With so much religious division in this world in which we live in today, there are those who are going around saying, “We are divided because truth is unattainable, impossible or beyond our reach. Can we not know truth? Please notice what the Bible teaches on this subject concerning truth.
Look with me in the eighth chapter of the book of John; we find Jesus speaking to the multitudes. We read that many of them believed: “Jesus therefore said to those Jews that had believed him, If ye abide in my word, then are you truly my disciples; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” (John 8:31-32) Notice, here we had a statement from the Christ, the Son of God saying that one can know truth. If we cannot know truth, then Christ lied to us, and then we can’t be free. I want you to notice again; when you look at these two passages in John, you notice that their faith had not made them free, nor does faith alone make people free today as some so strive to teach. But I notice that abiding in Jesus’ word, knowing the truth and obeying it; these are the nuts and bolts unto eternal life. Friends, how can you abide in something if you don’t understand it? How can you abide in something if you don’t know it? To “abide in my word,” one would have to understand it! Only then could one be a disciple of Christ.
John writes, “I have not written unto you because ye know not the truth, but because ye know it, and because no lie is of the truth.” (1 John 2:21) What is John saying? John is saying it is not because ye are ignorant of these things that I write to you, but because you know them, and you can by knowing truth, hold up God’s word, knowing what it teaches, and say those who teach the doctrines of false teachers, and know that they are liars. You have to know the truth to be able to do this; to be able to tell someone they have contradicted the truth, that your doctrine is a lie. Why? Because no lie can be of the truth. Now you have to know the truth to know what a lie is. A lie here is any doctrine contrary to that taught by the Christ and the apostles. “…We know the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error” (1 John 4:6). We can distinguish those who embrace the truth from those who do not. But this is impossible some say, because they say we can’t know truth. Again are you saying John lied? One must be careful for truth can be distorted (Romans 1:25). Jesus said, “If any man willeth to do his will, he shall know of the teaching, whether it is of God, or whether I speak from myself” (John 7:17). How can we do His will if we can’t know the truth? How can we know that the teaching is from God or man it we can’t know the truth? If we can’t know truth, how could we speak the same thing and be perfected joined together in unity (1 Corinthians 1:10)?
Paul tells us, “whereby, when ye read, ye can perceive my understanding in the mystery of Christ” (Ephesians 3:4). Paul says to the Ephesians by reading you may understand God’s word, and His way of saving people, the mysteries of the Christian religion. “Who would have all men to be saved, and come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4). If we can’t know truth, how do we know if we are saved? Why would God give us truth if we could not understand it? “Wherefore be ye not foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.” (Ephesians 5:17) Question: Where can the will of the Lord be found? Nowhere, but in the Bible! We can understand that will, and we must be able to understand the Bible. We can understand what the will of the Lord is, and then doing it. We can know the teaching of the Scriptures; we can know truth and we can understand the word of God. No problem with the word of God; the problem is with men! Truth must be known (John 8:32), believed (2 Thessalonians 2:12), loved (2 Thessalonians 2:10), and obeyed (Galatians 5:7). Only then can it set one free!