The test of truth.
I. IT IS LEFT FOR MAN TO TEST TRUTH. There is no unmistakable oracle. In the multitude of voices we have to discover which is the cry of truth, which that of error. We know the voice of God, not because we are assured beforehand that it is he and he only who will speak to us, but because we detect the heavenly utterance in contrast with the many syren-songs that would fain allure us to destruction, detect it by its own tones, and not merely because of any authority that assures it to us. The Church may claim to guide us in this important quest; but the Church consists of human members, who have to use those faculties which God has given them, although no doubt the Church is aided with the presence of the Holy Spirit in her midst. So when individual men seek for truth, God's Spirit is for them a Light and Guide. Still, the search must be made; words must be tried and sifted.
1. This is a warning against credulity. Many voices claim our attention. Let us be careful that we are not deceived.
2. This is a stimulus to thought. We are not to be like the dull earth that gives growth to whatever seeds fall into it—ugly weeds as much as beautiful flowers, poisonous plants as well as fruitful crops. We have an independent capacity to sift and winnow, choose and reject. Therefore let us use our minds.
3. This is for the cultivation of our souls. The very effort of testing truth contributes to mental and spiritual growth. When we hold it after testing it, the truth is more real to us than if we had received it without an effort.
4. This should drive us to prayer. How shall we distinguish between the many specious voices? Our unaided faculties are likely to err. Therefore let us seek light from above, not to supersede our own powers, but to strengthen and illuminate them.
II. THE TEST OF TRUTH IS LIKE THE TASTE OF FOOD.
1. It is natural. God has given us a natural sense of taste by which to discriminate between what is wholesome and what is noxious in our food, and he has implanted in us a similar faculty of mental and spiritual discernment.
2. It should be trained. In some respects the natural appetite is not a safe guide. The child may delight in sweet but unwholesome delicacies. Some poisons are not distasteful. Therefore the mere perception of agreeableness is not sufficient. Some very pleasant because flattering ideas are very false and hurtful. What is "just to our taste" may be neither true nor good for us. To select favourite ideas is not to obtain certain truths. We have to train the truth-testing faculty to recognize sterling worth in what is not attractive, and to reject meretricious charms.
3. It may be corrupted. The appetite may be vitiated. An unhealthy liking for unwholesome food may be engendered by practice; good, wholesome food may seem disgusting to one who is in a bad state of health. Corrupt thoughts and feelings lead to a degeneration of the truth-testing faculty. Even the natural sense for truth is blunted. The needle ceases to point to the north. The chemical reagent is impure, and so it fails to act as a test. The false and impure soul chooses lies and rejects truth.
4. It needs correction. After all, the test of truth is not like a bodily sense. It is not immediate. It involves reflection. But, in order that the reflection may be true and sound, the whole spiritual nature needs to be pure and simple and healthy. It is dangerous to rely too much on our private faculty of testing truth. Our only safety is in keeping close to Christ, who is the Truth, and to Christ's Church. which he bade us "hear" (Matthew 18:17).—W.F.A.