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The Truth About Truth
by 'Deborah Peterson'
"Then Yah'shua said to those Judahites who believed Him, 'If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you will know the Truth, and the Truth shall set you free'" (John 8:31-32)
As I'm writing these words today, I desire to know and share something of the truth about Truth...
And I say this not to sound poetic, but rather because I believe in the reality of the words of Colossians 2:8 that says to "beware, lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ".
What you're reading here today is not intended to be a philosophical essay about Truth, but rather the writings of a disciple that wants to share some of the things that has been opened to her about Truth, and the freedom that comes with Truth.
The issue about knowing the Truth is important ~ not because we want to claim to be 'right' (or to claim others 'wrong'), but because the issue of Truth connects to the reality of freedom and bondage.
Please, know today that just as Truth sets us free, so lies put us in bondage...
Its not difficult to try give some examples of this, for instance:
- A teenager in bondage to depression because they believe that there is no one that cares about them...
- A woman that has been raped in bondage to shame and despair because she believes it was her fault...
- A man in bondage to the restlessness and hopelessness of "I'll never be good enough" as he believes the lie that he must earn love through achievements.
The Truth can set each of us free, but we must also know that in the same way Lies will put us in bondage...
Today something was opened to me though of where some people may go astray as they read this powerful passage in John... of where people believe Lies about the Truth actually is.
Many (and this includes people who call themselves Christians) have come to believe Truth as simply a "concept", and this is a very dangerous thing to believe indeed.
Truth isn't a concept, but Truth is objective reality where something is a certain way, weather you believe (or agree) with it, or not.
For instance, if I choose not to believe that gravity exists, my disbelief does not stop gravity from effecting me, because objective reality is that gravity exists. The Truth is gravity exists.
Please note this ~ Truth is not annulled by someones disbelief or disdain, and Truth will remain and continue to effect this person, weather they acknowledge the Truth or not.
Understanding this, we can also begin to understand why Lies will cause so much damage...
You see, we act on what we believe. Its because I believe the Truth that gravity exists that I don't jump out of the window of a ten storey building...
But remember, me choosing not to not to believe the Truth would not annul it... so if I choose to believe gravity didn't exist, and acted on this Lie by jumping out of the window from the tenth storey, not only would gravity continue to operate, but I would also be seriously hurt or even killed because I rejected the Truth and rather believed and then acted on a Lie instead.
It's because we act on what we believe that James warned us in James 2:3 that "faith without works is dead", because when we really believe Yah'shua and that we were granted salvation because of the terrible price Yah'shua payed for us at the cross, we will begin to act on this, and our faith will find expression in our deeds. With this, our own lives will testify to James words in James 2:18 that says "Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works."
(And with this came a deep question for me... what are my works testifying I believe?)
Now consider this... If a person considered Truth to be a concept understood or processed in the mind (and not objective reality) and linked with this believed that the Truth would set them free, their understanding that come out something like this:
"Believing / grasping / thinking / understanding simply certain thoughts that form part of the concept of "truth will save or set me free", or "Think a certain way, and everything will be all right"...
And with this we find the heart of the 'gospel' of Psychology and so many of the self-help books ~ that someone can "save themselves by what they think". And this is the Lie of Gnosticism... that we can save ourselves by knowledge, by knowing or understanding certain concepts.
We are not saved by knowledge, but by grace through faith in Yah'shua, the Son of Elohim who came in the flesh, who was crushed in our place for our iniquity, and who three days later rose from the grave, and now lives forever more... and by what He did, we are set free.
You see, true faith is to believe the Truth... and Yah'shua the Truth (John 14:6). When we begin to believe Him, we begin to believe that what He is telling us is objective reality ~ true and active, no matter what others (or even our feelings) would want to say otherwise...
And as we begin to truly believe Yah'shua, truly believe what He says about us and our world, we will be set free ... true freedom overflowing with joy, and the grace to walk in the Truth revealed to us.
For then we will know the Truth, and the Truth will set us free.
Continued in Part 2
This page was created on 20 April 2009
Last updated on 20 April 2009
Copyright © 2009 NCAY