Join host Rick Hughes as he delves into the profound significance of absolute truth in the Christian faith. In this episode of The Flotline, Rick explores the pivotal role of truth as it relates to the Gospel and everyday life. Using biblical references and personal insights, he illustrates how believers can navigate life amidst the lies perpetuated in modern society. From understanding the true purpose of Jesus Christ’s mission to identifying the strategies employed by forces against truth, listeners are encouraged to embrace the liberating power of the truth found in God’s word. This episode is specially designed to
Welcome to the Flatline with your host, Rick Hughes. For the next 30 minutes, you’ll be inspired, motivated, educated, but never manipulated. Now, your host, Rick Hughes.
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Good morning and welcome to The Flotline. I’m your host, Rick Hughes. For the next few minutes, you have a cordial invitation to stick around, listen to what we’re going to say. Just a few minutes of motivation, some inspiration, a whole lot of education, always with no manipulation. We don’t con people. We’re not seeking to solicit money. We’re not trying to raise any money. We’re not going to ask you for money. We’re just going to ask you to listen. Listen to what we have to say. I’m trying to verify and identify God’s plan for your life. And if I can do that, then you have the privilege to orient and adjust to the plan. But the greatest honor that I know of in my life is the privilege to talk to you over this radio station, to give you the truth of God’s Word. I am so privileged to be able to do this. Thank you for giving me a few moments of your time, and thank you for listening. And as always, I pray that you keep me informed in your city if the show doesn’t play. We have to stay on top of that because we have that happen quite often. So if there’s a time that you go to the radio station and you turn it on and it’s not there, let me know so we can get our money back from the stations that don’t play it. These shows are not free. We purchase them. We buy the airtime, and God always pays for it. But sometimes we don’t get played, and we have to stay on top of that. Okay, enough about that. This show today, what we want to cover, we’ve been covering in the last few weeks for you, practical principles for people who want to live by principle. And if you’re going to live by principle in your life, the one thing you’re going to have to live by is live by truth. You cannot live by the lie. You have to live by the truth. So we’re going to talk about truth today. Simply put, about truth, T-R-U-T-H. And my pastor has recently been teaching a series on the life of Christ. It’s the most amazing thing I’ve ever heard. He’s well over 1,000 hours into this product, the subject of the life of Christ. And we’re now in our personal study at church about the Lord Jesus Christ before Pilate. And by the way, these are all available free of charge on DVD or MP3 should you want to take advantage of them. If you have a thousand hours to listen like I do, and that usually means I’ve been listening for an hour a day, every day, early in the morning, get up and plug in a DVD and listen to him teach me the Word of God. So this is a subject that he covered, and I want to develop it a little further along because I’m not a pastor. I don’t pretend to be a pastor. I am an evangelist. That’s my spiritual gift. And the objective of this radio show is to give the gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ, who took our place on the cross, the good news that Christ is the anointed Son of God, and He alone redeemed us out of the slave market of sin. So our debt to God was paid by Him, and we are free from the penalty and the death and power of sin in our life. But I’m also looking for those of you who are hungry to grow, for those of you that want to advance in the Christian life and not just operate on ritual without reality. Ritual without reality is meaningless, but if you want to learn and study and grow and advance in the plan of God, you are the one I’m looking for. And it’s important to what we have to say today, so listen up. In John 18, 37, Pilate said to Jesus as he questioned him, So you are a king. And Jesus replied, You say that I am a king. Excuse me, you say that I’m a king. For this reason I came into the world. For this reason I was born, Jesus said, and for this reason I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Did you hear that? This is why he came, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice. So we know immediately that Jesus Christ is not a liar. that he came into this world to give truth. The English word truth, T-R-U-T-H, is pronounced different in the Greek New Testament. It’s the word aletheia, aletheia, A-L-E-T-H-E-I-A, aletheia. And what it simply means, what is factual or what is reality, not what is false. So our Lord Jesus Christ, the anointed Son of God, came to testify to the truth of of the Father and the truth of himself. And he demonstrated to the world that God loved the world. God so loved the world. That’s the truth that Jesus brought. God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son. So this says God loves you. That’s truth, that’s not a lie. God loves you. Secondly, God sent his son to die for you. That’s truth, that’s not a lie. So he loves you, his son died for you, and you now can have eternal life. That’s truth. Whosoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life. And he that believes not, the wrath of God abides on him already. Jesus, in John 14, 6, said these words, I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. The only way to come to know God the Father is to come through Jesus Christ. That’s truth. He said it. I am the way and the truth and the life. I am truth. I came to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice. What does it mean, belongs to the truth? It means anyone who’s received Christ as their Savior. knows that Jesus Christ is not a liar. Now, the strategy of Satan has always been to discredit the truth and to substitute in place of the truth, obviously, the lie. How do you substitute the lie for the truth? How do people do that? Well, first of all, they have to discredit the person who represents truth by attacking his persona or his lifestyle. That’s the first way. If someone represents truth, they attack his person or his lifestyle. And secondly, then that individual must be represented as an evil person, an immoral person, a conniving person, so as the liar can hide their own conspiratorial desires. So what they do is they belch out all these lies about another person so that their own immoral lifestyle is not even the issue. So if you get into what’s called the debater’s technique, the person is wrong. That person’s wrong. He’s immoral. He’s a liar. He’s this. He’s that. So everything he says is wrong. So if you attack the individual, then you can bring it to conclusion that anything the individual says is wrong. This is exactly what happened to our Lord Jesus Christ. There was an attack upon his body. persona, and thus the religious crowd said anything that he said was wrong. And the new purveyor of truth, the one, the attacker, the person who wants to The lion slander, judge, criticize, gossip about, backbite, run down, the person has truth. Well, the new purveyor of the truth then introduces himself as a nice, sweet, wonderful, concerned person who loves you. Therefore, anything they say must be true. Well, that’s obviously not true. Is there any such thing as absolute truth? The answer is yes, there is. Absolutely, there is absolute truth. I want to give you a verse in James 3.14, but if you have bitter jealousy and strife in your heart, Do not be arrogant and lie against the truth. This would be a good verse for every politician to read. If you have bitter jealousy and strife in your heart, do not be arrogant and lie against the truth. Introducing yourself, yourself as a politician, as some nice, sweet, kind, wonderful, concerned person and representing the other person as evil and immoral and conniving. That done sounds kind of familiar, doesn’t it? Absolute truth, is there anything as absolute truth? Yes, there is. It’s known to you and to I as the Bible. The Bible is absolute truth. You say, wait a minute, the Bible was written by those men. Well, listen to 2 Peter 1, 16 through 21. This is what Peter wrote. For we have not followed cunningly devised fables. That’s a lie. When we made known unto you the power and the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. In other words, they witnessed all of this they wrote about. For he received from God the Father honor and glory when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory that said, this is the Mount of Transfiguration, The voice said, this is my beloved son in whom I’m well pleased. And this voice which came from heaven, we heard when we were with him in the holy mountain. We have also a more sure word of prophecy where unto you do well that you listen as unto a light that shines into a dark place until the day dawns and the day star arises in your own hearts. So know this first, Peter said. that no prophecy in the Scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old times by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were motivated, moved by the Holy Spirit. That’s how you got your Bible. not some will of man, not some scheme of man, not some lie of man to deceive you into thinking that this is right and that’s wrong. You see, the Bible is not subjective truth, it’s absolute truth. Subjective truth is a truth based off of a person’s perspective, a person’s feelings, or a person’s opinions. People come to believe what they believe one of three ways. Either they believe it by empirical data, scientific proof, or they believe it by rationalism, by trying to rationalize out why this or that happened, or they may operate on mysticism, which is the Greek word faith. We believe what we believe by faith. By faith, the Bible says, Abraham believed God. So there has to be faith in the life of the believer if he’s going to operate that way. So subjective truth is a truth based off of a person’s perspective, feelings, or opinions. Empiricism, rationalism, or pisticism is how you come to one of those conclusions. Subjective truth is not absolute truth, and it can be relative to the need of the moment. In other words, truth is often sacrificed for self-preservation. People will lie to preserve themselves. So this leads us to a question. What are your standards of truth in your life? You know, the Lord’s disciple Peter told a lie and he denied that he knew Jesus Christ. You may have lied yourself. In Luke 24, 54, when they seized him and led him away, bringing him into the high priest house, Peter followed at a distance. And when they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat down among them and a servant girl seeing him as he sat there, looked at him closely and said, this man was with him. He denied it. He lied, saying, woman, I don’t know him. A little later on, someone else saw him and said, you also are one of them. And he said, man, I am not. He told another lie. And after an interval of about an hour, still another one insisted, saying, certainly this man also was with him, for he too is one of those Galileans. But Peter said, man, I do not know what you’re talking about. Three distinct lies. There’s always a question about actually how many times Peter denied the Lord. Some say six, some say three. If you study the scriptures line by line, word by word, you will find there are six denials, not just three. So after Peter had denied him, the rooster crowed and Peter remembered what the Lord said. And he went out and he wept bitterly. So, you know, even the disciples denied the truth from time to time. The religious crowd lied to Pilate when they wanted Jesus crucified, and they said this lie. They said, Jesus forbids people to pay taxes to Rome. That’s exactly what they said. This was one of the accounts that they brought to Pilate. He forbids people to pay taxes to Rome. Luke 23, 1 and 2. Then the whole group of them rose up and brought Jesus before Pilate, and they began to accuse him, saying, We found this man subverting our nation and forbidding us to pay the tribute tax to Caesar. and claiming that he himself is Christ the king. Well, Jesus never, ever forbid anybody to pay taxes. As a matter of fact, in Mark 12, 17, Jesus said unto them, give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s. And they were utterly amazed. So our Lord never did that. That was a public lie designed to manipulate Pilate. You know, in America, there are a lot of public lies to suppress the truth about God. There are a lot of people that don’t want the truth to be told because it ruins their lifestyle. As a matter of fact, the Bible quotes some passages. I’d like to quote a passage in Romans 1, 18 through 20. It talks about people suppressing the truth. For the wrath of God, Romans 1.18, is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of people who suppress the truth by their own unrighteousness. That means they hold the truth back. They don’t want people to know the truth. And the Bible goes on to say in Romans 1.19, because what can be known about God is plain to them. God has made it plain to them. Verse 20, for since the creation of the world, his invisible attributes, his eternal power and divine nature have been clearly seen. They are understood through what has been made, so people are without excuse. But there are those people that say there is no God. There is no God. There is no God. And anybody with a half a brain can look around and figure out somebody put this together smarter than me. When people suppress the truth by their unrighteousness, that’s their lies, they mock God. And the Bible says in Galatians 6, 7, Be not deceived, God will not be mocked. For whatever a man sows, that shall he also reap. Hosea 8, 7 says if you sow to the wind, then you’re going to reap the whirlwind. That means you make trouble, you’re going to get trouble. In Galatians 6, 8, the one who sows to please his flesh from the flesh will reap destruction. But the one who sows to please the spirit from the spirit will reap eternal life. Proverbs 22, 8, he who sows injustice will reap disaster. and the rod of his fury will be destroyed. Lying, slander, malicious intent, sowing injustice, suppressing the truth, pleasing your flesh, all have horrible, horrible side effects. And so you can’t afford to allow yourself to be trapped into that. Since God is truth, and since his word is truth, it is expressed to us in Jesus Christ, our Savior. When Jesus Christ is rejected, the truth of God is suppressed. When Jesus Christ is rejected, the truth of God is suppressed. The Bible says in John 8, 32, you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. When you come to know Jesus Christ who said, I am the way, the truth, and the life, you receive freedom, freedom from the lake of fire, freedom from hell. Someone else was judged in your place. It’s like you being in a penitentiary in a jail cell and someone walks in and takes your place. You were appointed to be put to death for some crime that you committed, but some other individual takes your place. I know it’s a simple illustration used millions of times, but you get the picture. You did it. You’re the one that should have died, not him. Our Lord was innocent. As a matter of fact, Pilate said, I find no fault with him. Herod released him and didn’t charge him with any crime either. Neither Herod Antipas nor Pilate could find anything that our Lord Jesus Christ was guilty of that merited being put to death. And yet people wanted him dead. If you know Christ, you know life. Truth frees you. The lie or the lying person will enslave you. Truth frees you. But the lie or the lying person will enslave you. You know, people who have power lust use what’s called a public lie to gain their power. If they tell it often enough, if they tell it loud enough, then eventually it’s believed by all people. And it’s obvious that vindictive people are always ready to believe anything about somebody they hate. So if you already have preconceived ideas about an individual that you don’t like, and then you hear a lie told about that individual that you don’t like, you’re obviously going to believe the lie, because you don’t like them to start with. You never give them the benefit of the doubt. And you might be interested in knowing that in John 8, 43 through 44, the Bible says, Jesus Christ our Lord said it, Satan is the father of lies. The cosmic system is built on lies. You are told to acquire the mind of Christ, to think in the mind of Christ, to have his mentality, divine viewpoint. Human viewpoint is substantiated and carried about with the lies of Satan. And the world is full of that sort of stuff. If you believe the lie, then you live by the lie. And your life becomes a lie. And there are lies in the spiritual realm, and there are lies in the political realm also. I remember speaking in a school one time, and I remember getting a letter from a little girl that said, please help me, I’m a liar. I can’t quit lying. I lie to my teachers, I lie to my friends, I lie to my parents, and I’m so ashamed of my lies. It comes from the sin nature. We all have a sin nature. And in the sin nature, we have sins of the tongue, mental attitude sins or overt sins. Sins of the tongue include lying. One of the seven sins that God says he hates in Proverbs 6, 16 and 17 is a lying tongue. Satan is the father of lies, we know that. And our nation is divided by lies. Lies about politicians. Lies about preachers. People who want power don’t mind lying to get the power. You know, stuff like, you’ve heard it before, the environment is going to destroy this planet. We’ve got to quit using underarm deodorant or the planet will be destroyed. I’m making that kind of fictitious stuff up, but you’ve heard those lies. The Bible clearly tells you how this planet will be destroyed. The Bible gives you the prediction in plain black and white. You can read it for yourself in 1 Peter. It’s not going to be because somebody used some hairspray. It’s not going to be because the ozone layer did this or that. And it’s not going to be because of a nuclear war. The Bible is clear how the earth will be destroyed, and it will be destroyed after the thousand-year reign of Christ, his millennial reign in Jerusalem. You know, another lie is that crime can be stopped without capital punishment. Well, that’s a good one. You hear that a lot today. We should be kind and compassionate to the criminal. I noticed recently in the paper in the city that I live in, there’s a man scheduled to be executed, and he is accusing the state of being unfair and violating his rights because The state won’t allow a certain religious figure to come into the execution chamber with him. So he’s suing the state and he wants to be not executed even though he murdered and raped a young child. And who is unfair? Who did the crime? You do the crime, you’re going to pay the time, that’s for sure. So crime cannot be stopped without punishment, and especially capital punishment. God does ordain capital punishment. The Bible does say thou shalt not murder. Yes, it does, but it does not say thou shalt not execute criminals. That’s not what the Bible teaches. Here’s another lie. Freedom can’t exist without the military. That’s impossible. Freedom cannot exist without the military. It’s impossible to have freedom without the military, and we must have a strong military if we’re going to sustain our freedom in this nation today. Anybody who has a good plan to sustain the military is doing a good thing because that’s what protects us from the enemies of the world. We have enough enemies today. There are people that would like to see you dead. religious enemies, political enemies, and they would like to see you dead. They would like to take over this country. They will lie to get the power to run the country. They will lie to deceive you into what their plans actually are. So we have to have some sort of intelligence to figure out what the enemy’s up to. It’s important. Without the military, we’re in trouble. So thank God for our military and for those who serve in the military. Here’s another lie. The problems of the world are caused by one particular race of people. Oh, if we could just get rid of that race of people, we wouldn’t have any more problems throughout the whole world. That’s another lie. These lies are out there, and Satan perpetuates these lies in the cosmic system. If you want to live a life free of lies, then you must start by learning the Word of God. because you shall know the truth and the truth will set you free. Free from what? Free from manipulation, free from intimidation, free from worry, by knowing the divine outline of history, by knowing exactly what God has for you. It’s all there. It’s all the truth. And it is available to you if you come to the Father through Jesus Christ, his anointed son. I don’t know if you’ve ever done that, but it is the single most significant decision you could ever make in your entire life. As the Bible says, believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. and thou shalt be saved. That’s the moment your life changes course. That’s the moment your destiny is altered. That’s the moment that you singularly decide on your own to go with the truth, God’s plan, and no longer listen to the lies of the cosmic system. No longer listen to the lies of the devil or Satan. Break free of the shackle and the chains of the lie and receive Jesus Christ as your Savior. It’s the most simple thing you could do. The Bible says, whosoever should call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. And where you are at this moment, You can simply pray a prayer and ask God to save you. You can simply tell God the Father you’re believing in Jesus Christ and you want to receive him as your Savior. And that will be the moment you are freed from the lie. Think about it. Do it while you have the opportunity. Again, it’s the most important decision you’ll ever make in your life. Until next week, this is your host, Rick Hughes, saying thank you for listening to The Flatline.
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Thank you for listening to The Floodline with your host, Rick Hughes. If you’d like to contact Rick, please write to him at P.O. Box 100, Cropwell, Alabama, 35054, or online at www.rickhughesministries.org.
