Does truth really matter to you? All those professing the Christian faith would almost immediately answer this question with a resounding, “YES!” But I ask again are you sure that truth, the unaltered, unadulterated, 100 percent accurate truth matters to you?

We all know the verse from John 8:32, the one where Jesus says, “And you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.”

And it is because of this verse that nearly all Christians answer my opening question with a hardy, “YES!” Because without knowing the truth there is no hope to gain liberty from the shackles of sin; no chance of breaking free from the prison of the fleshly nature; no way to be free of a mind consumed with the worldly mindset and instead have a mind that is firmly set on things above (Colossians 3:1-3).

We know and quote John 8:32, but what about the verse right before it, the verse that sets the preface for the words spoken in verse 32. It is the same Lord and Savior speaking in the same breath when He said to those that believed in Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.”

Knowledge is great, knowledge is important, we cannot act on what we do not know, but we can definitely not act on what we do know. Thus, it is written in James 1:22, “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” We lie to ourselves when we think simply knowing the Word is enough.

The matter was so important that Paul encouraged Timothy who was laboring in the Vineyard of the Lord in 2 Timothy 2:15 with these words, “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

Breaking this verse down Paul is telling Timothy that when the day comes that he is standing before the judgment seat of God, that in order to gain God’s stamp of approval he needs to put forth maximum effort to be dead center accurate with his knowledge and application of the Word of God. And so do each one of us for that matter.

Paul warns in Galatians 1:6-9 about those who twist, pervert, distort the Gospel and how those that do are accursed. Peter echoes this same warning in 2 Peter 3:14-18.

“Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless; and consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation — as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you, as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures. You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked; but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”

Again, note that the duty of diligence falls on each one of us to ensure that we are not on a path that will lead to our eternal destruction because we have in some way twisted the truth into a lie or are simply (due to the lack of diligent follow up) following a religious leader who is teaching error. We each need to take seriously the personal responsibility we have to ensure that we are accurately walking in the light of God’s Word and not blindly walking in shadows.

So, I ask again, does the truth really matter to you?