So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, "If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free." John 8:31-32 (NAS)
Some of you may have seen the 1992 courtroom drama film A Few Good Men starring Tom Cruise, Jack Nicholson and Demi Moore. Apart from the horrible language, it’s a great movie. This film revolves around the court martial of two U.S. Marines charged with the murder of a fellow Marine at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba. The defense lawyers are searching for the truth surrounding the murder. In the courtroom, the defense lawyer asks the associated colonel to take the stand in hopes getting to the truth. In a very heated cross-examination, the colonel yells, “You want answers?” The defense lawyer responds, “I want the truth!” The truth was necessary to obtain freedom for the accused Marines. A very frustrated colonel says, “You can’t handle the truth!” These words ring in my mind every time I think about truth. I will agree with the colonel in that I’m not sure we can handle real truth—and even more—do we really want to know the truth? Some days I’m a little more fragile than others, and on those days, I’m not sure I want to know the truth.
In another courtroom situation Jesus stood before Pilate. Jesus was accused of blasphemy and was asked if He was a king during His trial. Jesus replied, “You say correctly that I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears my voice.” Pilate followed up and asked, “What is truth?” What a great question! What is truth? And why is truth so important that Jesus would be willing to come to earth to testify for truth? Truth is essential to living our life in freedom. Finding truth gets harder when truth is mixed with lies. Often we call these statements half-truths. But the truth is, there is no such thing as a half-truth. A small white lie is still a lie and can never be truth. As we examine our lives and what we have believed about our circumstances, our God, and ourselves is it possible we have believed lies about each of these? If it’s true that truth brings freedom then it’s also true lies bring bondage.
It’s amazing someone can make a negative comment that is accepted as truth even when there is no foundation of truth in the comment. Can you think of a time someone passed judgment on you regarding a situation that was not true, but you accepted it as truth? Jesus knew we would have to fight to discover what is true and what are lies. Truth is part of the Christian armor. Lies are traced to the beginning of human existence when Satan lied to Eve about God, and she believed him. Instead of defending Himself, God asked Eve a very important question that we must ask ourselves: “Who told you that?” For us to know what is and isn’t true, we must choose to whom we listen. Truth is not a feeling. Truth, by definition, is composed of facts that are reliable and can be trusted. Here are a few facts (truth) Jesus shared with us:
- We are forgiven, not condemned.
- We are overcomers in Him, not overcome by circumstances.
- We are fearfully and wonderfully made; God has a plan for our lives.
- Christ will supply all our needs; there is no need to worry.
Just as God asked Adam and Eve, “Who told you that?” we must discern and be aware to whom we listen. Living free from the opinions of others and believing what God says is accepting God’s Word as truth and choosing to believe it.
Further Reading
Genesis 3:8-11; John 3:17; John 8:31-32; John 14:6; John 18:33-38; Ephesians 6:14; Psalm 139; 1 John 5:4; Philippians 4:19
