Hard Truth

[*Zion*]

I have been thinking lots lately

I really don't know which section to put this thread in, nor how to form the question I really want to ask: I am asking this mostly because I want to see where others are coming from on this as a specific subject on its own.

Living the life we do, in Jesus Christ, who is the Way, the Truth and the Life, accepting Him wholly as Lord and Saviour, we should always accept the truth, right?

Therefore there should be no aspect or area of reality that we should not be able to accept as solid and real, right?

Is there any truth too hard to accept?  The answer for us should be a resounding NO! right?

I am not talking about relative truth, which I don't think actually exists, especially upon encountering and receiving Jesus Christ as my Lord and my Saviour, God and King.  I believe that the Truth in His very nature, is absolute.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I think there is a grave danger in denying and turning our backs on any portion of truth.  This is probably the ultimate example of doing so, and the best one I can think of:

 

 

John 6:50-63:

50 This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die.

51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.

52 The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat?

53 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.

54 Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.

55 For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.

56 He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him.

57 As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me.

58 This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever.

59 These things said he in the synagogue, as he taught in Capernaum.

60 Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it?

61 When Jesus knew in himself that his disciples murmured at it, he said unto them, Doth this offend you?

62 What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before?

63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.

 

So, is there any discovery that one could make that would be too much to accept as truth, as painful obvious and clear that it truly is true?

Another question I wish to pose is this: how good are we at accepting hard truths from our current position in our walk with Christ?

 

I really do hope all of this makes sense!  Any and all responses are appreciated

[FresnoJoe]

Eat

And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God. Luke 4:4 (King James Version)

Beloved, Eat

Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart, for I am called by your name, O LORD, God of hosts. Jeremiah 15:16 (English Standard Version)

The Blood Of The Lamb

And are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. Romans 3:24-25 (English Standard Version)

And The Very Bread Of Life Himself

Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. John 6:35 (English Standard Version)

Amen~!

It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. John 6:63 (English Standard Version)

Just Another Walk Through The Precious Word Of Our God

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 2 Timothy 3:16 (English Standard Version)

Love, Your Brother Joe

Edited November 15, 2015 by FresnoJoe

[Dakila777]

Every one of us believers are at different levels of maturity, and at different levels also in our understanding of God's truth. You really can't expect a relatively new believer, do you, to be able to know, understand, and accept everything the Bible has to say? It takes time.

Besides, God's Word convicts the sinner in us, and acceptance of the truth becomes even more difficult if we are guilty.

[*Zion*]

Ok, first of all: thank you for your kind responses and taking a genuine interest in this question.

I realised by your replies what the fundamental issue here is.  In order to know the truth, we need to have faith in order to accept it.  After all, how can we have Christ unless we have first accepted Him and His message?  Therefore, we all are able to grasp the Truth He gives us, right?  And on our journey with Him, we see more and more truth because we encounter Him continually.  But wherever we are on the journey, we should be ready to accept what He has to share with us, right?  After all, it took faith to get as far as we have with Him, right?  And we are still trusting Him, right?

Right?

[Dakila777]

Ok, first of all: thank you for your kind responses and taking a genuine interest in this question.

I realised by your replies what the fundamental issue here is.  In order to know the truth, we need to have faith in order to accept it.  After all, how can we have Christ unless we have first accepted Him and His message?  Therefore, we all are able to grasp the Truth He gives us, right?  And on our journey with Him, we see more and more truth because we encounter Him continually.  But wherever we are on the journey, we should be ready to accept what He has to share with us, right?  After all, it took faith to get as far as we have with Him, right?  And we are still trusting Him, right?

Right?

Yes to all your questions. The picture you painted is the ideal one. However, in my opinion, the reality is more complex than that. Yes, we should be ready to accept the truths that God shares with us, but the question is, can we really handle that every time? Remember, God's truth is life-changing, and change is not always easy. All the more so if the truth requires a 180 degrees turnaround.

This is only my own opinion, based on my own experiences, but I think that God is gentle and patient in imparting to us his truths. He expects neither an instant acceptance nor an instant change. Remember also that God's mind is far above are own, and his holiness is perfect; if he isn't gentle and careful with us, if he isn't mindful of our limited capacities as humans, then he just might kill us.

Jesus said it himself, while he was still on earth:
 
"I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.  When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth...." (John 16:12-13 ESV)

[Ezra]

Living the life we do, in Jesus Christ, who is the Way, the Truth and the Life, accepting Him wholly as Lord and Saviour, we should always accept the truth, right?

If we believe that Jesus is the Truth, then we should always be ready, willing, and able to embrace the truth, and to live it.  But as we can see all around us, Christian churches are departing from the truth every day, and embracing the lies. This is "the falling away".

Therefore there should be no aspect or area of reality that we should not be able to accept as solid and real, right?

In a perfect world yes. But even too many Christians are unwilling to accept the truth. The Bible -- the Word of God -- is compared to a sword which pierces to the very heart of all matters and cuts through all the lies and deceptions of Satan. But that does not mean that it is always welcome.

Is there any truth too hard to accept?  The answer for us should be a resounding NO! right?

Ideally, that is the correct response.  In reality, there are more people in this world running away from the truth than embracing it. Why? (1) too many can't handle it, and (2) truth is often extremely painful and challenging.

[Ezra]

Jesus, Truth, is not accepted nor recognized by the world.

What about by the Church?  Since the whole world lieth in wickedness, we should NOT expect "the world" to embrace the truth. But when Christians do not want the truth, then that is another issue altogether. Christendom has departed from the Truth.

[enoob57]

As the darkness here is evident by it's overwhelming persuasion to make itself light- a diametrical opposition to The Word so we
must die to all that we have began in and live according to opposition that naturally arises from walking with God... the success of
this determines whether or not we are born of God in s/Spirit!  Love, Steven 

[missmuffet]

Question: "Is truth relative?"

Answer: When someone says that truth is relative, what he normally means is that there is no absolute truth. Some things may appear true to you but not true to me. If you believe it, it is true for you. If I don’t believe it, it is not true for me. When people say things like “that’s fine if God exists for you, but He doesn’t exist for me,” they are expressing the popular belief that truth is relative.

The whole concept of “relative truth” sounds tolerant and open-minded. However, upon closer analysis, it is not open-minded at all. In essence, to say that “God exists for you but not for me” is to say that the other person’s concept of God is wrong. It passes judgment. But no one really believes that all truth is relative. No sane person says, “Gravity works for you, but not for me,” and proceeds to jump off tall buildings believing no harm will follow.

The statement “truth is relative” is, in fact, a self-refuting statement. In saying, “Truth is relative,” one states a purported truth. But, if all truth is relative, then that statement itself is relative as well—which means we can’t trust it to be true all the time.

Certainly, there are some statements that are relative. For example, “the Ford Mustang is the coolest car ever made” is a relative statement. A car enthusiast may think this to be true, but there is no absolute standard by which to measure “coolness.” It is simply one’s belief or opinion. However, the statement “there is a red Ford Mustang parked outside in the driveway, and it belongs to me” is not relative. It is either true or false, based on objective reality. If the Mustang in the driveway is blue (not red), the statement is false. If the red Mustang in the driveway belongs to someone else, the statement is false—it does not match reality.

Generally speaking, opinions are relative. Many people relegate any question of God or religion to the realm of opinion. “You prefer Jesus—that’s fine if it works for you.” What Christians say (and the Bible teaches) is that truth is not relative, regardless of the subject matter. There is an objective spiritual reality, just as there is an objective physical reality. God is unchanging (Malachi 3:6); Jesus likened His teachings to a solid, immovable rock (Matthew 7:24). Jesus is the only way of salvation, and this is absolutely true for every person at all times (John 14:6). Just like people need to breathe in order to live, people need to be born again through faith in Christ to experience spiritual life (John 3:3).

http://www.gotquestions.org/is-truth-relative.html

Edited November 16, 2015 by bopeep1909

[*Zion*]

So what we are really seeing here, is truth versus flesh, right?