How Do We Know the Truth?

Omega Message – December 1997

Mark Jantzi

(Message given Saturday afternoon at the Sonlight Gospel Conference, Illinois July 1997.)

I just have two scripture passages that speak to this difficult question that has been asked here: “How do we know the truth?”

In John 18, Pilate was questioning Jesus and asked, “Are You really a king?” Jesus answered Pilate and He said, “My kingdom is not of this world.” So Jesus continues here to preach the kingdom right up into the time of His death. Even trying to get Pilate, the man who has the power and who will carry out that power to sentence Him to death—this is longsuffering! Amen. Jesus turned to Pilate and He said, “…For this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. EVERY ONE THAT IS OF THE TRUTH HEARETH MY VOICE.” What Jesus is saying here to Pilate is that, “NOT EVERYONE IS OF THE TRUTH! YOU WILL KNOW THE TRUTH, IF YOU ARE OF THE TRUTH. IF YOU HAVE A HEART FOR TRUTH, YOU WILL LAY HOLD ON TRUTH.”

The first time I heard this word of the Kingdom, it was contrary to my former teaching, and it shook me! It blew me away! Yet, there was a thing in me that wanted truth, and I went back and I dug into the Word—with a heart of truth!

I remembered hearing a brother say one time, “Take off your ‘Scofield glasses,’ and then look at the Word through glasses of clarity.” Amen! You know what I mean when I say that. Do not seek through “colored vision” of some other influence that you have had, but seek it with a heart of truth.

[“Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice”]

That is the final word that Jesus said. Paul added one more thing to that in 2 Thessalonians 2, when he was talking about this coming of the “man of sin.” This whole chapter speaks of this time of great deception that will come upon the whole world. I remember when I began to hear about this great deception, that it caused me great trembling within my heart, and I asked God, “How can I know that I will not be taken by deception? We see so many people that have been deceived; people that have been deceived and have gotten into cults, people who have somehow been deceived and have gotten into Babylon.” I asked, “Why God? Why are they deceived?” “Why am I not there, and why am I here instead of there?”

We all have to go through these questions sometime or another in our life. “How do I know that the thing that I am following is not deception?” Now, we need to ask it, and yet we need to come to a “knowledge of truth.” Somebody read the verse (2 Timothy 3:7) where it speaks of, “Ever learning, but never coming to the knowledge of the truth.”

Brethren, I want to say this, that it is the examination of the heart that is going to keep you from deception! Paul spoke here in 2 Thessalonians 2,

“Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition… Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; BECAUSE THEY RECEIVED NOT THE LOVE OF THE TRUTH, THAT THEY MIGHT BE SAVED. AND FOR THIS CAUSE GOD SHALL SEND THEM STRONG DELUSION, THAT THEY SHOULD BELIEVE A LIE: That they all might be damned WHO BELIEVED NOT THE TRUTH, BUT HAD PLEASURE IN UNRIGHTEOUSNESS.”

So then, not only the world but we brethren here are at a crucial point here today. Ces speaks of this “point of separation” that has come upon us, and we know that Jesus is a “separator” (Refs. Matthew 10:34-36, Luke 12:51-53). We will speak on that later if we get a chance, but the issue here is: THEY THAT HAVE A HEART OF TRUTH—THEY ARE THOSE WHO WILL RECEIVE TRUTH. AMEN!