Believing Something Does Not Make It True

Soon after this, Johanan son of Kareah and the other military leaders came to Gedaliah at Mizpah. They said to him, “Did you know that Baalis, king of Ammon, has sent Ishmael son of Nethaniah to assassinate you?” But Gedaliah refused to believe them. Later Johanan had a private conference with Gedaliah and volunteered to kill Ishmael secretly. “Why should we let him come and murder you?” Johanan asked. “What will happen then to the Judeans who have returned? Why should the few of us who are still left be scattered and lost?” But Gedaliah said to Johanan, “I forbid you to do any such thing, for you are lying about Ishmael.” [Jeremiah 40.13-16]

As this story unfolds, Gedaliah was indeed assassinated by Ishmael. He should have listened to Johanan.

I have heard a popular Hollywood movie line that said that believing something does not make it true. This was certainly the case with Gedaliah. What he believed got him killed.

So, it is important that what we believe is actually true, right? How does one know what is true?

Well, in Gedaliah's case, we know what Johanan said was true because we know the rest of the story. But how could Gedaliah have known it? There is much to be said for research here.

How does anyone know anything is true? It can be difficult, but careful observation goes a long way in discerning truth.

So it is with the Bible and all things religious or spiritual. How will we know it is true unless we invest the time and effort to "know" it? A lot of people believe a lot of things about God and the Bible, but some of what people believe is not founded upon the Bible. Some things people believe have no Bible basis whatsoever.

I realize there is no end to extra-biblical materials that one might attempt to study in knowing the Bible. However, that is not what I am talking about. There is life-changing knowledge to be gained from simply reading the Bible as God's Story and noting every detail possible about every character. Most important though is that we allow God's Story to reveal His character. So important is this to God that He gave us Jesus Who said Himself, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and yet you still don’t know who I am? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father! So why are you asking me to show him to you?" [John 14.9]

I think just as Gedaliah should have listened to Johanan, we should listen to Jesus. Otherwise we risk believing something that is not true about God. Because Jesus showed us the Truth, we can then seek that Truth throughout the entire Bible. But are we willing to do so? Every character trait about God found in the Old Testament is revealed (clarified and confirmed) in Jesus. If what we believe about God is not seen in the life and ministry of Jesus, then what we have believed about God is not true and we need to change what we believe! This is precisely what got the religious leaders of Jesus' day in trouble - what they believed was simply incorrect - just because they believed it did not make it so.

There is another entire subject that might be discussed here about pride... Suffice it to say that the religious leaders of Jesus' day were simply too proud to even research Jesus as the possible Messiah they were anticipating - comparing His life and claims to the character of God Whom they claimed to be serving. Had they done so, they would have eventually seen Jesus as the pinpoint revelation of God and rejoiced in Him rather than rejecting Him.

Many have claimed to have truth... but only One claimed to be Truth. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life." Did His claims hold up? Well, Christianity has been around ever since...

Father, I am grateful that Jesus is Trustworthy. I am grateful that You have revealed Yourself to the world in Jesus. I am grateful that You revealed Your will on so many topics in the life and ministry of Jesus. I believe in Jesus - I believe in You!