Hard Truth Is Still True - Your Daily Forward Devotional

Hard Truth Is Still True

January 31

Read John 8:45-47 (ESV)

“But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. Which one of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me? Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.”

Reflect

Can you hear and accept God’s Word? Do you believe that all of the Bible is His truth?

Have you ever read a passage of Scripture and thought, “Ouch.” I certainly have. Sometimes the truth just hurts. For example, it can be hard to hear that we are all sinners (Romans 3:23), that our sin separates us from God (Isaiah 59:2), and that because of our sin, we deserve to die (Romans 6:23). It is hard to hear that all of our good works are like filthy rags and completely useless to save us (Isaiah 64:6). But even if the truth hurts, it’s still the truth. Hard truth is still true.

In today’s passage, Jesus continued to address the Jews that didn’t believe in Him. Yesterday, He told them that they were the children of the devil rather than the children of God. The ultimate ouch. But you see, they were banking on the fact that because they were the literal, physical children of Abraham, that they were the children of God. But Jesus said it doesn’t work that way. They had placed their faith in their works of the law and in their lineage rather than in the Messiah. And anything other than Christ, just doesn’t have the power to save. It’s the truth.

But these Jews didn’t believe him even though He was telling them the truth. The fact is, Jesus didn’t just never tell a lie—He IS the truth (John 14:6). Jesus is perfectly and completely sinless because He is God. He’s holy, He’s blameless, He’s pure. When Jesus asked “Which one of you convicts me of sin?” only crickets could be heard because the Pharisees couldn’t prove that Jesus was guilty of anything. Even later when Jesus would be put on trial, Pilate told the Jews that he couldn’t find any guilt in Him (John 19:4). But, spoiler alert, they killed Him anyway.

Why? Well, Jesus answered the hard truths they didn’t want to hear with another hard truth. The reason they couldn’t hear and accept the words of God is because they weren’t the children of God. They didn’t want to hear what He had to say whether it was true or not. They wanted to silence the truth because it made them defensive and angry. Sound familiar? Of course it does! Humanity hasn’t changed that much in thousands of years.

If you are wondering if you are a true child of God, one test is whether or not you can hear and accept the Word of God as truth—even in those moments when you read something in Scripture that hurts. When you feel the pain of conviction over your sin, does it draw you closer to the Lord your Savior or draw you farther away from Him? Do the hard truths of God’s Word lead you to repentance or to defensive anger? Do you still accept all of His Word as true or do you reject the parts you don’t like?

The author of Hebrews had this to say about God’s Word: “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of the spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account” (Hebrews 4:12-13).

We can’t hide our thoughts or our deepest intentions from God. His Word exposes them and lays them bare before our eyes. We may want to think that we can ignore this reality but we can’t. All of us will stand before Him and give an account. That’s why, when the truth hurts, it’s actually a good thing because it can draw our attention to something in our hearts that needs attention and lead us to repentance. After all, even if God’s truth is hard to accept, it’s still the truth!

Respond

Lord, I confess that sometimes Your Word convicts me so much it hurts. Please keep my heart so soft toward You that when You expose my sin, I humbly accept Your correction and repent. Help to hear and accept Your truth. Amen.

Reveal: Have you ever shared the truth of the Gospel with someone only to have them ignore you or outright reject your message? I encourage you to pray for them today—that the Lord would reveal Himself to them and open their eyes to the truth of His Word.

~ Pastor Nat Crawford