The Importance of Truth
　
Some people teach that it does not matter what you believe in religion, as long as you're sincere. Others say, "One faith is as good as another." But if it really did not matter what you believe, then truth would be worthless! A man who believed error would be just as well off as a man who believed the truth.
In John 8:32 Jesus said: "You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." Jesus thought that truth was very important. He said we must know the truth, because it can make us free. Free from what? Verse 34 shows that He was talking about freedom from sin. But if truth is necessary to free us from sin, then how could we please God if we believe error instead of truth?
In Matthew 7:15 Jesus warned: "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves." No one wants to learn that he has been misled by a false teacher, but Jesus warned us to beware of this very thing. Why would He warn us if there were no danger? 1 John 4:1 says we should examine religious teachings closely because "many false prophets have gone out into the world."
Often today one religious teacher will teach one thing and then another will teach just the opposite. How can both be right? How can we know which is telling the truth and which is speaking error? God gave us the Bible exactly for this reason. Like the Bereans in Acts 17:11, we should "search the scriptures daily" to learn if we are being taught the truth.
To please God, we must know the truth, and that truth is found in God's word.
For more information on this subject, please visit our Bible Instruction web site at www.gospelway.com/instruct/ and study our in-depth articles there about the importance of Bible study, how to study the Bible, and the danger of human authority in religion.
　
(c) Copyright David E. Pratte, 2/5/2005
Permission to use as written in the terms of gospelway.com webpage.
