Discovering Truth: From Skeptic to Believer – A Journey through the Power of the Word

Christian Living

A Lie Has Many Variations, the Truth None – African proverb.

I’ve never been one to believe what I hear without first asking questions. I pursue the truth relentlessly and am, by nature, a skeptic.

skeptic – a person inclined to question or doubt all accepted opinions

Success in discerning the truth depends on receiving reliable information, and information is only as good as its source. Trustworthy sources are hard to find. Sources twist the truth to fit what they think the “truth” should be until, eventually, the “truth” becomes a lie. Frustrating, yes. Knowing this, I started asking myself: how do I tell the difference between a truth and a lie? Is there one source of truth? If so, what is it? The answers to these questions surprised me and moved me from a truth skeptic to a true believer.

ONE SOURCE OF ALL TRUTH

There is one source for all truth. That is a BOLD statement. Being a skeptic, I found this hard to believe. But consider for a moment that if what I say is true, then the truth is knowable! This one source of truth would serve as the unchanging measure by which we could weigh everything we hear to determine whether it is the truth or a lie. We could live our lives by this truth.

This source exists. It is the inspired Word of God – the Bible. The Bible tells the truth about God, about me, and you. It has the answer to any question or moral dilemma we might face. Although the Bible was written over a period of 1,500 years by 40 authors with very different backgrounds on three different continents, it tells one story with one central message: God’s redemption of man. It is the living Word and has the power to transform lives – I know it transformed mine

TRUTH OR FICTION?

I haven’t always believed in this source. As a teenager, I read the Bible as a story – an instructional story that was meant to teach valuable moral lessons. I didn’t believe that Moses parted the Red Sea or that Jesus turned water into wine. The idea of God raising someone from the dead seemed ridiculous to me. A good story, yes, but likely untrue. These things were foolish to me. You see, human wisdom and pride kept me from even considering that the Bible might be true – that its message may have saving power.

For me to begin contemplating the whole Jesus, God, Bible thing, I needed the Bible to be a legitimate source of truth. I needed to hear logical arguments for why the Bible is true. Now, don’t get me wrong…

I’m not saying that I came to Christ through logical arguments, but hearing them allowed my intellect to consider the Bible as a legitimate source of truth and ultimately believe its message.

Without this permission, my brain kept my heart from responding to the Gospel, and the message of Christ continued to be lost on me.

SKEPTIC TO BELIEVER

My transformation from skeptic to believer was not instantaneous. Before I could accept Jesus Christ as the Lord of my life, I had to believe that the Bible was true – that it accurately reflected the story of man and, ultimately, of Jesus. For so long, the truth was hidden from me by human wisdom. Thank God that He did not give up on me. He used human wisdom to present arguments that made sense to me and began to poke holes in the lies that blinded me from the truth. He brought people and resources into my life that met me where I was.

At some point in my pursuit of truth, I remember thinking that my life would forever be changed if the Bible really was true. If God really created the earth by speaking, if He really raised Jesus from the dead, He is a powerful God, and I want to know Him! I don’t know the exact moment I knew that the Bible was true, but the consequences of this revelation were staggering. My life was forever changed. Believing that God was big enough to part the seas, turn water into wine, and raise Jesus from the dead gave my life purpose. The desire to know God through His Word burned in me. Since then, I have continuously searched for more of God’s truth. I can’t get enough. The truth set me free. The truth sets us all free.

PRAYER

Thank You, God, that your Word is true and Has given us a way to the Truth. Thank you also for each person reading this. Holy Spirit, speak to them where they are today and guide them to Your Truth. In Jesus’ precious name, Amen.