by Jacob Ninan
Jesus said, "You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free" (Jn.8:32). The reason why Jesus came to earth was to set us free from the penalty and the power of sin. Here He tells us how exactly we are going to be set free. It is by knowing the truth that we are going to be set free, more and more as we get to know the truth clearly. 'Knowing' here is not the same us understanding the truth, because it is possible for us to understand what the truth is and yet not accept it for ourselves. But when we understand what the truth is, accept it and then follow it, that will set us free.
"Therefore Pilate said to Him, 'So You are a king?' Jesus answered, 'You say correctly that I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.' Pilate said to Him, 'What is truth?'" (Jn.18:37,38). Here, Pilate was treating truth as if it was just a philosophical matter to be discussed or debated. In that way, truth becomes a matter of one's opinion. Then people think that each one has a right to hold his own opinion about everything, and consider that as their version of the truth. If that idea is accepted, then each man can make his own 'truth', and he is not accountable to any truth! Unfortunately, this is the current view among many people in the world today.
When Paul was in Athens during his travels for sharing the Gospel, he came across people who liked to spend their time listening to and discussing new ideas (Acts.17:21). Here they looked at truth as ideas to be examined and discussed, but they were not willing to go on to following the truth once they understood it.
But Jesus talks about truth as something, which when we understand and accept, will change our life from bondage to freedom. Imagine the bondage if we live in ignorance, believe what is actually false, and behave according to false assumptions! But when we know the truth, we can move on to behaving in the right way and experiencing life as it should be. So, setting us free with the truth means giving us information that can overcome ignorance and show us the right way. This can be in the form of giving us ideas that we did not know before, or showing us how what we were thinking of or doing earlier is not correct.
Truth, as Jesus talks about, is not an opinion, but a fact, reality, or a statement about the actual situation. There cannot be two opinions about any truth. For example, once we know what we mean by black and white, when we see a black object, nobody can hold an opinion that it is white! What is happening nowadays is that people are trying to redefine the meanings of words so that then they can believe what they want about different things! For example, in order to accommodate people who imagine they are not the 'sex' their bodies define them to be, people are now defining 'gender' to mean something different from 'sex', as what people think of themselves in their mind! But if only we think about it, we can see that this is like trying to call black white!
Truth has to do with what is real and what describes the actual situation, irrespective of what some individuals may think concerning it. Just because some people think that the earth is flat, the sun revolves around the earth, or that people have never landed on the moon, fact is fact, and by accepting facts, we can become free from ignorance, folly, etc.
When it comes to physical facts, things are simpler to understand compared to when it comes to moral truths. People may have different opinions about what is morally right and wrong, and then come to a conclusion that therefore there is nothing absolute about moral values. But here the answer lies in recognising that it is the One who created us who has defined for us moral values, and so what He has said is absolute, and no one has the right to modify it according to his own fancies. Ignorance of our Creator and lack of personal knowledge about what He has said play a major part in why people differ in their understanding of morals. So, the solution is to go to what God has revealed to us through His word, the Bible. He shows us there the big picture about how He created us, how we went wrong, the plan of salvation which He has prepared for us, what He wants us to do, and He gives us warnings about the consequences if we choose to go against Him.
With this revelation from God in our hand, we have an obligation to find out more and more about the truth, and to change our thinking and behaviour to fit according to His ways. "Now this is the commandment, the statutes and the judgments which the LORD your God has commanded me to teach you, that you might do them in the land where you are going over to possess it, so that you and your son and your grandson might fear the LORD your God, to keep all His statutes and His commandments which I command you, all the days of your life, and that your days may be prolonged. O Israel, you should listen and be careful to do it, that it may be well with you and that you may multiply greatly, just as the LORD, the God of your fathers, has promised you, in a land flowing with milk and honey. Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one! You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart" (Deut.6:1-6). There is only one God, who is our Creator, and He has told us how we should live. Our uppermost goal in life must be to know this God, and to order everything in our life according to what He says.
When we hear the truth, we come out of the ignorance we were in earlier. But hearing is not enough. We have to understand the truth, accept it and then follow it. When we understand what the truth is, we also understand that those who differ from it cannot also be right, but actually wrong. We can look at the evidence that proves the truth, analyse it, examine the alternatives and finally become convinced that this is indeed the truth. Then we accept this truth, and simultaneously reject differing claims to the truth. When it comes to moral truths, the Holy Spirit convicts us about the truth as we hear it, and helps us to be convinced. We begin to follow this truth by changing our lifestyle and priorities, and even proclaim this truth we have learnt and expose falsehood.
The problem is that not everyone responds to the truth in the right way. Some turn away from listening to the truth when they realise that it is beginning to show their position as wrong. Some defend their position saying that their families have been following their faith for many generations. Some even refuse to listen to anything other than what they believe. Some accept the truth intellectually, but they keep it isolated in one compartment of their mind and do not allow it to affect their lives. Some are unwilling to change from their current position thinking of the possible consequences, and stop considering the truth any further.
But spiritual growth can be compared to going from one grade to the next in school, each time passing a test to qualify for the next grade. If one chooses not to go through that that test, one is actually making a choice to remain in the same grade without going further into the next grade. But then he will never be able to see the greater things that are going to be available for him in the higher grades. Each test here represents our response to a truth which we have to choose to hear, understand, accept and follow. Every time we avoid receiving a truth, we stop or limit our spiritual growth.
The first test we have to pass is about the truth concerning which God we will worship. There are many different gods people worship and we need to know who the real God is and follow Him alone. We cannot afford to just keep following whoever our parents were following, without making sure He is the Truth. All religions are not the same, and it is obvious when we look at other gods that everyone is not talking about the same God. If we go wrong at this level, we will also be going wrong on the rest of the way also. When we look at the God of the Bible, and we understand the big picture which He presents about His nature, character, how He created man, how man fell away from God, the plan which God made to bring man back to Him, how the death and resurrection of Jesus has made this salvation available to us, what is coming up in the future and what God wants us to do, we find the truth about God. When we recognise the holiness and the love of God and see ourselves as sinners before Him, then it is for us to choose this God from among all the other ideas that people have, receive salvation and acceptance, and follow Him.
If we fall in love with this God and also recognise His awesome being and learn to fear Him, we will also desire to obey Him in everything He tells us. One of the first things that a new Christian faces is the question of water baptism by which we symbolically acknowledge the work Jesus has done for us and indicate our willingness to follow Him completely. The response to this truth becomes a great test for many who think about the possible repercussions in their family and society because of traditions, etc. But those who decide that they do not need to go into this test will not even know what deeper truths there are ahead for them.
The next truth can be with respect to the baptism in the Holy Spirit. Again the question is whether we will follow our God fully with regards to whatever He tells us in His word, or we will allow traditions, convenience, social status, etc., and decide how we deal with this truth.
A major issue can be there with respect to the church we will be a part of. All churches are not the same, and some are formal and without any spiritual life, some are heretical, some have activities and entertainment without leading people to grow closer to God, etc. Here again, the question is whether we will seek to be pleasing to God in everything, or we will allow other considerations to lead our decision.
All our life we will face choices with respect to the truth the Holy Spirit will show us concerning our sins and our sinful nature, as we go through our daily life. There we can submit to the truth, humble ourselves, set things right and choose to change and become more like Jesus. Or we can ignore the truth, put the blame on others or the circumstances, and continue to remain without transformation. This is mainly between us and God, and this is where He looks for faithfulness in secret.
A growing Christian will be characterised by a hunger and thirst for God that will cause him to run towards God all the time. He will study the Bible earnestly in order to learn in what way he can become better pleasing to God. He will keep praying for help from God for every part of his life. He will keep reading and listening to what more experienced Christians have to tell him. A complacent Christian is an oxymoron. For a true believer, the 'search for truth' does not end with finding God, but goes on endlessly to learn from God and become more transformed to become like Him. Jesus said that the greatest in the kingdom of God would be the one who would seek to keep even the least of God's instructions (Matt.5:18,19).
As God reveals more and more of His truth to us, whether it is through a message giving greater clarity on what He wants us to do, or He convicts us in our personal life, how we respond to the truth will decide how we are going to be set free. May God help us to submit to all of the truth that He shows us. Let us never stop seeking after the truth.