On Fire for God's Truth: Kingdom of God

Standing for truth

ONE OF MY FAVOURITE quotes of a Reformer is from Jan Hus, who said: Therefore faithful Christian, seek the truth, listen to the truth, learn the truth, love the truth, speak the truth, adhere to truth and defend truth to the death.

Hus's pursuit of truth, particularly within the context of the late medieval church, was a central theme of his life and work. He championed the authority of Scripture, criticised the corruption within the Church, and advocated for reforms based on what he believed to be the true teachings of Christ. His unwavering commitment to truth, even in the face of persecution, ultimately led to his execution at the Council of Constance in 1415.

Hus strongly advocated for the Bible as the ultimate source of religious truth. He believed that the Church should be guided by the teachings of Jesus Christ as found in the New Testament and that practices and doctrines should be evaluated against this standard. Hus's pursuit of truth also involved a strong emphasis on moral reform within the Church.

He criticised the corruption, greed, and worldly behaviour of some clergy members, calling for a return to a more pious and Christ-centred way of life.

Hus's commitment to truth led him to face significant opposition from Church authorities. Despite warnings and threats, he refused to recant his views and continued to preach and teach what he believed to be the truth. This ultimately resulted in his being condemned as a heretic and burned at the stake.

It is said that he died for the truth, and indeed, he declared he would rather have his body consumed by fire than be constantly silenced. Hus became a great Czech who maintained his inner integrity and faith even when faced with death. He did not fear shame or pain. There was something that Hus loved more than his life. He lived for certain values, preached about them and died for them as well.

In the Czech presidential standard, there stands Hus’s maxim, THE TRUTH PREVAILS. A monument of Hus stands in the centre of Prague. Hus left behind a timeless heritage not only for the Czech nation, but for other nations as well, a heritage consisting of love for the truth, respect for people and faith in Jesus Christ.

He said that truth conquers all things (written in a letter to Christian of Prachatice). The idea that truth conquers all things, or truth prevails, is not original with Hus. A few years earlier, Wycliffe had written, I believe that in the end the truth will conquer. The lineage of the idea is millennia older, for Solomon wrote, The eyes of the Lord preserve knowledge, but he overthrows the words of the faithless (Proverbs 22:12).

In November 1412, Hus had written in a letter to Prague, declaring that the Jews, by suppressing truth at Christ’s trial, lost everything they had hoped to preserve, for it [truth] conquers eternally. He will echo this thought a month before his death, writing again to the members of the University of Prague: Moreover, dearly beloved in Christ Jesus, stand in the truth you have learned, for it conquers all and is mighty to eternity.

Hus's legacy extends beyond his death, as his martyrdom became a symbol of Czech identity and a catalyst for further reform movements. His pursuit of truth continues to inspire those who seek to uphold Christian principles and challenge injustice within religious institutions.

We must be like Hus, always on fire for the truth. For indeed, truth conquers all, and God’s truth shall prevail! The other choice is to trample down on truth, which is the way of the world. This is a free decision for everyone. God’s truth sets us free, and all other lies of the world and the devil only disempower and enslave.

God’s truth has sadly become abandoned in this world. The narratives of our times — formed by the thoughts of philosophers, scholars, scientists, and academics — directly contradict God’s truth. It doesn’t just contradict it; it opposes it. It rebels against the absolutes of divinity. And the rebellion sows discord, strife, violence, chaos and fear. In our lack of God’s truth, we perish in spirit and soul. In our defiance, we wallow in the mire of contradictions as we experience a monumental existential crisis.

2 Timothy 4 says, 3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; 4 and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. The King James renders the word fable as myths, with myths meaning traditional stories, that explain natural or social phenomena. Fables and myths are man-made, therefore, fictional. The world will, therefore, turn away from what is real to what is manufactured by man. And such a process of invention and imagination seeks to counter God’s eternal truths.

And why is God’s truth so important? John 8 says: 31 Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. 32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. The truth sets us free from lies, deceptions, fables, myths and demonic narratives. It frees from the darkness which seeps on the wings of satanic whispers. Take note, we are God’s disciples when we abide in Him (John 15), and as we abide, we shall know the truth of God.

Take note, the Hebrew word for disciple is talmid. This word stresses the relationship between rabbi (teacher or master) and disciple (student). A talmid of Jesus' day would give up his entire life to be with his teacher. The disciple didn't only seek to know what the teacher knew, as is usually the case today. It was not enough just to know what the rabbi said, but the foremost goal of any talmid was to become like the rabbi and do what the rabbi did.

Just so, we must be disciples of God under the New Covenant, striving to know what Jesus (our Teacher and Master) knows, and to become like Jesus. We do not become to be gods, no, we draw closer to serve, to yield and to abide in Him.

And who teaches us the truth of God? John 16 says, 13 However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. 14 He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. 15 All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you.

We desperately need the Holy Spirit in our lives. We need to abide in Him. Then we shall abide in the truth. In truth, we walk in His light. In truth, we shall not be deceived. In truth, we are free, and in truth, we glorify God.

In Matthew 5:18, the phrase one jot or one tittle refers to the smallest details in the Hebrew writing of the Law. A jot (yod in Hebrew) is the smallest letter in the Hebrew alphabet, while a tittle is a small stroke or mark that distinguishes between similar Hebrew letters. The phrase emphasises that even the smallest details of God's Word are important and will be fulfilled.

We need to realise, every detail of God's word is of vital importance, and no jot or tittle may be distorted or twisted to form a different truth. God is calling for the end-time remnant to walk in His truth and to uphold the sanctity, the validity and the weightiness of every jot and tittle of the Word.

We think these days it is alright to distort even the tiniest of details to twist His Word to our desire and understanding. We are so wrong. God is very jealous over His Word, simply because Jesus is regarded as the Word, and the Holy Spirit brings the infallible Word of God to life.

There is a saying that goes that if you don’t stand for something then you might fall for anything.

This truth shines like a screaming siren in the night. It is that lighthouse on the seashore that desperately shines its light as we navigate through the storms of life, enduring wave upon wave and storm upon storm. Shall we heed this truth and turn our attention to this frail wonder of how easily we can be lost in the mire of confusion? If so, then we can surely make it to the shore. That lighthouse shines its light, that lighthouse is God.

In this postmodern world of shifting sands and leaders who are but wolves in sheep's clothing, in this world where truth finds herself at the mercy of the brute and the dragon, it has become imperative to urgently find the spiritual truth that grounds us. Mankind also finds itself at the mercy of an existentialist journey, enduring ever-increasing angst over the meaning of life, its purpose, global warming, political upheavals, death and personal loss. However, when done against a background of trying on their own to create the meaning and essence of their lives, as opposed to deities or authorities creating it for them, poses further challenges to the quest for truth.

Yet here we begin our struggles and here we begin our journey. Truth. Such a simple word. Such a simple concept, yet so complex with a myriad of connotations. What is the truth? After all, this is the postmodern world of pluralism. This world will simply say your truth and my truth does not need to clash and conflict.

My truth is my space and in my time is the truth. Whatever I deem the truth to be is the truth after all for it only applies to me and is therefore beneficial to me. This is pluralism. Fear and loathing, intolerance, supremacy and elitism have driven mankind to this intersection of seeking a contextualized truth rather than a universal one. Yet a contextualized one radically influences our search for meaning and spiritual truths as compared to that of a universal option.

The Hebrew word most used for truth is emeth, which implies certainty and trustworthiness. The truth we adhere to and fight for must be certain and must be trustworthy. The truth that we seek and the truth we seek to share is not some temporary knowledge, yet it is something eternal and which gives eternal life. It is a truth that abounds with possibilities where the secrets of the supernatural realm are unlocked to be manifested in the natural realm. 

We live in a world of mixed generations, consisting of people known as the baby boomers (born out of 1950s and 1960s), Generation X (1970s and 1980s, X referring to the variable, thus times of constant change) and the New Millennium babies (1980s and 1990s). Each generation, as generations gone by, are faced with the challenges of finding truths and answers. Yet, the modern world is one of progression and changing values. As long as man seeks the truths in technology and science instead of the divine, then the truth will be hidden among the folds of darkness.

We experience enormous opportunities yet society is subjected to a constant metamorphosis of state of mind. We live in a world of threat and chaos.

Despite all our achievements and efforts to improve ourselves, the world however has never been as spiritually impoverished as these days. Man believes he has reached enlightenment, as proven by the Age of Enlightenment, yet bloody warfare externally and internally in man over the last three hundred years attests to the fact that man has not reached his enlightenment.

History is a complex saint and a savage beast, exposing humanity's barbarity and intolerance, but also displaying the inherent goodness of God through man and His saving grace. Wars have come and gone, so has man been shaken by natural disasters. Empires and kingdoms have risen and fallen. Leaders and kings have ruled, exploited, set free and changed the times. History does repeat itself, yet man never learns. History is a mirror reflecting a fallen man's way and also the way of a man who has risen spiritually and victoriously in Jesus.

History reflects many atrocities and cruelty, but also brilliant days of God’s truths breaking forth like daybreak.

Never before has mankind lived in such a false sense of spirituality. Never before has man been so spiritually impoverished, holding on to false comforts and placing his love, faith and hope solely in the perishable. Yet, the deceit of the world tells a sordid tale of fulfilment. The world lives in a state of emotional and intellectual hype. The world lives in a time of smoke and mirrors, being deceived with a false sense of the Lord's power and His hand. These are indeed days of false spirituality and great illusions. The voice of the false prophet and the false teachers have for some time now replaced the true voice of the Father in the hearts and minds of many.

Never before has mankind lived in such deceptive times, being exposed to so much falseness. Yet, mankind remains blind and does not hear, perceive or heed the danger, for their knowledge and the false sense of comfort proclaim peace. Ignorance and lack of vision have crippled the world. Mankind systematically believes in his own mortal powers and that they have become more wealthy and knowledgeable than the Lord.

Humanity strives to seek the meaning of life, even looking to the stars, yet so often have placed their trust in vain philosophies or hopeless dreams. This process of seeking and finding answers beyond the realm of the Lord has intensified to a point of great concern. Once again, the events of the last 2500 years have driven man to this point of total spiritual ignorance and blindness.

In Christian circles, from the early struggle between the disciples and Pharisees, to the threat of the Gnostics to the birth of Islam and from the struggles of the mystics and scholars has this battle for spiritual truth wage. It has been carried forth by the struggle between Catholic and Protestant, between the philosopher and the carrier of the cross.

The Ages of Rationalism and Enlightenment, along with the storms of Romanticism, has opened new doors for alternating truths of enlightenment. Jesus was attacked by the traditionalists for claiming that He was the truth, while the early disciples were constantly under attack for defending the truth against the truth as proclaimed through myths, legends and philosophies of the Romans and Greeks. During the early and high Middle Ages the monks retracted from the world to find the truth in the monasteries. Philosophers of the ages have sowed a theory in terms of the universe, man, destiny, substance and matter, sometimes beyond the realm of divinity. Philosophers, thinkers and scholars who have operated devoid of divinity have prompted mankind to explore a different reality and truth.

The Age of Enlightenment after all broke away from traditional Church truths, heralding an era of demystifying society, placing mankind and the individual only under the authority of reason and the senses (empiricism) within the bounds of natural law. The postmodern world however has added its weight to the search for truth, by rather insisting that even the universal truths of science and reason within the natural law cannot be absolute or supreme.

The two significant movements in the approach regarding universal and holistic truth have caused a significant ebb and flow in the way society today approaches sensitive subjects like religion. Where the naturalistic approach of the Enlightenment endeavoured to place God under the magnifying glass of science and reason, the postmodern approach holds greater repercussions when it comes to the search for enlightened truth.

The concept and notion of truth are also under enormous pressure from worldly external forces. In the wake of historical events that saw tyrannical governments and oppressive regimes, the postmodern world strongly resists the idea of placing anything in a supreme or elitist category.  In our postmodern world, there are no absolutes, for according to the postmodern mindset we cannot determine the objective reality of this world. History moves in circles and is caught in a constant flux of continuum. The postmodern world of perceptions is similar to the thoughts of the Greek Stoics. Again, these two thoughts are centred on impression and perspective, therefore reality is determined by the individuals’ perception and impression within a cultural context.

Therefore, when we discuss matters of truth, there arises the difficulty of comprehending that in a world of no absolutes there can be no absolute truth. This is in comparison to the world of the Enlightenment where truth was determined by science and reason. During this time period, God and faith were reduced to deism, meaning a supernatural being that would only intervene through natural laws. Jesus was reduced to a historical figure and His miracles defunct and placed under the scrutiny of abstraction. In the Middle Ages, religion and superstition defined truth. Within these parameters, spiritual truth has undergone major and radical transformations.

In the postmodern world, all things pertaining to the supernatural or religion are allowed and can be true since there is no more universalism. Jesus is strongly seen as a historical figure, due to the rather bizarre adventures of the Jesus Seminar, yet the possibilities of miracles and supernatural feats are not totally and utterly dismissed. Jesus has also become a metaphor for our enlightened quest while sin is but a projection of our misguided or misunderstood needs. Thomas Payne and Erich Fromm attacked religion, and like Karl Marx, felt that God is only a creation or a projection of our perception to make sense of a dualistic world of hate and love. 

Even though all religions are welcomed at the table of reasoning, the postmodern world has also opened the door for random activity in spiritualism.

Fundamental Christians argue that if one reduces sin to being nothing more than shortcomings, mistakes or social wants, then Jesus would be reduced to a historical figure since