What Is Truth???
Mark John Ostrum - 2004-10-13 21:27:54
When I finally went live with the Seeking Real Truth Ministries website one of my first resources for getting visitors to the site was to open a chat room in Yahoo. There is one question that almost everyone asks when they come into the room. That question is, ?What truth are you seeking?? A similar question they ask is, ?What is truth?? You can probably figure out all the specific variations of this question.
I can understand why someone who is truly seeking truth or who is truly seeking God will ask such a question. I can also clearly see why mockers (who seem to be the largest proportion of the visitors to the chat room) will ask such questions. What amazes me is that so many who profess to be Christians also ask some variation of that question.
The name of the room is Seeking Real Truth In God?s Word (changed from Seeking Real Truth). It seems clear that the assumption is that I am seeking truth. The fact is that I am no longer seeking truth, for I have found it without question in God?s Word, which is the Holy Scriptures. There is no other truth that matters. However I am seeking to know his truth on a deeper level every day.
This website is here for a number of reasons, aside from what the mission statements say. First, it is to help those who have not received the Lord Jesus as their savior to have an honest, truth-filled place to find out what Jesus is all about, and how he comes into their lives and changes them forever as he did with me. It is for them to come in and learn about salvation from the perspective of God?s true words, not by some smooth talking, flattering preacher who tells you what you want to hear. You get no salvation by having God?s word twisted to suit your desires. You do get saved when you can come to a point of accepting God?s truth despite the internal, emotional pain it may cause when your very self is revealed to you.
I say this from personal experience. As I mention in several places on this site, as I read through the Bible in its entirety in December 2003 God revealed my very innermost self to me. He revealed my innermost sins to me, sins I did not want to face nor did I want to confess them to him. It was not a pleasant experience to see who I really was in his sight, but the value of it was worth the emotional struggles I faced through it. The benefit was that I was brought to a point of utter humility (not humiliation) before the Lord, and was able to give up all my own desires in favor of seeking his desire for me. I was able to come before the Lord in a truly humble way and ask him to change me into what he wanted me to be.
Secondly, it is a place where Christians can come to find information to bring their faith in the Lord Jesus to a higher level. We know that faith comes by hearing, and hearing is through the word of God. This means that we can come to faith by hearing or reading about Jesus, and we can increase our measure of faith through continual reading of God?s Word.
I have found so many whose faith is very immature. I do not mean this to be derogatory by any means, but only to mean that there are many who simply do not understand what true faith is all about. Evidence of this is the Christian who asks, ?What is real truth?? A mature Christian, that is one who has read God?s word and knows that only it contains the truth that matters will never ask that question. They know the answer to that question. I was one who was immature in faith for nearly 45 years.
Again, this is something I can say from my own life and walk with the Lord. Having been raised in a Christian home and knowing who Jesus was from my earliest memories, I had grown up with the intellectual knowledge of who Jesus was and what he did for us. I had taken Christian faith for granted and never really saw what I truly was through God?s eyes.
The result was instead of being able to, or even knowing how to truly praise him, I went through the motions of going to church secure in the belief that no matter what I did, I was forgiven and saved from eternal damnation. And I lived in my up and down walk with him throughout my life.
Hebrews 4:12
?For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-?edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.?
When I read through the bible during the last twenty-five days of 2003, God revealed his truth to me. It was not some singular, earth-shattering miracle nor was it by any special revelation because he might have chosen me as some special prophet on the level of Elijah. He revealed it to me in the same manner that he will reveal it to you, simply by reading his word with an open heart.
His word is truth.
John 17:17
?Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.?
By the use of common logic we can make the argument, ?If God?s word is truth, and God?s word is sharper than any double-edged sword, then truth is sharper than any double-edged sword.? We can equally say that truth is alive and active. It is no wonder that truth hurts, especially when it divides the soul and spirit, joints and marrow. When our lifestyle cannot stand up to the judgment of truth, we run away from it. We run away from God.
This is what had happened to me. I was unable and/or unwilling to stand up in face of the truth in my life. He had to bring me to full repentance.
Simply to say you are Christian does not mean you are saved. Unless you can stand up to truth; unless you can accept the truth of God?s Word as it pertains to your life and are able to truly humble yourself to the Lord in spite of the painful effects truth has on you, can you really claim to be saved?
Jesus said in
Matthew 7:21
"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.?
You can say ?Lord, Lord?. You can say, ?I?m a Christian, so I?m saved.? You can say anything you want. But unless you are doing the will of the Father in heaven, you are not saved.
You may consider me judgmental if you like. I am righteously so. If you profess to be a Christian yet you follow false teachings, I have the right to judge you for you are inside the church. If you profess to be a Christian yet you refuse to accept truth as it pertains to your life, I have the right to judge. Paul wrote the right for me to judge you if you profess Christian faith in
1 Corinthians 5:12,13
?What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? God will judge those outside.?
I have the right to rebuke you in your beliefs if they are contrary to the word of God, according to
2 Timothy 3:16, 17
?All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.?
The man of God is also the Christian woman.
Many who profess Christianity say that I lack love and compassion. Yet Jesus said in:
Revelation 3:19
?Those who I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent?.
Proverbs 9:8
?Do not rebuke a mocker, or he will hate you; rebuke a wise man and he will love you.?
Proverbs 27:5
?Better is open rebuke than hidden love?.
I am certain God is continually blessing me because of my words to you. I know when I speak truth I speak it (or write it) only in view of God?s word. He has given me that opportunity. He has given me that ability. And his blessings continue to overflow into my life as a result.
For you who profess to be Christians, seek your heart. Do you find conviction in the words I am writing? Do you feel condemned? Be sure to realize that conviction comes from the Holy Spirit and can easily be twisted into condemnation by Satan. Do not be misled by what I am suggesting here. The initial feeling of pain in your heart is the truth of God?s word that judges your heart according to Hebrews 4:12. If you suddenly begin feeling angry toward me because of my words, that anger is not coming from a godly source, you can be assured of that. Your response to truth is your responsibility. Mine is to profess truth; that is my calling.
Joshual 24:15
?But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD."
Which god will you serve? Which truth will you accept? What are you willing to sacrifice for truth?
The whole message of this article and this website to those who profess Christian faith is summed up in these words. Take them to heart:
Proverbs 3
5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
6 in all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make your paths straight.
In other words, if your faith is based on intellectual understanding of God, then you are heading down the wrong road. If you trust in him and let him give you the understanding he desires for you, then you will find true freedom in your faith. If he can do this for me, he can also do it for you. For more on what you can do to let him know you truly desire to trust him, read "Proper Praying."
Don?t expect me to respond to foolish questions. If you ask me ?What truth are you seeking?? or ?What is truth?? or any variation of that question, I will assume you are either a mocker or you are simply ignorant. Most likely I will assume both. Instead, when you come to visit my site, open your heart to the truth no matter how it hurts. If you are not fully comfortable with something I?ve written, email me at comments@seekingrealtruth.net. I will read your mail, and I will work with you to overcome your hidden sin that causes your heart pain as you read these pages of truth. Do not expect me to reach you with smooth talk and flattery. I will be honest, and I will ask tough questions. Be prepared to seek deeply within yourself.
May God?s blessings flow into you and may his truth be revealed in you. Amen.
Visitor Comments
"I think your article is right on!? I see it as a challenge to people to step out of their comfort zones and let God?s truth have its perfect work in them." RH, SD