Sin, the way you are feeling, and truth and righteousness.

"A fool hath no delight in understanding, but that his heart may discover itself." (Proverbs 18:2)

This is a sobering verse, and offensive to people.

Jimminey Cricket sure would not have agreed, his motto was, follow your heart.

SIN
Man is a sinner by nature.  That means that we are conceived with a deep seated corruption to go contrary to God right from conception.  The prophet and king, David said, "Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me." (Psalm 51:5) [Iniquity is a Bible word for internal sin.]  We are all born with a heart corrupt.  The Bible says, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?" (Jeremiah 17:9)

You may say, I do not agree.  Well, consider, have you ever seen a very little child--1 to 2 years--lie and attempt to deceive?  Unless you live a very closed existence you certainly have.  Did the parent(s) teach them how to lie.  Certainly not.  Where does it come from?  Jesus Christ tells us, "But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man.  For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:" (Matthew 15:18-19)  Defile, means make unclean or dirty.  It is what comes out of our hearts that makes us dirty before God.

Of course, the above truths from God's Word, the Bible, do not make any of us feel good.  But let me ask you this.  If you had a very close friend and they went to the doctor for a routine check-up.  They felt healthy and energetic, they were up-beat and positive.  Through the check-up and tests the doctor discovered that they had a rare form of deadly cancer.  So your friend gets called into their doctor's office and the doctor tells your friend of the test results and that they are extremely sick and have to have harsh treatments to get rid of the cancer.  Your friend looks at the doctor in unbelief, and says, 'I feel fine and it is impossible that I have cancer; you are wrong,' and storms out of the office.  Your friend comes and tells you.  What will you do?  Will you affirm your friend's feelings and support them in their belief that there is nothing wrong with them?  Or, will you risk their anger and beg them to listen to the doctor?

I beg you; listen to God!

FEELINGS
The process of man getting to know his heart, trusting his heart, and living according to his heart and feelings has been going since sin entered the world.

The Bible statement, "A fool hath no delight in understanding, but that his heart may discover itself," is intensely relevant.  People delight in letting their hearts direct them and they call this truth and right.  They say things like, 'what you believe is truth for you.'  The Bible teaches very differently from the common way of the world.

Common facts:
a.    Feelings change.  This does not need explanation.
b.    The ability to feel (emotion) is God given.
        It is what you do with your feelings that is right or wrong.
c.    Feelings lie.  Consider our illustration story above.  That is,
       feelings are frequently out of step with the truth.

Where do feelings come from?

The Heart.  Our heart is the real us, the core of our being.  "Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it [your heart] are the issues of life." (Proverbs 4:23)

Discovering your heart.    "He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool: but whoso walketh wisely, he shall be delivered." (Proverbs 28:26)    "But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.  Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death." (James 1:14-15)    This text is very revealing.  When you have before you an opportunity to sin, your heart lusts after that (lust = desires, feels needy for it, wants it).  The desire for it comes from within you.  Then you have to make a decision!  So, you decide to follow your heart; you commit the sin; you heart has discovered itself--your heart has made itself known.

Decisions we make.    Decisions you make will affect your feelings.  GOD DID NOT CREATE YOU A BIO-ROBOT where you just take in sensory information and react in a cause and effect way!  You have the ability of choice.  [For you who appreciate philosophical terms, this is called transcendence.  Man has a limited transcendence in God's creation, which is moral in nature.  On the other hand, God is absolutely transcendent--he exists independent of His creation.  By the way, I am not talking about mystic new age transcendence, like transcendental meditation--very bad stuff, that.]

Outside Sources.    Someone yells and screams at you it affects your feelings.  But, you do have a choice how you feel and react or act.  If you choose to respond to this screamer calmly and kindly you will find that although no one feels great when being screamed at your decision will calm your feelings.  Let's take this a bit deeper.  You come across pornography.  Your heart is attracted.  You feel you want it and it will make you feel good.  Yet, YOU HAVE A CHOICE.  You will either be directed by your heart or you will direct your heart.  The Devil NEVER MAKES you do it.  You chose to.

Case Study
Let's put this together in a case study that is all too common.  A boy has grown up to follow his heart.  When he comes to his early teens he develops natural sex feelings as a result of the growth of his body.  He begins looking at pornography, the lusts of his own heart draw him to it.  This gives him pleasure feelings, and surely they can't be bad? Or can they?  His heart is getting its way and now, wants more.  He now gets more pornography, and more, and more explicit, and more explicit.  Of course, He has got himself a girlfriend by this time and is sexually active and is experiencing the pleasure of sex.  Soon he moves from heterosexual pornography (pictures or movies) to homosexual porn.  He finds that any apprehensions he had about men with men disappear with the sexual pleasure.  His heart has made itself known!  Because he is following his heart, his heart is his guide and god, soon all these feelings bring him to wonder about his sexual identity.  The facts say he is a male.  His heart feelings say he is something else.  Confusion.  Which is true?

You could insert any sin in the above case study, pride, religiosity, theft, murder, rape, lying, etc.  Our hearts are naturally sinful, and when we allow our hearts to grow in a sin all manner of depravity is possible.

What you need is to repent toward God.
God is very merciful to the broken hearted sinner.
"The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit." (Psalm 34:18)
"The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise." (Psalm 51:17)
"For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones." (Isaiah 57:15)
The man Job said, when he finally saw himself in the light of God's holiness, "Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes." (Job 42:6)

God resists the proud.
"But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble." (James 4:6)

What you need is a new heart--a new nature.

This is a creative act of God in a person.
"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature..."
(2Corinthians 5:17)
"For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing,
nor uncircumcision, but a new creature." (Galatians 6:15)
"And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created
in righteousness and true holiness." (Ephesians 4:24)

This is an absolute necessity and a work only God can do.
"Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.  Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born?  Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.  That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.  Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again." (John 3:3-7)

This is made possible because Jesus Christ paid your sin offence to God in your place.
 "Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be?  Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?  Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness.  If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?  And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.  And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:  That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.  For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.  For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved." (John 3:9-17)

Note:  Nicodemus, the man Jesus is here having a conversation with, asks, "How can these things be?"  The context you have already read above, John 3:3-7.  Nicodemus is asking, How is it possible that a man can be born again by the Spirit of God?  The answer is that Jesus must be lifted up, which is defined in the context as God giving His only begotten Son.  Jesus was speaking of His death by crucifixion.  For more on this see the following:  John 8:28; and John 12:31-34.

What Jesus Christ, God Almighty in Human Flesh, has done for you.
Jesus willingly left heaven's glory to become a man, fully God and fully man to die in your place.  Read Philippians 2:6-11.

Jesus gave his life a ransom payment to God for you.  "For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many." (Mark 10:45)  "How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?" (Hebrews 9:14)

Jesus' shed blood in His crucifixion death is the atonement.  Atonement means to make at one.  Jesus's blood will make at one God with a sinner by the forgiveness of their sin.    Read Romans 5:8-11.    "In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: ... And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven." (Colossians 1:14, 20)

Jesus rose bodily from the dead and lives forever to save repentant sinners completely.
Read Luke 24:1-7 and 36-48.
"Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them." (Hebrews 7:25)
"Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification." (Romans 4:25)

My Friend, God commands you to repent of your wicked sin loving rebellion against God and turn to Christ Jesus and entrust your soul and life (faith) to Him.

"That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.  For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.  For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed." (Romans 10:9-11)

"For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." (Romans 6:23)

Wise men seek knowledge, understanding, and wisdom.  And, "in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption," (1Corinthians 1:30)

Fools say, 'there is no God." Psalm 14.
Fools make a mock at sin--Proverbs 14:9.

Man and Sin; God and Judgment and Hope.

God created mankind in uprightness and without sin.

• "And the LORD 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)
• "And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good." (Genesis 1:31)

God created mankind, a very special creation, to have a personal relationship based in mutual love.

• "And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.  So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them." (Genesis 1:26-27)
• That likeness does not mean man is a little god, or that man looks physically like God.  God is invisible to the physical eye.  Man is a person--having a mind with which to think (intellect), a will with which to make decisions, and emotions by which he feels.  Man is a being that was made to love God and to receive love from God.  Man is different from any other creature God made.
• "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." (Matthew 4:4)
• Man was created to know and lovingly obey and work under God.  Men are not living, according to God's original intent, until they are living their lives by His Word.

Love requires freedom of choice and choice requires a test.

• Therefore, God tested Adam, the first man.
• "And the LORD 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)
• Adam would knowingly, rationally, chose to love God and obey His command or turn his back on God (hate God) and go his own way.

The first man, Adam, chose wrong, and threw mankind into sin.  The corruption of sin is passed from father to children at conception.

• "And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.  And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.  And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden." (Genesis 3:6-8)
• Adam disobeys, Adam hides from God.  Does this sound familiar?
• Sin and death enter the world, and mankind's existence has been full of sin and death ever since.
• "And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression." (1Timothy 2:14)
• Adam knew exactly what he was doing.  He knew the consequences, but did it anyway.
• "Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be." (Romans 8:7)
• "But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption;" (2Peter 2:12)
• "While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage." (2Peter 2:19)
• Adam's sin corrupted his nature.  His heart and mind was now set against God.
• "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:" (Romans 5:12)
• Adam's sinful nature is passed onto his children at conception.  We are his children.

"Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions." (Ecclesiastes 7:29) [Inventions, not technological, but deviations from God's Word and Way.]

God made man, and the universe, and God Himself is the standard of right and wrong.

That means, that sin is not defined by you or me; but, sin is defined by God.

• "Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law." (1John 3:4)
• "All unrighteousness is sin: and there is a sin not unto death." (1John 5:17)
• Anything contrary to the person, character, and Word of God is sin.
• "But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death." (Revelation 21:8)
• Many may admit that murder is sin, but lying is so very contrary to God's holy spotless nature that He hates it and must condemn it.

Condemnation and Judgment Day

• "He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." (John 3:18)
• "Because [God] hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead." (Acts 17:31)
• Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was raised from the dead!
• "Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do." (Hebrews 4:13)
• God sees all you are and do.
• God knows all you are and do.
• God is the judge of all you are and do.
• You can reject the truth up until you die, then you will have to deal with God and His reality.

Love and Hope

• God made man and has not given up on men.
• God says, "Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die." (Ezekiel 18:4)
• "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3:16)
• "Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him [Jesus Christ]; he hath put [Jesus] to grief: when thou shalt make [Jesus's] soul an offering for sin..." (Isaiah 53:11)

You must choose.  Keep on your own way, in your sin, until death when the day of salvation is over and the condemnation that is upon you will land you in eternal fiery torment.  Or, you can learn of Christ Jesus and what He has done for you and repent and turn to Christ to save you.

Where will you place your love.  It is your decision!

What is Truth?; A Smokescreen to Hide the Truth.

The last number of articles have been on how we can, and do, know the truth.  But just because the truth is knowable does not mean people automatically want to know the truth.

God's prophet Ezekiel preached the Word of God long and hard to the Jews during their 70 year captivity in ancient Babylon.  God was telling them, through Ezekiel, that they were rebellious and wicked and that is why God was judging the nation through captivity.  The Jews of the captivity loved their home land (like today) and nostalgically loved to hear Ezekiel preach, it reminded them of home; but, they were not loving the message!  How could they experience the preaching that made them feel pleasantly nostalgic and ignore the message they hated?  Ezekiel tells God (of course, God knew), "...Ah Lord GOD! they say of me, Doth he not speak parables?" (Ezekiel 20:49).  This is equivalent to saying either, "we can't understand what he says" or "there is some other meaning than the plain sense of his words."  By the way--the vast majority of what is called 'Christianity' today deals with God's Word this way--they manipulate it on some pretext to change the plain sense, thereby feeling they are religious and right with God but not having to deal with God in truth.  God will judge.

If you are reading this and you are wondering about the so-called-Christian denominations and stuff.  Please know that NO CHURCH IS THE SOURCE OF TRUTH.  GOD IS TRUTH AND HIS BOOK, THE BIBLE, IS THE TRUTH FROM GOD.  Many churches have rejected God's Word, the truth, then there are those few churches that are committed to holding onto the truth no matter what.  A church is only as good as its adherence to the Word of God.

[I am not promoting a 'Christian Religion' over a Muslim Religion or Bhuddist religion, etc.  I an not saying you should like this one because I like this one, this one makes me feel better.  I am saying God is Truth, God has made the truth know in His written Word, the Bible, and ALL that are different (contrary) to the Bible are wrong, regardless of how it makes you or me feel..  Truth is absolute and unchanging.]

Can I challenge you with the face-to-face meeting of the Lord Jesus Christ and a man named Pilate.  Pilate was the Roman Governor of Judea who gave Jesus up to be crucified.  As recorded, Pilate asked Jesus, "What is truth?" (John 18:38).  Yes, some can ask this question in honesty; nevertheless, there comes a point in people's lives when the question is no longer sincere, but a smokescreen to hide the truth staring you in the face.

Pilate had learned that Jesus...

...  claimed to be a King of a kingdom not of this world (John 18:33-39; Mark 14:2-14).
...  was a just man, morally faultless (Luke 23:4; Matthew 27:19).

Pilate attempted to let Jesus go throughout this bogus trial.  Pilate's conscience is bothering him.  Pilate delivers Jesus to be scourged (whipped) and then presents Jesus to the Jews once again.  Pilate then discovers that not only is Jesus just, not only does Jesus claim to be a King, but Jesus claims to be the Son of God (John 19:7)--meaning, Jesus claimed to be God.

For Pilate, the new fact that Jesus claimed to be the Son of God caused him to be "more afraid" (John 19:8).  This simple statement tells us two things about what has been going on in Pilate's heart throughout his meeting with Christ Jesus.

          (1)    Pilate's conscience had been bothering him that the claims Jesus
                   made were true and that Jesus' life and behaviour were consistent
                   with Jesus' claims.  If Pilate had thought Jesus was a fraud Pilate
                   could not have believed him to be a just man and without fault.

          (2)    Pilate's internal trouble (fear) increased when he learned that Jesus
                  claimed to be the Son of God.  Put yourself in Pilate's place.
                  If you hear that a man calls himself the Son of God, then that man is
                  either a liar, a lunatic, or TRUTH!  If Pilate believed Jesus' claim
                  to be the Son of God to be a lie, then why was his fear increased?
                 The only explanation is that Pilate gave serious weight to Jesus' claim
                  to be God, so much so that Pilate's internal fear that he was doing
                  something very wrong increased.

Pilate's end is not pretty.  John 19:1-13---Pilate rejects God and the truth for personal interests.

My friend, you can know the truth.  Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." (John 14:6)

We are coming to a point in these blog articles where we need to be, and will be, looking at Who Jesus Christ is and What Jesus Christ has done as well as why you must have Jesus save you from your sin.  What will you do with Jesus?

We are with out excuse.

Without Excuse

I have been writing about how we can know the truth.  One thing that becomes evident is that it is not complicated to know the truth.  I do not mean to say that knowing the truth does not take effort.  Effort and confusion due to a complicated subject are two different things.

We have looked at five key steps by which we know anything to be true or false, and specifically how we can know the truth about who we are, who God is, and where we come from and where we are going (as well as the many details).

What has mankind done with the Truth of Self-consciousness?
In Psalm 92:5-6 it is written,

"O LORD, how great are thy works! and thy thoughts are very deep.  A brutish man knoweth not; neither doth a fool understand this."

Man rejects the truth of his own creation in the image of God by defining himself and acting like a brute--an animal.  By saying man is created in the image of God that does not mean that man is a god, but that God gave man, at man's creation, some particular attributes that resemble God's attributes.  I will not record the text here, but a reading of Genesis chapters 2 and 3 will reveal the following about man:  man is a rational and feeling being that is able to hear, understand, and decide from a free-will to love and obey God or to reject (hate) and disobey God.  [Read online here.]  Jesus spoke of the truth that man is not an animal, but created differently and has a different purpose, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God."

The fact is that you can know God personally and you are personally responsible to know and love God.

Men live like animals when they live like there is no afterlife--i.e. 'eat, drink, and be marry, for tomorrow we die.'

Men live like animals when controlled by bodily lusts (desires).  The most prolific way people do this is sexually.  When you think of a sexual desire like a hunger pain, something to be satisfied for life's purpose, you are living like an animal.  First, animals have sexual intercourse at certain times only and for reproduction only.  Second, your hunger pain comes from your stomach and God made food to satisfy that need and made your stomach to process that food.  Third, your body was made for God; you were made to serve and love Him.  Your body was not made for sex anytime, anywhere, with anyone you choose.  I am not saying that you are not physically made to not have sex--God made man and woman to share sexual enjoyment and reproduce in the protection and love of holy marriage.  Purpose is the deciding factor:

"Meats for the belly, and the belly for meats: but God shall destroy both it and them. Now the body is not for fornication, but for the Lord; and the Lord for the body."  (1Cor. 6:13)

Such a life is sin.  Sin is anything that is contrary to God, His righteousness, and His commands.

"Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law." (1John 3:4)
"All unrighteousness is sin: and there is a sin not unto death." (1John 5:17)

I am going to write a few short articles about how men reject the truth.  To end off this article may I say this: people often think of sin as great crimes against humanity like murder, genocide, or rape.  These certainly are sins.  But this view of sin is man centered, arbitrarily appointing man as the standard, and the one offended.  Certainly civil crimes need to be punished by civil authorities.  But your eternity will not be decided by a human court of law; your eternity is decided by GOD according to GOD's LAWS.

"Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do."  (Hebrews 4:13)

Three facts:  God sees you; God sees all you think, say, and do; and, God is lawmaker and judge whom you will face.

You need to know from God what is His judgement of you, and if you are condemned is there any hope for mercy.

Consider two truths from the Bible:
"And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil." (John 3:19)
"The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy." (Psalm 103:8)

TRUTH: How Can We Know? (Article 5)

It is evident that the first points, self-consciousness, God-consciousness, and righteousness-consciousness are so often not though of by people as they consider what the truth is.  This is natural as they are intuitive.  The last point we discussed, internal consistency, is all too often ignored as people settle for a religion or world view that makes them feel good or comforts their guilt ridden conscience to some degree and confirms them in their own pride and lusts (sin).  We must understand that man is notorious for comforting himself with lies!

God, through His prophet Isaiah, confronted ancient Israel with her purposeful self-deception.
"...ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves." (Isaiah 28:15)  The fact is that it is impossible to maintain lies before the God of truth.

As God has stated,
"When a wicked man dieth, his expectation shall perish: and the hope of unjust men perisheth." (Proverbs 11:7)

You can carry lies all through your life; but, when you arrive before the Holy Judge of all, a person's refuge (hiding place) of lies will completely fall apart.

The fifth step in knowing the truth is taught to us by the Lord Jesus Christ in the Gospel of Mark, chapter 2.

Here is what that says...
"1  And again he entered into Capernaum after some days; and it was noised that he was in the house.
2  And straightway many were gathered together, insomuch that there was no room to receive them, no, not so much as about the door: and he preached the word unto them.
3  And they come unto him, bringing one sick of the palsy, which was borne of four.
4  And when they could not come nigh unto him for the press, they uncovered the roof where he was: and when they had broken it up, they let down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay.
5  When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.
6  But there were certain of the scribes sitting there, and reasoning in their hearts,
7  Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? who can forgive sins but God only?
8  And immediately when Jesus perceived in his spirit that they so reasoned within themselves, he said unto them, Why reason ye these things in your hearts?
9  Whether is it easier to say to the sick of the palsy, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk?
10  But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (he saith to the sick of the palsy,)
11  I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house.
12  And immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went forth before them all; insomuch that they were all amazed, and glorified God, saying, We never saw it on this fashion."

Note the following...
(a)    The man with the palsy (paralysis) came to be physically healed.
(b)    Jesus addressed this man's sins, by forgiving them.
(c)    The scribes (Jewish religious teachers) were shocked as they knew only God can forgive sin, which is exactly true.

Now we come to the central teaching of this whole account.
Jesus asks, "Whether is it easier to say... Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk?"  Good questions.  Note that Jesus did not say, 'Whether is easier to do?,' but, "whether is it easier to say?"  To say something like "thy sin be forgiven thee" or "take up thy bed and walk" is to make a claim that is either verifiable or not verifiable.  The fact is that all statements that can be spoken by anyone will fit into one of these categories.  Both types of statements are normal to life and relationships and communication.  In the two statements Jesus makes here, he makes both a verifiable and a non-verifiable statement.  "Take up thy bed and walk" is verifiable; the man will either be healed and walk and Jesus shown to be true, or the man will remain unchanged and Jesus will be shown to be false.  "Thy sins be forgiven thee" is not verifiable; But, that does not automatically mean it is false, just that, you cannot see the results or give historical or scientific corroboration for it.  Whether or not you believe it is entirely based on the character of the person that makes the claim.  Does the person deserve to be believed?

What now?
Jesus continues (verse 10-12), " But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (he saith to the sick of the palsy,)  I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house.  And immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went forth before them all"    [The Bible reason for all the miracles done by Jesus Christ and His Apostles was to show Jesus to be TRUE.]

The purpose for Jesus making the verifiable statement is so that we may see that He is true, that He is Who He says He is, and then have the confidence in Him to believe the things he says that we cannot verify.  Faith is the entrusting of our selves to a non-verifiable statement, such as a promise of God.  Promises are realized in the future.  The things God has given us in the Bible that are verifiable give us irrefutable warrant to trust God on everything else He says.

This is why internal consistency cannot stand alone, it must be accompanied by verifiablity.

I would submit to you that books like the Book of Mormon, Hindu writings, Buddhist writings, and the Koran (etc.) are either not verifiable (they make lots of claims without those claims being testable) or are verified as false where they are testable.  Therefore, I can discount them.

The Bible is unique in this way.  God took some 1,600 hundred years to reveal His entire Word to man because He did so through the history of men and nations for the very purpose that we (God's rational creatures) would be able the verify the Scriptures as TRUE, and have overwhelming confidence that we can trust God for the things that are not verifiable (like promises, and many other things).  If God had just dropped the completed Bible down to man we would have no way to verify its truthfulness.

Isn't God awesome!  And because God has created you a responsible rational free-willed creature God treats you as such and will judge you as such.  That is why I beg of you to pay close attention to the Bible, God's Word; your life and eternity depend on you knowing and submitting yourself to the truth.

The Bible is Verifiable by its...
          (1)    People (ancient documentation).
          (2)    Places (geography).
          (3)    Nations / civilizations.
          (4)    Customs.
          (5)    Israel (God's chosen nation).
          (6)    Historic events.
          (7)    Fulfilled prophecy (the Bible is 100% accurate in all prophecies to date).

Therefore, we are without excuse!

Can I challenge you to not make excuses or trust in lies.  Knowing the truth is not complicated, but it will require some work on your part to hear and think and test.  If you want to know God will help you.

THE TEST FOR TRUTH IS NOT IF YOU LIKE IT OR NOT!

TRUTH: How Can We Know? (Article 4)

Sequoia tree, California.

Internal Consistency

We should expect truth to be consistent with truth.

Jesus said,

"Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand:"

If a person makes two statements and those two statements are not compatible, or are contradictory, we know that (a) one or both of the statements are false, and (b) the person is at least partially wrong.

We live like this daily in our relationships with other people.  We meet a new person, we begin with their name and where they are from, how old they are, and begin to get to know them.  We begin a new relationship with a mix of trust and caution. As we learn more of this person--their actions and words--we look for consistency.  We judge as to weather or not their words and actions are consistent.  Our trust or caution (dis-trust) for this person will increase or decrease according to their consistency.  [External verify-ability also comes into play, but that will be dealt with in the next article.]

Internal consistency cannot stand alone.  A series of lies may advance in perfectly logical sequence and have internal consistency.  Internal consistency must come under the scrutiny of verify-ability--next article.

This requires something of you.  To know the truth will require that you care about knowing it enough to work at it.

Personal Testimony:
In regards to the Bible: I came to know Jesus Christ personally when I was 15 years old and I have been studying the Bible ever since.  Over the years there have been a few things that I initially thought may be contradictions--things I could not see how they were consistent.  But, after more study found, as I learned more of the God's Word (the Bible), that the Bible was demonstrated to be consistent.  This has happened so many times that when I now come across something I do not understand I try to be patient and keep studying.  Besides, I realized that it was high-minded pride to assume just because I do not understand the Bible that the Bible must be wrong.  What a fool I can be.

The fact that the Bible has been written by 40 different men over a period exceeding 1,400 years and conveys a singular and consistent message is a testimony that the Bible is exactly what it claims to be--the Words of God to man.

You will be able to find many people that say the Bible is full of contradictions.  I have found that these people fall into two basic categories: (1) Those that claim the Bible has contradictions but could not open a Bible and show you these supposed contradictions.  Most fit into this category.  (2) Those in academia that approach the Bible with the pre-condition that all is doubted until proclaimed true by human intellect or observation.  On this second point let me ask, who lives like this?  When a person tells you what they did this past weekend and it is a consistent account do you say, "I will not believe a word you are saying until I see empirical evidence.'  Even in Western law we deal with people on the basis of innocent until proven guilty.  When a claim is made the onus is on you to disprove it; not on the one making the claim to prove it.

Can I challenge you to take personal responsibility for the truth.  As I have written before, there are many voices speaking out there.  The Lord Jesus asks you, "For what shall it profit [you], if [you] shall gain the whole world, and lose [your] own soul? Or what shall [you] give in exchange for [your] soul?" (Mark 8:36-37).  If you will begin reading the Bible intelligently and patiently, desiring to know the truth, you will be rewarded.

TRUTH: How Can We Know? (Article 3)

People deal differently with the search for the truth.  Some despair of ever finding it.  Some reject; they have found truths and do not like what they have found.  Some cannot be bothered to deal with the consequences of truth and/or do not want to be distracted from their here-and-now pursuits / pleasures.  Many redefine truth to be subjective so that they can claim to have truth without the consequences of real truth.

In the two previous articles on the subject of how to know truth we spoke of self-consciousness and then God-consciousness.  Man is a rational creature.  God is our rational Creator.  And God has given man what is needed to know God (Creator), who is truth, and truth about the creation, including ourselves (mankind).  Note:  Man is not the source of truth.  God is truth!

In addition to the first two steps in knowing the truth (self-consciousness and God-consciousness) comes our third step, that being Consciousness of Righteousness.  Some might like to use the term moral-consciousness, but the term righteousness (definite right, opposed to definite wrong) is much stronger and communicates the truth much better.
Note:  Consciousness of righteousness does not mean man is righteous, or does right.  That is a separate issue.

Romans 2:14-15
"For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves:  Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;"

The context of these statements is that the Gentile (non-Jewish) ancient world (BC.) had no written revelation from God in apposition to the Jews, who had the written Scriptures (The Old Testament).  You can read the entire chapter for this context (www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=Rom&c=2&t=KJV).  

What this means is that when the Apostle Paul writes "when the Gentiles, which have not the law," the "law" he is referring to is the Old Testament Scriptures--written down and readable/learn-able . 

Central Fact.

Every man has the God-given consciousness of right and wrong, consciousness of righteousness.

This fact is demonstrated universally in the experience of man.  Even a headhunter in Papua New Guinea who has killed and eaten other men, whose conscience may be blunted by repeated offense, is angered and affronted when he is the one being hunted, or another tribal member is the victim--vengeance must be taken.  Even a compulsive thief feels offended when he is stolen from.  Have you ever told a lie about another person (or some such situation) and justified yourself that you did right and then one day found out that someone has been lying about you and felt that you were wronged?  Of course you have.

Consciousness of right and wrong does not mean men do right.  Men can, and do, corrupt their consciences by repeated sinning against their consciences.  Nevertheless, conscience of righteousness is in each man.

How does this relate to how we can know the truth?

Simply, you have a God-given point of reference at which you and God can relate to each other.

This internal consciousness of righteousness means that you can begin to understand yourself, your Creator, why the two of your are at odds, and how God has provided the only way for you to get right with Him.  This is huge!

Verses 13, 14, and 15 of Romans chapter 2 form a parenthetical statement, meaning they are interjected into another line of thought.  Please understand that it is eternally essential for you to know the truth now in this life--the real and only truth--as revealed by the God of truth, for there is coming a day of judgment.

Fact:  "For there is no respect of persons with God."--Romans 2:11.  All men of all ages, of all nations, and of all classes are equally responsible before their Creator.

Fact:  "For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law:"--Romans 2:12a.  All men that have never had the Bible of all ages, of all nations , of all classes are condemned for their sin.

Fact:  "and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law;"--Romans 2:12b.  All men that have had the Bible of all ages, of all nations, of all classes are condemned for their sin.

Fact:  "In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men..."--Romans 2:16a.  There is an appointed judgment day and God is the judge from Whom nothing shall be hid.

Fact:  "...by Jesus Christ..."--Romans 2:16b.  God's Son, Jesus Christ, is your Judge and will judge you if you die in your sin.

Fact:  "...according to my gospel."--Romans 2:16c.  Jesus Christ will judge you according to what is in the Holy Scriptures.  

This is the third article in this series on How Can We Know Truth? and there are at least three more to come.  I trust that you see that this is not confusing.  No doubt you have many questions; please stay tuned and keep reading.

Can I encourage you to get a Holy Bible.  May I recommend reading the book of Genesis and the Gospel of John.  If you are an English speaking person, and I assume you are since this article is written in English, please get a King James, Authorized Version (not a New King James, that is different).  The King James Bible translation has all the words and is a thoroughly faithful and long proven translation that can be completely trusted.  The "thees" and "thous" are there for a very important reason.  Email me and I will tell you why.