Bullets for the Battle

The Bullet of Truth: What Truth?

The marble dedication stone on the library of my alma mater is engraved with the words, “The Truth Shall Make You Free.” As a bewildered freshman I thought to myself, “That’s really a great thought. I wonder who said it?” About a year later I ran across the statement in its full context. I was shocked. Jesus said it in John 8:31-32. I had been a Christian for less than two years, and the New Testament was very new to me. I shall never forget this wonderful discovery. Listen to the full statement: “Then Jesus spoke to some Jews who had believed in Him. If you continue in My Word, you are My true disciples, and you will know the Truth, and the Truth shall make you free.” Jesus is saying that it’s not just truth but THE TRUTH about Himself that frees a man up! In other words, the truth that should matter most to man is the Truth about Jesus who walked the earth as God in the flesh … in John 14:6, Jesus said, “I am the way, THE TRUTH and the life …”

Truth is defined as that which conforms to fact or reality. Mankind has learned the truth about many things, but Jesus says the great truth to learn, above all others, is the truth about the God/Man relationship. Man can learn the truth about how to make money, how to fix an engine, how to use electricity, how to prevent polio, etc., but it still isn’t enough truth to pull a man over his deepest needs, desires and problems. There is still a vacuum, an emptiness.