The Truth About the Truth

                                                                                                                           

Aloha Dearest Children,

        In the last couple of months I have been hearing, more and more, the phrase, “The truth will set you free.” For example, some friends might be talking about telling their friend John about something important, and the one friend might say "Well, the truth will set him free." This phrase is used in almost every avenue of life. From politics, to music, to science. But man's "truth" is relative. What one man considers to be the truth, others may disagree. In science, for instance, what scientists call "truth" does not even need to have any basis at all. Let us look at one example.

It is astounding how much we know about the dinosaurs. We know what they ate, what their environment was like, how they hunted, how they raised their young and even how they died. It's amazing what we know about them, and yet, no one has ever seen one (and seeing Jurassic Park doesn't count). After all, all we have today are bones. Dinosaurs are estimated to have lived about 450,000 million years ago and reined on the earth for 165,000 million years. Have you ever wondered where these fantastic numbers come from? The truth of the matter is that these numbers are all guess work. Even though these incredible numbers are mostly "made-up", scientists all over the world spout these numbers as if they were the "truth". And if you disagree with them they consider you to be uneducated. (After all, if you can't trust a scientist, who can you trust?) Will this kind of truth set us free? Will any truth set us free?

To find the answer to these questions let us look at the book that has all the answers — God's Word, the Bible. And it is also where we will find our popular phrase. It was said by the greatest man that ever lived.

“And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

(John 8:32) First of all, Jesus said that this truth will "make you free", not just "set you free".

What is the difference between "set you free" and "make you free"? I can set a bird free from it's cage but the cage still remains to trap him again. When I make the bird free the cage is destroyed. When we know the truth the truth will make us absolutely free from all of our entrapments. But we still have not determined just what this truth is. To find the answer let us go back to the previous verse.

“Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed. And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

To continue in the words of Jesus Christ was this truth which would make men free. Still not convinced? Let look at a verse from John 17.

“Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.”

Jesus said that God's Word was truth! The Greek word here for the word "truth" is defined as — the heart of the matter of a situation or the "reality of a situation", (Bullingers Critical Greek Lexicon of the New Testament). Now, man's idea of reality and God's idea of reality are very different. Man relies upon certain facts to shape his reality, and if the facts change, he changes his view of reality to fit the facts. God's Word DOES NOT change! His Word can be relied upon 100% of the time. God's Word is the ultimate "reality of the ages"! Jesus said that if his followers remained in his words (which is the reality found in God's Word), this truth would make them free.

Furthermore, Jesus said in verse 36,

“If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.”

The son of God, Jesus Christ, is the key to true freedom. Without him we will continue to be in bondage, because he is the ONLY way to God,

“Jesus said unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”

All of man's philosophies, theories and ideas can never bring him closer to God. Man thinks that with great learning comes great enlightenment. But his quest is in vain for he will never find the "truth" that will make him free. The Bible says that this man is.. “Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.” (II Timothy 3:7)

God Almighty not only wants all men to be saved but to also come unto a knowledge of the truth,

“Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.”  (I Timothy 1:4). But what truth does He want us to come to? The next verse answers that question.

"For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus"  (I Timothy 1:5)

The word mediator is a legal term meaning a "go-between" in order to bring two parties together. This is exactly what Jesus Christ did. He did away with the sin problem that was separating God and mankind. God wants all men (and women) to come unto a knowledge of the truth that the man, Jesus Christ, was the mediator that brought God and man back into harmony with one another.

So, the next time you hear the phrase, "the truth shall set you free", you now know that the ONLY truth that will truly make people free today is the truth that is in God's Word. For it is in that Word we will find His son, and His son can make us free indeed.

                            Love Always, Ray