How Can I Find Truth?

Unfortunately, many people in the world today view Christianity as a “blind leap of faith.” Many members of denominations, and even some in the Lord’s church, believe, not because they are convicted, but because their pastor/preacher has told them what they should do. People live by the rule “one church is as good as another.” Some even think that humanity can never come to unity because the Bible cannot be properly interpreted. In the midst of these false ideas, the Biblical view is that you can know the truth of what to believe (John 8:32). The Bible shows that there is only one way to Heaven, and Christ is that way (John 14:6). The Bereans display how one can believe the truth (Acts 17:10-12).

These Bereans were not believers in Christ or the New Testament. When Paul and Silas came to Berea in Acts 17:10, these Jews met Paul in the synagogue where they would normally be on a sabbath. These Jews were men who had not heard about Jesus, but they followed the Old Testament. So, when Paul, Silas, and Timothy were teaching them about Jesus, it was foreign to what they considered truth. The Old Testament clearly showed that a Messiah was coming (Isaiah 7:14; 53; etc.), but these Jews did not yet know that this Messiah had come. When Paul taught these men, there were two important things they did: they received the Word with a ready mind and searched the Scriptures daily.

When these noble Bereans received the Word, they did so with a ready mind. This detail is often overlooked, but absolutely imperative to understand. Before one will ever find the truth, he must have an open mind. If someone comes to the Bible with the preconceived notion that they are already right, they will find any amount of evidence to support that belief and cling to it regardless of the facts. So many people keep a closed mind about the Bible because they think they are right. This thinking leads to death (Proverbs 14:12). These Bereans did not prematurely decide whether Paul was right or wrong but were eager to learn the truth of the matter based on the facts. This open-minded approach, which follows the evidence wherever it leads, is essential to their belief.

Not only did they have an open and willing mind, but they also searched the Scriptures daily. This is important because they wanted to ensure they were following God. They were not interested in what Paul had to say because Paul was the one who said it, but because it was according to the Scriptures. There are many false teachers who teach damnable doctrines (Gal. 1:7-9), and those who follow them will share in their destruction (2 Peter 2:1-2). These people knew that God is the standard (Psalm 119:105; 2 Timothy 3:15-17), and that man is not (Jeremiah 10:23). These Jews wanted to make sure that what Paul was saying was according to God’s Word, and not man’s word.

The Bereans heard the Word of God preached to them by Paul; they had a ready and eager mind for it; and they searched the Scriptures to find out if what they were saying was true. The result of these three things was their belief in the truth (Acts 17:12). This was not blind belief but one grounded in facts and evidence. They were very studious in the Bible, ensuring that every word was true.

There is much religious confusion today, with so many people thinking they cannot find the truth. Clearly, however, the truth can be found (John 8:32). If we want to find the truth today, we must be like the Bereans. We must hear the true Word of God (Romans 10:17). When we hear it, we must have an open mind that is eager to find out what God has to say, not man (Psalm 119:18). And we must test what we hear by the Scriptures (1 John 4:1; 2 Timothy 2:15). If we do all of these things, then we can know the truth and let it set us free (John 8:32).