Tom Burke

October 2008
© 2008 Scriptural Study Groups.  All Rights Reserved.

As we endeavor to make known Christ in this dark and lost world, we sometimes encounter those who refer to themselves as “seekers after truth.” Many of these people appear to be sincere and dedicated, and perhaps they actually are what they claim to be. Regardless, this is a title that can no longer apply to those of us who have believed on Jesus Christ and have come to know God’s Word. For us, the search is over. We are no longer seeking truth: we have found it.

If this sounds arrogant, consider the words of our Lord Jesus Christ.

John 17:17
Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.

What an amazingly bold statement! Jesus did not say that God’s Word was simply a part of the truth. He did not say that it was the “entry” into truth. And he certainly did not say that it was one of many truths. God’s Word is truth, period.

And that truth is not hard to find!

Romans 10:8
But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach.

This is too easy for some. They want truth to be hidden on a distant mountaintop or buried on a desert island. And they will pass right by the truth, because the ease of its discovery leaves them with nothing to brag about.

However, the very availability of the truth is a testimony to the love of our Heavenly Father. He wants us to know His Word.

I Timothy 2: 3, 4
For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour;
Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.

All of the above leads to a very simple question: once we have found the truth, what are we to do with it? The answer can be found, among other places, in Jeremiah.

Jeremiah 15:16
Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O LORD God of hosts.

Obviously, Jeremiah is not suggesting that we eat our Bibles! The illustration here is masterful: God wants us to read His Word, but even more, to be nourished by it, to digest it, as one would do with physical food. In this way, God’s Word becomes more to us than simple information – it becomes life itself.

Matthew 4:4
But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

This Word is our joy and our life because it is by means of the Word, and only by means of the Word, that man can know God. It is for this reason that we want to become unashamed workmen who “rightly divide the word of truth” [II Timothy 2:15]. We want to be like the Bereans who “searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so” [Acts 17:11].

Having heard God’s Word, we are no longer searching for the truth. But a new search has begun: a search within the truth.

In addition, searching God’s Word will enable us to realize who we now are and what we now have as God’s sons and daughters. He has given His Word (and ministries to teach His Word) so that we can grow up!

Ephesians 4:14
That we henceforth be no more children [infants, babies], tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive.

Any of you who are parents have experienced the fact that little children are fickle. They love novelty but are quickly bored. (Remember that time on vacation …?) Sadly, and unnecessarily, far too many Christians are in the same state spiritually. And the world is full of those who are deliberately seeking to deceive them.

Astonishingly, when Christians such as these encounter a brother or sister who is “eating” God’s Word, the unexpected often occurs: instead of asking for help, they accuse the knowledgeable Christian of worshipping the Bible, rather than God!

My only response to such a foolish accusation would be, “How do you know the God whom you claim to worship?”

Perhaps they need to more deeply consider these words of Jesus Christ:

John 8:31b, 32
If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;
And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

Thankfully, many of us are endeavoring to continue in the Word, and are, in turn, being set free in ways which we never imagined were truly possible. We have abandoned the search for truth. But we have begun a new search – a search within the truth. We search deeply, daily, and humbly, and are vastly rewarded thereby.

And, when we encounter those who are truly seeking after truth, we are now able to help them end their search, and begin a new one.