The Ultimate Truth

Acts 14:11-18
11 When the crowds saw what Paul had done, they raised their voice, saying in the Lycaonian language, “The gods have become like men and have come down to us.” 12 And they began calling Barnabas, Zeus, and Paul, Hermes, because he was the chief speaker. 13 The priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates, and wanted to offer sacrifice with the crowds. 14 But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of it, they tore their robes and rushed out into the crowd, crying out 15 and saying, “Men, why are you doing these things? We are also men of the same nature as you, and preach the gospel to you that you should turn from these vain things to a living God, WHO MADE THE HEAVEN AND THE EARTH AND THE SEA AND ALL THAT IS IN THEM. 16 “In the generations gone by He permitted all the nations to go their own ways; 17 and yet He did not leave Himself without witness, in that He did good and gave you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness.” 18 Even saying these things, with difficulty they restrained the crowds from offering sacrifice to them.

It’s natural to see something and explain how or why it happened with our current wisdom and knowledge.  The people of Lystra had never heard of the One True God before, so their history and teaching led them to believe that some of the mythical Greek gods had come down to teach them.  How often do we do this?  How often do we have an experience with God but explain it away as something different?  As much as we want to believe, we refuse to believe when it happens.

Paul and Barnabas explained about God being the source of heaven, earth, and sea because Zeus was known as the god of these things.  He was the god of weather and vegetation so the apostles very appropriately explained that this Zeus they believed in isn’t a god at all, because the One True God created it all and controls it.  This is a hard pill to swallow.  Maybe you are a believer in the One True God and reading this passage is easy for you.  Maybe you believe in nothing and this passage is easy because you believe that none of it is true.  Notice, however, how the crowds continued trying to offer sacrifices?  Imagine something happening and you have an answer for why it happened but someone else tells you you’re wrong.

Our faith and belief system is the core of what drives us every moment of our lives.  Even if you don’t recognize it, what you believe (not just about God, but anything else for that matter) motivates you to do what you do.  If you believe a chair will support you, you will sit down in it. If you believe your car will start, you will put the key in the ignition and turn it.  If you believe your spouse didn’t poison your food, you will eat it.  All the little details of life are motivated by our beliefs.  We either trust one thing or another.  When this is shaken, we are given a choice to seek out this possible new belief or continue with what we know.

The problem is that generally we don’t seek out to believe the truth. We only seek out to believe what we are comfortable with.  Paul and Barnabas were confronting the Lycaonians with truth and they ignored it.  What if someone told a believer there is no God?  Will you ignore it?  What if someone tells you there is?  Will you ignore it?  Jesus said in John 8:

31 So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”

This statement challenged the beliefs of the Jews at the time.  Our ignorance prevents us from seeking the real truth in this universe.  We are afraid our beliefs will be wrong and that if they are, what then will happen to us?  We must make ourselves vulnerable and challenge our beliefs in order to discover what is real truth.  If we believe in a sovereign God, then we have nothing to fear; we will only grow in our belief.  This is what happens to me whenever I challenge what I believe.  We discover more about ourselves and our existence.  We discover more about why we are here and what purpose we serve.  But if we refuse to seek out and listen for the ultimate truth, we will continue burning sacrifices to regular men and objects.

Don’t get comfortable.  Challenge what you think you know.  Challenge what you believe.  Look for real proof.  Don’t settle for the norm or simply what other people have told you.  See it for yourself.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *