Verily, Verily

He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself; he who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that God has given of His Son. (1 John 5:10 NKJV)

God does not Lie

Satan lies.  He is the Father or originator of lies.   The Lord tells the Jewish unbelievers, “You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it (John 8:44 NKJV).”

Sometimes it is hard to tell truth from error in our day.  But I have confidence that what the Lord has told us is the truth.  I like to notice the verily, verily’s in the Bible. Verily, Verily means Truly, Truly and is translated in the NKJV as Most Assuredly.  It is only in the Gospel of John that we see this phrase and there we see it  25 times.  Some of the most quoted verses introduced by this double amen are:  

Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (John 3:3 NKJV)

“Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life. (John 5:24 NKJV)

“Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live. (John 5:25 NKJV)

“Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life. (John 6:47 NKJV)

When Jesus had said these things, He was troubled in spirit, and testified and said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, one of you will betray Me.” (John 13:21 NKJV)

In each of the 25 verses, it is the Lord who is speaking.  As I understand the Greek language, when something is repeated, that something is extremely important.  The above verses are some that I think are extremely important but all 25 are important.  That does not minimize the fact that “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness (2 Timothy 3:16 NKJV).”

A Matter of Interpretation

Nearly everyone of the most assuredly statements by the Lord are interpreted in different ways by different preachers and different denominations.  However, I think the interpretations are fairly straightforward.   I like the fact that salvation in these verses is likened to a birth, to a resurrection and is explained as resulting from faith.  Now without adding my own spin on what the Lord has said, most people I know say that they have faith in the Lord and in the Bible.  But do we really?

I have faith in all of the banks in my city.  I think you could put your money in any one of them and presume that it is going to be available to you when you want to withdraw it.  However, I only have what I would consider to be Biblical faith in the one bank where I have opened an account and have deposited money.  That is why believing is likened to a birth and to a resurrection.  Neither of those events would be easily forgotten and both require a work of God in the heart (actually a work of the Holy Spirit).  Believing about something and trusting in something can be two different things.

Why is this Important?

We know that we can’t believe many of our politicians today. . .I am not being partisan here. Some make promises that they can’t keep and in some cases they make promises that they have no intention of keeping.  In many cases we can’t believe those who are popular religious leaders.  Most of them are living in mansions while the Lord said,  “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head (Matthew 8:20 NKJV).”  Religion has become entertainment or a business or both.  Most main stream evangelists have seen so many saved (according to them) that there really must not be any left that need to be saved.  And of course that is not the case.

Conclusion

But when the Lord says, “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life (John 6:47 NKJV), ” we can take that to the bank.  

Since none of us asked to be born and very few of us ask to die, we need to take God at His Word when it comes to being prepared for the day of our death.  When He says Most Assuredly, He means Most assuredly.  

I believe God in the sense that I trust Him and His word.  I confess that when it comes to salvation my trust is secure.  When it comes to preservation and depending on the promises of God for daily needs and daily protection,  I often find my faith to be weak.  But I am glad that God is faithful even if we are faithless. The Apostle Paul reminds us,
“If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself (2 Timothy 2:13 NKJV).”

I hope everyone reading this has confidence in the Most Assuredly’s of the Bible.  If we were to look at the Apostle Paul’s writings, he would emphasize faithful (dependable) sayings.  We can trust the Bible.  We must trust the promises of God.

Bruce Collins

Meditation for the week of August 2, 2026

If you would like further conversation about the issues in these meditations, contact me at collinsbd@yahoo.com and I will try to accommodate you with a virtual Bible Study.