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“If anyone’s will is to do God’s will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority.” John 7:17

The person who judges by appearances focuses on opinion, but the person who judges with right judgment knows the power of the will. What you think will be shaped by what you desire, which means that knowing the truth can never be a purely intellectual quest. In order to know, you have to will, or, as Jesus put it, “If anyone’s will is to do God’s will, he will know…” (7:17).

Do you want to know the truth about Jesus? Not everyone does. Some people don’t want to know the truth. Paul speaks about this when he says that unrighteous people “suppress the truth” (Rom. 1:18). Why? One reason is that it would have profound implications for life that many are not willing to consider. “If there is a God, then I don’t want to know him.”

So in order to know, you have to will. “You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart” (Jer. 29:13). This is why God calls us to love Him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, because faith is more than just intellectualism.

Two friends, one a Christian and the other a skeptic, were on a walk together in the countryside, when they came to an old stone chapel. On the wall at the front of the chapel there were two plaques: one had the Apostle’s Creed and the other had the Ten Commandments. The skeptic pointed to the creed and said, “This, I cannot believe.” The Christian pointed to the commands and replied, “Maybe that’s because these, you will not obey.”

If you really want to know the truth about Jesus, then submit yourself to God’s will.

Do you struggle to believe Jesus’ teaching in the Bible? Or is your real struggle to obey Jesus’ teaching in the Bible?