“You’re wasting your time. Religious truth is whatever makes you feel better. Whatever your personal beliefs are is just fine as long as you keep them to yourself. That is just your ‘interpretation.’”
Phrases like these abound throughout conversations with friends and family all over the world. Many try to dismiss the attempt to make any truth claim when it comes to spiritual matters. So, the question is, “Why does it matter to know truths about God?” Is one wasting one’s time to even begin such a journey of discovery? Why does it matter that we know God is the Creator? Why does it matter that we understand God has revealed Himself in His handiwork, in His Word (the Bible), and in His Son Jesus? Why should we care that God has revealed His triune nature throughout the unfolding of redemptive history? Why study theology?
The first answer to all of these objections has to be that truth matters. We live in a time and culture where most people believe that truth is relative; that is, that truth is whatever you want it to be. However, from a biblical worldview this is not a tenable position.
Followers of Christ must hold that truth is objective because we have an objective standard, the Bible. Therefore, we believe that truth can be known because of God’s self-revelation, and that we should desire and strive to know that truth as much as humanly possible.
Secondly, if human beings are in the state of sin, which the Bible tells us that we are, and that we can do nothing to rectify this problem by ourselves, then we need to know what God has done for us. Only the true God can save you from your sins.
Many people claim to know God and even say that Jesus is their savior. The question is, “which Jesus are you talking about?” The Apostle Paul states, “For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one, we proclaimed… you put up with it readily enough.” (1 Corinthians 11:4) Paul is concerned when people say that they believe in Jesus but the one they believe in is not the true Jesus.
Imagine I come to you proclaiming myself to be the president of the United States. What would you say to me? Perhaps I even told you that my name was Donald Trump. Would you accept me as the president? I don’t think so. You would recognize that even if I use that title and name of the president. We are different people and our characteristics makes that clear.
It must be discovered through the details and characteristics of who we are talking about. Is Jesus the Son of God or simply a traveling moralistic teacher?
Is Jesus God in the flesh or a created being? Fundamental questions must be considered as to the character and nature of the Jesus we are talking about, because only one Jesus can save you, the Jesus proclaimed and revealed in the Bible.
Finally, only the true Triune God of the Bible can bring you peace and comfort in this broken world. People everywhere are daily dealing with and struggling through a multitude of issues. People killing one another, children being abused and abandoned and relationships torn apart are all frequent occurrences in a world that is living out the consequences of sin.
Through all the stress and strain we long for peace. We long to bring peace and comfort to our friends and family members who are going through instances of these calamities. This desire causes us to reach out to others.
Often you hear people say they are sending “good thoughts” or “vibes” to the person. Although these people have the best of intentions and truly care about others, the facts remains that your thoughts and “vibes” do nothing for that person. If you really care about someone, you will fall on your knees before the only Sovereign and plead for mercy and grace.
Why is it important to know truths about God? Because knowing the true God brings peace. Jesus tells His followers, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives you, I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” (John 14:27)
You see, Jesus brings a peace to the hearts of His people that the world can never bring. He brings a comfort that is alien to us, a comfort that gives us the ability to move forward in life no matter the circumstances we find ourselves in.
A false Jesus cannot do this, a false ideology cannot do this, only God can. This is yet another reason that we desire to know and follow Him.
Truth matters. That is why it should be our life-long pursuit to know God as He truly is, as He has revealed Himself.
Knowledge of spiritual things should not puff us up in arrogance but should humble us to know we serve a living God who cares about us. Truth breaks the heart of the proud and heals the heart of the humble.
I encourage you, dear reader, to join me on this pursuit and desire of knowing the truth of God.
