Pilate asked this question when he had to deal with Jesus. Jesus said in the previous verse, “Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice” (John 18:37). Jesus said before this, “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth” (John 17:17). Just before this statement Jesus in His prayer to the Father said, “For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me” (John 17:8). Previously, Jesus said: He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day” (John 12:48). The proper conclusion is: that the Words that Jesus spoke was/is the Truth! Another proper conclusion is that the Words Jesus spoke came from the Father. A third conclusion is that we will be judged by the Words of Jesus which are the truth. What does that have to do with me and you?
Since Jesus spoke the Truth and we all will be judged by the Truth, can I be sincere in what I believe and be right with God? What if what I believe is contrary to what God has commanded? For example, can one believe anything and be right with God or are there specific things that we must believe to be right with God? Can I believe that Mohammad is a prophet and sent from God? What does the Bible say? “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him” (Hebrews 11:6). “I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins” (John 8:24). “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). The Bible is specific about what we must believe and what we must believe in!
But what if I am sincere in what I believe in? People have believed that the earth is the center of the universe! They were very sincere in their belief, does that make it correct? Have you ever answered a question on a test, with the conviction that it was correct? That answer was marked wrong when you got the answers back. When going back over the test the teacher not only said that your answer was wrong, but also showed you in the book that your answer was the wrong answer. You were sincere in your answer, but you were sincerely wrong. Could people be this way in the Bible? Do you remember the story of Joseph in the Bible? Do you remember that his brothers hated him because he was the favorite son of his father? Do you remember that his father made him a coat of many colors? Do you remember that the brothers took Joseph and sold him into slavery? That these same brothers then took that coat and dipped it in kid’s blood and showed it to their father. What was the reaction of Jacob? Did he believe his son, Joseph was dead? Was he sincere in his belief that his favorite son Joseph was dead? Did his belief make it so? NO, it did not make his son dead. He was alive and would be the savior of his people.
We too can be sincere about many things religiously. We too can be wrong about what we believe. We must know the Truth. We must know what God wants and we must do what God wants us to do. To be sincere about we do is important, but to be sincere and wrong will never be correct. We must be both sincere and right to be correct. We must know the Truth and we must obey the truth to find that happiness that God give us.
Love, Keith
