Whenever a crime has been committed under unknown circumstances, the appropriate law enforcement agency assigns a detective to the case. The job of the detective is to investigate the crime, uncover the associated facts, and search for the truth with the goal of solving the crime. Many people will tell the detective what their opinion is and what they think happened and why. But the detective must sort through all the opinions and facts to arrive at the truth. The truth is what will correctly solve the crime. Are you a good detective to discover the spiritual truths of life?
One of the primary reasons that Jesus came into the world was to bear witness to the truth. Before Jesus’ crucifixion, Pilate was questioning Jesus. John 18:37-38a “Pilate therefore said to Him, ‘Are You a king then?’ Jesus answered, ‘You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.’ Pilate said to Him, ‘What is truth?’” Pilate had heard many accusations about Jesus so he really didn’t know what the truth was. But you and I know that we can trust the Son of God to tell us the truth. We know that Jesus came into the world to die for your sins and my sins. But do not overlook the fact that He also came to tell us the truth. He came to tell us what is right and what is wrong; He came to tell us the truth about God; He came to tell us how we can be saved and how we should live our lives; He came to tell us about everlasting life. We listen to Him because He came to tell us the truth.
Multiple times, Jesus said “You have heard that it has been said, but I say to you….” One example is in Matthew 5:27-28 “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” This is an example of Jesus providing truth that had not been understood before or correcting false teaching. Many times Jesus used expressions such as “verily I say unto you” or “assuredly I say to you” or “I tell you the truth”. According to my count, such expressions are found 30 times in the book of Matthew, 13 times in the book of Mark, 9 times in the book of Luke, and 27 times in the book of John for a total of 79 times. These illustrate the fact that Jesus came to tell us the truth about many subjects. Jesus said He was the way, the truth, and the life. John 14:6 “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.’”
After Jesus’ death and resurrection, He sent the Holy Spirit to guide the apostles into all truth. John 16:13 “However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.” The writings of the apostles contain truth you should discover and follow. God wants you to worship Him in spirit and in truth. John 4:23-24 “But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” It is very important for you to discover God’s truth so you can worship Him in spirit and in truth.
The people in the city of Berea were truth seekers more than the people of the city of Thessalonica. Acts 17:10-12 “Then the brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea. When they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so. Therefore many of them believed, and also not a few of the Greeks, prominent women as well as men.” Be like the people of Berea and search for the truth.
My encouragement to you is that you be a truth seeker. Find out for yourself the spiritual truths revealed by Jesus and his apostles as recorded in the New Testament of the Bible. Then, worship God in spirit and in truth.