On June 5, 1991, I took my text from Isaiah 59:1-2 and verses 9-14. The title of my message came from verse 14, which says, “Truth Is Fallen In The Street.”
A lot has changed since I first preached that sermon 35 years ago, and truth seems to have been one of the greatest casualties. If this world were to last another 100 years, that generation would have a hard time sorting out the truth from our generation’s lies. A lot of untruths or lies are being told today. We’ve even changed the verbiage we use now. It’s not a lie; they simply misspoke.
Verse 2 tells us that our lies, or our iniquities, separate us from God to the point that He turns His face away from us and will not listen to us. What a horrible condition to be in. A portion of 2 Chronicles 7:14, which is often quoted in our desire to see God heal our land, is often overlooked. For God to heal our land, we must turn from our wicked ways.
Isaiah 59:14 tells us that when truth is ignored, judgment is flawed, and there can be no true justice. That certainly identifies where much of our culture is today. The political arena is filled with so many lies that it’s hard to sort through them all. Unfortunately, many untruths are also preached from the pulpits.
From the spiritual perspective, 2 Timothy 4:3-4 speaks to that. “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.”
Judges 21:25 would seem to speak more to the political side or where we are as a culture. “In those days, there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.” Whether spiritually or politically, the problem is that we want to remove any constraints that would prevent us from doing whatever we want to do. While earthly tribunals change from generation to generation, God does not change to adapt to culture; He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
2,000 years ago, Pilate asked, “What is truth?” I’ve never been convinced that he wanted to know the truth. After finding no fault in Jesus, he nevertheless condemned Him for the sake of popularity. He was more concerned with what the masses thought than with doing what was right.
Jesus drew the defining line in the sand when He said in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man can come unto the Father except by Me.” That truth is being rejected by many who would have us believe there are multiple ways to God. The truth is, there is only one way, and that is Jesus. He is the giver of life and He offers it to whosoever will.
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