01 - HOW TO FIND TRUTH

No man can find the truth in religion by himself.
Why is this? Because “the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps” (Jer. 10:23). Because “there is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death” (Prov. 16:25). And because “every way of a man is right in his own eyes” (Prov. 21:2). It is only by the divine revelation of the Bible that we can learn what is truth and how to be saved.

Many think they don’t need the Bible; they feel that science is a guide to truth. Science is a guide to truth concerning the natural world. It can tell us how to travel to the moon and how to talk with people on the other side of the earth. But it cannot tell us where we came from, why we are here, and where we are going. Only God’s Word is a safe in these matters.

One of the greatest perils is the tendency to abjure all authority in religion and to depend solely on one’s inner experience for spiritual light and leading. Men declare that instead of looking to the Bible for religious guidance, people should look to their own inner spiritual impressions.

Some year ago a writer of a newspaper article stated, “The human soul is practically infallible in its recognition of the truth…. Trust you soul! Trust you mind! Your mind and soul will recognize the truth needed, and grasp it, and accept it. For other things you need not care.”

Men say, “Trust your soul! Trust your mind!” But the Bile says, “He who trusts in his own min is a fool” (Prov. 28:26). He who relies on his own reason and judgment has no sure standard for the determination of truth.

One day I held up a piece of muslin before a class of twenty-five men and women and asked them how wide it was. I received fifteen different answers, ranging all the way form 27 to 40 inches. No one gave the correct answer.

Then I said, “You can see that we must have some ultimate authority for knowing for a certainty how wide this cloth is.” I placed a wardstick on the muslin and demonstrated that it was 35 ½ inches wide. Everyone immediately relinquished his previous estimate; all accepted the actual width. They would not have been able to do that had not the yardstick been used.

The fifteen divergent answers illustrate that we cannot arrive at the real truth in religion when we depend solely upon our own judgment. When we do this, we may believe that a lie is the truth, and reject truth as being an error.

Man must have a higher standard than reason, judgment, conscience, experience, and intuition. The higher standard – this ultimate authority for what is truth – can come only from the God of truth. It must be, as He has appointed, in His word as revealed in the Bible, which contains His ten commandments.

No man should take the decrees of councils, or any reed, as the ultimate judge of the truth. God has directed that we should not do whatever seems right in our own eyes.

Some will exclaim, “If I am not to do what I think is right, what shall I do?” God gives His answer in the twelfth chapter of Deuteronomy. He says, “Ye shall not do…every man whatsoever is right in his own eyes” (Prov. 28:8). Instead, He tells us to do what “is good and right in the sight of the Lord thy God” (Prov. 28:28). It is safe for us to do what we think is right only when it accords with that ultimate standard of authority, as set forth in God’s law and His Word.

As there is only one test of truth, so there is only one infallible Leader –the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, and the only Saviour. He said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6).

Without the way in Christ, there is no going. Without the truth in Christ, there is no knowing. Without the life in Christ, there is no living.

In one of His discussions with the Jews, Jesus indicated the infallible authority of Scripture by saying, “The scripture cannot be broken” (John 10:35). When we have a direct statement of Scriptures regarding a certain matter, a thousand eminent people in its favour do not add a feather’s weight to its authenticity, nor do a thousand experts against it lessen its truth.

Jesus, the Truth, set the seal of truth on some of the incidents in the Old Testament that are widely disbelieved today by many professed Christians. For example: the creation of the first man and woman by a direct act of God (Matt. 19:4, 5); the worldwide flood in the days of Noah (Matt. 24:37-39); the destruction of Sodom by fire and brimstone from heaven (Luke 17:28, 29); Jonah in the fish’s belly for three days (Matt. 12:40).

Jesus spoke of these events as being actually true. If any Christian denies them, is he truly on the side of Christ? In his denial of that which Jesus declared true, he takes a stand against Christ. The rejection of the Bible in part is the rejection of its Author – Jesus Christ.

Reader, you are determined to stand with Jesus by taking the Scriptures as an infallible guide, aren’t you? You can’t go wrong when you stand with Jesus here.

Be on guard against the cunning devices of Satan. He presents sufficient truth to lead people to wallow his big lies, as happened with Eve in the Garden of Eden. Satan sandwiched a big lie between two truths. He declared that if she ate of the fruit of God’s reserved tree, she would not die,. “For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened (true), and ye shall be as gods (a big lie), knowing good and evil (true)” (Gen. 3:5).

This first deception was by means of a halt-truth, which serves the devil’s purpose better than an outright falsehood. People see the part that is truth, but are unaware of the false idea it hides. So, the most dangerous errors are those that are mingled with truth. In this way falsehoods are received that captivate and ruin the soul. Thus Satan leads the world with him.

Half-truths taught regarding some of the fundamental doctrines of the Bible have led millions astray form the way Jesus leads. Adherents of these teachings see the part that is truth and are unmindful of that which is untrue. The sad thing about it is they are often unwilling to give consideration to any teaching not in accord with their beliefs. In this they are really unfair to themselves and to the Bible. When the Word of God is presented, all should considers its truths regardless of how much it differs from their beliefs.

The apostles followed the Lord Jesus in clinging the Scriptures for the discovery, comprehension, and application of truth. On every issue and doctrine their appeal was “What saith the scripture?” (Rom. 4:3). This necessarily meant the Old Testament; the New Testament had not been written. Today the question “What says the Scriptures?” means “What says the Old and the New Testaments?”

When you read the Pauline Epistles, you find instance after instance where Paul says, “As it is written…” Then he cites a scripture form the Old Testament to establish the particular teaching he is setting forth. He regarded the Scriptures as the ultimate authority is religion.

In the book of Romans, Paul used “It is written” sixteen times in quoting from the Old Testament to support what he presented (Rom. 1:17; 2:24; 3:4,10; 4:17; 8:36; 9:13, 33; 10:15; 11:8, 26; 12: 19; 14:11; 15; 3, 9, 21). How can those who discard the Old Testament really understand or accept this masterly presentation of the gospel in this epistle?

Many have been led to accept false doctrines because they have read certain books using two or three texts that seem to support the author’s theory. But never forget, it is not fair to the Bible to interpret any text out of harmony with other texts it contains referring to the same subject. If we want to understand the real truth, and to avoid wrong concepts, we must secure the whole Biblical concept of the subject. Then we are on safe ground.

Satan attempted to overcome Jesus by misapplying scripture. He took Christ up on a pinnacle of the Temple and said, “If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone” (Matt. 4:6).

Had Jesus consented He would have committed a sin of presumption. He met the issue by quoting another text, “Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God (Matt. 4:7), thus meeting the wrong interpretation the devil had placed on Psalm 91:11, 12. this shows how we need a correct knowledge of the Bible lest we be deceived by those who misapply the Scriptures.

Some people say, “It makes no difference what you believe if you are sincere.” We ought to be sincere in our religion. But more than this is needed. We must follow the truth. A man who takes the wrong road, sincerely believing it is the right one, will not reach his destination. He who eats poisonous toadstools, sincerely believing they are mushrooms, will not escape the consequences.

Two men were crossing a lake when their boat capsized. One grabbed a stick; the other grabbed a life preserver. They both took hold with the same earnestness. But the man who took hold of the stick drowned.
The difference between being saved and being lost is in getting hold of the right thing. In religion everything depends on getting hold of the truth as it is in Jesus.

The approbation of Heaven rests upon all who search the Scriptures for truth that they may follow it. The Bereans “were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so” (Acts 17:11). They pursued a safe course. They had an open mind for truth.

It is not good to turn to the Bible to prove some preconceived opinion. This could lead to twisting he meaning of Scripture in favour of our own theories. Rather, we should divest our minds of all prejudice and go to the Bible to listen to what God is saying to us.

In our search for the real truth for our day we must remember that instinct may deceive, reason may mislead, psychic phenomena may sweep one into wrong conclusions, science may err; but God’s Word can be trusted completely because it is infallible truth.

I am glad you have joined me in this journey down paths of Holy Scripture. I hope that it will be a pleasant and profitable one, and that God will show us what is His present truth for our day. Be assured that in taking this journey we will draw near to the sacred heart of the Lord Jesus Christ. His heart’s desire is that you and I should understand and heed the truth of His Word and be sanctified by it so we will be truly happy here and eternally happy in His heavenly home.