"What
is Truth?" Two thousand years ago Pilate asked this same
question (John 18:38a). There seems to be no lack of voices
giving
some answer for this question: "What
is Truth?" The Disciple named
Thomas heard the following answer to that same question, which is also
for us
today:
Jesus saith unto him, "I
am ... the
truth..." (John 14:6a) Messiah
Yahushua Himself is The Truth. As we saw in Grace-Grace,
Yahushua becomes manifest to us, by the Holy Spirit, when we allow Him
to live in us — in the same way that He lived in His own body
2,000
years ago. Thus it is, that the Truth, which IS Yahushua,
begins
to be made plain to us, as we allow Him to live in us, and as we begin
to obey
or "walk" in the Truth. Notice the
words of John:
"But he that doeth
truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be
made manifest, that they are wrought in God. (John
3:21) Notice in this
verse that Truth is something that is done!
We may read the Truth of the Scriptures and say we believe
it, but we are "believing" it only
when we begin to act on, and do, that Truth. Likewise,
Messiah may be living in
us, but it is only when we are acting on Truth, or rather,
when we
allow "Him-in-us" to act on Truth, that the revealing of
"Messiah in
us" occurs, and is seen (made manifest) in our deeds.
Scripture
is TruthThe English word "truth" occurs 237 times
in the Bible. This number "237" is prophetic itself, and
gives testimony of the source of Truth. We
see from Numbers in Scripture
that this number consists of 37, which
speaks of the Word of Yahuweh, and 200, which speaks of 2 x 100, or "two
working together to produce the glory." Combining the
meanings of
these numbers, we understand that the Truth of Yahuweh is the
Glorious Word of Yahuweh working within us, and this Word is the
Foundation and Cornerstone of His Glorious Kingdom.
Yahushua
declared that The Father’s Word is Truth
(John 17:17b). King David declared: “thy Law
("Torah")
is the truth” (Psalms 119:142). All the
Word of Yahuweh is
true “from the beginning” (Psalm
119:160). It is evident
that the Truth of Yahuweh encompasses all of Scripture, and is
"according to the Scriptures." We can not pick-and-choose
what we
prefer of the Truth, or what we think is "no longer valid."
Does
Truth change? What does Yahuweh say? "For I am the
LORD, I change
not…"
(Mal 3:6).
When Yahushua said that
"...the words that I speak
unto you, they are spirit, and they are life"
(John
6:63b),
He was speaking of the entire Scriptures, from Genesis to
Revelation. Yahuweh’s Word, in its entirety, is true
from
beginning to end, and His Word has the inherent ability to impart His
Life to us, by the Holy Spirit.
We are
Born
Again by the TruthScripture reveals some details of how we
are born again. Notice the following passages:
Being
born again, not
of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God,
which
liveth and abideth for ever. (1 Peter 1:23)
Of
his own will begat
he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of
firstfruits
of his creatures. (James 1:18) From
Scripture, we see that the Word of Truth is the "Seed" which
is
the person of Yahushua, planted within us as a seed, when we are Born
Again. After we become Born Again, it is the Holy
Spirit, the Spirit of Truth, who will guide us, and lead us into the
Way of Truth:
Howbeit
when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into
all
truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he
shall hear,
that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. (John 16:13)
To
give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to
guide our feet into the way of peace.
(Luke 1:79) Here,
we see that the Holy Spirit does not "Zap" us with Truth, but He guides
us, as we proceed, into the Way of Truth, which is the Way of peace
with Yahuweh.
A
Few Truth Instructions for UsThere are many "Truth"
instructions for us scattered throughout the
Scriptures. A few of these are:
And
ye shall know the truth, and the truth
shall make you free. (John 8:32)
But
speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in
all things, which is the head, even Christ: (Ephesians 4:15)
But
we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of
the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation
through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth:
(2 Thessalonians 2:13)
Who will
have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of
the truth. (1 Timothy 2:4)
Seeing
ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth
through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye
love one another with a pure heart fervently: (1 Peter 1:22)
I
rejoiced greatly that I found of thy children walking in truth,
as we have received a commandment from the Father. (2 John
1:4)
I have no greater joy than
to hear that my children walk in truth.
(3 John 1:4)
Lead me
in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my
salvation; on thee do I wait all the day. (Psalms 25:5)
Teach
me thy way, O LORD; I will walk in thy truth: unite
my heart to fear thy name. (Psalms 86:11)
We
see in the above passages that we are to believe the Truth, speak the
Truth, know the Truth, obey the Truth, be led in the Truth, and walk in
the Truth. Believing and knowing Truth in our "mental
agreement"
is not enough. To know Truth we must "walk" in it also - we
must
be obedient to the Truth. Notice that we are set free only by
that Truth that we "know" (John 8:32) — by that Truth we
actually experience, as Adam "knew" Eve — by
that Truth we walk
in, by the Grace and ability Messiah-in-us gives to us.
Some
Results of Walking in Truth When
we begin to obey the Truth, and allow Him reign over us, as a King
reigns over His subjects, we then cease being His enemy, and begin to
be his friend, resulting in fellowship with Him and others.
When
a man's ways please the LORD, he maketh even his enemies
to be at peace with him. (Proverbs 16:7)
But
those mine enemies, which would not
("wanted not") that I should reign over them, bring hither,
and slay them before me. (Luke 19:27)
If
we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in
darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: But if we walk
in the light,
as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the
blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. (1 John 1:6-7) Notice
that as long as we do not allow Him to reign over us as the new Master,
our ways do not please Him, and we are still His "enemy." But
when we begin to obey Him and to allow Him to walk in us, there will be
some visible
results. As we begin to "do" the Truth, we are
walking no longer in darkness, but in the Light. It is then
that
our ways please Him, and we have fellowship with Him.
Again,
we can see from Scriptures some additional results of walking in
Truth. A few of these are noted below:
Am
I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth?
(Galatians 4:16) When we ourselves
begin to walk in Truth, we find out that we are treated as
"enemies" by some — by those who do not
love the
Truth.
This is what happened to our Master, as He walked in Truth, and as He
encountered those who were in error. Beloved, it will be the
same
for us! Being treated as an 'enemy,' by former close friends,
will become one visible evidence that we are actually "walking" in the
Living truth, as we allow "Messiah-in-us" to walk in His own
Truth,
while living in us. The result we see from the Scriptures is
that
the Living Truth, Messiah-in-us, comes like a Sword:Think
not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send
peace, but a sword.
For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the
daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother
in law. And a man's foes shall be they of his own
household. (Matthew 10:34-36) The
result we see from the Scriptures is that the Living Truth,
Yahushua-in-us, comes like a Sword, to divide Truth from error.
It
is Yahushua Himself, living within us, who brings "division" between
those that love the Truth, from those that do not love the
Truth.
Yahuweh is simply looking to see who loves Him, and who does not
— and
this is revealed by
our actions, and by the actions of others with whom we interact.
Truth
– Or Error?We
must pause here, to give warning! Whether we walk in Truth,
or in error, we will encounter "conflict" with others. It is
very common to experience attacks from the cults, from other
Denominations, other beliefs, and even heathens, who are in the wrong.
But, how will we ever know if they — or we
— are walking in
error? Somehow we must be able to "test" everything, in order
to make sure WE do not become deceived. How do we do this?
If
I am not walking in
Truth, but in "error," I will encounter those who reveal "Truth" to
me, but who appear to be "enemies," simply because
they oppose my error — the error I
understand as "Truth." Thus it is very easy for
me, if I am "deceived," to think that I
am walking in Truth — that I am
the one
who is right. It is easy to think that those
who oppose ME (my error) do not
love the Truth! So, how can I ever learn something that
"Self" does not already know? What is the solution?
There
is a tendency for "Self" to think that I
am in
the center of Truth, in the Bullseye, and that all
others are "off base."
This tendency is a primary feature of human nature!
This
sense of "being right" or "being correct" in all that is
"Truth," is the very expression of "self" that prevents us from
advancing in our knowledge of the Truth. In this way our
"Self" can actually prevent ourselves from "growing in Grace,
and
in the knowledge of Messiah Yahushua," and of the Father (2 Pet
3:17-18). How do we remove "Self" from our decision-making,
so
that only the Holy Spirit can lead us into Truth?
King
Self Must Die!According
to Scripture, there is only one solution to "Self" being the only
decision-maker for what is True! Notice what the apostle Paul
tells us:
I beseech you
therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present
your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God,
which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world:
but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind,
that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable,
and perfect, will of God.
(Romans 12:1-2) Paul
tells us that in order to enter into the will of Yahuweh, we must first
make a "living" sacrifice. This is not a sacrifice
of a dead
body, but is an offering up of our Life of "Self,"
which must
be put on the
altar, and given up to Yahuweh, to "die." We must offer up our
own
living "Self" as a
sacrifice to Yahuweh (Rom 12:1-2). This living sacrifice must
not be a partial sacrifice. Thus in order to be a true
sacrifice, it will include everything of "Self:" first, it
will be
our own
understanding; then our ambitions, our thought life, our "fleshly"
life, our "carnal" sense of freedom, even the way we think everything
"ought to be."
It is only then, when we truly yield
"our
all"
to the Father, that we may become transformed, or
"transfigured"
as the Greek word indicates, and as we love not the "world" or the
things of this world. It is only then, that we begin to
understand, and to prove, the Will of Yahuweh,
and the Truth of Scripture, according to Romans 12:1-2, and seen in
many Scriptures, including Rom 8:4-5, 8:13, 12:1-2; 1Co 8:1b;
Gal 5:24; 1Pet 4:1-2; 2Pet 1:20-21; Prov 3:5; and many others.
For
it is only as we allow "King Self" to die, in the many areas of life,
that our new King Yahushua can bring "Resurrection Life" to that area of
life. No death, no Resurrection. Thus there is much incentive
for
us to bring "Self" to the altar. For some practical
descriptions
of how we may bring "Death to Self," see Dying to Self.
As
we begin to allow "Self" to die, we become more teachable. In
Scripture, this quality of having a teachable spirit is
called "as
little children."
As Little ChildrenImagine
a classroom full of little children, and you, as the teacher, begin to
teach the children their math lesson — that "1 + 1 = 2."
What
would it be like, if many of the children argued with you,
telling you
they heard it was not true, and that they believed something else.
Would these little children say such things? No!
Little children are not like that! Little Children
are "Teachable!" Perhaps that is
why Yahushua said:
And said,
Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as
little children, ye shall not enter into
the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 18:3) It
takes a child-like attitude, to receive things of Truth! And
little children do not argue with Truth, nor do
they hold to their opinions! Notice in the above passage
Yahushua tells us it is only those with a "Little Children" attitude who
will "enter in" to the Kingdom! Perhaps this is why the next
passage is addressed only to "Little Children:"
My
little children, of whom I travail in birth again
until Christ be formed in you,
(Galatians 4:19) The apostle Paul
knew that only those with a "Little Children" attitude of receiving
Truth, would become those in whom Messiah would be "formed" within
them, and who have "Messiah-in-you" as their only "hope of Glory" (Col
1:27). It is these manifesting "Messiah-in-you" who will
"enter in" (See The Way of Salvation: Part 2- Israel as Our
Example).
Thus to avoid deception, we
must first, be as little Children, to listen, and receive, and be
Teachable.
Then we must examine ourselves in everything,
and test all we hear, test all we have been taught, test ALL our
current doctrines and understandings, and vigourously "lay the ax to the root" of anything that is against
the Scriptures! It may be that WE
are the one deceived, and that WE are the one in error!
For details of how to we may acquire an attitude of Teachableness, see Acquiring A Teachable Heart. For details of how to we
are
to test ourselves, our Faith, and our Doctrines against the Scriptures,
see the references at the end of this page.
With
these warnings in mind, let us now look
at some results of NOT walking in Truth.
Some
Results of NOT Walking in Truth Scripture reveals a progression of what
happens to those who do not love, nor believe the Truth:
For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. (2 Timothy 4:3-4)
This witness is true. Wherefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith; Not giving heed to Jewish fables, and commandments of men, that turn from the truth. (Titus 1:13-14) But
unto them that are contentious, and do not
obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation
and wrath, (Romans 2:8) And
with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because
they received not the love of the truth, that they might be
saved. And for this cause God shall send them
strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:
That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had
pleasure in unrighteousness. (2 Thessalonians 2:10-12) First,
we are told the time will come (and is here now) that men will turn
away from the Biblical Truth, and will begin to believe the "fables"
spun by the Theologians as being True instead. We then see that
what the Theologians have "spun" is simply the "Commandments of
Men," that turn men away from Biblical Truth. Then, we see
that Yahuweh's indignation and wrath remains on those who do not
"obey" the Truth.
Next, we notice that they received not the "love of the truth"
so that they "might be saved." This is
not
talking about what most people think of "being saved." This passage is talking about "Biblical Salvation," and as we
saw
in The Way of Salvation: According to the
Scriptures, it includes the
entire process, both the "coming out" stage and the "entering in" stage of
Salvation.
Last,
we see that since these did not love the "Biblical Truth" enough to
search it out with all their heart, Yahuweh sent them a "delusion" that
resulted in their believing a "Lie!" These and other passages of
Scripture reveal that there are serious consequences that come
as a result of rejecting Yahuweh's Biblical Truth. Hence it
should be of utmost importance to do whatever it takes, to find the
Truth, and to weed out the error!
Is it possible -- that many who received not the love of the Truth, may have heard Biblical Truth, but thought it was
a "Lie"? Even "Biblical Truth," when compared to the "fables" one
believes, appear to be a Lie, as we see happens in Romans 1:25! It
appears that "our generation" of church-goers are mentioned in the
following passage:Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness;
that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! Woe unto them that
are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight! (Isaiah
5:20-21) When one is "wise or prudent" in his own
eyes, he is unable to learn "Biblical Truth" from the other "Little
Children," and so he will receive nothing but "woe," unless he repents!
It is the teaching of the invisible Jezebel spirit today that is seducing, and causing most "Believers" to alter their behaviour, drawing
them away unto what amounts to spiritual "adultery" and fornication, a
form of worship according to the "idols" of someone's own
understanding. In Rev 2:20 we see one example of this
Jezebel-inspired idolatry, regarding the "counterfeit Lord's
Supper" that men have instituted, in place of the
"Biblical Lord's Supper," called the Passover.
The Goal of TruthFinally,
we must ask, "What
is the purpose or goal for our instruction, and for our walking in
Truth?" Scriptures tell us the answer:
Now
the end
("goal") of the commandment is charity ("love") out of a pure
heart,
and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned: (1 Timothy
1:5) The goal of our instruction,
of our living and walking in the Commandments, is Love.
All
the purposes of Yahuweh are wrapped up into this one little word of
"Love." Indeed, one of the main purposes of the New Covenant
is to reveal, by our actions, those who love
Yahuweh, and those who do not love Him. It is our actions
—
what
we do when confronted with "Truth" — that reveals our love
for Yahuweh,
or our lack of love for Him. This is an ongoing
process.
The Holy Spirit challenges us, "morning by morning, he
wakeneth mine ear to hear…" (Isa 50:4).
May our hearts be tender, our ears attentive, to the still, small voice
of our Master Yahuweh, that we may obey and love Him out of a pure
heart!
ConclusionYahuweh
is using Truth to continually bring separation and division.
Yahuweh is dividing the wheat from the chaff; He is dividing
the sheep from the goats; He is continually calling men to
"come out from among them, and be separate." It is this
continual, ongoing division, of dividing of Truth from error, that
will, at completion, reveal Yahuweh's Harvest — the Harvest of
those
who truly Love Him — of those who walk in Truth, according to
the
Scriptures.
Proceed
to What You Believe: True or False? The Simple
Biblical Test.
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