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Truth is not a feeling. Truth is not an idea. According to Webster's Dictionary, truth can be defined as "a transcendent fundamental or spiritual reality; a judgment, proposition, or idea that is true or accepted as true."

So how do you know if something is true? Is it true just because you read it on the internet or in the newspaper?

Experience has taught me to be very cautious about believing what I read. How many times have you gotten one of those emails about winning some money from Bill Gates, or an email about a dying child and if you'll only send this email to everyone you know, they'll get 3 cents for each one you forward? I'm amazed that people are still forwarding these emails although there is so much information available about email hoaxes. If people would simply take the time to investigate, they could discover the truth for themselves.

What if someone you knew and respected told you something that seemed a bit hard to believe? Would you simply take them at their word or would you investigate it for yourself? For me, I guess it would depend on what that "something" was. If someone merely told me that it was snowing in Hawaii I may or may not investigate… depending on whether or not I was planning to go there anytime soon. Otherwise, I might not make that much of a difference to me. But what if this "something" affected me and the rest of my life? I think I'd want to know the truth and I'd want to discover it for myself.

I am a follower of Jesus Christ. I accept the Bible as truth and am willing to stake my life on it! I wish my telling you this was something you could just read and believe. If only it were that easy. But just because I'm telling you something, doesn't mean you should simply believe it. And just because you read it doesn't mean you should believe it either.

In today's society there is a lack of passion for the truth. People are so quick to believe things they read from unreliable sources and so quick to cast aside things that have stood the test of time… like the Bible.

So how can you believe the Bible? How do we know it's true? Proving whether something is true or not is called apologetics. This word is derived from the Greek word "apologia," which means "to defend." There are tons of websites and books on this topic. There is an enormous amount of evidence in support of the accuracy of the Bible. There is scientific proof, the proof of prophecy, the proof of textual evidence, the proof of people living at the time of Christ, and the proof of historians. The information is out there… all you have to do is look for it.

One question I've encountered a lot lately is the question pertaining to the accuracy of the Bible. Since we do not contain any of the original documents of the New Testament, it is fair to question the accuracy of the transmission of the copies we do use. One factor involved for passing the historical test is specific to the number of manuscripts. Based on the research, the Bible clearly passes this test with accuracy far beyond any other ancient document.

There are 5,686 Greek New Testament manuscripts (which continue to grow with archeological work). Additionally, there are copies of ancient translations of the Bible which include over 10,000 in Latin, over 4,000 in Slavic, over 2,500 in Armenian, over 2,000 in Ethiopian, and hundreds more in other languages. Combining the Greek texts with the translated documents gives the New Testament over 24,000 manuscripts. By comparison, other ancient documents, which are relied on commonly by historians, are dwarfed by the New Testament numbers. Let's compare this with some of the best attested and highly prized sources we have from ancient history. There are 643 copies of Homer's Iliad, 200 copies of Demosthenes' works, 20 copies of Tacitus' Annals, 10 copies of Caesar's triumphs in the Gallic Wars, and 8 copies of Herodotus' History. Clearly, the New Testament has enough copies to exceed the standards secular history places on ancient texts to pass this part of the bibliographical test.

Does this surprise you? I'm not a scholar by any means… but I'm willing to do my homework and find out the truth.

Why is the truth so important to me? Freedom! Free from having to rely on the knowledge of someone else. Freedom to find out the truth for myself. Some people would say being a Christian means there are lots of rules to follow – but I have to disagree. As a follower of Jesus Christ… I have more freedom than I know what to do with. Knowing the truth does truly set you free. Just think… we are living in a world where we have more choices than ever before.

If you are a follower of Christ… let me ask you some questions. What are you doing with the "truth" you know? Are you treasuring it? Are you holding it close to your heart? Do you live it? Do you believe it? If so, that's great and I applaud you for it. But here's the next question… are you sharing it with others? You may be the only glimpse a lost person ever gets of the truth… and because you are afraid and unsure… this person may miss out on never knowing the truth. Something that will surely make an eternal difference in this person's life. Don't let the opportunity pass you by.

With truth comes responsibility. You know the truth… you have a responsibility to pass that along. You are not responsible for whether or not a person chooses to believe, but you do have a responsibility share the truth.

If you are not a follower of Christ and you don't believe His word is truth, I have some questions for you too. Have you ever read the Bible? Have you ever studied the accuracy of its contents? Have you ever taken the time to research history and make up your mind based on facts? I challenge you to discover truth for yourself. Read, research, study, find out all you can about the truth.

There is a creator of the Universe who loves you and was willing to die so that you could have a relationship with your Heavenly Father. If you don't know the truth…I challenge you… discover truth for yourself.

"The Way" from Kevin Pauley

The First Sin