WHAT IS TRUTH?

"The fear of Jehovah is the beginning of knowledge; But the foolish despise wisdom and instruction."
Proverbs 1:7

How much do you know at this point in your life?  I am sure you have learned many things, but are these true?  And how do you know?  Do you trust everything everybody tells you? Have you considered that what you see and hear might be fooling you?  Let us answer these questions using God's Word.

Before we try to answer these questions, we must understand that every answer to these questions must come from God's Word.  We must fear God to gain knowledge, wisdom, and instruction.  We must reverence God and His Truth. Unfortunately, many fall for lies and thus deny God's wisdom. Fearing God is very important since it is the beginning of wisdom.  If you already fear God, you are at a safe starting point.  You already have a good foundation for God's Truth.

Watch out for liars! Many out there want to keep you away from the Truth, and they are willing to lie to accomplish that. At the same time, others love the Truth. Sadly, the Enemy uses many devices to deceive them. There are books, for example, that we must be careful with. This is very critical!


I.   THE FIRST THING YOU NEED TO KNOW

In Psalm 14, we learn,

"The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works; There is none that doeth good."  

It takes a fool to tell a big lie, and the biggest lie is:  "There is no God."  You must stay away from these people and be careful not to believe everything you hear.  My question is, "How do you know who is right when someone is making these arguments?"  One argues that there IS a God, while another claims that there IS NO God.  Well, we must start first with Truth because the Truth affects the issues of right and wrong, as well as all issues of government, family, and church.

Let us begin with a simple but essential question:  What is True?  What happens when you believe a lie?  Wouldn't you like to know the Truth before you make the wrong assumption?  It could be very dangerous for you to believe a lie.  The Truth is essential.  But whom are you going to believe?  Those who tell you lies or those who tell you the Truth?  It is sad to say, but many who speak and teach lies do not even know they are repeating lies.  There are so many lies out there. So, who are you going to believe?  There is only one true answer to this question: we cannot trust men, but we can rely on and completely trust in God.  But we must believe there is a God before discussing anything else.  Lest we forget, God is our only source of Truth.   If there is no God, then we cannot rely on or be sure of Truth.    Many men glory in their ignorance of the Truth.  They tell lies that contradict one another and the validity of the truth in the Bible.  Now, do you see how vital it is to believe in God and His everlasting Truth?

"And Jehovah God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul."  Genesis 2:7

Now, this leads me to the following question:  Who Is God?  From Scripture, we all know that God created man and everything else.  God has spoken to us in His Word so that we may know He made us. This all happened with the first man, Adam, at the beginning of Creation.  How did Adam know there was a God?  And how did he know he had a relationship with His God, His Creator?  Well, God spoke to him, Adam.  He gave him some instructions.  

"And Jehovah God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:  but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die."  Genesis 2:16-17

Even though many years have passed since then, we still need God's Word, the Truth.  Adam knew he needed to hear and obey God in the garden.  We, His creatures, must listen to Him because He is still the only One who can give us the Truth.

Over four thousand years ago, God spoke to His people.  Among these people were men who were inspired by God.  They wrote down the things God spoke.  We know God spoke to Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, John the Baptist, and Jesus’ disciples.    All these writings were gathered and put into a Book called "The Holy Bible."  This is where we can find God's everlasting Truth.

"Every scripture inspired of God is also profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for instruction which is in righteousness.  That the man of God may be complete, furnished completely unto every good work."  2 Timothy 2:16-17

Today, many people prefer to ignore the Bible and say that God speaks to them personally.  This is dangerous!  Why is it dangerous?  Because they prefer their own opinion, pretending and deceiving others with error, saying something that God never said to them privately.  These are merely the opinions and lies of men.  If we sincerely want to find the Truth, we must go to the collection of God's Words, the Bible.  These Holy Words have stood the test of time!  This Holy Book always tells the Truth.  We must remember that when it comes to questions of Truth, our words and discussions must always focus on the Bible and nothing else.  We must go back to that Holy Book, the Bible, in our search for Truth.  It is the ONLY WAY.

Sadly, many Christians treat the Bible as a book that they use to worship God only once a week on Sundays.  They neglect reading and using it for the rest of the days of the week.  They neglect to use it as their guide for teaching, reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness to be equipped for every good work.  Did you know that this Holy Book, the Bible, can help us decide on every issue we confront when we are engaged in life?  It is the perfect guide in family matters. It even can help us cast the best vote on election day.  The list of situations that the Bible helps us with is exhausting.  We must use this Book to guide our footsteps in our walk here. If we don't treasure God's inspired Word and use it in our everyday lives, we will be rendered useless, helpless, and hopeless.

The Bible's primary purpose is to prepare the man of God for every good work.  It is TRUSTWORTHY!  It speaks to you and me with authority.

My purpose in doing this study with you is to explain the basics of a "Biblical Worldview."  We must allow the Bible to give us the best lens through which to see the world.  It will provide us with a "Biblical Worldview."  So my question is, "How can you know if someone has a "Biblical Worldview?" If someone has a real Biblical Worldview, he will approach everything related to life, asking, "What does the Bible say about that?”  He will always start with the Bible alone before he thinks about anything else.

Not many accept a "Biblical Worldview."  They wear the wrong glasses as they look at the world around them.  Sadly, they disagree with God.  They refuse to believe in God's Truth.  They do not think God's Word is Truth.  They would rather trust their human opinions rather than rely on their Creator to guide and teach them what is True.

When you believe other non-biblical worldviews, you keep yourself from knowing the beginning of true knowledge, which is the fear of God, Prov. 1:7.  When you believe such false worldviews, you automatically trust in a lie.  When you trust in a lie, you drown in the waters of ignorance without any hope of being rescued or saved.  My question is, “What happens to those who believe in the wrong worldview?”  The Bible, the Word of God, is very clear about those who trust in a lying worldview,

"But for the fearful, and unbelieving, and abominable, and murderers, and fornicators, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, their part shall be in the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone; which is the second death."  Revelation 21:8  

It is a very serious matter!

What about those “ordained” by their peers as “scientists”?  Today, we have many "smart scientists" who deceive us, saying that the first man came from an "ape" through a process called "evolution."  Such men tell us that our great-great-great-great-grandfather, long ago, was an animal similar to an ape.  How would you respond to these men from a Biblical Worldview?  First, you must ask, What Does the Bible Say About That?  Here is a good verse from the Bible about the Creation and origin of man.  

"And Jehovah God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul."  Genesis 2:7

Furthermore, some scientists tell us that man made his descent from monkeys for millions of years. But the truth is (as stated in the divinely inspired Word) that God created man out of the dust while he was creating the world in six days.  Who are you going to believe - God or men?

"For what if some were without faith? Shall their want of faith make of none effect the faithfulness of God?  God forbid: yea, let God be found true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy words, And mightest prevail when thou comest into judgment."  Romans 3:3-4

Scientists claim they have sufficient "evidence."  They sit on their thrones of confidence, claiming to be very smart, smarter than God, their Creator. Such men pretend that they cannot make a mistake when they are studying their "evidence" about apes turning into men. Could they have made mistakes? In fact, many of these scientists disagree with those who think that man came from an ape over millions of years.


CONCLUSION:

Therefore, it is wise and safe to start with what God says.  Men should be careful when making big and brave claims about what happened millions of years ago as they are examining fossils in the rocks.  There is only one way to be safely certain about what really happened at the Creation of the world.  When someone insists on defending this ridiculous theory that rejects God's Word, ask them, Where were you when the worlds were formed?  Were you there?  Were the “scientists” there?  Who was there at the beginning of the world?  Of course, God was there!  Why not ask Him?

"For in six days Jehovah made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore Jehovah blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it."  Exodus 20:11

May the Lord help us to keep our eyes open to His revealed Truth.


Luci