The Quest for Truth

 TRUTH FOR TODAY

Jun Malazo

SAGADA, Mountain Province -- According to the latest statistics, there are well over 4,200 different religious groups in the world today.  These include the major religious groups that are well-known in the world as well as hundreds of minor groups that are often unfamiliar to most people.

 This number is staggering especially to those who are sincerely wanting to find the truth.  To compare and contrast each of these religions would not only be very time consuming but also would lead to a lot of confusion and frustration.

I don’t know if you are a member of a particular religious group or sect, but have you ever stopped and asked yourself, “How do we know who’s telling truth?”  With so many religions having overwhelming differences in beliefs and practices, it is hard to determine who is really telling the truth. 

Nowadays, even churches know how to “market” their particular church.  They can make their church attractive and appealing to people simply by employing marketing techniques.  But the question still remains:  “How do we know who is telling the truth?”

If you are one that is seeking for truth this is a serious matter.  You can spend your entire life dedicated to sincerely following what you thought was the truth and then in the end find out it was a lie.  I have good news for you. You can know the truth.  God promises that to us.

“And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. "  (John 8:32)

So then back to the question:  “How do we know who is telling the truth?”  In order to answer this question, you must first understand what truth is.  Truth can either be relative or absolute.  Relative truth is truth that changes.  These truths are subjective.  This means that they are based upon feelings and traditions of men. 

They are not based upon concrete evidence but on one’s feelings and personal experiences.  There are groups of people today which hold to the view that there is no such thing as an absolute truth.  They believe that truth is based upon individual personal views.

Absolute truth, on the other hand, is truth that never changes.  It is derived from truth that is not based on one’s personal experience or opinion.  Notice the remarkable fact found in this following verse:

"Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth."  (John 17:17)

The Bible is the absolute source of truth.  It never changes.  It contains God’s Word which is powerful.  It has the power to change lives.  It has the power to cleanse our lives as the verse above proclaims. 

There are groups of people today that say there is no such thing as an absolute truth.  They believe that truth is based upon individual personal views. They say, “What is true to you may not be true to me.”  This is called Relativism. 

Truth, to them, is decided by their own morals and standards in life.  There are serious implications with this view.  For example, the issue of abortion has been a global concern for many years.  Lawmakers over the years have debated about the morality and legality of abortion.  Governments all over the world have made laws not based upon absolute truth but upon the personal views of people.  The human rights activist’s protest is, “This is my body, I can do whatever I want with it.”

We already see serious implications with this view in our day.  Millions of innocent unwanted babies are murdered in their mother’s womb every single year.  Belief in Relativism ignores the clear and distinct line between right and wrong.  You may think there’s nothing wrong with what you do with your own body, but it doesn’t make it morally right. 

Is it right to murder?  It is right to steal?  Is it right to lie to get what you want?  The obvious answer is “no”.  You can come out with all the reasoning and justification for those actions you can think of, but they are still wrong morally.  These are just some of the issues that are prevalent in our day.  There are many more issues such as that of redefining marriage between a man and a woman.  The question is, where do we draw the line?

 If you are on a quest for truth, there are a few guidelines to follow.  First of all, truth must have a reliable source. Truth must have an infallible source.  Otherwise, it is not absolute truth.  We must test everything in light of what the Bible teaches.  The Bible is not just a source of truth, but rather, it is the Truth!  It will guide you as you navigate through life.

"Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path."  (Psalms 119:105)

How do we know who is telling the truth?  We must find their source of truth.  Is what they believe based upon the Bible?  Or is what they are teaching based upon man-made traditions?  Any religious belief or practice that is not based upon the Bible is not absolute truth. 

We must also be careful not be deceived with half-truths.  Satan is an expert at giving counterfeit truths.  He injects lies into the truth.  Since he is the master of deception, he can make lies seem truthful.  Without careful discernment, people are led to believe lies.  Jesus doesn’t mince His words when he describes Satan.

"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. "  (John 8:44)

Rat poison makers tell us that 99.99% of the rat poison is actually edible food.  Only .01% represents the actual poison.  The point is that something can look right and sound right, but it may be contaminated with lies.  It may only take .01% of lie to make the truth dangerous.  There are many religious groups that claim to teach the Bible, but a closer look would reveal that what they believe is not based upon absolute truth. As a pastor, I often get asked if something is true or not about religious practices.  My answer is always to ask the question, “Is it based upon the Bible, and what does the Bible say about the particular issue?"

The Bible will also help you make wise decisions in every aspect of life.

"All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:"  (2 Timothy 3:16)

Please don’t get me wrong, there are, though limited, principles and philosophies from man that may be helpful.  But we must understand that man is capable of error.  Man’s best intentions can still lead people astray.  We must trust the one source of absolute truth—the Bible.

Truth has always been under attack.  Satan’s first blow against God and creation was rooted in lies.  In Genesis 3, Satan lied by making Eve believe that what God said was not true.  It is interesting to note that in verse 1 Satan repeated God’s command: 

“Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?"  (Genesis 3:1)

You see, Satan knows the truth.  This is why he wants to do all that he can to hide or twist the truth.  He proceeded by putting doubt in Eve’s mind by saying, “Ye shall not surely die.”  Satan then concluded by saying that God was trying to hide something from her in verse 5.  Satan wants you to doubt truth and make you question God’s goodness.

In your quest for truth, it is also important to have an open mind.  Truth is sometimes hard to bear especially when it goes against something that you have always believed.  This is a common mistake that people make.  They don’t want to listen and obey anything else for fear of rejection from family and community.  Religious groups are also guilty of this.  They threaten their followers that if they ever decide to change their beliefs and follow something else, they will be forever condemned by God.  There’s more that could be said about this, but let me just say that salvation from the eternal punishment for our sins, in not found by joining any particular religious body or performing religious practices. It is only found in a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. 

There are some who deny the truth simply because it would bring inconvenience to their lives. 

Smoking tobacco had been around for centuries before it was discovered that it causes cancer.  During the 1920’s the link between smoking and lung cancer was confirmed.  However, many newspaper editors refused to report these findings as they did not want to offend tobacco companies who advertised heavily in the media.  It wasn’t until the late 1950’s that a series of major medical reports were published confirming the dangers of smoking. 

That was close to thirty years before the truth came out.  I wonder how many people’s lives were lost because the truth was concealed for that long.  I wonder how many young people would not have become addicted to such a vice if they knew of its dangers. 

The point is that conforming to the truth may mean a change of lifestyle—a price which only few are willing to pay.  However, I would submit to you that ignoring the truth has far greater consequences.  Today, tobacco is a multi-billion dollar industry, and cancer remains the number one killer of people.

Jesus declares exclusively about himself that He is the truth.  Notice the following verse:

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

What you do with the truth will determine your destiny.  Let’s say I gave you directions how to get to my house, but you decided to get there by following your own directions. In turn, you get lost.  Whose fault would that be?  Is it my fault?  I know where I live and how to get there.  Is it the location of the house?  A building is a fixed structure, and it never moves.  Is it yours?  I gave you directions, but you decided to follow your own way. 

The answer is obvious.  If you are seeking for real truth, it can only be found in Jesus Christ.  In the verse above, Jesus made a very exclusive statement.  He did not say, “I am a way, a truth.”  Rather He says, “…I am the way, the truth…”  There’s nothing else.  What you do with truth today will determine where you will be tomorrow.