MacArthur - Moments of truth: unleashing Gods word one day at a time

MOMENTS OF
TRUTH

MOMENTS OF
TRUTH

Unleashing Gods Word One Day at a Time

John MacArthur

2012 by John MacArthur

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Published in Nashville, Tennessee, by Thomas Nelson. Thomas Nelson is a trademark of Thomas Nelson, Inc.

Unleashing Gods Truth, One Verse at a Time is a trademark of Grace to You. All rights reserved.

Thomas Nelson, Inc., titles may be purchased in bulk for educational, business, fund-raising, or sales promotional use. For information, please e-mail SpecialMarkets@ThomasNelson.com.

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are taken from THE NEW KING JAMES VERSION. 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NASB are taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE, The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995. Used by permission.

Scripture quotations marked HCSB are taken from the HOLMAN CHRISTIAN STANDARD BIBLE. 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003 by Broadman and Holman Publishers. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked KJV are taken from the King James Version.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

MacArthur, John, 1939
Moments of truth : unleashing Gods word one day at a time / John MacArthur.
p. cm.
ISBN 978-1-4002-0371-0 (alk. paper)
1. Bible--Meditations. 2. Devotional calendars. I. Title.
BS491.5.M3 2012
242.2--dc23

2011026715

Printed in the United States of America

12 13 14 15 16 QG 6 5 4 3 2 1

Contents

T ruth seems to be elusive these days. Some dont want to acknowledge what they know to be true about God, life, the world, and themselves; some are afraid of the facts; some refuse to face the truth. And the prevailing mood seems to be that truth is either elusive or relative. This isnt a new problem, of course. Pilate stood before the One who claimed to be the Truth (John 14:6) and asked, What is truth? (John 18:38) and then washed his hands and turned away from the Truth.

But truth matters, with absolute truth mattering absolutelyand we ignore it to our peril.

John MacArthur has been and continues to be a champion for truthGods absolute truth as revealed in His Word. And during the course of his life and ministry, John has written a virtual library of resources for finding and applying Gods truth.

This book features excerpts from many of those books, giving you a daily moment of truth. As you read, may you gain a deeper appreciation for and understanding of Gods truth, every day.

JANUARY
BEGINNINGS

JANUARY 1
The Importance of Truth

And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

JOHN 8:32

E very true Christian should know and love the truth. Scripture says one of the key characteristics of those who perish (people who are damned by their unbelief) is that they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved (2 Thess. 2:10). The clear implication is that a genuine love for the truth is built into saving faith. It is therefore one of the distinguishing qualities of every true believer. In Jesus words, they have known the truth, and the truth has set them free (John 8:32).

In an age when the very idea of truth is being scorned and attacked (even within the church, where people ought to revere the truth most highly), Solomons wise advice has never been more timely: Buy the truth, and do not sell it (Prov. 23:23).

Nothing in all the world is more important or more valuable than the truth. And the church is supposed to be the pillar and ground of the truth (1 Tim. 3:15).

Not knowing what you believe is by definition a kind of unbelief. Refusing to acknowledge and defend the revealed truth of God is a particularly stubborn and pernicious kind of unbelief. Advocating ambiguity, exalting uncertainty, or otherwise deliberately clouding the truth is a sinful way of nurturing unbelief.

Where are you unclear in your beliefs?

The Truth War, xixii

JANUARY 2
The Definition of Truth

Jesus said to him, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

JOHN 14:6

S o what is truth?

Here is a simple definition drawn from what the Bible teaches: truth is that which is consistent with the mind, will, character, glory, and being of God. Even more to the point: truth is the self-expression of God. That is the biblical meaning of truth. Because the definition of truth flows from God, truth is theological.

Truth is also ontologicalwhich is a fancy way of saying it is the way things really are. Reality is what it is because God declared it so and made it so. Therefore God is the author, source, determiner, governor, arbiter, ultimate standard, and final judge of all truth.

The Old Testament refers to the Almighty as the God of truth (Deut. 32:4; Ps. 31:5; Isa. 65:16). When Jesus said of Himself I am... the truth (John 14:6, emphasis added), He was thereby making a profound claim about His own deity. He was also making it clear that all truth must ultimately be defined in terms of God and His eternal glory. After all, Jesus is the brightness of [Gods] glory and the express image of His person (Heb. 1:3). He is truth incarnatethe perfect expression of God and therefore the absolute embodiment of all that is true.

Jesus also said that the written Word of God is truth. It does not merely contain nuggets of truth; it is pure, unchangeable, and inviolable truth that (according to Jesus) cannot be broken (John 10:35).

God has revealed Himself to humanity through Scripture and through His Son. Both perfectly embody the essence of what truth is.

In what ways do you need to submit to the truth God has revealed in His Word?

The Truth War, 23

JANUARY 3
The True Beginning

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

GENESIS 1:1

G od did create the heavens and the earth. And there is only one document that credibly claims to be a divinely revealed record of that creation, the book of Genesis. Unless we have a creator who left us with no information about where we came from or what our purpose is, the text of Genesis 12 stands for all practical purposes unchallenged as the only divinely revealed description of creation. In other words, if there is a God who created the heavens and the earth, and if He revealed to humanity any record of that creation, Genesis is that record. If the God of Scripture did not create the heavens and the earth, then we have no real answers to anything that is truly important. Everything boils down to those two simple options.

So whether we believe the Genesis record or not makes all the difference in the world.

We can either believe what Genesis says, or not. If Genesis 1:1 is true, then the universe and everything in it was created by a loving and personal God and His purposes are clearly revealed to us in Scripture. Further, if the Genesis account is true, then we bear the stamp of God and are loved by Himand because we are made in His image, human beings have a dignity, value, and obligation that transcends that of all other creatures. Moreover, if Genesis is true, then we not only have Gods own answers to the questions of what we are here for and how we got where we are, but we also have the promise of salvation from our sin.