How do you know you are believing the truth? Part 1
John 18:38 Pilate saith unto him, What is truth? And when he had said this, he went out again unto the
Jews, and saith unto them, I find in him no fault at all.
Introduction
Pilate said to Jesus, "What is truth?"
That is a good question. There are many different religions in this world that teach a certain truth. How
do you know which is the truth?
In the Bible we read that Jesus said to his disciples, "I am the way the truth and the life." John 14:6 AND
"thy word is truth." John 17:17
So truth is Jesus Christ and truth is found in God's word.
People say, "There are many ways to get to heaven."
NO. There is one way to get to heaven and that's through Jesus Christ and Him alone.
Acts 4:12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given
among men, whereby we must be saved.
1 John 5:12 He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.
Either Jesus is living in you or He's not. If Jesus isn't living in you then
you don’t have the truth
you aren't saved and
you aren't going to heaven. Note: Salvation isn't in things it’s in the person of Jesus Christ.
Some people think that only the Baptists are going to heaven. That's not true at all. Many churches
teach the true and right way of salvation.
What is that truth? Salvation is by Christ and Him alone without mixture of works.
Ephesians 2:8,9 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Not of works, lest any man should boast.
Is there anything that would make us believe that the Bible and Jesus Christ are the truth? What about
other religions like Bhuddism, Confucianism, Islam, Zoroastrianism, or Judaism? What about people like
Socrates, Plato, Karl Marx and Sigmund Freud. Didn't they teach the truth? How do you know what is
the real truth?
Let's look at some reasons to believe that Jesus Christ our Lord is the true way.
I. Everything is Dated by Jesus Christ
Matthew 2:1 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold,
there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,
The Bible teaches us that Jesus was born about 2000 years ago in the town of Bethlehem.
Did you know that if you have a coin made in Canada there is a date stamped on it? Let's say the date on
the coin is 2007. That date is the year 2007 AD.
AD actually stands for the Latin phrase anno domini which means "in the year of our Lord."
BC stands for "before Christ."
The purpose of the BC/AD dating system was to make the birth of Jesus Christ the dividing point of
world history. (One must realize that when the BC/AD system was being calculated, they actually made a
mistake in pinpointing the year of Jesus' birth. Scholars later discovered that Jesus was actually born in
around 4-6 BC.)
That is not the crucial issue. The birth, life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Christ are the "turning
points" in world history.
That means History is HIS story.
History is a story whose central focus is Jesus Christ. That is consistent with the Bible, our authority of all
truth. God used the word us so that we would know it was NOT just God the Father doing the creative
work but also God the Son and Holy Spirit.
From the beginning of the world, Jesus had a prominent part in history. See also Col 1:13-16. It is fitting,
therefore, that Jesus Christ is the separation of old and new.
BC was "before Christ" and since His birth, AD means "in the year of our Lord."
Now, if you go to South Korea they have the "won" but the dates on their money are dated according to
the birth of Jesus Christ NOT Bhudda or Confucius.
In Japan they have the "yen" but their money also uses the BC/AD dating system.
In Russia they have the ruble but their date is based on the BC/AD dating system. They were
communists for many years but still used dates based on Christ's birth.
You visit any country in the world and they use the BC/AD dating system in some shape or form. I'd say
the Lord Jesus Christ has had an impact on this world.
Listen! Anyone knows the approximate year of Christ's birth just by looking at the year of the calendar.
You can't say that for any other founder of any other religion. Do the people of the world know when
Bhudda was born? I'd say only a handful of intellects in this world know that.
But the common man on the street would be able to tell how long ago Jesus was born.People aren't
even sure when Zoraster lived let alone when he was born.
How about Marx, Lennon, Freud or Sun Myung Moon?
The fact that historical dates are given based on the BC/AD system shows that Jesus had a greater
impact than any of the founders of the other religions.
II. Fulfilled Prophesies by Enemies
Matthew 2:1 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold,
there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,
When the wise men wanted to know where Jesus was born, they went to Herod the king who consulted
the chief priests and scribes. It was then found in the scriptures (Mic. 5:2) that Jesus was to be born in
Bethlehem and that is exactly where they found Jesus.
Micah 5:2 But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out
of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel...
Isaiah prophesied that Jesus would be called Emmanuel meaning "God with us". Is. 9:14
Daniel prophesied the time of Jesus' death. Dan. 9:25
No other prophet fulfilled as many clear, detailed prophesies as Jesus Christ. No other religion can claim
so many prophesies for their founder. No one even prophesied about Bhudda or Socrates or Zoraster or
Sun Myung Moon before they were born. The prophesies of Jesus show us that we have the truth.
There are many prophesies concerning Jesus' passion and death. What makes this more spectacular is
that they were fulfilled by His enemies. Many of them were fulfilled while Christ's enemies were trying
to destroy Him.
Consider the prophesy of Zech 9:9. We read a prophesy about the Messiah riding into Jerusalem on an
ass and upon a colt. This was fulfilled in Matt 21:4,5. Now people might say that Jesus could have set
this up so that the scripture was fulfilled.
But what about other prophesies that were fulfilled?
1. He would be sold for 30 pieces of silver. Zech 11:12,13
Jesus' enemies could have looked up this prophesy in the scriptures and given Judas anything but 30
pieces. Then Jesus couldn't have claimed to be the Christ. But that didn't happen. The prophesy was
fulfilled by Christ's enemies. Matt 26:15
2. It was prophesied that Jesus would be pierced in his hands and feet and not have a bone broken. Ps.
22:16 & 34:20.
The Jewish way of putting someone to death was usually by stoning. Lev. 24:16
If the Jews had stoned Jesus his hands and feet would NOT have been pierced and his bones would have
been broken. That would have broken two prophesies. BUT the Jews didn't stone Jesus. Jesus was
handed over to the Romans who used crucifixion as the means of putting criminals to death. Not only
that but not a bone was broken according to the prophesy. John 19:15&33
3. The scriptures prophesied that Jesus would
be given gall and vinegar to drink. Ps 69:21
have his back smitten, have his beard plucked, and be spit upon. Is 50:6
4. The scriptures prophesied that at his death his garments would be parted among his enemies and
they would cast lots for his vesture. Ps. 22:18
These two detailed prophesies were fulfilled perfectly. John 19:24,25.
All these his enemies did in fulfillment of Old Testament prophesy. They could have gotten together and
kept from doing these things in order to discredit Jesus as the Messiah. But they didn't. All the
prophesies came to pass in the person of Jesus Christ.
You can't say that about any other religious leader or prophet. There over 10 clear, specific, detailed
prophesies which were fulfilled by Christ's enemies at the time of his death.In addition, several were
fulfilled when Jesus was conceived in the womb of His mother. What's more, they were all fulfilled to
the detail.
I'd say that is pretty good evidence that Jesus is the truth and the Bible shows us truth.
Summary:
The BC/AD dating system shows we have the truth.
The fulfilled prophesies show we have the truth.
III. Numerous Songs Written About Jesus
Ephesians 5:19 Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making
melody in your heart to the Lord;
Acts 16:25 And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard
them.
Christians are one of the few people who sing while under persecution. They have a melody in their
hearts no matter where they are or what kind of predicament they find themselves.
Something else that is unique about the Christian faith:
They have a lot of songs written about their founder Jesus Christ, their Lord and Saviour.
Ps 95:1 O come, let us sing unto the LORD: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.
Believers in Christ sure love to sing to their Lord. Do you hear people of other faiths singing with joy to
their "god" or "gods"? I've heard people in some religions chant, moan and howl. Often they don't do
this with much joy.
What kind of songs are written to the gods of other religions? Have you ever heard a song about Allah or
Ahura Mazda or Socrates? If you search the libraries of the world you will find thousands of songs about
Jesus. One website had 10,000 Christian hymns listed, many of which are about Jesus Christ. What other
person has that many songs written about him or her? What founder of a religion has even 50 songs
written about him/her?
Furthermore, in the malls they play Silent Night and Away in a Manger. What other songs written over a
hundred years ago are still played consistently year after year? Songs like Amazing Grace and Rock of
Ages have been heard by people all over the world.
Psalm 40:3 And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and
fear, and shall trust in the LORD.
Christians are known for their singing. There are choirs that travel the world over singing Christian
songs. I've heard of some singing groups from Africa and Europe and America and Korea. Another thing
to note is that the song, Jesus Loves Me has been translated into many, many languages. What song
from the other religions can claim that?
You know you have the truth when so many people write songs of joy about the One upon which they
put their faith and those songs have touched the hearts of millions of people the world over.
Colossians 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one
another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.
The songs of the Christians also agree perfectly with their holy book, the Bible. The chorus for the hymn
I know Whom I have Believed is directly taken from the Bible.
There are numerous songs straight out of the Bible that have been put to music. What other religion in
the world has so many songs which complement their holy book?
Ever hear of songs which are taken out of the book of Mormon? or the Koran? or from Confucius'
sayings?
Do some research and see if there are any and how many there are.
Now there are songs about Jesus that aren't in hymn books and you can add those to the list of songs
about Jesus. Christians are continually writing songs about Jesus and their love for Him. Let me repeat,
Christians are still writing songs about Jesus so the number is growing every day. It seems obvious that
Christians are people with the most joy and the most to sing about.
Songs are expressions of joy, contentment and satisfaction.
Songs are expressions of the heart and Christians sing a lot of songs about Jesus.
That tells you something about what they believe.
Conclusion
Are you wanting to know how we know that Jesus is the truth and the Bible shows us the truth?
We know we have the truth because:
Every person no matter what they believe uses the BC/AD dating system which is based on the birth of
Christ.
Clear, detailed prophesies about Jesus Christ have been fulfilled, and many of those were fufilled by His
enemies.
There are thousands and thousands of songs written about Jesus and the number is growing. Christians
certainly have something in their hearts to sing about.
How about you?
Do you have a song in your heart about Jesus?
Would you want such a heart?
Why don’t you receive Him as your Saviour today?