How do we know what is true?
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In the world of measurements, particularly measuring length, how do we know what is a yard, a foot, or an inch?
Many of us can probably estimate these lengths.
However, there must be some way for us to come up with an accurate measurement, otherwise some people will sell us a footlong subway sandwich based on what they perceive to be one foot.
In England there is a public monument called the Public Imperial Measurement Standards that has various measurements:
1 British yard
2 feet
1 foot
6 inches
and 3 inches
…people could visit this monument and compare their measurement stick to ensure that they had an accurate way to measure things.
This monument can be referred to as the standard - all measuring sticks or rulers would be compared to this to see if in fact your 1 foot measuring stick was in fact 1 foot.
In today’s Bible reading we find a similar concept. How do we know what is true? How can we judge the truthfulness or accuracy of what we are taught in church or by anyone who claims to be a religious teacher?
For example, what is God like?
There are people that see God as a distant being that does not really have anything to do with our lives.
Others see God as energy or power.
Some describe God as a feeling of love and peace.
Lastly, there are others that say that God is a human invention and that he only exists in our imagination.
Another example, what is heaven like?
Some would say heaven is like an amusement park where you have fun all day.
Others think that heaven is a boring place where people float around in a cloud all day strumming a harp.
Some think that heaven does not exist and that after we die we simply cease to exist.
But is there any way for us to truly know what God is like, what heaven is like, or how we can hope after we die?
The book of Acts answers these questions.
Paul had arrived in the town of Berea and he continued preaching the Word of God. But notice the people’s reaction to his message:
11 Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.
The people heard Paul but they did their homework.
The people examined the Scriptures to see if what Paul was saying was true.
In other words, the standard, the source of truth, was always the Scriptures - or what we would call the Bible.
They compared everything that Paul was teaching them and looked to see if it lined up with what the Bible said.
This is an important discipline because people can have their own ideas about what God is like, what heaven is like, what is way we can go to heaven, etc., however, none of these ideas can be trusted unless they line up with what the Bible says.
Christian believers are encouraged to always search the Scriptures, to study the Bible, to really make an effort to understand the message of the Bible so that we can evaluate whether we are being told the truth about God, about heaven, about salvation, etc.
So, let us do one very quick exercise, what would you say to me if I said that there are many ways to get to heaven and that Jesus is simply one of those many ways to be saved.
I would hope that you would say - that is not true because Jesus himself said:
6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
This way of thinking will be very important as time goes on, as the Bible says speaking about the last days:
11 and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people.
Let’s pray: Our Father, teach us to diligently study your Word. Your Word is the source of truth. Teach us to always compare everything we hear against the Word of God. Lead our pastor and our teachers to not be led astray by teaching their own thoughts or ideas. Help us identify when we are being taught error or falsehoods. Guard our hearts and our minds through your Word which is without error, in Jesus name we pray, Amen.
