Truth.
Have you ever told a lie and got away with it? How did you feel?
Truth is a very important subject.
To study truth involves understanding philosophy and theories of truth that are very complex and too deep for a church sermon.
But how do you know you have the truth?
Basic truth often referred to as the correspondence theory of truth is that something is true if it can be proven by already known truth.
For example, Is it true that I am the oldest person in the room? To know whether that is true you would need to know the ages of every person in the room at a given time. It may be true today but what about tomorrow?
Another example is. Is it true that there is a kind of star called a black hole?
There are many theories and calculations that lead to that proposition but it can’t be objectively seen or proven.
What about Jesus is God?
Whether this statement is true or false is of great importance.
How can you know if such things are true or not?
- The evidence
- The Possibility of deception
- The knowledge through revelation.
The Evidence.
To some people no amount of evidence will be sufficient to prove to them that Jesus is God. But to many the scientific, literary and logical evidence is welcome and helpful. Two examples of writers who cover this topic well are Lee Strobel – The Case for Faith and William Lane Craig Is Jesus the Son of God?
The same evidence has led tens of thousands of scientists to believe in the biblical account of creation and the same evidence had led thousands of other scientists to have an atheistic view of the world.
Evidence that Jesus is God can be found here and here.
The possibility of deception.
Any person can be deceived. How can you know that you are thinking in a clear and coherent manner? How can you know that you are seeing and hearing evidence in the same way another person receives it?
Prov 16:2 AMP
All the ways of a man are clean and innocent in his own eyes [and he may see nothing wrong with his actions], But the Lord weighs and examines the motives and intents [of the heart and knows the truth].
Mark 4:24-25
Then He said to them, “Pay attention to what you hear. By your own standard of measurement [that is, to the extent that you study spiritual truth and apply godly wisdom] it will be measured to you [and you will be given even greater ability to respond]—and more will be given to you besides.
25 For whoever has [a teachable heart], to him more [understanding] will be given; and whoever does not have [a yearning for truth], even what he has will be taken away from him.”
2 Thessalonians 2:9-11Amplified Bible (AMP)
9 The coming of the [Antichrist, the lawless] one is through the activity of Satan, [attended] with great power [all kinds of counterfeit miracles] and [deceptive] signs and false wonders [all of them lies], 10 and by unlimited seduction to evil and with all the deception of wickedness for those who are perishing, because they did not welcome the love of the truth [of the gospel] so as to be saved [they were spiritually blind, and rejected the truth that would have saved them]. 11 Because of this God will send upon them a misleading influence, [an activity of error and deception] so they will believe the lie,
Knowledge through revelation
The understanding that things can be known in a spiritual sense of knowing as separate from an intellectual sense is the basis of faith. The scripture in Heb 11:1 Now faith is the assurance (title deed, confirmation) of things hoped for (divinely guaranteed), and the evidence of things not seen [the conviction of their reality—faith comprehends as fact what cannot be experienced by the physical senses]., shows the existence of evidence not conveyed through the five senses. In examining (St. Thomas Aquinas – Summa Theologica 1) he asks, “Without grace can any man know truth?” He answers by saying, “Yes, there is some truth which comes by natural light and there is some truth which comes as act of sanctifying grace.” I would say that Faith is not primarily intellectual but is spiritual and is accessed through the intellect.
If you believe that Jesus is God then that becomes true for you when you receive that knowledge by faith. You may be convinced intellectually but then later you could be dissuaded by an higher intellectual argument or deception.
You need to hear the evidence from the Spirit of God.
Jesus said John 8:32 AMP – And you will know the truth [regarding salvation], and the truth will set you free [from the penalty of sin].”
John 14:6 AMP Jesus said to him, “I am the [only] Way [to God] and the [real] Truth and the [real] Life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
- How would you define truth?
- How important is it to you that your faith rests on provable facts?
- Do you have a “knowledge of God” in your heart?
- How would you go about finding evidence of truth about the bible?
- How would you find revelation knowledge from God?
craigmanderson 