The Meaning of Truth
Greetings, brothers and sisters. This is Dr. James Perry continuing with our series where we seek to
explore the deeper meanings of our relationship with Jesus Christ. Over the years, the heavenly
Father has revealed many revelations of spiritual truth to me, and I want to share them with you. This
morning we ponder our lives as seek to understand the meaning of truth.
And now, sit back and listen to today's message.
The Meaning of Truth
"Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father,
but by me." John, Chapter 14, Verse 6.
Brothers and sisters, Jesus said while sojourning on earth that the truth would set us free. Now if
truth is to set us free, this is something worthy of pursuit because Jesus' statement implies that we
are not free. If we are not free, then we must be in someway imprisoned. But from what will truth
set us free?
To arrive at the meaning of truth, we shall proceed in a step-wise fashion, using our experiences and
understanding. We know that when we have the correct understanding of facts, we have meanings
that are factual, and we can then proceed with certainty using those facts. When we have the correct
understanding of values, we have meanings that are truthful, and we can proceed with certainty using
those values. This is what Jesus does for us. He gives us the correct understanding of values. We
shall now examine several examples of imprisonment: the material, the intellectual, and the spiritual.
In considering the material which all of us are familiar with since we are all material beings, the idea
of being in some way restrained or imprisoned is a factual reality that we are very familiar with. We
know of people who are literally incarcerated for crimes against society. These people are not free
to come and go as they please. They have lost control over their physical choices. Now we ask the
question: does truth liberate these people from their physical incarceration? And what about people
who are suffering from physical infirmities that have in some way altered and restricted their
freedom of mobility? Does truth liberate them from the incarceration of their physical limitation?
We know that there are four states concerning reality, and only one of those is true in the sense of
being bonafide. First, if we assert that a thing is true and it is not, then we have erred. If we assert
that it is false and it is true, we still have erred. If we assert that a thing is not true and it is not true,
we have stated the truth. (But this is a negative reality in the sense that this statement is negative and
cannot be experienced, for we live in a positive universe). Having stated that a thing is not true and
it is not true, there is no further experience from that postulate. But if we say a thing is true and it
is true, then we have stated the truth, and have an experience that can be realized. Error cannot be
realized. It may be a mental construct in our minds but we can never actualize it in reality.
Truth being a spiritual quality does not directly affect the material aspect of a person's life. But it
does indirectly affect the material aspects of a person's life in this way. If a person is unjustly
incarcerated in prison, the truth is not known. If the truth is discovered and applied directly to the
matter at hand, that person is more than likely going to be released. In recent times we have
witnessed this with the advent of DNA testing, where the results of such testing can confirm a
person's innocence or guilt. Also if the person is truly guilty, we can also see that if he abided by the
principles governing our social interactions (the truth), if he would not have violated that particular
law. He would not have been prosecuted and incarcerated. And where material limitations are
concerned, this principle also applies. As times goes on, the truth concerning material states will be
discovered, so that prevention or violations of certain material laws will prevent a lot of material
limitations. And even now we know that certain material laws are being violated that apply to the
health of our material bodies. Environmental pollution and tobacco abuse are two examples. So we
see it is truth and living the truth that ultimately frees even the material mechanisms of life.
But it is in the intellectual realms where truth has a direct impact. A mind that is prejudiced and
ignorant causes a lot of material suffering and handicaps. During earlier times, when the human mind
understood virtually nothing, superstition reigned supreme, and many horrors and terrors resulted
where literally countless individuals were killed or maimed because of the lack of understanding of
the physical and the spiritual worlds. Even today, this ignorance and prejudice continues to cause
human suffering. It is truth that reveals facts to the intellect so that understanding can usher in true
meanings and thereby modify behaviors and decisions. An intellect that is liberated by truth is
fearless and pursues truth wherever it leads. It does not hesitate to revamp its intellectual concepts
and subsequent decisions in conformity with newly discovered truth.
The greatest liberation of truth comes in the spiritual arena. We know that evil, sin, and iniquity
cause the greatest affliction upon human beings because these states directly affect their value
systems. Since the value system is what we live by, the very platform by which we make or launch
our decisions, these negative stated affect the very quality of life itself. Human life is worthwhile
because of the meanings and values that it holds. If these are faulty, then life itself becomes
worthless and truly a burden. In these states the futility of material things to change the outlook of
life or to change the disposition of life is demonstrated. Jesus said, "the truth will set you free" and
indeed it will. If truth can deliver a human being from being dominated by its animal nature which
causes so much pain and suffering and enslavement, then indeed has such a one become free. If truth
can take a selfish individual who has no concern for anyone but himself and turn that individual into
an unselfish and loving person who is concerned about others, then has heaven arrived in that
individual. And we can immediately see what would happen if all human beings behaved unselfishly.
We would indeed have heaven on earth.
It is the Spirit of Truth in the soul and functioning through the mind that eventually liberates the
spiritual, intellectual, and material potentials of human beings. This being done, all chains being
removed, the human is now free to explore and conquer life. And life is conquered or mastered when
all divine values in human experience are held and lived, and all divine meanings are understood and
comprehended and are meaningful, and furthermore such divine values and meanings determine the
quality of decisions that are made. And these decisions are always of the highest value and yield
supreme meanings.
This concludes today's message on understanding the meaning of truth. We hope you find something
in this message to ponder and pray about as you go about your day.
Until next time, this is Dr. James Perry.
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By Dr. James Perry
Your Kingdom Come, Your Will Be Done!
The Meaning of Truth
