The Lord is near to all who call upon Him IN TRUTH - Psalm 145:18

Psalm 145:18 "The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth"

Non-Christians who genuinely call upon God

Can God be near to those who are not Christians? Will God answer the cry of those who are genuinely call upon Him?

The answer is YES. The story of Sadhu Sundar Singh is an example. As a 14 year old boy, he was such a staunch Sikh that he refused to read the New Testament which was used as a school textbook. He even burnt the NT in his zealous persecution of Christ.

Later when his mother died, he became very discouraged and depressed as he was very close to his mother.

So depressed was he that one night, he cried out in sincerity of heart (in truth). "God if you are real reveal Yourself to me. If not tonight I will throw myself on the tracks of an oncoming train and commit suicide as life has lost its meaning to me". 

Immediately the Lord Jesus appeared to him in a brilliant light. He saw the nail scarred hands of the Lord and he knew then that Jesus was God! He gave up all his inheritance and left his home with only a Bible in his hand preaching the gospel wherever he went.

There was yet another testimony of a Pakistani lady who read the Bible and her own holy book. The more she read the Bible, the more she was drawn to Jesus who was revealed in scriptures! Her heart was genuinely seeking the truth. She wanted to know the truth but there was no one to reveal it to her. 

So one night she prayed to the true God (whoever He is) and asked Him to reveal Himself to her. In answer to her prayers, the Lord appeared to her and asked her a question - "In which book do you find me real?". As it happened there were 2 books at her bedside, the Bible and her own holy book. She immediately knew the answer and became a Christian without anyone preaching to her!

She later wrote a book of how she came to Christ - "I dared to call Him Father" signifying the nearness and the closeness of her relationship with God. Pivotal to her faith in Christ is the fact that she dared to call God Father, something which was not allowed in her former faith.

3 Principles

There are 3 key principles here:

1. Nearness of God
2. Calling upon God
3. Calling upon God in truth

Nearness of God

The word "near" is "qarowb" which means being near to someone. It signifies a personal relationship or kinship. Thus for God to be near to us, we need to develop our relationship with Him

Calling upon God

To call or to "qara" is to call, cry out, proclaim or cry for help. 

Calling upon God in truth

Truth is "erneth" meaning "firmness, faithfulness, sureness, reliability, stability, continuance".

Truth as a stand-alone can be:

• spoken truth
• testimony, judgment
• divine instruction
• truth as a body of ethical and religious knowledge
• true doctrine

Truth in a person will make a person of probity, uprightness and integrity of mind.

What is truth?

The truth is the word of God.

John 17:17 "Sanctify them by your word. Your word is truth"

Psalm 119:160 "The entirety of your word is truth. Your righteous judgments endure forever"

The Guide of all truth

I am comforted by this, that the Holy Spirit in me will lead me into all truth. The condition for me to be guided into all truth is to read God's word and keep it in my heart. The more I obey God and keep His commandments, the more I will know the TRUTH!

What is the truth? The truth is the word of God! Who will guide us into all truth? The Holy Spirit! The salvation of Sadhu Sundar Singh and the Pakistani lady is the work of the Holy Spirit.

John 16:13 “However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.”

1 John 3:14 

“[The Spirit of Truth and the Spirit of Error ] Now he who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.”

God desires truth

1. In our worship 

John 4:24 “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth"

2. In our inward parts 

Psalm 51:6 "Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts, And in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom"

3. In His leaders

Exodus 18:21 "Moreover you shall select from all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them to be rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens."

4. In our service and commitment

Joshua 24:14 “Now therefore, fear the Lord, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River and in Egypt. Serve the Lord!"

5. In our walk with Him

1 Kings 2:4 "that the Lord may fulfill His word which He spoke concerning me, saying, ‘If your sons take heed to their way, to walk before Me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul,’ He said, ‘you shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel.’

Psalm 86:11 "Teach me Your way, O Lord; I will walk in Your truth; Unite my heart to fear Your name."

6. In our speech

Psalm 15:2 "He who walks uprightly, And works righteousness, And speaks the truth in his heart"

Proverbs 8:7 "For my mouth will speak truth; Wickedness is an abomination to my lips."

7. In our dealings with others

Proverbs 12:22 "Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, But those who deal truthfully are His delight"

8. In our sanctification

John 17: 17 "Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth"

9. In spiritual warfare

Eph 6:14 "Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness"

10. In our study of the word of God

2 Tim 2:15 "Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth."