WHAT IS TRUTH?

I was recently talking with a friend concerning the concept of faith.  His perspective and mine are quite contrary, but we still have been able to maintain a close friendship for many years regardless of our differences.  He has told me more than once that he too lives by faith, but he quickly qualifies that statement by telling me that the laws and principles he believes in can be, and have been, proven in the “natural realm” through science or mathematics. When I talk to him about my concept of faith as defined in Hebrews 11:1: “Faith is the confident assurance that what we hope for is going to happen. It is the evidence of things we cannot yet see”, he smiles…rolls his eyes and says something like “how can you believe that without proof?”  When I tell him I have all the proof I need as I see the truth of the scripture come alive in my life, he just shakes his head and smiles.

Every day when I leave my neighborhood I drive by a church that, on a weekly basis, has a new life-enriching statement on its marquee. As I slowed down to get a good look at the message for this week, I saw B.I.B.L.E…Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth. “Wowzzer,” I exclaimed. “That is right on the mark!”

As I have stated many times in my postings, I believe there are two fundamental principles from which everything else written in the Bible emanates: (1.) God is Love (1John 4:8) and (2.) He wants a relationship with us – an eternal relationship.  And because God is God…he knows something about relationships!  For instance, he knew that before we could enter into a relationship with him, we would have to come to know him.  We would have to know who He is; what and how He thinks; what He says; what He says about us; what His standards are; what His promises are; and how we receive those promises. Because He is a Spirit and we are human, he chose to reveal himself to us through His Word, the Holy Bible.  Everything we need to know about living a life that is pleasing to him (based on His truth) is in that collection of Scripture.  This book truly is our “Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth”.  It is also the key to eternal life.

We are told in 2Timothy 3:16-17: “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives.  It straightens us out and teaches us to do what is right.  It is God’s way of preparing us in every way, fully equipped for every good thing God wants us to do.”   And again in 2Peter 1:20-21: “Above all, you must understand that no prophecy in Scripture ever came from the prophets themselves or because they wanted to prophesy.  It was the Holy Spirit who moved the prophets to speak from God.” 

HONESTY

Unfortunately most people have never read the Bible, but none-the-less they have an opinion – albeit a faulty opinion – of its content.  In fact I was one of those people for nearly half a century. And like my friend mentioned in the opening paragraph, I would have told you I had faith in “my belief system”. But in reality I had nothing to base my belief on other than if it made sense to me; it satisfied my needs; and if there were no undesirable consequences, I considered it worthy to live by.  As I look back on that time in my life, I see it as clearly as a time of ignorance.  Not ignorance in terms of stupidity, but ignorance of  “the truth”!

OPEN-MINDEDNESS

So how did I begin to realize the Holy Bible was “the” truth”?   I was willing to open the book to the New Testament and start reading from Matthew through – well, in all honesty…to Revelation.  An interesting truth about the Bible is…even with my skepticism and preconceived notions, it met me where I was at that time.  While I can’t say I experienced any real depth of understanding or revelation, as I kept reading I began to realize there was no basis for my skepticism or preconceived notions.  The contradictions and inconsistencies that I had thoroughly expected to find were not there.  In fact, just the opposite was true.  I began to see incredible consistency in the scriptures, and that is what enticed me go back and read again more slowly and carefully.  As I kept reading, I kept asking myself “What if this is true?  What if this Book is really what it claims to be…The Word of God?”   Hummm?  I was beginning to see a glimmer of hope in what I was reading.

Since God chose to reveal himself to mankind through the Holy Bible, it opened itself up to never-ending scrutiny.  And as expected, there has been scrutiny since the first collection of His words. Non-believers of every ilk have attempted to discredit the authenticity and validity of these 66 books that make up today’s Bible.  Academics, scholars, philosophers, scientists, atheists, agnostics, idiots have all taken a swing at the Bible.  To my knowledge no one has been able to establish a flaw.

Just think about what would happen today if someone were able to discredit the sanctity of the Bible.  It would be the top news story on every network; it would make the headlines in every newspaper and magazine; it would be the topic of every talk-show host from coast-to-coast.  THE BIBLE IS A FRAUD! Ablaze in all capital letters, this long-awaited announcement would kick off a day of frenzy for its critics.  Could it mean they had been right all along?  (That must be how the critics felt at Jesus crucifixion.) 

So far I don’t know of any event like that happening. And if there were  evidence to substantiate such a claim, no doubt EVERYONE would know about it.  Without question many people have read the Book and concluded, “this is contrary (or inconvenient) to the way I want to live my life” and walked away. That reaction does not indicate a flaw in the Book’s content, but only confirms the truth found in John 3: 19-20: “…The light from heaven came into the world (Jesus), but they loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil.  They hate the light because they want to sin in the darkness.  They stay away from the light for fear their sins will be exposed and they will be punished.”

WILLINGNESS

But I am convinced that anyone who opens the Word of God and begins reading with the intent of enlightenment will find God. Deuteronomy 4:29 tell us, “…if we seek Him with all our heart and soul we will find Him.”  Once we begin connecting with God, he begins revealing more and more truth to us.  As we begin experiencing His truth coming alive in our life, our faith starts to develop.  It is this platform of truth and faith that becomes the rock on which we build our life.  The stronger our faith becomes, the more we can step out with absolute assurance we are standing on the truth of His Word.

The Bible is resplendent with promises from God.  But virtually all promises begin with the all- important first two words… “If you”.  We are told in John 8:32 that Jesus told his Apostles, “If you follow my teachings you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.”  The promise is: “the truth will set you free”, but it is predicated on “following the teaching of Jesus”.  As with all promises…it begins with OUR willingness to participate in the endeavor… “If you”.  We soon learn that the promises and blessings come to us as we choose to participate in the transformation process.

As we become engrossed in the New Testament, it doesn’t take long to realize that God’s plan for mankind is to know his Son, Jesus Christ.  He is our Redeemer, and it is through Him that we become reborn and can experience eternal life.  Once we make the decision to accept Him as our Lord and Savior, we are in Christ and heir to every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realm; heir to all the promises to Abraham; and heir to every other promise in the Bible.  Why?  Because we are in Christ. That position was not established because of anything we did or because we are worthy of such a distinction, but because of what Jesus Christ did for us on the cross.  That was God’s plan for mankind even before the world was created.

Once we begin to realize our new identify in Jesus Christ, the more we can step out in faith, realizing full well we are standing on a platform of truth…God’s truth.  Our proof does not come from scientific or mathematic conclusion, but from our UNSHAKABLE trust in a loving God who revealed himself to us through His Word so we could enter into a relationship with him.  As this truth springs up in us and shapes our life, we can now experience the many blessings promised in Scripture because we are in Christ.  Ephesians 2:10 tells us “We are now God’s masterpiece.  He has created us anew in Christ Jesus so that we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.  We are now capable of becoming the person God created us to be, all because of our new identity in Christ.

This is indeed awesome news!  And best of all…it’s the truth!

May God Bless Ya, and feel free to chime in with your thoughts….

Dan Presgrave, (a.k.a. Pastor Dan)