“Do You Love God’s Truth?”

(Psalm 119:161-168)

I. Introduction.

A. Orientation.

This morning,

We considered the importance

Of not being ashamed of God’s truth –

We saw that it’s possible

To be embarrassed

About what God says –

Whether His Gospel,

His moral standards,

Even how He says He created the world.

Where does this embarrassment come from?

It can come from a lack of faith –

Simply not believing

That what He says is true.

We do need to be careful here.

Without faith, the author to the Hebrews tells us,

It’s impossible to please God.

You’ll never come to God

Unless you believe that He is,

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And that He rewards

Those who diligently seek Him (Heb. 11:6).

Without faith,

You can’t be saved,

Because you’ll never trust

In a Savior you don’t believe exists

To save you from the consequences

Of an imaginary judgment.

Without faith,

You’ll never be able

To stand up for God’s truth

In a world that will hate you

Just for believing it,

Not to mention,

Speaking about it.

What gave Jesus the strength

To obey God’s Word,

And to teach others to do the same

In the face of those who hated it?

Why was He willing to do this

Even though He knew

They would kill Him for it?

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Why wasn’t Paul ashamed of the Gospel?

Why did he preach it to everyone he could?

Why was he willing to go to prison for it?

Why was he willing to die for it?

Why did Onesiphorus go to Rome

Searching for Paul

That he might minister to him,

Knowing that to do so

Might identify him as a Christian

And that he might end up

In the same prison as Paul?

It was because they believed God’s truth.

They were so convinced

That they were willing

Even to lay down their lives for it.

That’s why you’re willing to do the same.

If you know Jesus,

You have the same conviction,

Because you have the same Spirit.

Remember, we saw Jesus’ warning this morning

That if you don’t have this willingness

You really don’t know Him.

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“For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful

generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the

glory of His Father with the holy angels” (Mark 8:38).

Standing up for the Gospel

And for God’s truth

Because you are convinced it’s true

Is one very obvious way

You can know that you know Jesus.

But being ashamed of Him,

Of His Gospel or of His teachings,

Because you don’t believe them

Is one very obvious way

You can know that you don’t.

B. Preview.

What ultimately makes the difference

Between these two states?

Isn’t it the attitude of your heart

Towards this truth.

If you’re going to take a stand for God’s truth

Without being ashamed,

The Spirit must give you this conviction –

But the way He does this

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Is by giving you love for the truth.

That’s what we see in our passage this evening.

If you say you love God,

You must also love His truth –

All of it –

These two can’t be divided.

If you love God,

You will love His Gospel

His Law,

Promises,

Prophecies –

And you will stand up for Him

In a world that hates Him.

If you don’t love His truth –

As we’ve already seen –

If you are ashamed of the Gospel,

Or of His holy standards –

You really don’t love God,

Which is why Jesus will be ashamed of you

On the day you stand before Him.

It’s important for you eternal wellbeing

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That you have the heart of psalmist.

And so compare

What he says this evening

With what’s in your heart,

And then respond accordingly –

If you find this love,

Thank God for His mercy;

But if you don’t,

Then pray for His mercy.

So what does the psalmist say is true

Of his own heart towards God and His truth

And what should be true of yours

If you know Jesus?

II. Sermon.

A. First, you will fear God and not man.

“Princes persecute me without cause, but my heart stands in awe of Your words”

(v. 161).

When Jesus sent His disciples out to preach,

He said, “Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but

rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matt. 10:28).

One fear cures another.

If you’re truly afraid of God

Then you won’t be afraid –

Or at least, as afraid –

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Of man.

That’s what the psalmist has in view here.

To stand in awe of God’s Word

Is to fear it,

To revere it,

To tremble before it,

As you would before Him,

Because it is His Word.

Solomon tells us in the Proverbs

This is where knowledge and wisdom begin (Prov. 1:7; 9:10).

If you fear God,

Then it doesn’t matter

What man can do to you,

Or what man threatens you –

Whether a peer

Or the President of the US –

You will still hold fast to God’s Word.

The psalmist writes,

“Princes persecute me without cause

But my heart stands in awe of Your Words.”

How can you stand up for God’s truth

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And not be ashamed (or afraid) to do so?

You must fear God

And His Word –

Particularly His threatenings against sin.

If you do,

You won’t be as concerned

Whether others approve what you’re doing

But only that God does.

B. Second, if you know Jesus, you will not only fear His Word, but treasure it.

“I rejoice at Your word, as one who finds great spoil” (v. 162).

Is it possible

To fear and treasure something

At the same time?

Are you afraid of God?

You should be.

He is infinitely holy and just

And has your soul in His hands.

Do you also love Him?

You should.

Because He is the greatest,

Most glorious, most perfect,

Most holy and beautiful Being

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That does or could exist.

You can both fear and love Him at the same time.

The same must be true of His Word.

You should fear what He says

Because of His threatenings against sin,

But you should also love and treasure it

As the greatest blessing

God has given to you,

Because it tells you

How you can be reconciled with Him

By trusting His Son,

And how you can walk with Him

In holiness as His sons and daughters.

How can you stand up for God’s truth

In a wicked world that hates Him

And not be ashamed?

You can by seeing His Word

As a great treasure

That others should know and love as well –

One that God has entrusted to you

To give away to others.

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C. Third, if you know Jesus, your hatred of the world’s ways will provoke you to

an even greater love for God’s Law.

“I hate and despise falsehood, but I love Your law” (v. 163).

How can you love God

And the perfect expression

Of His holy character in the Law,

And at the same time

Love anything that is contrary to it?

You can’t.

Solomon writes,

“The fear of the LORD is to hate evil; pride and arrogance and the evil way and the

perverted mouth, I hate” (Prov. 8:13).

The psalmist writes, “Hate evil, you who love the LORD, who preserves the souls

of His godly ones; He delivers them from the hand of the wicked” (Psalm

97:10).

Living in this world

You should experience

What Lot did when he was living in Sodom.

Peter writes, “For by what he saw and heard that righteous man, while living

among them, felt his righteous soul tormented day after day by their lawless

deeds” (2 Pet. 2:8).

You should not only hate

The sins of those around you,

Their sins should make you

Love God and His truth more.

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How can you stand up for God’s truth

In the face of a wicked world

And not be ashamed to do so?

Consider how the world

Provokes God to His face –

How much He hates the sin

Of this wicked and perverse generation –

And how much He is honored

When you stand up for Him.

D. Fourth, if you know Jesus, having God’s Law will move you to praise God.

“Seven times a day I praise You, because of Your righteous ordinances” (v. 164).

The psalmist’s fear of God and His Law,

His love for both,

And his hatred of the world’s ways,

Moved him to worship God

Frequently throughout the day

For giving him His truth.

The number seven in Scripture

Often refers to completeness.

David writes, “The words of the LORD are pure words; as silver tried in a furnace

on the earth, refined seven times” (Psalm 12:6).

God created the heavens

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And the earth in six days,

And rested on the seventh,

Because on that day

He had completed all His work (Gen. 2:2).

If you love God and His Law

It will move you to praise Him often –

As often as you should,

A whole and complete number of times

Throughout the day –

For giving it to you –

For giving you the means

To escape His judgment

That will fall on this world

For all its sins,

And to stand before Him

Holy in Jesus Christ.

If this is your heart towards God’s truth

How could you ever be ashamed

To stand up for it

In the face of this world?

E. Fifth, if you know Jesus, having His Law will give you peace of conscience by

showing you how to avoid sin.

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“Those who love Your law have great peace, and nothing causes them to stumble”

(v. 165).

One way that Bunyan pictured God’s Law –

When he showed it as the rule

The redeemed soul is to follow

In his Pilgrim’s Progress –

Was as a straight and narrow path

That led from the City of Destruction

To Mount Zion/heaven.

To get to the path,

You had to go through the Wicket Gate,

And then to Calvary –

You had to come to Christ first,

Before you had the power

To live the life God calls you to live.

Stepping off the path

Represented falling to some sin,

And every time Christian did so

He fell into danger and trouble,

Lost his peace of conscience,

And ended up being disciplined

By His Lord

Until he got back on the path.

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God gave you a conscience

To convict you of sin

Whenever you break His Law –

He used it to convince Christian,

When he was in the City of Destruction –

When he was in the world –

That he needed to get away from that city

To escape God’s wrath;

And He used it to convince him

After he became a believer

To stay on the path,

Or to get back on it when he strayed from it.

The only way

You can enjoy peace of conscience –

If you’re not a believer –

Is by listening to the Law,

Turning from this world and your sins,

And trusting Jesus to save you –

If you are a believer

You must listen to the Law

By avoiding sin and sticking to God’s path.

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If the Law/God’s truth

Can produce these blessings

In the lives of both believer and unbeliever,

Then why would you be ashamed

To stand up for it before both?

F. Sixth, if you know Jesus, the hope that God has delivered you from your sin

will move you to keep His commandments.

“I hope for Your salvation, O LORD, and do Your commandments” (v. 166).

The psalmist likely is looking

To the Lord for deliverance

From his physical enemies,

And we already know

That God promised He would

If he obeyed Him.

But this can be applied

In the spiritual realm as well.

The fear of the Lord,

Love for Him,

Hatred of the world’s sins,

And peace of conscience,

Are all powerful motivators to obey God.

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But so is the hope

Of final salvation

From your spiritual enemies in heaven.

You will only arrive there

If you obey His commandments.

When Jesus was asked, “Lord, are there only a few who are being saved?”

He answered, “Strive to enter through the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will

seek to enter and will not be able” (Luke 13:23-24).

That narrow door

Has everything to do with Jesus –

There is a sense in which

He is the Wicket Gate –

If you don’t trust Him,

You won’t see heaven.

But it has equally to do with repentance –

You must obey Him –

You must walk on the straight and narrow path –

If you are to see heaven.

That path includes not only

Your personal holiness –

“Pursue peace with all men

And the sanctification without which

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No one will see the Lord” (Heb. 12:14) –

But also your efforts

To tell others about God’s truth

So that they might be saved as well.

Remember how Christian and his companions

Sought to evangelize everyone they met on the path.

How can you be ashamed

To stand up for God’s truth in this world

When it is the only path

That leads to heaven?

G. Seventh, if you know Jesus, your love for God’s commandments will move

you to keep them.

“My soul keeps Your testimonies, and I love them exceedingly” (v. 167).

We’ve spent enough time on this to understand it.

But again, if you love God’s commandments this much,

You will keep them,

And you won’t find it at all difficult

To stand up for them.

H. Finally, if you know Jesus, the knowledge that God sees and knows all you do

will encourage you to keep His commandments.

“I keep Your precepts and Your testimonies, for all my ways are before You” (v.

168).

That God saw all he did,

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And knew from eternity all he did,

Further motivated the psalmist

To keep God’s commandments,

And it should motivate you as well.

God sees and knows

All that you do with His truth –

Whether you stand up for His Gospel

And His moral standards

Or are ashamed of them,

Whether you obey them

Or don’t,

Whether you shine by keeping them

Or hide your light under a bushel by not,

Whether you are salt in the world,

Or whether the way you live

Only promotes ungodliness

In those around you.

The fact that He knows

Should give you the final incentive you need

To live according to His truth

And to stand up for it.

Just remember the eye of the Lord

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Is always on you,

And He either approves

Or disapproves what you’re doing.

If you’re at all concerned

Of what He thinks of you,

You’ll take what Jesus said seriously

And stand up to the world in His name.

If you fear God,

If you treasure His Word,

If you hate the world and its ways,

If are thrilled to be one of the few

Who possess His truth,

If you want peace of conscience,

If you have the hope

That you’ll one day be in heaven,

If you love God’s truth,

And know that He sees what you do with it,

You will not only submit to God’s truth,

But you won’t be afraid to stand up for it

In the face of a world that hates it.

If these things aren’t true of you,

If you are ashamed,

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Then turn to Jesus –

Trust Him to save you. Amen.

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