August 23, 2024

What is Truth and Why Men Can’t Find It

The word “TRUTH” appears in the Bible 333 times, yet almost nobody today actually know what the truth is and that, I believe, shows that we have lost our way with God. We don’t know our Bibles the way we should.

Today, a lot of people will say, “Well I have MY truth and you have YOUR truth,” and they will be very different, of course. That simply cannot be, because somebody is wrong or maybe both are wrong. That’s a real problem, and it’s the same problem that Jesus Christ faced when he was on this Earth. And He brought that issue out just before He was about to be crucified.

Notice John 18:37 “Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice.”

Well how about that! He came into this world to bear witness unto the truth! Well this has to be critical. It goes on to say, “Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice.” That’s very revealing.

And then we go to just the first part of John 18:38 “Pilate saith unto him, What is truth?

FCC does JON every year a first class live version of the Passion Play. One of the most dramatic scenes in the entire production is when the actor that plays Pilate stands on the upper level balcony of his palace and says, “What is Truth?”

Pilate didn’t know what truth was. What is it? In verse 37, Christ actually discussed the truth just before the crucifixion - it was getting very close - and Pilate didn’t know and most people don’t know. And if we don’t know what the truth is, then we are going to be in darkness spiritually, We need to understand this. It’s a super foundational subject.

In verse 37, Christ also said,”Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice.” Now, that is surely revealing and critically important because He is saying , “Look, if you are of the truth, you hear my voice.“ How important is it to hear God’s voice and to prove that you are hearing it? That’s what He is talking about. A very revealing statement, to be sure. We hear Christ’s voice if we are of the truth.

God says in John 17:17 “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.”

Now, here is the truth! the Word of God, the Bible, God’s Bible, the Old Testament and the New Testament. “Your Word is truth.” Your Word is Christ in print. That’s how critical it is. That’s what your Bible is all about. It’s Christ in print, and you can believe every word of it! And you can prove it, you absolutely can!

Matthew 4:4 says that we are to obey “every word” of God that is proclaimed out of His mouth. “But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” That’s what we are commanded to do. That sets us apart from the world. That’s what sanctifies me, that’s what sanctifies you, that sets us apart from the world and we’re right there with God, Himself, backing and supporting us and loving us in every way you can imagine.

Jesus adds something to that in John 17:19 “And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.” Sanctify means to set apart as or to declare as holy. That truth will sanctify you, it will really get you in step with God. And what could be more important than that? Well, I believe that nothing could be more important than that.

We are able to hear God’s voice through scripture and through the promptings of His Holy Spirit, especially after the Holy Spirit has taken up permanent residence inside of us as our constant guide and companion. We already know that we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit as a result of our repentance and our decision to be a Baptized follower of Jesus Christ.

Psalm 119:160 “Thy word is true from the beginning: And every one of thy righteous judgments endureth for ever.”

Isaiah 65:16 “That he who blesseth himself in the earth shall bless himself in the God of truth; And he that sweareth in the earth shall swear by the God of truth; Because the former troubles are forgotten, And because they are hid from mine eyes.”

John 14:6 “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”

John 8:31–32 “Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

Ephesians 6:14 “Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;”

Paul says that we should gird our waist with truth. In other words, truth should be used as a belt to hold other pieces of weapons used in spiritual battle. Back then they used their belts to carry their swords and knives. Even us, when we were out in the world, running wild in our sin, where did we carry our weapons, our knives and handguns? Did we put in in our pocket? Did we wear a shoulder holster like those detectives on the TV shows? No, we either carried them on our belt or tucked them in our belt. Right?

Back in the days of the wild wild West there was a very famous hand gun, a pistol, the Colt single action Army revolver that was known as the “Peacemaker”, which men wore in a holster hanging from their belt.

Today, we know that peace never comes from using a weapon.

Psalm 85:10 “Mercy and truth are met together; Righteousness and peace have kissed each other.”

Zechariah 8:19 “Thus saith the Lord of hosts; The fast of the fourth month, and the fast of the fifth, and the fast of the seventh, and the fast of the tenth, shall be to the house of Judah joy and gladness, and cheerful feasts; therefore love the truth and peace.”

Love the truth and peace, and you are going to have joy and gladness and cheerful feasts. That’s a promise from God! It has to happen! God can not lie!

Zechariah 8:3–17 “Thus saith the Lord; I am returned unto Zion, And will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: And Jerusalem shall be called a city of truth; And the mountain of the Lord of hosts the holy mountain.

So, here is Jerusalem, the city of TRUTH! Do you think that we need some cities of truth today? Jerusalem is going to become the capital of the world and even the universe, and God says here, that it’s going to be a city of truth! What a wonderful truth this is! This is the truth. God’s Word is right there for all of us. His Word is truth!

Notice what it produces: Zechariah continues in verses 4: thru 7:

Thus saith the Lord of hosts; There shall yet old men and old women dwell in the streets of Jerusalem, And every man with his staff in his hand for very age. And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls Playing in the streets thereof. Thus saith the Lord of hosts; If it be marvellous in the eyes of the remnant of this people in these days, Should it also be marvellous in mine eyes? saith the Lord of hosts.

Well how about that! The city of truth, and nobody is doing anything violent. They’re loving each other, and they’re loving their children. and they’re loving elderly people and taking good care of them and making sure that they have a wonderful life to the very end, physically anyhow.

Zechariah continues in verses 7 - 8:

Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Behold, I will save my people from the east country, And from the west country; And I will bring them, and they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: And they shall be my people, and I will be their God, In truth and in righteousness.

Well, how about that! These are people from all over the world, and they’re going to come right into the midst of Jerusalem and see how to have the city of truth and a whole continent of truth! Everybody’s going to have the truth - all over the world! And this beautiful picture here, how can you not get excited about that when you compare it to our cities today and this world today? How we desperately need this, and God is going to give to to us.

This is Bible Prophecy not only describing, but also promising what the wonderful world of tomorrow will be like, when Jesus Christ returns as King of Kings, and Lord of Lords to establish and rule the Kingdom of God, right here on Earth, from the capital city of Jerusalem. This is a promise from God and God can not lie.

And it continues in Zechariah 8:14–17 “For thus saith the Lord of hosts; As I thought to punish you, when your fathers provoked me to wrath, saith the Lord of hosts, and I repented not: So again have I thought in these days to do well unto Jerusalem and to the house of Judah: fear ye not. These are the things that ye shall do; Speak ye every man the truth to his neighbour; execute the judgment of truth and peace in your gates: And let none of you imagine evil in your hearts against his neighbour; and love no false oath: for all these are things that I hate, saith the Lord.”

God is clearly telling us here that He not only hates, but He has zero tolerance for evil and false oaths.

Conversely, Satan can’t tell the truth. He is the father of lies.

John 8:44 “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.”

2 Corinthians 4:4 “In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.”

Revelation 12:9 “And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.”

Most of our media outlets today,(newspapers, radio, TV, internet, podcasts) all profess to “report the truth” or “seek the truth”. But that is a deep-seated deception. We are constantly bombarded with “fake news” and political propaganda on a daily basis. Most media outlets report the news through the lens of whatever their own management’s political ideology is. We just don’t know what to believe or even what the actual truth is.

2 Thessalonians 2:8–12 “And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.”

Here is God’s evaluation of human nature: Romans 1:28 “And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;” ( or that are shameful! )

“People did not like to retain God in their knowledge.” Result? Now, they have reprobate minds.

Thayer’s Lexicon defines “reprobate” as “not standing the test, not approved; properly of metals and coin”. Some metals are inadequate to be used as coins. Man’s carnal mind has repeatedly proved itself faulty and deficient, not standing the test - absolutely unable to govern other men.

The only question is, when will we learn this lesson? Before nuclear holocaust or after?

Of course, men believe that their own minds are just fine. That is why we are on the verge of destroying all human life.

Matthew 24:21–22 “For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.”

How can God help people recognize the truth? He must convince man by words, or by man’s own self inflicted disaster - or not at all. Man is going to have to experience the fruits of his own twisted reasoning! This is the lesson God is teaching mankind today - through suffering. This is a painful way to learn.

Man doesn’t understand “the plague of his own heart”

1 Kings 8:38 “What prayer and supplication soever be made by any man, or by all thy people Israel, which shall know every man the plague of his own heart, and spread forth his hands toward this house:”

The Prophet Jeremiah said in Jeremiah 17:9 “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” NOTHING can compare with the deceit within our hearts! BUT MAN IS TOO DECEIVED TO BELIEVE THE TRUTH ABOUT HIS OWN MIND!

This deceit within man’s thoughts and feelings is very dangerous. Man’s capacity for evil seems endless. His mind is “desperately wicked”, though most men disagree with God’s evaluation.

What is the solution? Jeremiah 17:10 “I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.”

Only God understands the sickness of the human mind.

Every man and woman on Earth desperately needs the mind of Jesus Christ.

Philippians 2:5 “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:”

Without that, our minds are inadequate to prepare us for God’s Kingdom - unfit to fulfill God’s incredible plan for man. Receiving the mind of Christ is our only hope. Only then will man be fit for God’s great calling.

What unparalleled suffering we could prevent by learning this lesson quickly!

Most people believe human beings are essentially good. This grievous error brings untold suffering. The truth is: Romans 8:7 “Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.”

The carnal mind is enmity against God - hostile to God’s law.

Before mankind can find the truth, they must understand and remove their hostility toward God.

Even religious people twist God’s Word and try to do away with God’s law rather than submit to it. This is how tragically deceived the human mind is!

We must conquer that hostility by keeping God’s law. That is how we build God’s character. Then we can solve our problems and have real “life and peace” Romans 8:6 “For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.” Failing here is why humanity is so miserable and unhappy today.

Christ taught this lesson when He was on Earth, but men rejected it. Matthew 9:10–13 “And it came to pass, as Jesus sat at meat in the house, behold, many publicans and sinners came and sat down with him and his disciples. And when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto his disciples, Why eateth your Master with publicans and sinners? But when Jesus heard that, he said unto them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick. But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”

The greatest deceit in the world today is the deceit about Jesus Christ. Why is that? Because for men to accept Christ, they must first admit they are sick - in need of a physician, spiritually. Both the religious and secular worlds refuse to do this.

That is why the number one problem we face today is human annihilation. Only very sick minds could fail to see that God is our only hope! The truth is: mankind is terminally ill.

The good news is that there is a Physician with a cure. How much suffering will be necessary before we seek the real Jesus Christ.

Most of us are better at talking than at listening, but communicating with God involves both. The Lord intends for His children to hear His voice.

Scripture is one of the main instruments our Father uses to speak to us. Fir this reason, studying the Bible is incredibly important. When we regularly spend time in God’s Word, we’ll develop a discerning spirit.

Regardless of how loudly God speaks, we won’t hear unless listening is a priority. We must ask the Lord to teach us to hear and then practice having a quiet attitude. An internal “receiver” tuned to the develops only through committed prayer, meditation, and practice at listening. In addition, we need a spirit of submission to obey His commands.

God’s goal for us is a lifestyle of sensitivity so we can hear Him in both noisy and calm situations. Listening is a critical skill for ensuring that our hearts are open to divine guidance in every circumstance. Regularly spending time reading and meditating on Scripture has many blessings, including that we more readily recognize our Father’s voice.

John 10:27 “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:”

Let’s pray: O mighty and merciful Father in heaven, help us to be men that will seek the truth. Help us to realize that we must repent of our sins and surrender our lives to you and you alone. Make us worthy, through the blood of your son, Jesus Christ, to be your children. Help us to develop discernment and allow us to hear your voice as we study your Word and seek your truth, in Jesus name we pray.