Sermon Overview
Scripture Passage: Proverbs 23:23
In this day, it is not values that we desperately need, but virtue.

We must be able to differentiate truth and fact: we acquire facts but learn truth. Facts deal with knowledge, and knowledge can double, but truth never changes and is settled for eternity. We must make a habit of treasuring truth.

Proverbs 23:23 says, “Buy the truth, and do not sell it, also wisdom and instruction and understanding.”

We must prize the truth, for it is indispensable, absolute, and attainable through the Word of God. It is not enough just to know it; knowledge without transformation avails nothing. We must see the transforming power behind it, through the Holy Spirit.

We must also purchase the truth. Adrian Rogers says, “Salvation is free, but truth is costly; you pay a price to have truth.”

John 8:31-32 says, “Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

Believing in Jesus is the first step in attaining truth; we must also abide in His Word through discipleship. Discipleship is costly—it costs time, discipline, and obedience; but ignorance is far more costly. We must study the Bible for enlightenment. If we grow in knowledge but not in grace, we will be dangerous to ourselves and others.

Adrian Rogers says, “Truth is to your spirit what good is to your body, what light is to your eyes, what melody is to your ears.”

We also study Scripture for our enjoyment; reading the Bible should not be perceived as a punishment but as a privilege. We read for our personal enrichment, to sharpen our minds and strengthen our wills. We read Scripture for our enablement, to grow in our faith and fellowship with others.

Finally, we must preserve the truth, guarding it against those who will deny, distort, dilute and defile the Bible. We do this by proclaiming the Gospel truth: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).

Apply it to your life
Do you treasure truth—prize, purchase, preserve, and proclaim it? Do you read Scripture for your enlightenment, enjoyment, enrichment, and enablement?