How to Seek the Truth

Bible Study with Dr. Chuck Missler


The biggest obstacle to seeking the truth is to believe we already have it. When we are convinced that we "already know," our minds are thus shut off to hear anything that would contradict it.


Where's the problem in that?


Well, when we truly know the truth, that can seem to be fine. I know what I know is the truth, so why should I have to listen to the falsehoods coming out of other people's mouths? The problem with this is selfishness. If you do know the truth, and this other person doesn't and is fighting you on it, would it not be more loving if you could guide him to the truth?


Alternatively, if we don't actually know the truth, but we think we do, then we're in a pretty dangerous predicament, aren't we? We stop listening because we think we're right, and so we become our own biggest obstacles to realizing the truth!



Jesus opened and closed His sermons by warning us not to be deceived. How do we make sure we're not deceived?



1. Always LISTEN. Stop judging.


2. Test EVERYTHING. The Truth will stand any test. If we think we know the truth, then we should not be afraid to test the validity of that truth. Often times, we get offended when people doubt us because we find ourselves unable to defend our position. So, instead of getting offended, we need to realize that our inability to defend our position is the root of the problem, and we need to fix that. By refusing to listen, by refusing to consider other people's perspectives, we are not convincing anyone that what we think we know is in fact a truth.


Christians, we know God is the Absolute Truth. And so, in addition to the two points above, we can do the following to ensure we're not deceived when seeking the truth:


3. Establish the integrity of the Word of God


4. Establish the identity of the principle figure, Jesus




Below are two examples of how we can establish the integrity of God's Word:


Example 1
The integrity of God's Design: Genesis (in the beginning) vs. Revelation (in the end)


Genesis: Earth was created
Revelation: Earth is passed away


Genesis 1: The sun was made to govern the day; darkness was called night; waters was called seas
Revelation: There is no need for a sun anymore; there is no night; there is no more sea


Genesis 37: Earth's government is Israel
Revelation 16: Earth's judgment of Israel


Genesis 2: There is a river for the blessing
Revelation 22: There is a river for the new earth


Genesis 1: Man in God's image was declared
Revelation: 13: Man is headed by Satan's image


Genesis 3: Sin enters
Revelation 21: Sin ends


Genesis 3: The curse was pronounced
Revelation 22: There is no more curse


Genesis 3: Death entered
Revelation 21: There is no more death


Genesis 3: Man is driven out of Eden
Revelation 22: Man is restored


Genesis 3: The tree of life is guarded
Revelation 22: The right to the tree of life is re-established


Genesis 3: Sorrow and suffering enters
Revelation 22: There is no more sorrow


Genesis 10: Nimrod founds Babylon
Revelation 17-18: Babylon falls


Genesis 6-9: God sends a flood to destroy the evil generation
Revelation 12: Satan's flood will destroy the God's elect generation


Genesis 9: A bowl was given as a token of the establishment of God's covenant
Revelation 4, 10: The Bowl for Remembrance is established


Genesis 13: Sodom and Egypt represent corruption and government
Revelation 11: Sodom and Egypt are used as a description of Jerusalem


Genesis 14: A confederation fights against Abraham's people
Revelation 12: Satan fights against Abraham's seed


Genesis 24: A bride was found for Abraham's son
Revelation 21: A bride was found for Abraham's seed


Genesis 2: Marriage of the first Adam
Revelation 19: Marriage of the last Adam


Genesis 3: man's dominion ceased and Satan's began  
Revelation 22: Satan's domain ends and man's is restored


Everything that began in Genesis is finished and tied off explicitly and climaxed in Revelation.


Example 2
The Book of Joshua is an anticipatory outline of Revelation


Joshua: Joshua was a warrior dispossessing the land of the usurpers
Revelation: Jesus is the Warrior dispossessing Earth of the usurpers


Joshua 2: Two spies were sent in advance to scout out Jericho prior to Joshua's attack
Revelation 11: Two witnesses will be sent in advance to preach the Word of God prior to the releasing of the 3rd woe


Joshua 6:10: Trumpets blown followed by silence prior to judgment
Revelation 8:1: Trumpets will be blown followed by silence prior to judgment


Joshua 5:13-15: Jesus was the one fighting in the battle of Jericho
Revelation 19: Jesus will conquer Satan and return as the King of kings




For those who have not yet found the Absolute Truth, the world would be very confusing.


Why?


You don't know if there is an absolute truth. You have no standard to measure anything people claim to be truth against. You are therefore extremely vulnerable to deception. You don't know what to believe because you don't know what is true.


One of the best deceptions is to convince you that there is no absolute truth. If there is no absolute truth, then you can go ahead and do whatever it is that you deem right. Whatever sounds right must be right. And so, those who want to manipulate you, all they have to do is to make sure they make it sound right to you, and they have you in their bag to do their bidding.


Other than the obvious problem that not knowing the truth opens yourself up to vulnerability, there is another problem with the argument that there is no absolute truth. People who tell you there is no absolute truth, they just told you that as an absolute truth! The statement, "there is no absolute truth" simply cannot stand alone! You can see how things just start spiraling into chaos from here.


The fact that we reason, and the fact that physics work, the fact that there is order in this world (and I'm not just talking about social order but scientific order as well) all point to the presence of absolute truths. They exist, and I would urge you to find them. Ultimately, this collection of absolute truths leads to THE Absolute Truth: the existence of God.


I will not dwell on this here and instead point you to excellent starting materials so that you can start this exploratory journey yourself:
1. The Bible
2. The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel


Test the Bible against the Koran, the Book of Mormon, Buddhism, etc. Think logically and demand proof. I've done the work, and I'm certain once you have, you would come to the irrefutable conclusion that ONLY the Bible speaks the Absolute Truth.


For the Christians, we should therefore have no doubt in our minds that the Bible is God-breathed, and it is THE GOLDEN STANDARD that we measure everything else against it. God is perfect, and He has never been wrong, nor will He ever be. Based on the perfect fulfillment of past prophecies, we therefore have complete confidence that future prophecies will be perfectly fulfilled as well.


The whole point of this post is to bring forth the idea that we need to be confident about what we know. We should never just take what people say for granted, because if we follow people's words blindly, who do we have to blame but ourselves if we end up in a horrible situation?


We should never assume what we know to be the truth unless we have tested the validity of it ourselves. For the Christians, reading and understanding the Bible is thus critical, because we obtain God's wisdom through such studies.


When we cannot defend our position, it's because we do not know enough. When people expose our inadequate understanding (be it innocently or maliciously), do not be let them offend us. It should be a humbling reminder for us to go back to the Bible and fill in the holes in our understanding. And should similar discussions pop up in the future, we would be better equipped to defend the Truth. Knowing the Truth is one of the ways to make sure our Armor of God (Ephesians 6) remains strong against the attack of Satan and those who follow him and those who are blindly deceived by him.