The Truth Is Out There?

"And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." (John 8:32; NKJV)

If there's anything I've learned (and noticed) while serving the Lord is there is just a whole lot of mis-appropriation, application and interpretation of the Bible (God's Word).

Take for instance the above verse. How many of you have heard, "And you shall know the truth and the truth shall make (set) you free"? Have you heard that quoted? Rarely is it spoken of, referred to in it's context (immediate and/or in view of the entirety of the Scriptures). Usually, it's stated randomly ~ like somehow the truth is "out there" (kind of like Fox Mulder looking for extra-terrestrial life in the X-Files) and it'll somehow find you (the truth, not aliens) via some sort of new age cosmic osmosis.

The Bible says nothing of the sort.

If we would know the truth that makes us free, there's only one way for that to happen. It's actually a conditional promise whereby a condition must first be met for the result to take place. That condition is found in the verse prior to "And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." That verse is John 8:31 where Jesus says, "If you abide (or continue) in My word, you are My disciples indeed." (John 8:31; NKJV) Then and only then comes: "And you shall know the truth and the truth shall make (set) you free." Do you see that? "If you abide in My word" comes first.

Abiding in Christ's Word ~ it's equal to abiding in Jesus Himself. (John 15:4) And it's the proof that we are His disciples. "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed." "Abiding" is an initial transaction (the salvation experience) and then an ongoing progression (the sanctification process). It includes not only the intake (reading the Bible, studying and meditating on it, etc), but the outworking ~ the living out in our lives what the Scripture says (what God tells us to do or not do).

Let me say it again. Then and only then (with the "abiding" in place) comes: "And you shall know the truth and the truth shall make (set) you free."

UFOs, Little Green Men and Bible Interpretation

“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” (2 Timothy 2:15; KJV)

The Bible. God’s Word. The sword of the Spirit. The “word of truth.” The Lord’s holy book goes by many names.

And you can prove anything with the Scriptures, my friends. Did you realize that? You can prove anything with the Bible. What do you need to prove? ******* Some people believe in ETs and space aliens. And even the Bible backs these beliefs! It really does! (So they say.) Like when Elijah was taken to heaven in a chariot. That really wasn’t what you thought it was. Instead, it was an alien abduction. ******* And what of the wheels/discs that the prophet Ezekiel saw in his vision? Or the "star" the Wisemen followed? Yep. Did you guess it? ******* They were flying saucers. ******* And then - do you really think our Lord went to heaven on a cloud when He ascended from the Mount of Olives? No way. He, too, ala the "X-Files" of a few years back, was stolen away by little green men. *******

Which brings us to the very important subject of interpreting the Bible. And the art of interpretation, beloved – you really do need to have it in your head what is a reasonable approach to extracting the meaning from the Word of God as opposed to imposing your own meaning upon it. Do you know there’s a difference? (The big words in Bible school are “exegesis” versus “iesegesis.”) And a great start to correctly interpreting the Bible is when you understand the Bible itself is a useful tool for interpretation. And there are thousands of commentaries out there – Amen? - but did you know what the best commentary on the Bible is? Did you know it’s the Bible? The Bible really is a commentary on itself. Do you have a good commentary? If you have a Bible you do! And so the next time you need to interpret a verse or passage or chapter you should search the Scriptures for relevant portions that speak to the same topic and find out what they have to say which then you’ll have a good idea especially when it comes to some of the more challenging issues. To sum it up, my brothers and sisters, let the Bible interpret the Bible. When you do, you’ll find your understanding of God’s Word going in the right direction. And you’ll come to realize the UFOs and little green men you thought you saw in the Scriptures weren’t really there after all.