Brought Forth by the Word of Truth

Brought Forth by the Word of Truth

“Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.” Jas. 1:18.

The truth is offensive, and only a few people can bear it. Paul says, “Have I therefore become your enemy because I tell you the truth?” Gal. 4:16. This makes us realize that it is not easy to bring forth someone by the word of truth. When Jesus said to the Jews who had come to faith in Him that they had to acknowledge the truth so they could be set free and then explained to them that he who commits sin is a slave of sin, they became His enemies. They had come to faith in Him, and things looked promising; but now that they were to be born by the word of truth, they became His enemies instead.

“Most assuredly I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.” Again Jesus said, “I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.” Read John 10:1-7, 9.

When someone preaches God’s Word, he opens a door for people to enter into the sheepfold. If the person who preaches the Word is a slave of sin—whether it be conceit, love of money, gluttony, vanity, etc.—we realize that he cannot speak the truth about the things that should set people free. He doesn’t want to offend anyone with the truth about these things either—the very things from which they should be set free. On the contrary, the door is thrown wide open, and many people flood in through it. He has large revival meetings. People who go to these meetings are not born by the word of truth and they are not really set free from sin. Neither have such people gone through the door, which is Jesus, the One who said that no one could be His disciple unless he forsakes everything. Luke 14:33. He also said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” There we are faced with the narrow gate, but only a few go through it. A preacher has to be faithful so he can nourish people with the word of truth, but he who climbs over some other way is a thief and a robber. Many people would like to enter the sheepfold, but they do not want to forsake the world. They attempt to take the kingdom of God by stealth without forsaking sin. For such people a Christian life is like wandering around in the desert, and after a revival many of them fall away. The thieves have to make another attempt.

Jesus says, “How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!” Matt. 23:37. It wasn’t difficult for Jesus to gather people. He gathered thousands when He gave them food and healed them; but when He wanted to gather them under His wings, they were unwilling. For it was impossible to be under His wings without giving up sinning. They couldn’t sit under His wings and argue about who was the greatest or about an inheritance. Neither could they be there and seek the honor of man or put their trust in their possessions. They didn’t want to be under His wings if they had to forsake all this. The gate became too narrow; but if they had gone through it, they would have received life, even life in abundance.

All these thieves and robbers cause so much commotion in the sheepfold. Therefore we must guard the walls so that no one can enter in except through the door. Only a few are saved, but there is a blessed fellowship among them. You don’t have to resort to entertainment for the flesh to keep them alive. Not at all! The word of truth is their food, and they have life in abundance. They are the firstfruits of God’s creation.