Jesus’s doctrine, His commandments, and His teachings are in the Scriptures for all to read. They are recorded in the Gospels and woven throughout every New Testament letter. Yet when we read the Bible, it is necessary not only that we read what we already believe, but that we also believe everything we read. Whatever we bring to God’s Word that does not come from God’s Word must be recognized, exposed, and demoted as such. The heart must desire to be true only what is actually the truth. To want anything else is the spirit of idolatry, and the apostle’s admonition still stands with undiminished relevance: “Little children, keep yourselves from idols” (1 John 5:21).
To not want the words of Jesus to be true is like wishing your spouse were more attractive or more skilled—an inward betrayal of the heart. It reveals a desire for something other than the one you claim to love. In the same way, to wish Christ had spoken differently is to wish Christ were different. It is to prefer another Jesus—one fashioned according to our desires rather than the One who actually is.
So let the question be asked: Is there anything Jesus said that you do not want to be true? What happens in you when the words of Jesus confront the words within you? What if, in reading His teachings, you found your heart at variance with what He spoke? Would you walk away from Him—or walk with Him? Would you soften His words, reinterpret them, weaken them, or would you let His words change you?
For the test of true discipleship is not whether His words flatter us, but whether they form us. The issue is never whether His teachings align with our desires, but whether our desires align with His. The question is not whether His words agree with our worldview, but whether our worldview bows to His words. And in the end, every soul must decide: Will I change His words to fit me, or will I be changed by the Word who made me?
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“Reason dictates that persons who are truly noble and who love wisdom will honor and love only what is true. They will refuse to follow traditional viewpoints if those viewpoints are worthless...Instead, a person who genuinely loves truth must choose to do and speak what is true, even if he is threatened with death...I have not come to flatter you by this written petition, nor to impress you by my words. I have come to simply beg that you do not pass judgment until you have made an accurate and thorough investigation. Your investigation must be free of prejudice, hearsay, and any desire to please the superstitious crowds. As for us, we are convinced that you can inflict no lasting evil on us. We can only do it to ourselves by proving to be wicked people. You can kill us—but you cannot harm us.” From Justin Martyr's first apology 150 A.D. Martyred A.D. 160