When Jesus stood before Pontius Pilate he said, "I have come into the world to bear witness to the truth." Pilate responded saying, "What is truth?" (John 18:37-38)
This is a very interesting question that Christians today need to consider. What is the truth of Christianity?
There are countless denominations, non-denominational churches, independent and house churches. All of them hold similar but different beliefs as to what they believe is the truth of the gospel.
Who is right? Who has the truth of the gospel and where can it be found?
Let me illustrate this dilemma with a little story.
Elephant in the Room
Once there were three men living in a village in India. These three men were all born blind and had never ventured beyond their village.
They heard many wonderful tales of what life was like outside the village and the most wondrous of all the things they heard were stories about elephants.
Being blind they had never seen an elephant, so they had no idea what this wondrous beast was like. The three blind men longed to know more about elephants.
One day a man came to the village with an elephant and the villagers ran to tell the three blind men. The men were so excited they wanted to go and find out more about this creature. So the villagers led them to where the elephant was grazing.
The first blind man was led forward to the elephant. He reached out and felt the long flexible trunk and the curved ivory tusks. The second blind man came forward and reaching out feeling the mass of tough and leathery skin on the flanks of the elephant. The third blind man reached out feeling the solid legs of the elephant.
They were amazed and they went home in rapture.
Later they discussed what they thought the elephant was like. The first man said it was a thing of beauty and being so flexible it would move gracefully as it traversed the land. The second man disagreed saying the first blind man had it all wrong. The elephant, he said, was like a solid wall, impervious to anything and unable to be scaled. Naturally the third man disagreed with both of them saying the elephant was like a great tree rooted in the ground and incredibly strong.
None of them could believe that the others had truly felt the elephant because their accounts were so different. So they disputed with each other for many years because each of them knew what they had felt.
Perception is Reality
This is the same with the truth of Christianity.
Each of the blind men had perceived the elephant differently because they had experienced the elephant differently.
Likewise the multitude of churches have perceived different aspects of the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ and so they hold different perceptions of what is the truth.
From the time of the Reformation, there have been new aspects of the truth added to the total knowledge of what is truth.
Luther established a church based on the doctrine of righteousness by faith apart from works. Wesley established a church based on other doctrines and a methodical study of scripture. Booth established the Salvation Army on the doctrine of salvation. The Presbyterian church was established on the doctrine of a church led by a co-equal group of elders. The Baptist churches were built on the doctrine of water baptism. The Pentecostal churches were established on the doctrine of receiving the Holy Spirit and the gifts of the spirit, and the list goes on.
Ever since the Reformation the Lord has been revealing the doctrines of truth to the church, as people have progressed in the study of the scripture and the leading of the Holy Spirit.
Just as the three blind men held different perceptions of what an elephant was like based on a partial understanding of the truth, so too the churches have been established on partial understandings of the truth of Jesus Christ and His gospel of salvation.
So who has the truth and where will you find it, since all of the churches have part of the truth but none of them have all of it? Are we all still like the blind men who only perceive what we have experienced?
The truth is found in one place only, and that is in Jesus Christ. As we walk with Him He will reveal the fullness of the truth to those who ask, seek, knock and follow Him according to the will of God.
If you want to find the truth, go to Jesus. There are many churches but only one foundation, Jesus Christ. Sit at His feet to learn, recognising that He establishes His church to help you find the fullness of God's will in Him.
Since retiring from work, John Lemmon now spends his time teaching, preaching and writing about the word of God, answering God's call on him to "Speak to my people." John and his wife Colleen travel all over Australia and you will often find him playing guitar or ukulele outside their caravan somewhere in the Great Outback. You can connect with John on Twitter (@JohnBLemmon) or on his Christian Bible study blog (freegiftfromgod.com/blog).
John Lemmon's previous articles may be viewed at http://www.pressserviceinternational.org/john-lemmon.html