"The law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ" (John 1:17, NIV).
Jesus said, "He who is of the truth hears My voice."
No matter who Jesus talked to He left a deep impression as the personification and embodiment of truth, enlightening everyone along His path. Pilate asked the question, "What is truth?" (John 18:38). He was a little ahead of his time, as people in this postmodern era echo similar queries. They teach us today that you can know nothing for certain, and they are certain of that one truth! Just saying, "Truth is relative" has little truth-value, since it is also relative, that's a truth claim. If some posit that something is only relative, just inquire of them, "Relative to what, to you?" or "Is that statement relative?" In antiquity, there was no worldwide or international truth that was accepted because each nation or peoples seemed to have their own gods and their own turfs where they reigned. Romans let the locals have their own gods, especially the Jews, to whom they acted in deference to their laws and traditions, such as no images on coins.
"If there is no God, all things [including truth itself,] are up for grabs," and truth is a meaningless concept indeed (as Dostoyevsky said). Actually, truth is what God decrees and agrees with Him. Francis Schaeffer called God's Word "true truth." God cannot lie and is called the God of truth, while Jesus claimed to be "The Way, the Truth, and the Life." In antiquarian times might was considered right and they had not conceived of monotheism, except in the Jewish world, even though there had been a diaspora or dispersion of Jews being scattered around the known world.
One cannot arrive at the truth unless one admits his ignorance and that he could be wrong. Many searchers for truth never find it because they've got their minds made up and don't want to be confused with the facts. The truth of the Bible is not something we would've imagined or thought up on our own, but it is revealed truth--we postulate that the veracity of the Bible is at stake in our dependence on supernaturally revealed and inspired truth.
Pilate didn't perceive Jesus as any threat to Caesar until the weak-willed, wishy-washy procurator was blackmailed into crucifying the Lord of glory. It was obvious to him that the Pharisees were jealous of His popularity and were trying to keep job security and protect their turf. Even Herod saw Jesus as nothing more than a dreamer, bumpkin, or magician that was no threat. Herod and Pilate became friends that day on their mutual convictions.
No one is the same after an encounter with Jesus, he is transformed or hardened, there is no neutral territory or reaction. When Jesus wanted to make a pronouncement, He said, "Amen, amen!" which means "Verily, verily, I say unto you." It introduces a vital truth not to be ignored. Jesus would say, "You have heard it said, but I say unto you" to shock them out of their comfort zones and as a spiritual wake-up call reminding them of His identity and credentials that matched. Jesus didn't bother to footnote His sermons by quoting the rabbis as the Pharisees had done (i.e., the "Rabbi So-and-So says this" formula!"). He never "prefaced" his decrees as the prophets did ("Thus saith the LORD, etc. which is not self-attesting) and is not known to have quoted anyone. It was known that Jesus spoke as one who had authority no by authority (cf. Matt. 7:29).
Jesus is the highest authority and to rely on someone to prove someone compromises this trait. Jesus spoke of His own authority and like no other man before Him. They were also unable to withstand His wisdom and He was so able to answer all their questions, that they dared no ask anymore. If Jesus had quoted people, He would not have been coming in His own authority, speaking on the Father's behalf, but would have been a scholar offering opinions. Jesus only said what the Father told Him to say.
Absolute Truth with a capital T does indeed exist and we can encounter it and have a relationship with it by knowing Christ as our Lord and Savior. Statements can be true, and logical conclusions can be valid, but only God's Word can be called truth. Jesus told Pilate that he who is of the truth hears Him. Things that are wrong in the Bible are still wrong and haven't evolved with the times to be right in today's modern age. If something is wrong, it is always and everywhere wrong. Something is objectively true whether one believes it or not and believing something doesn't make it true, nor denying it makes it false! Man cannot achieve total objectivity apart from revelation from God.
Jesus is the source of all wisdom and knowledge and Proverbs 1:7 says, "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge." It is not a matter of some people having faith and others having facts. It's not faith vs. reason, but faith vs. faith (faith in science is still faith). All knowledge begins in faith and assuming something you can't prove--you just decide which set of propositions you are willing to accept as a foundation to your thinking and mental outlook or belief system. Augustine of Hippo said that all knowledge begins in faith and "I believe in order to understand." He also said that all truth is God's truth, and Thomas Aquinas added that all truth meets at the top.
It has been wisely said that nature forms, sin deforms, education informs, prison reforms, but Christ transforms. Jesus said that we shall know the truth and the truth shall set us free and He is not talking about knowledge of facts or education, but of knowing the truth in Him and being set free by it--only Jesus can set a soul free from its bondage to sin. Jesus is still in the business of changing lives and God is still in the resurrection business, and the Bible is not for increasing our knowledge but transforming our lives as the living Word of God. However, "to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge" is the key to victory and assurance (cf. Eph. 3:19). Soli Deo Gloria!
Jesus said, "He who is of the truth hears My voice."
No matter who Jesus talked to He left a deep impression as the personification and embodiment of truth, enlightening everyone along His path. Pilate asked the question, "What is truth?" (John 18:38). He was a little ahead of his time, as people in this postmodern era echo similar queries. They teach us today that you can know nothing for certain, and they are certain of that one truth! Just saying, "Truth is relative" has little truth-value, since it is also relative, that's a truth claim. If some posit that something is only relative, just inquire of them, "Relative to what, to you?" or "Is that statement relative?" In antiquity, there was no worldwide or international truth that was accepted because each nation or peoples seemed to have their own gods and their own turfs where they reigned. Romans let the locals have their own gods, especially the Jews, to whom they acted in deference to their laws and traditions, such as no images on coins.
"If there is no God, all things [including truth itself,] are up for grabs," and truth is a meaningless concept indeed (as Dostoyevsky said). Actually, truth is what God decrees and agrees with Him. Francis Schaeffer called God's Word "true truth." God cannot lie and is called the God of truth, while Jesus claimed to be "The Way, the Truth, and the Life." In antiquarian times might was considered right and they had not conceived of monotheism, except in the Jewish world, even though there had been a diaspora or dispersion of Jews being scattered around the known world.
One cannot arrive at the truth unless one admits his ignorance and that he could be wrong. Many searchers for truth never find it because they've got their minds made up and don't want to be confused with the facts. The truth of the Bible is not something we would've imagined or thought up on our own, but it is revealed truth--we postulate that the veracity of the Bible is at stake in our dependence on supernaturally revealed and inspired truth.
Pilate didn't perceive Jesus as any threat to Caesar until the weak-willed, wishy-washy procurator was blackmailed into crucifying the Lord of glory. It was obvious to him that the Pharisees were jealous of His popularity and were trying to keep job security and protect their turf. Even Herod saw Jesus as nothing more than a dreamer, bumpkin, or magician that was no threat. Herod and Pilate became friends that day on their mutual convictions.
No one is the same after an encounter with Jesus, he is transformed or hardened, there is no neutral territory or reaction. When Jesus wanted to make a pronouncement, He said, "Amen, amen!" which means "Verily, verily, I say unto you." It introduces a vital truth not to be ignored. Jesus would say, "You have heard it said, but I say unto you" to shock them out of their comfort zones and as a spiritual wake-up call reminding them of His identity and credentials that matched. Jesus didn't bother to footnote His sermons by quoting the rabbis as the Pharisees had done (i.e., the "Rabbi So-and-So says this" formula!"). He never "prefaced" his decrees as the prophets did ("Thus saith the LORD, etc. which is not self-attesting) and is not known to have quoted anyone. It was known that Jesus spoke as one who had authority no by authority (cf. Matt. 7:29).
Jesus is the highest authority and to rely on someone to prove someone compromises this trait. Jesus spoke of His own authority and like no other man before Him. They were also unable to withstand His wisdom and He was so able to answer all their questions, that they dared no ask anymore. If Jesus had quoted people, He would not have been coming in His own authority, speaking on the Father's behalf, but would have been a scholar offering opinions. Jesus only said what the Father told Him to say.
Absolute Truth with a capital T does indeed exist and we can encounter it and have a relationship with it by knowing Christ as our Lord and Savior. Statements can be true, and logical conclusions can be valid, but only God's Word can be called truth. Jesus told Pilate that he who is of the truth hears Him. Things that are wrong in the Bible are still wrong and haven't evolved with the times to be right in today's modern age. If something is wrong, it is always and everywhere wrong. Something is objectively true whether one believes it or not and believing something doesn't make it true, nor denying it makes it false! Man cannot achieve total objectivity apart from revelation from God.
Jesus is the source of all wisdom and knowledge and Proverbs 1:7 says, "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge." It is not a matter of some people having faith and others having facts. It's not faith vs. reason, but faith vs. faith (faith in science is still faith). All knowledge begins in faith and assuming something you can't prove--you just decide which set of propositions you are willing to accept as a foundation to your thinking and mental outlook or belief system. Augustine of Hippo said that all knowledge begins in faith and "I believe in order to understand." He also said that all truth is God's truth, and Thomas Aquinas added that all truth meets at the top.
It has been wisely said that nature forms, sin deforms, education informs, prison reforms, but Christ transforms. Jesus said that we shall know the truth and the truth shall set us free and He is not talking about knowledge of facts or education, but of knowing the truth in Him and being set free by it--only Jesus can set a soul free from its bondage to sin. Jesus is still in the business of changing lives and God is still in the resurrection business, and the Bible is not for increasing our knowledge but transforming our lives as the living Word of God. However, "to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge" is the key to victory and assurance (cf. Eph. 3:19). Soli Deo Gloria!
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