CHRISTIAN EVIDENCES

Know “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” John 8:32

The“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6

Truth “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.” John 1:4

This Month's Theme: 

“Truth Is? ”

Truth can vary from individual to individual, just as their experiences, feelings, and prejudices form each individual's unique composition. The more subjective truth is deemed to be, the less connection it needs to have with reality.

This is evident in today's professional sports (along with many other venues). Professional baseball players who have lied to congress and are being charged with lying under oath; have attempted to defend themselves by stating that they did not correctly understand the questions asked them under oath (like, “did you use performance enhancing drugs?”).

Is society really that dumb? Do we really know what “no” means? How about “yes”? Is truth really relative? We know better, don't we? The fact that we really know what the truth is, is not the trouble. The simple fact is that we don't like to be told that there is a real “right” and “wrong”! We simply want to do what we want to do, and then we tend to build a reality around that which suits our desire, and that becomes our truth! This however, is not truth!

Truth is objective, meaning that it is not determined by the person viewing it; its source is outside of the person. It reads the same for everyone who encounters it.

The Bible has described this conflict between subjective thinking, false realities, and objective truth from the very beginning. In the story of the Garden of God , objective truth was established, note:

Genesis 2:17 “but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die."

Soon after this, subjective thought entered the mind of man from the true source of perverted thought, note:

Genesis 3:1-4 “Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the L ord God had made. And he said to the woman, "Has God indeed said, 'You shall not eat of every tree of the garden'?" 2 And the woman said to the serpent, "We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; 3 but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, 'You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.' " 4 Then the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die.”

Truth then became whatever excuse that made man feel better about the violation of what he knew was right, note

Genesis 3:12-13 “Then the man said, "The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate." 13 And the L ord God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?" The woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate."

In this initial story of subjective verses objective truths, we see the recurring game that is played in the mind of man when the expectation of right does not correspond with desire. The result was

A just reward based on the objective truth given; banishment from the Garden and the death to all men which would follow (you will surely die!).

Now that we know truth is not subjective and is measurable, objective, and fact based, can we know the truth?

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

The very purpose of the revelation of God is that men may understand the truth and the freedom that truth offers. Let's explore a small portion of that truth and the expectation of man that it brings to bear.

•  God Loves Us!

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

God's love for us however, does not exist in a subjective realm that allows man to enjoy His love by doing anything he feels like doing. God's love exists in the power of His grace to change us from the lowly subjective creatures we are, into the image of the objective guided man He wants us to be!

Acts 26:18 “to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light , and from the power of Satan to God , that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.”

1 John 5:3 “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.”

•  God Gave Us!

God chose to prove His love for us; not by giving us something we could obtain ourselves (gold, silver, power, etc…); He gave His only begotten Son!

Matthew 20:28 “just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."

This immeasurable gift of God also brought with it objective truth to guide us after the image God desires us to have, note:

Titus 2:11-14 “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, 12 teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, 13 looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, 14 who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people , zealous for good works .”

•  God Wants Us!

God's truth is exactly that – HIS truth, objective and understandable by man! Truth by its very nature is singular. Truth is intolerant and exclusive. It is neither subject to arbitration nor subjective appraisals. That which is true is real and genuine. Truth is not relative to time, change or feeling. God has revealed truth and our challenge is to search and find it. Those, who by this very practice, are the ones whom God wants, note:

John 4:23-24 “But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth ; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. 24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth ."

This is the nature of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, truth! The truth concerning the salvation that God offers all men through His Christ. God has provided a way by which we can avoid the separation from Him that is brought about by sin. This is the Gospel that has come to the entire earth, note:

Mark 16:15-16 “And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. 16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.”

God has not left us to wonder what truth really is. He has revealed what He wants for us to please Him. Truth has been made known to man. However, it takes a special kind of man to see that truth is absolute. Not everyone will because not everyone wants to, note:

John 3:19 “And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.”

Know The Truth and Be Free!  

We invite you to worship with us:

Sunday Morning Bible Study – 10 A.M. (Classes for all ages)

Sunday Morning Worship – 10:50 A.M. (Communion, Prayer, Singing, and a Sermon)

Sunday Evening Worship – 5 P.M. (Singing, Prayer, and another practical lesson)

Wednesday Evening Service – 7 P.M. (Singing, Prayer, and Bible Classes)

Visit our web site at: plvcc.org