“Truth Be Told”
Text: 1 Timothy 2:1-7
9-21-2025
In the name of Him who is the truth on which our faith is built, dear friends in Christ. There’s an old phrase that people sometimes use: “Truth be told.” In other words, the person is going to cut to the chase. They’ll tell the whole truth, not holding back, with no fluff or fudging the facts or tiptoeing around. I don’t use that phrase much. Instead, I say, “If you really wanna know the truth...” What a dumb thing to say, huh? How are you supposed to respond to that? “Oh, please Pastor, keep telling me only half-truths!” Seriously, we all know that society can’t exist without the truth. People are desperate for it in our world. And yet it seems that the whole, unaltered truth is rather rare in societies all around our planet.
Other than politicians, some folks have a bad habit of twisting the truth, including children. There was a group of boys who were gathered at a local restaurant with a 10-dollar bill sitting in the middle of their table. Well, the Pastor from their church happened to walk in and noticed the boys were having quite a lively discussion. So, the Pastor went over and asked, “What are you guys up to?” One of the boys nonchalantly said, “We’re having a contest, Preacher. Whoever can tell the biggest lie gets that 10-dollar bill!” The Pastor’s mouth dropped open, “I am shocked at you boys! When I was your age, I never even thought of telling such bold lies like this!” The boys looked at each other and one of them handed the Pastor the $10 saying, “You win Preacher! None of us can top that whopper of a lie!”
Even though we laugh at that, isn’t it the reality of the world we live in? We desperately need the truth in order to function but we’re all caught in the web of telling half-truths and untruths. “Truth be told…” the truth isn’t told. Sadly, this has been the reality ever since the first lies were told in the Garden of Eden. Do you remember the half-truth that Satan told Eve when he tempted her? She clearly stated the truth that God had commanded them to not touch the one tree in the garden, because if they did, they would die. And the devil said, “You’re not gonna die...” That was a half-truth. What Satan was really saying was, “Adam and Eve, you’re not gonna die physically... at least not immediately. That comes later. But you’ll die spiritually right now”
St. Paul knew this is the type of world we live in. He knew that people struggled with the issue of the truth being told. Especially the truth about God and how He deals with our sinful human race. But doesn’t verse 7 sound strange to you? Paul says, “For this I was appointed a preacher and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying)…” He was talking to his trusted friend Timothy here. Now why would Paul have to tell him, “I am telling the truth”? Well, 2 points ought to help us here. First, there were all kinds of lying, false teachers floating around. Paul was giving this young Pastor the reassurance that he was not one of them. And secondly, who could vouch for what Paul was saying? What human could he offer as a witness to the truth about how God called him to preach the Gospel to the Gentiles? Nobody, since it was Jesus who spoke directly to him. So, Paul was calling on his reputation as an honest man but more importantly, he called upon God as his witness that he was telling the truth.
And look at what he says he was called to do: “A teacher of the true faith to the Gentiles.” Why did he emphasize that? Well, the essence of the faith—the true faith—that Paul taught is the pure, unaltered Word of God. It’s the core of that faith. And since it’s the core of the faith, that truth had to be protected and preserved without distortions or half-truths. That unaltered truth about God’s love and the sacrifice of Jesus for our sins is what Paul taught and defended against all errors and falsehoods. He knew our salvation depends upon it and it’s what the world desperately needs to hear.
But if we’re so desperate for the truth, then why do people distort it with lies and half-truths? That’s a good question. Maybe an illustration will help to answer it. Have you ever seen the movie “A Few Good Men”? It’s the story of a couple of Marines who are involved in the death of another Marine down at Guantanamo Bay. Charges are brought against them and a young Lt. Kaffee is appointed as their defense attorney. The climax of the trial takes place when Colonel Jessup, the accused Marines’ Commander, is called to the witness stand. He and Lt. Kaffee get into a heated exchange over whether the Colonel issued the order that led to the Marine’s death. Jessup says, “You want answers?” {Kaffee}- “I think I’m entitled to them!” {Jessup}- “You want answers?!?” {Kaffee}- “I want the truth!” {Jessup famously says}- “You can’t handle the truth!” Friends, that describes perfectly our miserable condition. We desperately need the truth to be told. But deep inside, we don’t want it to be told. Why? Because we can’t handle the truth. God’s truth is unbending. His truth exposes our sinful hearts and minds. And His truth convicts us of doing the exact opposite of what He wills and commands. That makes us uncomfortable. So, we fudge on it and believe half-truths.
Truth be told, the consequences for our sins are much worse than we could ever dream. The punishment we deserved wasn’t just a slap on the wrist. We deserved to suffer endlessly in hell. But since we can’t handle the truth, mankind soft-peddles sin, as if it isn’t a big deal. It’s like treating 1st degree murder as if it were merely a parking ticket. That’s not what God’s Word tells us. Romans 6:23 says, “The wages of sin is death.” And how do we handle that truth? Rather than turning to God and pleading for mercy, people try to justify themselves. They sometimes try to make things right between them and God on their own. They figure if they do more good deeds than bad ones, that will somehow balance the scales with God. But truth be told, the Bible is clear that no one can work hard enough or do enough good things to turn away God’s anger over our sins.
People also have a difficult time accepting God’s truth about the only way of salvation. Speaking about Jesus, in Acts 4:12 St. Peter says, “There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” Jesus Himself says in John 14:6, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” And St. Paul says in our text for today, “For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus...” But some people can’t handle that truth. It sounds too harsh and exclusive. And so, some Christians in mainstream denominations try to soft-peddle the truth by saying that it’s possible for Jews, Muslims, Hindus and others to be saved because they believe in a god, despite the fact that it’s a false god or a twisted version of the Triune God. It sounds kind and caring but in reality, they’re leading people straight down the path to hell.
I’m convinced some people shy away from our Lutheran Church Missouri Synod for this very reason. We teach and confess the unaltered truth from God’s Word. And because we do, we’re accused of being hard-nosed and uncaring. So, to avoid that label, we’re pressured to compromise on the truth as if that will make it easier to accept. For example, it’s a hard truth to tell people that God’s Word has strict warnings about who should and shouldn’t take Communion. But since that truth makes them uncomfortable, some Lutheran churches open up their Communion rail to anyone who wants to come. Never mind that it creates the possibility of someone taking the body and blood of Christ in an unworthy manner and harming their soul. The truth seems too hard so they avoid it. The same thing can be said about women serving as Pastors or Elders. It sounds sexist or misogynistic to say that they can’t. But this is the clear truth directly from God’s unbending Word.
There are numerous other examples, but these will suffice. If truth be told we can’t handle the damning truth about our sin. We can’t handle the truth about the penalty for our sin. We can’t handle many of the other hard, unbending truths found in the Scriptures. But thanks be to God there is another truth from His Word. It’s the truth about God’s grace that He shows to us sinners. It’s the truth about how Jesus Christ died on the cross for every last one of our sins. It’s the truth about how the Holy Spirit creates faith in our hearts so we can receive this free gift of forgiveness from God. It’s the truth about how through His Word and Sacrament God delivers that forgiveness. And it’s the truth about how we now have God’s guarantee that we will spend eternity in heaven with Him. Those are wonderful truths that we all so desperately need to hear. And it’s a wonderful truth that God has given us to share with the rest of the sinners in our world. May God bless us with courage so that the truth that we’ve been saved freely by God’s grace may be told through our words and our living. Amen.
Soli Deo Gloria!