John 18:37 Pilate therefore said to him, Are you a king then? Jesus answered, You say that I am a king. To this end was I born… Does any one challenge the expression, "instinct of truth," and speak of an opposite tendency — that of falsehood — as the instinct of fallen humanity? There is much to support this. "David said in his haste, I say deliberately that 'all men are liars,'" exclaimed a famous statesman. The world is full of falsehood. The very framework of society rests upon semblances and false assumptions. Still this instinct has not superseded in fallen man the instinct of truth. Society could not exist if truth were not more probable than falsehood. There is falsehood enough to necessitate caution; there is still an overplus of truth sufficient to justify confidence. I. THE INSTINCT OF KNOWING TRUTH. 1. It is in human nature to crave satisfaction of knowledge. We see this in very low examples. A trial which shocks every pure feeling finds ten thousand readers who have no motive but vulgar curiosity. This is the twist the Fall has given to the instinct of knowledge. It is the very snare by which man fell. But there is an instinct underlying this — not corrupt, but wholesome — the desire to know the highest truth, to be informed about God, His will, His love. The Fall did not destroy this. That sort of guessing which is the amount of nature's help towards this knowledge is felt to be unsatisfactory. Let me not think but know is the instinctive cry. 2. There are many counteracting influences to this desire. (1) Indolence taking refuge in the thing in hand — in the received opinion, traditions, &c. (2) Prejudice — never so strong as in matters the most important and mysterious, never so jealous as when there is most at stake and least in sight; never so sensitive as in a region in which change involves both effort and singularity. (3) Formalism. These influences have a tendency to dull without satisfying that natural thirst which God has implanted in us. 3. Every man in whom this instinct of truth is, will hear Christ's voice, i.e., will recognize in His gospel the satisfying responses, because — (1) He speaks with authority. His "verily, verily" has a ring of certainty. It is not every positive man who convinces; many rouse opposition, because positiveness sometimes is the mask of weakness, the stimulant of suspicion. It was not so with Christ. The people felt that there was a difference between Him and the scribes in this matter. How convincing is the voice of a man who thoroughly knows his subject. Contrast the lecture of a real master with that of a smatterer! Christ was at home in His subject. "We speak that we do know." A man eager for Divine knowledge will find satisfaction here because there is no traditional tentative doctrine, but the word of One who can say, "This is true."(2) Christ satisfies the instinct of truth by not only speaking it, but being it — "I am the Truth." Only in a Person can the instinct be satisfied. The knowledge of things, books, theology, &c., can never quench this thirst. The knowledge of a Person, in whom all truth centres and from whom it radiates with light and warmth to every point in the circumference of being, is provided by the gospel. II. THE INSTINCT WHICH PROMPTS TOWARDS BEING TRUE. 1. There are, indeed, men who dread truth. Some men prefer carrying about them the suspicion of some fatal malady to running the risk of making suspicion certainty by going to a physician. So in things spiritual. 2. This indisposition arises from — (1) Timidity. There is an impression that certain sins are unpardonable, concerning which we may as well be ignorant as desperate. (2) Procrastination. Anything which involves exertion is deferred till a more convenient season — a season always a little beyond. (3) The innate gambling spirit of human nature, which loves the excitement of chance. These powers are mighty, but they do not disprove the assertion that there is an instinct of being true — a desire in men to see themselves as they are! 3. How does Christ satisfy this. (1) By removing the question altogether from the province of innocence. His message is to the sinful. It is a question, then, only of degree, between one who comes to Him and another. He does not say, "I come to save such and such sinners," but all, even the worst. He encourages us to be entirely frank with ourselves and Him. (2) Christ says, "Be true," and interprets this to mean, "Walk in the light with a brave, resolute, consistency." There is a natural horror of hypocrisy. In treating this as the one detestable vice, Christ appealed to an instinct of truth which has survived the Fall. Then He drew to Himself all that is sound, honest, noble; and, in demanding truth as His one condition, proved also His own adaptation to the instinctive demands of those whom He came to save. (Dean Vaughan.) Parallel Verses KJV: Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice. |
    |