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God wants everyone to know the truth—about the one true God, the one Mediator, and the one Church established by Christ for man’s salvation.
TRUTH POSSESSES an instrumental value as it leads us to fruitful actions. We need the truth about the world in order to survive. On the other hand, believing in what is not true—consciously or otherwise—usually disposes us to failure and may even cost us our life.
Although truth appears like something people naturally or intuitively understand, surprisingly, many find it hard to define. In fact, “every definition of truth that philosophers have developed” ironically “falls prey to the question, ‘Is it true?’” (philosophynews.com).
People may never unanimously come up with a faultless technical definition of “truth” but all tend to agree that man ought to adhere to what is true. As one writer puts it, “I preferred a hard truth to a well-meant lie.”
The Bible refers to the Almighty Father as the “God of truth” (Ps. 31:5 New King James Version) and “full of grace and truth” (John 1:14 nkjv). Accordingly, “those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth” (John 4:24 nkjv).
Praying to the Father for His disciples, the Lord Jesus said, “Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth” (John 17:17 nkjv). God’s true servants thus consider His words as the basis of truth that leads to true faith and salvation.
The Holy Scriptures teach that God desires all men to know the truth in order to be saved:
“Because it is His earnest desire that everyone should come to know what the truth really is, and be saved. Put briefly, the truth is this: There is only one God, and there is only one Person who can act as a go-between between God and man. That Person is the Man whom we know as Christ Jesus. He’s the One who gave Himself in suffering and death as a ransom to rescue all of us. …” (I Tim. 2:4–6 Last Days Bible)
To highlight the importance of knowing these divine truths in attaining salvation, the Apostle Paul went on to say, “Christ is my witness that I’m telling the truth and not lying when I state that I have been sent to tell the Gentiles that they too can be saved by believing this truth” (I Tim. 2:7 ldb).
Christ, indeed, bears witness to the truth that there is only one God and that knowing Him leads to salvation. While praying to the one true God, Jesus said, “And eternal life is this: to know you, the one true God …” (John 17:3 Complete Jewish Bible).
Thus, the belief in more than one true God—like in the millions of gods in some eastern religions and in the gods formed by the imaginations and hands of men (Isa. 44:9–10)—is a false belief.
Trinity, the teaching that God has three co-equal persons, is also unscriptural and does not lead to salvation. Christ Himself, whom the Trinitarians consider as “God the Son,” clearly taught that the Father—not Christ—is “the only true God” (John 17:1, 3 nkjv) and that this one true God is greater than He (John 14:28). Having learned from Christ, the apostles unambiguously professed: “for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live …” (I Cor. 8:6 New International Version).
To Catholicism, being a pope and being a saint each means being a mediator or intercessor with God. The pope is believed to “smooth the bridge between gods and men” (newworldencyclopedia.org) and the Catholic saints, according to catholic.com, “do actively intercede for us.”
Notice that this glaringly oppose the truth that God wants everyone to know that “there is … one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus” (I Tim. 2:5 nkjv).
There is really a need for Apostle Paul to emphatically clarify that Christ is “man” because many religions that even call themselves Christians present Jesus as God, when Christ Himself never introduced Himself as such. Instead, Jesus unmistakably testified that He is “a Man” (John 8:40 nkjv).
Whereas Jesus stated that He is a man, the one true God declared that He is “God, and not man” (Hos. 11:9 nkjv) and does not allow man to be God (Ezek. 28:2). These render as untrue and unscriptural another belief about Christ, the so-called hypostatic union which claims that He is both god and man.
Apostle Paul also taught that Christ is “the One who gave Himself in suffering and death as a ransom to rescue all of us” (I Tim. 2:6 ldb). Indeed, this truth has to be propagated as other world religions do not acknowledge Jesus to be the Son of God through Whom forgiveness of sins, redemption, and salvation can be attained.
Some Christian-professing religions nonetheless err in teaching that faith in Christ alone is necessary for salvation. The Holy Scriptures clearly teach that good works are also indispensable (James 2:22)—such as striving to be part of the Church Of Christ (John 10:9; Acts 20:28 Lamsa Translation) and remaining in it until the end (Matt. 24:13).
In fact, it is for the Church Of Christ that Christ suffered and “gave his life” (Eph. 5:25 Good News Bible) as it is that which He purchased with His blood:
“Take heed therefore to yourselves and to all the flock over which the Holy Spirit has appointed you overseers, to feed the church of Christ which he has purchased with his blood.” (Acts 20:28 Lamsa)
Christ testified, “I was born and came into the world for this one purpose, to speak about the truth” (John 18:37 gnb). As Jesus taught nothing but the “truth” or God’s words (John 12:49), people ought to abide in His word or teachings—not merely believe in Him (John 8:31–32).
Indeed, Christ taught the “truths” that when believed in and obeyed will make one free and safe from eternal damnation. In the Gospel of John, He proclaimed:
“… In very truth I tell you, I am the door of the sheepfold … I am the door; anyone who comes into the fold through me will be safe. …” (John 10:7, 9 Revised English Bible).
Christ’s fold refers to the flock which He redeemed with His blood—the Church Of Christ (Acts 20:28 Lamsa).
Because the Church was cleansed by Christ’s blood, its members have been forgiven of their sins (Heb. 9:22). Thus, they are assured of salvation (Acts 2:47 nkjv) as they have become free from God’s wrath (Rom. 5:9 niv). ❑
