, He's given us principles. And we are responsible before Him to search out these principles so that we will know how to live and how to act.

Now, so it's the glory of God to conceal a thing, but it's the honor of kings to search out a matter. So let me ask you a question. How many of you have just simply walked on your property and you just reached down and picked up several ounces of gold every day just lying there on the surface and maybe you're picking up a little silver every day? Does that happen on your property? Doesn't happen on my property either. You know why? Because gold and silver are extremely valuable and they're also extremely rare. And if you're going to get gold and silver, you have to mine it.

You have to dig for it. You have to search for it. Okay, I realize you can pan for it if it's in the river, but usually you're talking about mining and that is very difficult, hard, laborious work. Now I want to show you something. I want you to turn in your Bibles to the book of Proverbs chapter 2. I want to just read this and then I'm going to come back and emphasize certain words with my voice. So I want you to look at this. Proverbs chapter 2, let's begin there with verse 1.

The Duty to Search for Truth as for Hidden Treasure

Proverbs 2 teaches that understanding comes only through diligent seeking, like mining for silver and gold; believers must study to show themselves approved.

God says, "My son, if thou wilt receive my words and hide my commandments with thee, so that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom and apply thine heart to understanding, yea, if thou criest after knowledge and liftest up thy voice for understanding, if thou seekest her as silver and searchest for her as for hid treasures, then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God." Now let's go back. Watch this. "My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee, so that thou incline thine ear to wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding. Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding, if thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures, then and only then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God." Wow!

Now, let me ask you a question. If you knew for sure, absolutely, if you knew there was a treasure chest full of silver and gold hidden on your property. And it's gold coins and silver coins from hundreds of years ago, which makes it far more valuable than modern day gold and silver. You know it's on your property. You just don't know where, but you know it's there. And so what you do, you take your shovel and you go out and you dig for 15, 20 minutes and you say, "Wow, this is hard work. I don't think I'm going to do this." And you turn around and go back in the house and get your glass of tea and sit down where it's cool. Would that happen with you? And I know it wouldn't. If you knew that treasure chest was on your property, you wouldn't stop digging until midnight.

And if you gave out of steam, you would try to rent a backhoe. Your yard would look like a modern-day highway full of potholes. Because you want that silver and you want that gold. This is exactly what God is saying in Proverbs chapter 2. You know what the Bible says? Listen to this. Psalm 111 and verse 2. "The works of the Lord are great, sought out of all of them that have pleasure therein." The works are not sought out of people who do not have pleasure in them. They're only sought out of people who do have pleasure in them.

So it's our duty, it's our responsibility, it's our obligation, it's our privilege to study and to show ourselves approved unto God, workmen that needeth not to be ashamed. Now, I want to tie this together because I titled this message, "For the Love of the Truth." I want you to look in your Bibles to the book of James chapter 3. Here's an interesting verse. James chapter 3. And look, if you would please, at verses 13 and 14. James 3, verse 13.

Lying Against the Truth by Attitude and Disobedience

James 3:14 shows that bitter envying and strife are lies against the truth; disobedient living lies against Scripture, God, Christ, and the Spirit.

The question is asked, "Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? Let him show out of a good conversation his works with meekness and wisdom. But if you have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not and lie not against the truth." Hang on. Look at what he said. "But if you have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not and lie not against the truth."

So let me make something clear that's very obvious in this passage. You can lie in more ways than one. You don't have to use your tongue to lie. Your attitude, your disposition can be a lie, because bitter envying and strife happens to be dispositions. It happens to be attitudes.

Now, look what he said. "If you have bitter envying and strife in your heart," he said, "glory not and lie not against the truth." Now, the word truth here happens to be the word aletheia. And the word aletheia actually means truth, actual truth. Truth is revealed in the Bible. It would refer to objective truth. So he says, "Glory not and lie not against the truth." So what is truth? Well, that's what Pilate asked Jesus Christ, "What is truth?" Well, the interesting thing is the Bible gives us the answer to that, because the word of God, the Bible is referred to over and over as the Word of Truth. John 17:17, our Lord said, "Sanctify them by truth, thy word is truth." James 1:18, "Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth." Over and over, the Bible, the Scripture is called the Word of Truth. So we know that the Scriptures are the Word of Truth. Secondly, the Sovereign God is truth.

Deuteronomy chapter 32 and verse 4. The Bible tells us that God is truth. Whatever He does, He does in truth. You'll find the same truth in Psalm 31 and verse 5. And of course, you know that the Son of God, Jesus Christ, is truth, for He said, in John chapter 14, "I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no man cometh to the Father but by me." When you get to John 1 and verse 17, "The law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ." And we know that Jesus Christ is God in the flesh, for the Bible says, "For it pleased the Father that in him should all the fullness of the Godhead dwell bodily." So Jesus Christ is truth incarnate. And then did you realize the Spirit of God is called the Spirit of Truth in John 14, John 15, and John 16?

Now, when you look at James 3 and verse 14, he said, "But if you have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth." So, if we're living ungodly, if we're living in error, if we're living in sin, if we're living disobediently, what are we doing? We're lying against the truth. That means we're lying against the Scriptures of God, we're lying against the Sovereign God, we're lying against the Son of God, and we're lying against the Spirit of God. Wow! You can lie. in more ways than one. Now, the interesting thing is this. In the Old Testament, they lied against God. In the New Testament, we do the same thing. But I want you to see this. Look back in your Bibles to the book of Hosea. Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos. Look in Hosea, chapter 7, and we're going to look at verse 13. Hosea 7 and verse 13. Look at this. Look what God says about Israel. In fact, you can read verse 1. He said, "When I would have healed Israel, then the iniquity of Ephraim was discovered, and the wickedness of Samaria. For they commit falsehood," look at that, "and the thief cometh in, and the troop of robbers spoileth without."

That's not the verse I wanted, but I'm just showing you in the context he's talking about his own people. Look what he says in verse 13. "Woe to them, for they have fled from me, destruction unto them, because they have transgressed against me, though I have redeemed them, yet they have spoken lies against me." So here's a good question. Are you lying against God? And you can lie against Him with your attitude, with your disposition as well.

Now, I want you to turn in your Bibles to the book of 2 Thessalonians chapter 2. I want to show you why people are perishing. Why our children perish. Why our grandchildren perish. Why, in the end, everyone perishes. Look in your Bibles, if you would please, to 2 Thessalonians chapter 2, and let's begin reading there with verse 10. 2 Thessalonians 2 and verse 10. The Bible says, "...with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish." Why are they perishing?

The Consequence of Rejecting the Love of the Truth

2 Thessalonians 2:10-12 warns that those who do not receive the love of the truth are given over to strong delusion and damnation.

"Because they received not the love of the truth that they might be saved." Wow, look at this. What happens when you do not receive the love of the truth? Verse 11, "And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion that they should believe a lie." What happens when you believe a lie? "That they all might be damned who believed not the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness." You know, most people have never really considered this reality. If you do not have the truth, the only thing left is error. If you do not understand truth, the only thing left is for you to believe a lie. So our Lord says people were perishing because they received not the love of the truth that they might be saved. And when they do not receive the love of the truth, God sends them a strong delusion. In other words, if you will not believe the truth, you will believe a lie. And if you believe the lie, you're going to be damned. Because you receive not the love of the truth.

Now, the Bible tells us in the book of Titus chapter 1 and verse 9, "Holding fast the faithful word as we have been taught." You and I are obligated to what truth we have, we are to hold it fast. Hebrews 2 and verse 1 tells us not to let it slip. I want to show you two verses and then we'll close. I want you to turn to 1 John chapter 4. 1 John chapter 4. Look at this. 1 John chapter 4 and verse 6. Look at what the Bible says. 1 John 4 verse 6. "We are of God. He that knoweth God, heareth us. He that is not of God, heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth and the spirit of error." John says, look, we're the representatives of Jesus Christ. We're the representatives of God. He that knows God hears us. He that is not of God heareth not us, and hereby we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error. So what is the spirit of error?

Conclusion: Hold Fast the Truth

Believers must hold fast the truth, as martyrs did, for the truth's sake; we overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony.

The spirit of error is a rejection of the truth. It's the belief of the lie. Then if you look in your Bibles to 2 John chapter 1 and verse 2, 2 John chapter 1 and verse 2, here's an interesting statement. "For the truth's sake, which dwelleth in us, and shall be with us forever." Have you ever stopped to think about this? How in the world could those martyrs sing psalms, praise God, and quote scripture as they were being burned alive. How could they endure such torture? And the answer is, for the truth's sake. For the truth's sake, because the truth dwells in us, and those who have the truth in the Word of God cannot deny it.

You remember what the Bible says about overcoming the enemy? "And they overcame him." How? "By the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony, and they loved not their lives unto death." So if we love the truth, we'll hold to the truth regardless. Our Lord said, "Buy the truth, sell it not. Also wisdom, instruction, and knowledge." And when God gives you truth, when you see it from his word, hold it fast.

Never, ever let it slip from your grasp. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to thee this day. We thank you for your word. We thank you for your truth. And Lord, we pray that you would give us truth, that we may rejoice in it before thee. In the name of Jesus Christ we ask and pray. Amen.

Never, ever let it slip from your grasp. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to thee this day. We thank you for your word. We thank you for your truth. And Lord, we pray that you would give us truth. that we may rejoice in it before thee. In the name of Jesus Christ we ask and pray. Amen.

Study Guide

Major Themes

The Supreme Value of Truth

Summary: Truth is a rare, precious commodity that must be acquired at any cost and never sold.

Evidence: Proverbs 23:23 is quoted: 'Buy the truth and sell it not.' Weaver says, 'You are to consider truth as the most valuable commodity.'

Partial Truth as Deception

Summary: A half-truth presented as the whole truth is a lie, and most people do not genuinely want the whole truth.

Evidence: Weaver gives the courtroom example and the child who ate half an apple, concluding, 'a half-truth presented as a whole truth is an untruth.'

Spiritual Blindness and Depravity

Summary: By nature, unsaved people are blind to truth and cannot understand spiritual things.

Evidence: Ephesians 4:18-19 and 1 Corinthians 2:14 are cited to show the natural man's inability to receive the things of the Spirit.

The Difficulty of Accepting Truth That Proves Us Wrong

Summary: People resist truth because it requires admitting personal, familial, or traditional error.

Evidence: Weaver shares his personal story of resisting Dr. Gaynor's teaching because it meant his pastor friends were wrong.

Truth Exposes Wickedness

Summary: People hate the light because it exposes their evil deeds; they love darkness rather than light.

Evidence: John 3:19-20 is quoted, and the story of the man who loved his sins too much to come to church is told.

Suppression of Truth

Summary: People hold down or suppress the truth by continual unrighteousness, leading to a seared conscience.

Evidence: Romans 1:18 is explained with the Greek word katecho meaning 'to hold down, suppress.'

The Kingly Duty to Search Out Truth

Summary: As kings and priests, believers must diligently search out truth as for hidden treasure.

Evidence: Proverbs 25:2 and Proverbs 2:1-5 are used to show that God conceals truth so that kings will search it out.

The Danger of Rejecting the Love of the Truth

Summary: Rejecting the love of the truth leads to strong delusion, belief in a lie, and damnation.

Evidence: 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12 is quoted: 'because they received not the love of the truth that they might be saved.'

Key Arguments

Truth must be bought at any cost and never sold.

Summary: The Hebrew word for 'buy' is an imperative command, indicating truth is to be acquired regardless of price.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'Buy it. You are to consider truth as the most valuable commodity. You're not to quibble over the price.'

A partial truth presented as whole truth is a lie.

Summary: The courtroom oath requires the whole truth; answering only partially is deceptive.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'a partial truth, presented as a whole truth, is a lie.'

Natural man cannot receive spiritual truth.

Summary: Due to depravity, the unsaved person is blind and unable to understand the things of God.

Evidence: 1 Corinthians 2:14: 'the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God... neither can he know them.'

People oppose themselves when they reject truth.

Summary: Rejecting truth is self-destructive; only God-given repentance leads to acknowledging truth.

Evidence: 2 Timothy 2:25-26: 'in meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth.'

Truth exposes sin, so sinners avoid it.

Summary: Men love darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil and they do not want to be reproved.

Evidence: John 3:19-20: 'men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.'

Suppressing truth leads to a seared conscience.

Summary: Continual sin suppresses truth and can sear the conscience, making one insensitive to wrong.

Evidence: Romans 1:18 and 1 Timothy 4:2 are referenced; Weaver explains, 'if you do something that is wicked and wrong, often enough... you get to where it never bothers you.'

Believers must diligently search for truth as kings.

Summary: It is the honor of kings to search out a matter; believers must mine for truth like hidden treasure.

Evidence: Proverbs 25:2 and Proverbs 2:4-5: 'if thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures; then shalt thou understand.'

Rejecting the love of the truth results in damnation.

Summary: Those who do not love the truth are given over to delusion and ultimately damned.

Evidence: 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12: 'that they all might be damned who believed not the truth.'

Scripture References

Proverbs 23:23

Context: The central text: 'Buy the truth and sell it not; also wisdom and instruction and understanding.'

John 7:45-49

Context: Pharisees show contempt for those who do not know the law, illustrating pride in false knowledge.

1 Corinthians 8:2

Context: If any man thinks he knows anything, he knows nothing as he ought to know.

Proverbs 13:24

Context: He that spareth the rod hateth his son, illustrating instruction through discipline.

Proverbs 29:15

Context: The rod and reproof give wisdom.

Micah 6:9

Context: Hear ye the rod and him who hath appointed it.

Proverbs 4:5,7

Context: Get wisdom, get understanding; wisdom is the principal thing.

Proverbs 16:16

Context: How much better to get wisdom than gold.

John 8:46

Context: Jesus asks, 'If I say the truth, why do you not believe me?'

Ephesians 4:18-19

Context: Having the understanding darkened, alienated from the life of God through ignorance.

1 Corinthians 2:14

Context: The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God.

John 18:37-38

Context: Pilate asks 'What is truth?' while Truth stands before him.

2 Timothy 2:24-26

Context: In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves, if God peradventure will give them repentance.

Acts 6:13-14

Context: False witnesses accuse Stephen of speaking against the temple and customs, showing resistance to change.

John 3:19-20

Context: Men loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil.

Romans 1:18-19

Context: Men hold (suppress) the truth in unrighteousness.

Revelation 1:6

Context: He hath made us kings and priests unto God.

Revelation 5:10

Context: He hath made us unto our God kings and priests.

Proverbs 25:2

Context: It is the glory of God to conceal a thing, but the honor of kings is to search out a matter.

Proverbs 2:1-5

Context: If thou seekest her as silver... then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord.

Historical References

Pharisees in John 7

Context: They looked down on those who did not know the law, considering them cursed, while they themselves were in error.

Pilate's question 'What is truth?'

Context: Pilate asked Jesus 'What is truth?' while Truth incarnate stood before him.

Martyrs singing while being burned

Context: Martyrs endured torture by holding to the truth that dwelt in them.

Important Quotes

Buy the truth and sell it not. Also wisdom and instruction and understanding.

Significance: The foundational verse of the sermon, commanding the acquisition and retention of truth.

a partial truth, presented as a whole truth, is a lie.

Significance: Key argument that half-truths are deceptive and untruthful.

If any man think that he knoweth anything, he knoweth nothing as he ought to know.

Significance: Paul's rebuke of pride in knowledge, used to counter the Pharisees' attitude.

Truth not understood and truth not applied happens to be absolutely worthless.

Significance: Emphasizes that mere possession of truth without application is useless.

We must buy it, that is, be willing to part with anything for it. He does not say at what rate we must buy it, because we cannot buy it too dearly.

Significance: Matthew Henry's quote on the incalculable value of truth.

You always allow the Bible to interpret your experiences. You never allow your experiences to interpret the Bible.

Significance: Dr. Gaynor's advice that led to Weaver's change of mind; a hermeneutical principle.

It is the glory of God to conceal a thing, but the honor of kings is to search out a matter.

Significance: Proverbs 25:2, used to show the believer's duty to diligently seek truth.

because they received not the love of the truth that they might be saved.

Significance: 2 Thessalonians 2:10, the reason for perishing and the consequence of rejecting truth.

Discussion Questions

In what ways are we tempted to accept or present partial truths rather than the whole truth?

Context: Weaver argues that a partial truth presented as whole truth is a lie, using courtroom and family examples.

How does pride in our own knowledge prevent us from receiving truth, and how can we guard against it?

Context: The Pharisees' contempt for others and 1 Corinthians 8:2 are discussed.

Why is it so difficult to admit that we or our loved ones have been wrong about a long-held belief?

Context: Weaver shares his personal struggle when Dr. Gaynor's teaching challenged his previous understanding.

What does it mean to 'hold the truth in unrighteousness,' and how does this lead to a seared conscience?

Context: Romans 1:18 is explained with the Greek word katecho, and examples of seared consciences are given.

How can we practically fulfill our kingly duty to 'search out a matter' in our daily study of Scripture?

Context: Proverbs 25:2 and Proverbs 2 are used to illustrate the diligent search for truth like hidden treasure.

In what ways can our attitudes and actions 'lie against the truth' even if our words are correct?

Context: James 3:14 shows that bitter envying and strife are lies against the truth.

What does it mean to 'receive the love of the truth,' and what are the consequences of not doing so?

Context: 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12 warns of strong delusion and damnation for those who reject the love of the truth.

How can we cultivate a love for truth that enables us to hold fast even under persecution?

Context: The example of martyrs and the statement 'for the truth's sake' in 2 John 1:2 are referenced.

Applications

Value truth above all else

Summary: Be willing to part with anything to obtain truth, and never sell it once acquired.

Evidence: Proverbs 23:23 commands buying truth; Matthew Henry's quote: 'we cannot buy it too dearly.'

Seek the whole truth, not partial truth

Summary: Avoid presenting or accepting half-truths; strive for complete honesty in all matters.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'a partial truth, presented as a whole truth, is a lie.'

Be humble and teachable

Summary: Recognize that we do not know everything; be open to correction from Scripture.

Evidence: 1 Corinthians 8:2 and Weaver's personal story of changing his mind.

Do not suppress truth through sin

Summary: Avoid continual sin that suppresses truth and sears the conscience; confess and repent.

Evidence: Romans 1:18 and the warning about a seared conscience from 1 Timothy 4:2.

Diligently study Scripture as a kingly duty

Summary: Search the Bible like mining for hidden treasure, not casually but with intense effort.

Evidence: Proverbs 2:1-5 and Proverbs 25:2; the analogy of digging for gold.

Align your life with the truth you profess

Summary: Ensure your attitudes and actions do not contradict the truth, avoiding hypocrisy.

Evidence: James 3:14 warns against lying against the truth through bitter envying and strife.

Love the truth to be saved from delusion

Summary: Embrace the love of the truth to avoid being given over to strong delusion and damnation.

Evidence: 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12: 'because they received not the love of the truth.'

Hold fast the truth regardless of cost

Summary: Be willing to suffer for the truth, as martyrs did, because the truth dwells in us forever.

Evidence: 2 John 1:2 and the example of martyrs singing while being burned.

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T21:11:11Z

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T13:17:59Z

Clean Transcript

For Love of the Truth

Clean readable transcript. This view follows the Commentary.net cleaned segment text while preserving timestamps for audio follow-along.

You can open your Bibles to the book of Proverbs, chapter 23 and verse 23. Proverbs 23, verse 23. Very simple verse. A verse that I think probably many of you know and probably have quoted in times past. Look at it. Proverbs 23, verse 23. All it says is this, "Buy the truth and sell it not. Also wisdom and instruction and understanding." So the title of the lesson this afternoon is "For Love of the Truth." Truth is indeed an absolutely wonderful commodity. It's also extremely rare in our day and time as well. Many individuals think that they really want truth, but in reality they do not want truth because they never search for it. They never actually look for it. They never study for it.
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And the truth of the matter is when most people stumble upon truth, they just simply ignore it and walk on by as if it doesn't even exist. Someone has said very aptly that most people at one point in their lives stumble over truth. And when they do, they get up and dust themselves off and continue to walk as if they had not stumbled over absolutely anything. And that's true.
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Many of you have been in a courtroom. Some of us have been witnesses in legal trials. And it's interesting that when you are called as a witness in a courtroom, you place your hand on the Bible, and you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God. And an interesting thing is, the prosecutor and the defense attorney most often really and truly do not want the whole truth. What they want is a partial truth.
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to show that they will either get their defendant acquitted or the man condemned, one of the two. And I've done this before, and I know other people that have. The prosecutor will ask a specific question, and he wants a specific answer. And I say, "I will answer that, sir, with this explanation." "No, no, no, no. Just answer the question." "No. I'm going to answer the question if I can explain my answer, because I took an oath to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. And the way you pose the question, it would not be the whole truth. It would just be a partial truth." So, the truth of the matter is, most people really do not want the truth. You see, a partial truth, presented as a whole truth, is a lie. You can ask your child, "Did you eat the last apple?"
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And he will respond, "No." Well, is he telling the truth or is he telling a lie? Well, both. He didn't eat the last apple, he only ate a half of it. So, the point I'm trying to make is this, a half-truth presented as a whole truth is an untruth. It's a lie. So the truth of the matter is most people really truly do not want the truth, that is for sure, because they're not interested in studying, they're not interested in reading, they're not interested in anything other than the fact they're just totally and completely satisfied with what they know. And even if it's a partial truth or no truth at all, look if you would at how people are raised. And I'm not just talking about in this country, think about the folks in India.
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and all the many gods they have, the false gods they have. Think of the Islamists. Think of all these people. Think of the Roman Catholics. Look at how people are raised and look how difficult it is to get someone to accept the truth when you've been raised in error all of your lives.
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Now, when we're talking about truth, there's another interesting thing is there are some people who believe that they have arrived at all truth. They are on the apex, they are on the pinnacle of truth, and since they have the truth and you do not have it, or since they have the truth and you do not agree with them and see what they see and understand what they understand, then they look down upon you as someone absolutely ignorant, someone who is so stupid, that you cannot even discern your right hand from your left hand. You say, "Were there people like that?" Of course. If you'll hold Proverbs 23 and look in your Bibles very quickly to the book of John chapter 7, you'll find the Pharisees were exactly like I just described. Because in John chapter 7, beginning there with verse 45, John 7 verse 45, "Then came the officers to the chief priests and Pharisees, and they said unto them, Why have ye not brought him?" They sent these officers to bring Jesus Christ to them.
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And the officers answered, "Never man spake like this man." Then answered them the Pharisees, "Are you also deceived? Have any of the rulers of the Pharisees believed on him? But this people who knoweth not the law are cursed."
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Now, the interesting thing is, the word "knoweth" is the word ginosko, which literally means to know, to perceive, to understand. So they say the people that do not know or perceive or understand this law are cursed. And the word "cursed," by the way, is a word which means a curse, to be execrable, and to be exposed to divine vengeance. And in other words, here's what the Pharisees were doing. They were treating people who did not see what they saw or understood what they understood with absolute contempt and said that they were a miserable people and they were under the curse and the judgment of God. While at the same time you have to remember that the Pharisees were in error and in heresy and did not have the truth, they believed the lie. That is why they actually hated Jesus Christ because he was exposing their error and he was exposing their heresy. And yet they looked down upon those who did not know what they knew, or at least what they thought they knew.
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I don't know if you know people like that. I do. I even know some preachers like that. But there's an interesting verse that the Apostle Paul gave that really exposes that kind of thinking. And that's found in 1 Corinthians chapter 8 and verse 2, where the apostle Paul said, "If any man think that he knoweth anything, he knoweth nothing as he ought to know." So Paul says, when you think that you have arrived, when you think that you have all truth, you don't know anything at all, period.
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Now, I want you to go back to Proverbs 23 and verse 23, and I want you to look at this verse. It's an absolutely wonderful verse. It's full of instruction. He says in Proverbs 23 and verse 23, "Buy the truth and sell it not. Also, wisdom and instruction and understanding." Now, I want you to consider, first of all, the word "buy." It is the Hebrew word kanah, which means to buy, to purchase, to acquire. Buy it. You are to consider truth as the most valuable commodity.
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You're not to quibble over the price. Whatever the price is does not matter. He says you are to buy it.
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Now, I want you to note in verse 23 there are actually four things that you and I are to have, that we are to possess, and each of them are extremely valuable. First of all, he says, "Buy the truth and sell it not," so we must have truth. And then he said also, "wisdom and instruction and understanding." Now, let me just say this about the word truth. He said, "Buy the truth." The Hebrew word is the word emeth, and it means truth. Truth is divine instruction. Truth as a body of revealed knowledge, which would refer, obviously, to the Bible or the Holy Scriptures. So when he's saying "buy the truth," he's talking about all the truth that God has revealed in His Word. You've often heard that the Old Testament, actually, the first five books of the Bible, the books of Moses, are known as the Torah. Sometimes it's referred not just to the first five books, but to the totality of the Old Testament. But the word Torah means authoritative instruction or authoritative direction.
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So it would be the same thing when he says, "Buy the truth and sell it not." He's talking about authoritative instruction and direction that's given to us in the Bible.
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Now look at verse 23. Here's the second thing that we're to buy and to possess, and he said also wisdom.
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Now the word for wisdom is the Hebrew word chokmah, and it refers to wisdom, skill, prudence, and discernment. Now I don't know if you are familiar with this term, you should be, but you will hear theologians, you will hear Bible scholars talk about the wisdom literature in the Bible. The wisdom literature in the Bible—that was Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Song of Solomon, Ecclesiastes. Yes, please. Guess what? The word for wisdom, the wisdom literature, is the same word. So when he's talking about getting wisdom, he's talking again about getting divine wisdom. He says in verse 23, "Buy the truth and sell it not, also wisdom and instruction." So the third thing that we are to buy is instruction.
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Here is an item that most people do not want. God commands us to buy it. By the way, I never told you this, but I'm telling you now. When he said, "Buy the truth," it is an imperative, which means it is a command. "Buy the truth and sell it not." Then he said also wisdom, and now he says instruction. Why do I say that most people do not want instruction? Here's why. The Hebrew word is musar, and it literally means instruction, correction, rebuke, chastening, and discipline. How many of you really want chastening? How many of you really want discipline? Most people do not want discipline. They do not even want rebuke. You have to remember something. When he says that we are to buy instruction, you can be instructed in two ways. You can be instructed by words, that is teaching like I'm doing now. Or you can be instructed by rods.
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That's the way we instruct our children. We use words and we also use rods. Remember that passage in Proverbs 13 and verse 24 where the Bible says, "He that spareth the rod hateth his son, but he that chasteneth him loveth him." He that spareth the rod hateth his son, but he that chasteneth him betimes, or between times, or whenever is necessary, demonstrates that he loves him. And in Proverbs 29, verse 15, "The rod and reproof give wisdom, but a child left to himself is a shame to his mother." So he says, the rod and reproof. So you have the rod and you have the words as well. And there's an interesting verse in Micah chapter 6 and verse 9. It says, "Hear ye the rod and him who hath appointed it." So God then does indeed appoint rods for us. So he tells us that we are to buy the truth, we're to have wisdom, we're to have instruction. And the fourth thing that we are to have in verse 23 is understanding.
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Now, the word for understanding is the Hebrew word binah, and it refers to understanding and discernment. And this word is translated as wisdom twice in our Bible.
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Now, let me point something out. I can use an expression like this: on the one hand and on the other hand, or I can use it in one sense of the word and in another sense of the word, so that's what I'm going to do. So, in one sense of the word, if you really possess truth, you will possess wisdom and instruction and knowledge. Okay? In another sense of the word, if you do not possess truth in the strictest sense of the word, you do not possess all of these things because they could be what you and I would call individualized.
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Let me give you an illustration. Someone has said knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit and not a vegetable. That's true. It is a fruit. It's not a vegetable. Wisdom is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad. So you can have knowledge, but if you don't know how to use that knowledge or how to apply that knowledge, then you're not necessarily going to have wisdom.
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So in one sense of the word, you could say, "Well, I have God's word. I've got God's truth. And yes, I do have wisdom. Yes, I do have instruction. Yes, I do have understanding." In another sense of the word, you could say, "Well, I have the truth, but I don't know how to use it. I don't know how to apply it." And let me just put it to you very plainly. Truth not understood and truth not applied happens to be absolutely worthless. So, if you do not know how to use truth, that truth is worthless to you.
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John Gill said it like this. He said, "Also, wisdom, instruction, understanding, that is, buy these things and sell them not. Wisdom is to be prized above everything. It is the principal thing and should be gotten. All means should be used to obtain it. It may be bought without money, it should be asked of God who gives it liberally, and being had should be held fast. The instruction of the Scriptures, the instruction of the gospel, the instruction of wisdom, should be valued above gold and silver, and diligently sought after, should be laid fast, hold on, and not parted with. Understanding of divine and spiritual things is to be gotten, and happy is the man who gets these things."
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Now, let me show you. I want you to look back in your Bibles, first of all, to the book of Proverbs chapter 4. And look, if you would please, at verse 5. Proverbs 4 and verse 5. Look what God says, Proverbs 4 verse 5, "Get wisdom, get understanding, forget it not, neither decline from the words of my mouth." Get wisdom, get understanding, forget it not. Now look down in verse 7. He says, "Wisdom is the principal thing, therefore get wisdom. And with all thy getting, get understanding." Now if you look in Proverbs chapter 16 and verse 16, Proverbs 16 and verse 16, he asks, "How much better is it to get wisdom than gold, and to get understanding rather to be chosen than silver?" How much better is it to get wisdom than gold, and to get understanding rather to be chosen than silver?
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I want to give you a quote by Matthew Henry, and I want to give you this quote just so I can give you one absolute jewel right in the middle of this quote. Listen to what he says. "We must buy it, that is, be willing to part with anything for it. He does not say at what rate we must buy it, because we cannot buy it too dearly. But we must have it at any rate, whatever it costs us."
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"We shall not repent of the bargain. When we are at expense for the means of knowledge and resolve not to starve so good a cause, then we buy the truth."
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Now listen to this statement. "Riches should be employed for the getting of knowledge rather than knowledge for the getting of riches." He goes on to say, "When we are at pains in searching for truth and after truth, then we come to the knowledge of it and may distinguish between it and error, then we buy it." So we're commanded then to buy the truth and sell it not, and along with that truth, wisdom, instruction, and knowledge. So here's my question. Since God has commanded us to have these things, why is it we do not have them in our lives? Oh, we may have a little taste of some of them, but we do not have wisdom to the degree that we need it. We do not have knowledge to the degree that we need it. We do not have understanding to the degree that we need it. So, why is it we do not have these things?
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I could also answer that, in one sense, with the words of our Lord in John 8 and verse 46. Because Jesus Christ said, looking at the Pharisees, "Which of you convicteth me of sin?" And then he says this, "And if I say the truth, why do you not believe me?" So that's a good question. If you hear the truth, why do you not believe the truth? Why do we not receive the truth when we hear it? Wow. I want to answer that question for you. I want to show you why most people do not receive the truth. Here we go. First of all, by nature, as depraved individuals, we are blind to the truth. We can't see it.
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The Bible says in Ephesians chapter 4 verses 18 and 19, listen carefully, "Having the understanding darkened." What? "Having the understanding darkened." How? "And being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them who have given themselves over unto lasciviousness with all uncleanness." What? "Being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them." So God tells us by nature, we're absolutely blind to truth. You remember the passage in 1 Corinthians 2 and verse 14, where he said, "But the natural man," that is man by nature, unsaved man, "but the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God." Listen to this. "For they are foolish unto him, neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." So the natural man, the unsaved man, does not have the ability, he does not have the capacity to understand spiritual things.
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I want to show you a good illustration. I want you to look in your Bibles to the book of John chapter 18. John chapter 18. And let's begin reading there with verse 37. Just to show you how blind people really are by nature. In John chapter 18, verse 37, Jesus Christ is standing before Pilate. The Bible says in verse 37, "Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king."
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In other words, that's equivalent to saying, "You said it, buddy. You nailed it. Yes, I am a king." That's what he said. "Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Everyone that is of the truth heareth my voice." Isn't that interesting? "Everyone that is of the truth heareth my voice." Pilate says unto him, "What is truth?" Truth was standing right in front of him and he did not see it. Truth was speaking to him and he did not hear it. Jesus Christ said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no man cometh unto the Father but by me." So here, Jesus Christ is standing right in front of Pilate, and Pilate still wants to know what truth is.
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So first of all, people will not receive the truth because of their depravity, of the blindness of their heart. Secondly, hang on to this one, many people do not want the truth because it proves them wrong, and that they have been in error most of their lives. It even gets worse than that. Because it also proves that their parents were probably in error, their grandparents were in error, their friends are in error. And so they're going to refuse the truth, they're going to reject the truth, because to receive the truth and admit the truth means, "I have to say, I'm wrong. I've been wrong." I want you to look at this.
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Turn in your Bibles to 2 Timothy chapter 2. 2 Timothy chapter 2. And let's begin reading there in verse 24. And I can assure you, I understand this verse. I've experienced this verse a multitude of times. So, in 2 Timothy chapter 2, verse 24, the Bible says, "...and the servant of the Lord must not strive, but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient." Hang on. Why must we be apt to teach? Why must we be patient? "In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves."
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Someone who will not listen, someone who's going to argue against the truth, someone who's going to refuse and reject the truth is opposing himself. I'll demonstrate how and why before I close. He said, "In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves, if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth, and then they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will." So when do men recover themselves out of the snare of the devil? The answer in verse 25 is when they acknowledge the truth. When do they acknowledge the truth? The answer in verse 25 is when God gives them repentance. Why then must the servant of the Lord not strive, but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, in meekness instructing those that oppose themselves, if God peradventure will give them repentance?
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Now, let me tell you something, folks. Change comes hard. Change in our thinking comes hard. Change in our belief system comes hard. And when you have been taught error for a long period of time, it is even far more difficult.
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Now, I will give you a personal illustration. When God saved me and called me to preach, I had three or four pastor friends who took me under their wing and taught me a lot of things. I loved those men. I respected those men. In fact, one of those men, I was converted under his ministry. And so he was very, very special to me. And all of these men had graduated from Bob Jones University. So, upon their recommendation, I went to Bob Jones University.
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And I had a teacher there, his name was Dr. Richard Gaynor. I had him in several classes. One of them was Pauline Epistles. And I was sitting in his class, and you've got to remember, when I went to the university, I was married, and I had a child, so, and I'd worked, so I was not a little young thing. I was young, but not a teenager. And when I heard Mr. Gaynor teaching, it hit me that what he was saying was contrary to what I had been taught and what my pastor friends had been teaching me.
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And I sat in my desk and I said to myself, "If he's right, I'm wrong. If he's right, all of my friends are wrong." And I'll be honest, I didn't mind being wrong myself, but I did not want my friends to be wrong. So I raised my hand and he called on me. This happened to be right before we went on the summer break. It was the first of May. He called on me, he said, "Yes."
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And I stood up and I said, "Mr. Gaynor, you know that what you're saying is not true. You're just saying that because you want to be accepted by an intellectual elite." I was angry. I was upset because I knew, I knew if he's right, all my friends are wrong. He looked at me and he said, "Mr. Weaver, shut up and sit down. I'll see you after class." Well, I did. But after class, I was still upset. I was still angry.
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So I stormed up to his desk. And he looked at me, he said, "You realize I could have you expelled from this university." I said, "Yes, sir, I know that." He said, "You realize I could report you to the discipline committee and you would have more problems." I said, "Yes sir, I know that." Then he looked at me and he said this, "But I'm not going to do either." And instead of him, you know, being upset that I basically called him a liar. Instead of him being upset, he looked at me and he said, "I do know that you study." And I did.
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And I made A's in his class and A's in about every subject. He said, "I do know that you study." He said, "So here's what I want you to do. I want you to go out this summer and go ahead and preach like you're going to preach. And when you come back in the fall," because this is my sophomore year, "when you come back in the fall," he said, "we will resume this conversation." And he said, "But there's one thing I'm going to ask you to do."
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I said, "What is that?" He said, "You must remember this. You always allow the Bible to interpret your experiences. You never allow your experiences to interpret the Bible." And that summer, God opened my eyes like you would not believe. And when I went back to school in the fall, the first person I went to was Dr. Richard Gaynor. I went to his office. I knocked on the door.
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I said, "Sir, I just came by to apologize and ask your forgiveness. You were right. I was wrong. If you can get all those students back together," I said, "I will be glad to stand up and apologize in front of all of them." And he looked at me and said, "You don't need to apologize in front of them." He said, "I'm just happy that God opened your eyes." Isn't that amazing?
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By the way, we're still friends. He's much, much older than I am, but he's still alive and we're still friends. But I'm just saying, change is very difficult. When you've been taught something all your life and all of a sudden you realize it's wrong. Let me show you. Look in your Bibles to the book of Acts chapter 6. You remember, they're about to stone Stephen to death and they're summoning some false witnesses. But I want you to look what they say. Acts chapter 6 and verse 14. Look at what they say. In fact, let's read verse 13. "And they set up false witnesses which said, This man ceaseth not to speak blasphemous words against this holy place, that is the temple, and the law." Now look what they said, "For we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth shall destroy this place and shall change the customs which Moses delivered unto us." Guess what? Jesus Christ did destroy that place and he did change the customs. But what they're saying is, "We don't want to change."
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"We're happy with what we've got. We're not going to change." Change comes hard. So there are some people just do not want to confess and do not want to admit my grandpa was wrong. My mama and daddy were wrong. I'm wrong. It's very, very difficult. Here's a third reason most people will not receive the truth. And that is because it exposes their wickedness. If you look in your Bibles to John chapter 3. John chapter 3.
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And notice what our Lord says there in verses 19 and 20. John chapter 3 verse 19. Our Lord says, "And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved." Now look what he said, "And this is the condemnation that light is come into the world and men loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil." Then he says, "Everyone that doeth evil hateth the light. Neither cometh to the light." Why? Because they don't want their deeds reproved or exposed.
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Let me give you a good illustration. Years ago, I had a family in our church for hours past. The wife was a normally Christian lady, but she taught in our Christian school. The children of this family were in our church, and in our Christian school as well. This lady's husband was an extremely likable man. You could not help but like him. You could not help but love him. He was such a kind individual, he would give you the shirt off his back. He would. But he was unsaved, and about once a month, he had to pitch a good drunk. If you could call a drunk good, but he would get good and drunk.
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He was a hard worker. And he made good money and he supported his family, but once a month he's just going to get drunk. That's all there is to it. So one day I was talking to him and I asked him, I said, "Why?" And he would come to church every now and then. He wouldn't come often, but every now and then he would come. So I asked him, I said, "Why is it you do not come to church more often?" I said, "Your wife wants you to come. Your children want you to come. I want you to come. Our people want you to come. Why is it you do not come to church more often?" And he looked at me and he said, "Preacher, do you want me to tell you the truth or lie to you?" I said, "I want you to tell me the truth." He said, "I'll tell you why I don't come more often."
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He said, "Because I know that you are right and I am wrong." And he says, "I know that when I come, I am condemned for my sins. And I'm going to tell you the reason I don't come." He said, "Right now, I just love my sins too much." At least he was honest. He was honest. He hated the light. He would not come to the light lest his deeds be reproved. That was it.
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But I'm thankful to report to you that after a number of years God did save him, and he's an active member in that church even today. That is for sure.
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Now, let me give you the fourth reason why people will not receive truth. And that is because truth is suppressed by them. You will have to look at Romans chapter 1 to understand this point. So if you look in Romans chapter 1, in verses 18 and 19. Romans chapter 1, verses 18 and 19. Because many people do not understand this passage. When you read it, it's almost confusing until you understand one word. Romans chapter 1 verse 18, "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who hold the truth in unrighteousness. Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them, for God hath shewed it unto them." Now go back to verse 18. "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who hold the truth in unrighteousness." How do you hold the truth in unrighteousness? Well, when you understand that the Greek word is katecho and it literally means to hold down, to suppress, to hinder, to restrain, to hold back.
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In other words, here's someone that may have heard the truth at one point. He may have been taught the truth by his parents, may have heard some preacher preach the truth, and yet what he's doing, he's not thinking about it, he's not contemplating on it, he knows that he's heard it, but he's holding it down, he's suppressing it by his constant and continual wicked, unrighteous acts. In other words, he holds it back, he suppresses it.
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Now, the interesting thing is when you look in verse 18, "and he holds the truth in unrighteousness," that is the Greek word adikia, and it means that which is contrary to God's law, that which is a violation of God's law, that which is not righteous. And so he's someone who is continually sinning and doing that which is wicked to keep the truth from coming up in his mind. He didn't want to think about it. He didn't want to meditate upon it. Now, here's a problem. According to 1 Timothy chapter 4 verses 1 and 2, someone like that can have a seared conscience. A seared conscience.
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What in the world is that? Well, if you do something that is wicked and wrong, often enough, frequently enough, long enough, you get to where it never bothers you. Have you ever wondered how someone can be a professional hitman? I read an article about some of these beautiful Mexican women, and yes, they had pictures of them. I forget the word that they called them, but these women were just killed mercilessly.
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And they were paid to do that. And they, you know, didn't bother them. I just read, oh, several years back about one young man who was in a gang. And he had a girlfriend and they had two children. And the leader of the gang suspected her of giving information to the police. He had no real knowledge of it. He just suspicioned that. And so he ordered his gang member to murder his live-in wife and two children. Guess what he did? He took him out on a picnic, fed him, murdered his wife and two children because the gang boss told him to do it.
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You stop and ask, how in the world can anyone do something like this? Because you do something long enough, it doesn't even bother you. You look at what is happening in some of these Venezuelan gangs, you look at what is happening in these Islamic countries, it doesn't bother these people. Their conscience is seared. Here's the fifth reason, and I'm going to say this as far as Christians are concerned. Here's the fifth reason that we do not really have wisdom, truth, instruction, and knowledge.
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This may take just a little bit of explanation. And that is because we have not realized our position as kings and priests unto our God. If we are kings and priests unto our God, that means, therefore, we have kingly and priestly duties, responsibilities, obligations, and privileges. Let me just give you two verses. Let me quote them. You are familiar with them. The first one is found in Revelation 1 and verse 6. For the Bible is speaking about Jesus Christ, and it says, "And he hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father."
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"To him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen." He hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father. Then when you get to Revelation chapter 5 and verse 10, the Bible says, "He hath made us unto our God kings and priests, and we shall reign with him on earth."
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Now, without going into great detail, I want to show you one of our kingly duties. I want you to turn in your Bibles, if you would, to the book of Proverbs, chapter 25, and look, if you would please, at verse 2. Proverbs 25 and verse 2. In fact, we'll read verse 1 as well. "These are also the Proverbs of Solomon, which the men of Hezekiah, King of Judah, copied out." Look at verse 2.
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"It is the glory of God to conceal a thing, but the honor of kings is to search out a matter." It's the glory of God to conceal a thing, and it's the honor of kings to search out a matter. I've had people ask me, "Why doesn't God spell out everything of every problem, of every situation in the Bible, where we could just turn to a passage and read it and know exactly what to do?" Well, if God did that, you couldn't carry your Bible around.
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It'd be so big and bulky. But what He has done, He's given us principles. And we are responsible before Him to search out these principles so that we will know how to live and how to act.
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Now, so it's the glory of God to conceal a thing, but it's the honor of kings to search out a matter. So let me ask you a question. How many of you have just simply walked on your property and you just reached down and picked up several ounces of gold every day just lying there on the surface and maybe you're picking up a little silver every day? Does that happen on your property? Doesn't happen on my property either. You know why? Because gold and silver are extremely valuable and they're also extremely rare. And if you're going to get gold and silver, you have to mine it.
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You have to dig for it. You have to search for it. Okay, I realize you can pan for it if it's in the river, but usually you're talking about mining and that is very difficult, hard, laborious work. Now I want to show you something. I want you to turn in your Bibles to the book of Proverbs chapter 2. I want to just read this and then I'm going to come back and emphasize certain words with my voice. So I want you to look at this. Proverbs chapter 2, let's begin there with verse 1.
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God says, "My son, if thou wilt receive my words and hide my commandments with thee, so that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom and apply thine heart to understanding, yea, if thou criest after knowledge and liftest up thy voice for understanding, if thou seekest her as silver and searchest for her as for hid treasures, then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God." Now let's go back. Watch this. "My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee, so that thou incline thine ear to wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding. Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding, if thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures, then and only then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God." Wow!
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Now, let me ask you a question. If you knew for sure, absolutely, if you knew there was a treasure chest full of silver and gold hidden on your property. And it's gold coins and silver coins from hundreds of years ago, which makes it far more valuable than modern day gold and silver. You know it's on your property. You just don't know where, but you know it's there.
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And so what you do, you take your shovel and you go out and you dig for 15, 20 minutes and you say, "Wow, this is hard work. I don't think I'm going to do this." And you turn around and go back in the house and get your glass of tea and sit down where it's cool. Would that happen with you? And I know it wouldn't. If you knew that treasure chest was on your property, you wouldn't stop digging until midnight.
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And if you gave out of steam, you would try to rent a backhoe. Your yard would look like a modern-day highway full of potholes. Because you want that silver and you want that gold. This is exactly what God is saying in Proverbs chapter 2. You know what the Bible says? Listen to this. Psalm 111 and verse 2. "The works of the Lord are great, sought out of all of them that have pleasure therein." The works are not sought out of people who do not have pleasure in them. They're only sought out of people who do have pleasure in them.
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So it's our duty, it's our responsibility, it's our obligation, it's our privilege to study and to show ourselves approved unto God, workmen that needeth not to be ashamed. Now, I want to tie this together because I titled this message, "For the Love of the Truth." I want you to look in your Bibles to the book of James chapter 3. Here's an interesting verse. James chapter 3. And look, if you would please, at verses 13 and 14. James 3, verse 13.
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The question is asked, "Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? Let him show out of a good conversation his works with meekness and wisdom. But if you have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not and lie not against the truth." Hang on. Look at what he said. "But if you have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not and lie not against the truth."
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So let me make something clear that's very obvious in this passage. You can lie in more ways than one. You don't have to use your tongue to lie. Your attitude, your disposition can be a lie, because bitter envying and strife happens to be dispositions. It happens to be attitudes.
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Now, look what he said. "If you have bitter envying and strife in your heart," he said, "glory not and lie not against the truth." Now, the word truth here happens to be the word aletheia. And the word aletheia actually means truth, actual truth. Truth is revealed in the Bible. It would refer to objective truth. So he says, "Glory not and lie not against the truth." So what is truth? Well, that's what Pilate asked Jesus Christ, "What is truth?" Well, the interesting thing is the Bible gives us the answer to that, because the word of God, the Bible is referred to over and over as the Word of Truth. John 17:17, our Lord said, "Sanctify them by truth, thy word is truth." James 1:18, "Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth." Over and over, the Bible, the Scripture is called the Word of Truth. So we know that the Scriptures are the Word of Truth. Secondly, the Sovereign God is truth.
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Deuteronomy chapter 32 and verse 4. The Bible tells us that God is truth. Whatever He does, He does in truth. You'll find the same truth in Psalm 31 and verse 5. And of course, you know that the Son of God, Jesus Christ, is truth, for He said, in John chapter 14, "I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no man cometh to the Father but by me." When you get to John 1 and verse 17, "The law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ." And we know that Jesus Christ is God in the flesh, for the Bible says, "For it pleased the Father that in him should all the fullness of the Godhead dwell bodily." So Jesus Christ is truth incarnate. And then did you realize the Spirit of God is called the Spirit of Truth in John 14, John 15, and John 16?
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Now, when you look at James 3 and verse 14, he said, "But if you have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth." So, if we're living ungodly, if we're living in error, if we're living in sin, if we're living disobediently, what are we doing? We're lying against the truth. That means we're lying against the Scriptures of God, we're lying against the Sovereign God, we're lying against the Son of God, and we're lying against the Spirit of God. Wow! You can lie.
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in more ways than one. Now, the interesting thing is this. In the Old Testament, they lied against God. In the New Testament, we do the same thing. But I want you to see this. Look back in your Bibles to the book of Hosea. Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos. Look in Hosea, chapter 7, and we're going to look at verse 13. Hosea 7 and verse 13. Look at this. Look what God says about Israel. In fact, you can read verse 1. He said, "When I would have healed Israel, then the iniquity of Ephraim was discovered, and the wickedness of Samaria. For they commit falsehood," look at that, "and the thief cometh in, and the troop of robbers spoileth without."
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That's not the verse I wanted, but I'm just showing you in the context he's talking about his own people. Look what he says in verse 13. "Woe to them, for they have fled from me, destruction unto them, because they have transgressed against me, though I have redeemed them, yet they have spoken lies against me." So here's a good question. Are you lying against God? And you can lie against Him with your attitude, with your disposition as well.
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Now, I want you to turn in your Bibles to the book of 2 Thessalonians chapter 2. I want to show you why people are perishing. Why our children perish. Why our grandchildren perish. Why, in the end, everyone perishes. Look in your Bibles, if you would please, to 2 Thessalonians chapter 2, and let's begin reading there with verse 10. 2 Thessalonians 2 and verse 10. The Bible says, "...with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish." Why are they perishing?
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"Because they received not the love of the truth that they might be saved." Wow, look at this. What happens when you do not receive the love of the truth? Verse 11, "And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion that they should believe a lie." What happens when you believe a lie? "That they all might be damned who believed not the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness."
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You know, most people have never really considered this reality. If you do not have the truth, the only thing left is error. If you do not understand truth, the only thing left is for you to believe a lie. So our Lord says people were perishing because they received not the love of the truth that they might be saved. And when they do not receive the love of the truth, God sends them a strong delusion. In other words, if you will not believe the truth, you will believe a lie. And if you believe the lie, you're going to be damned. Because you receive not the love of the truth.
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Now, the Bible tells us in the book of Titus chapter 1 and verse 9, "Holding fast the faithful word as we have been taught." You and I are obligated to what truth we have, we are to hold it fast. Hebrews 2 and verse 1 tells us not to let it slip. I want to show you two verses and then we'll close. I want you to turn to 1 John chapter 4. 1 John chapter 4. Look at this. 1 John chapter 4 and verse 6. Look at what the Bible says. 1 John 4 verse 6. "We are of God. He that knoweth God, heareth us. He that is not of God, heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth and the spirit of error." John says, look, we're the representatives of Jesus Christ. We're the representatives of God. He that knows God hears us. He that is not of God heareth not us, and hereby we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error. So what is the spirit of error?
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The spirit of error is a rejection of the truth. It's the belief of the lie. Then if you look in your Bibles to 2 John chapter 1 and verse 2, 2 John chapter 1 and verse 2, here's an interesting statement. "For the truth's sake, which dwelleth in us, and shall be with us forever." Have you ever stopped to think about this? How in the world could those martyrs sing psalms, praise God, and quote scripture as they were being burned alive. How could they endure such torture? And the answer is, for the truth's sake. For the truth's sake, because the truth dwells in us, and those who have the truth in the Word of God cannot deny it.
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You remember what the Bible says about overcoming the enemy? "And they overcame him." How? "By the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony, and they loved not their lives unto death." So if we love the truth, we'll hold to the truth regardless. Our Lord said, "Buy the truth, sell it not. Also wisdom, instruction, and knowledge." And when God gives you truth, when you see it from his word, hold it fast.
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Never, ever let it slip from your grasp. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to thee this day. We thank you for your word. We thank you for your truth. And Lord, we pray that you would give us truth, that we may rejoice in it before thee. In the name of Jesus Christ we ask and pray. Amen.
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Never, ever let it slip from your grasp. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to thee this day. We thank you for your word. We thank you for your truth. And Lord, we pray that you would give us truth. that we may rejoice in it before thee. In the name of Jesus Christ we ask and pray. Amen.
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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T21:11:11Z

For Love of the Truth

John Weaver | Freedom Ministries

John Weaver expounds Proverbs 23:23, emphasizing the command to acquire truth, wisdom, instruction, and understanding at any cost and never part with them. He explains why people reject truth—due to spiritual blindness, unwillingness to admit error, love of sin, suppression of truth, and failure to fulfill their kingly duty to search it out. The sermon warns that rejecting the love of the truth leads to delusion and damnation, and urges believers to hold fast to the truth.

Introduction: The Rarity and Value of Truth

Truth is a wonderful but rare commodity; most people stumble over it and ignore it, never truly seeking it.

Scripture Reading — Proverbs 23:23

"Buy the truth and sell it not. Also wisdom and instruction and understanding."

Partial Truth Is a Lie

Using courtroom oaths and a child's half-truth, Weaver illustrates that a partial truth presented as whole truth is a lie, and most people do not want the whole truth.

The Pharisees' Contempt for Those Without Their 'Truth'

The Pharisees in John 7 looked down on those who did not know the law as they did, yet they themselves were in error, illustrating pride in false knowledge.

The Command to Buy Truth, Wisdom, Instruction, and Understanding

Proverbs 23:23 commands believers to acquire truth (divine instruction), wisdom (skill and discernment), instruction (correction and discipline), and understanding (discernment).

That's the way we instruct our children. We use words and we also use rods. Remember that passage in Proverbs 13 and verse 24 where the Bible says,

Scripture Reading — Proverbs 13:24

"He that spareth the rod hateth his son, but he that chasteneth him loveth him."

Now, the word for understanding is the Hebrew word binah, and it refers to understanding and discernment. And this word is translated as wisdom twice in our Bible.

Truth Without Application Is Worthless

Knowledge alone is insufficient; wisdom is knowing how to apply truth. Truth not understood or applied is worthless.

Why People Reject the Truth

Five reasons: natural depravity and blindness, unwillingness to admit error, exposure of wickedness, suppression of truth, and failure to realize our kingly duty to search out truth.

Scripture Reading — John 8:46

"And if I say the truth, why do you not believe me?"

The Bible says in Ephesians chapter 4 verses 18 and 19, listen carefully,

Scripture Reading — Ephesians 4:18-19

"Having the understanding darkened."

What?

Scripture Reading — Ephesians 4:18-19

"Having the understanding darkened."

How?

Scripture Reading — Ephesians 4:18-19

"And being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them who have given themselves over unto lasciviousness with all uncleanness."

What?

Scripture Reading — Ephesians 4:18-19

"Being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them."

Scripture Reading — John 18:37-38

"Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king."

Scripture Reading — 2 Timothy 2:24-26

"...and the servant of the Lord must not strive, but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient."

Hang on. Why must we be apt to teach? Why must we be patient?

Scripture Reading — 2 Timothy 2:24-26

"In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves."

And notice what our Lord says there in verses 19 and 20. John chapter 3 verse 19. Our Lord says,

Scripture Reading — John 3:19-20

"And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved."

Now look what he said,

Scripture Reading — John 3:19-20

"And this is the condemnation that light is come into the world and men loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil."

Then he says,

Scripture Reading — John 3:19-20

"Everyone that doeth evil hateth the light. Neither cometh to the light."

Scripture Reading — Revelation 1:6

"To him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen."

The Duty to Search for Truth as for Hidden Treasure

Proverbs 2 teaches that understanding comes only through diligent seeking, like mining for silver and gold; believers must study to show themselves approved.

Lying Against the Truth by Attitude and Disobedience

James 3:14 shows that bitter envying and strife are lies against the truth; disobedient living lies against Scripture, God, Christ, and the Spirit.

The Consequence of Rejecting the Love of the Truth

2 Thessalonians 2:10-12 warns that those who do not receive the love of the truth are given over to strong delusion and damnation.

Conclusion: Hold Fast the Truth

Believers must hold fast the truth, as martyrs did, for the truth's sake; we overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony.

Never, ever let it slip from your grasp. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to thee this day. We thank you for your word. We thank you for your truth. And Lord, we pray that you would give us truth. that we may rejoice in it before thee. In the name of Jesus Christ we ask and pray. Amen.

For Love of the Truth

John Weaver | SermonAudio

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	SermonAudio
Media ID	82624182841571
Subject	Old Testament Studies
Course	Proverbs: Wealth, Defense, and Justice
Genre	Sermon
Date	2024-08-25
Dictation Name
Book	Book 083: Proverbs: Wealth, Defense, and Justice — Chapter 6
Source Timed Segments	83

Lecture Guide

Outline

Introduction: The Rarity and Value of Truth: Truth is a wonderful but rare commodity; most people stumble over it and ignore it, never truly seeking it.
Partial Truth Is a Lie: Using courtroom oaths and a child's half-truth, Weaver illustrates that a partial truth presented as whole truth is a lie, and most people do not want the whole truth.
The Pharisees' Contempt for Those Without Their 'Truth': The Pharisees in John 7 looked down on those who did not know the law as they did, yet they themselves were in error, illustrating pride in false knowledge.
The Command to Buy Truth, Wisdom, Instruction, and Understanding: Proverbs 23:23 commands believers to acquire truth (divine instruction), wisdom (skill and discernment), instruction (correction and discipline), and understanding (discernment).
Truth Without Application Is Worthless: Knowledge alone is insufficient; wisdom is knowing how to apply truth. Truth not understood or applied is worthless.
Why People Reject the Truth: Five reasons: natural depravity and blindness, unwillingness to admit error, exposure of wickedness, suppression of truth, and failure to realize our kingly duty to search out truth.
The Duty to Search for Truth as for Hidden Treasure: Proverbs 2 teaches that understanding comes only through diligent seeking, like mining for silver and gold; believers must study to show themselves approved.
Lying Against the Truth by Attitude and Disobedience: James 3:14 shows that bitter envying and strife are lies against the truth; disobedient living lies against Scripture, God, Christ, and the Spirit.
The Consequence of Rejecting the Love of the Truth: 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12 warns that those who do not receive the love of the truth are given over to strong delusion and damnation.
Conclusion: Hold Fast the Truth: Believers must hold fast the truth, as martyrs did, for the truth's sake; we overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony.

Major Themes

Key Arguments

Truth must be bought at any cost and never sold.

The Hebrew word for 'buy' is an imperative command, indicating truth is to be acquired regardless of price.

Weaver says, 'Buy it. You are to consider truth as the most valuable commodity. You're not to quibble over the price.'

A partial truth presented as whole truth is a lie.

The courtroom oath requires the whole truth; answering only partially is deceptive.

Weaver states, 'a partial truth, presented as a whole truth, is a lie.'

Natural man cannot receive spiritual truth.

Due to depravity, the unsaved person is blind and unable to understand the things of God.

1 Corinthians 2:14: 'the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God... neither can he know them.'

People oppose themselves when they reject truth.

Rejecting truth is self-destructive; only God-given repentance leads to acknowledging truth.

2 Timothy 2:25-26: 'in meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth.'

Truth exposes sin, so sinners avoid it.

Men love darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil and they do not want to be reproved.

John 3:19-20: 'men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.'

Suppressing truth leads to a seared conscience.

Continual sin suppresses truth and can sear the conscience, making one insensitive to wrong.

Romans 1:18 and 1 Timothy 4:2 are referenced; Weaver explains, 'if you do something that is wicked and wrong, often enough... you get to where it never bothers you.'

Believers must diligently search for truth as kings.

It is the honor of kings to search out a matter; believers must mine for truth like hidden treasure.

Proverbs 25:2 and Proverbs 2:4-5: 'if thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures; then shalt thou understand.'

Rejecting the love of the truth results in damnation.

Those who do not love the truth are given over to delusion and ultimately damned.

2 Thessalonians 2:10-12: 'that they all might be damned who believed not the truth.'

Scripture References

Proverbs 23:23: The central text: 'Buy the truth and sell it not; also wisdom and instruction and understanding.'
John 7:45-49: Pharisees show contempt for those who do not know the law, illustrating pride in false knowledge.
1 Corinthians 8:2: If any man thinks he knows anything, he knows nothing as he ought to know.
Proverbs 13:24: He that spareth the rod hateth his son, illustrating instruction through discipline.
Proverbs 29:15: The rod and reproof give wisdom.
Micah 6:9: Hear ye the rod and him who hath appointed it.
Proverbs 4:5,7: Get wisdom, get understanding; wisdom is the principal thing.
Proverbs 16:16: How much better to get wisdom than gold.
John 8:46: Jesus asks, 'If I say the truth, why do you not believe me?'
Ephesians 4:18-19: Having the understanding darkened, alienated from the life of God through ignorance.
1 Corinthians 2:14: The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God.
John 18:37-38: Pilate asks 'What is truth?' while Truth stands before him.
2 Timothy 2:24-26: In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves, if God peradventure will give them repentance.
Acts 6:13-14: False witnesses accuse Stephen of speaking against the temple and customs, showing resistance to change.
John 3:19-20: Men loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil.
Romans 1:18-19: Men hold (suppress) the truth in unrighteousness.
Revelation 1:6: He hath made us kings and priests unto God.
Revelation 5:10: He hath made us unto our God kings and priests.
Proverbs 25:2: It is the glory of God to conceal a thing, but the honor of kings is to search out a matter.
Proverbs 2:1-5: If thou seekest her as silver... then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord.

Historical References

Pharisees in John 7: They looked down on those who did not know the law, considering them cursed, while they themselves were in error.
Pilate's question 'What is truth?': Pilate asked Jesus 'What is truth?' while Truth incarnate stood before him.
Martyrs singing while being burned: Martyrs endured torture by holding to the truth that dwelt in them.

Important Quotes

Buy the truth and sell it not. Also wisdom and instruction and understanding.

The foundational verse of the sermon, commanding the acquisition and retention of truth.

a partial truth, presented as a whole truth, is a lie.

Key argument that half-truths are deceptive and untruthful.

If any man think that he knoweth anything, he knoweth nothing as he ought to know.

Paul's rebuke of pride in knowledge, used to counter the Pharisees' attitude.

Truth not understood and truth not applied happens to be absolutely worthless.

Emphasizes that mere possession of truth without application is useless.

We must buy it, that is, be willing to part with anything for it. He does not say at what rate we must buy it, because we cannot buy it too dearly.

Matthew Henry's quote on the incalculable value of truth.

You always allow the Bible to interpret your experiences. You never allow your experiences to interpret the Bible.

Dr. Gaynor's advice that led to Weaver's change of mind; a hermeneutical principle.

It is the glory of God to conceal a thing, but the honor of kings is to search out a matter.

Proverbs 25:2, used to show the believer's duty to diligently seek truth.

because they received not the love of the truth that they might be saved.

2 Thessalonians 2:10, the reason for perishing and the consequence of rejecting truth.

Discussion Questions

[Question]

In what ways are we tempted to accept or present partial truths rather than the whole truth?

[Context]

Weaver argues that a partial truth presented as whole truth is a lie, using courtroom and family examples.

[Question]

How does pride in our own knowledge prevent us from receiving truth, and how can we guard against it?

[Context]

The Pharisees' contempt for others and 1 Corinthians 8:2 are discussed.

[Question]

Why is it so difficult to admit that we or our loved ones have been wrong about a long-held belief?

[Context]

Weaver shares his personal struggle when Dr. Gaynor's teaching challenged his previous understanding.

[Question]

What does it mean to 'hold the truth in unrighteousness,' and how does this lead to a seared conscience?

[Context]

Romans 1:18 is explained with the Greek word katecho, and examples of seared consciences are given.

[Question]

How can we practically fulfill our kingly duty to 'search out a matter' in our daily study of Scripture?

[Context]

Proverbs 25:2 and Proverbs 2 are used to illustrate the diligent search for truth like hidden treasure.

[Question]

In what ways can our attitudes and actions 'lie against the truth' even if our words are correct?

[Context]

James 3:14 shows that bitter envying and strife are lies against the truth.

[Question]

What does it mean to 'receive the love of the truth,' and what are the consequences of not doing so?

[Context]

2 Thessalonians 2:10-12 warns of strong delusion and damnation for those who reject the love of the truth.

[Question]

How can we cultivate a love for truth that enables us to hold fast even under persecution?

[Context]

The example of martyrs and the statement 'for the truth's sake' in 2 John 1:2 are referenced.

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Format deepseek deepseek-v4-pro structured study JSON | Source Commentary.net transcript enrichment

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T13:17:59Z