The age-old question: What is Truth? In today’s world, truth is relative to each person. Each person has their own “truth.” The problem that we run into is that truth isn’t truth unless it is true at every point in time, and to everyone. My personal truth, unless it meets those requirements, is only an opinion. Additionally, there is more to truth than just facts. Truth is reality, and facts point to (or should point to) reality, but they are not reality in and of themselves. Facts can be misinterpreted. Facts can also be falsified. It happens all the time.
Suppose you and a friend are walking down the street one morning, when you see two men a fair distance away from you with one being slightly closer to you then the other. Suddenly, the man furthest from you pulls a gun and fires from the hip at the man closest to you. The closer man promptly falls over and a pool of blood starts to ooze out of him. The man who shot him checks the other man’s pulse and then grabs his phone and calls someone. After the phone call concludes, he takes the magazine and bullet in the chamber out of his gun and lays all of it on the ground and then promptly sits down. Meanwhile, you and your friend are frantically dialing 911 to report a murder. The man’s behavior is odd to you, but it is clear that he just shot a man for what seems like no reason. You get ahold of the emergency dispatcher and explain the situation, and they tell you that the emergency responders are already on the way. They also tell you to remain where to are in case the police need a statement.
After a few minutes, an ambulance and a couple of police cars show up and the man that fired the shots was cuffed and placed into the back of one of the squad cars. Then one of the cops comes over and asks for you and your friends’ statement. You both explain what you saw, and from the way you described it—and even what you believe is true—is that the shooter murdered a man in cold blood. The cop thanks you, and then heads back to the crime scene. They quickly go over the scene looking for evidence and a body bag is brought out for the man who was shot.
So, what happened? According to the two witnesses that they had, the police should have concluded that this was murder in cold blood. Fortunately for the shooter, that simply wasn’t true. You see, unbeknownst to the witnesses, but knownst to the cops (sorry, I had to throw a Spaceballs reference in here), the man that was killed had pulled a knife on the shooter prior to the shooter pulling his gun. The witnesses confirmed, unknowingly, that the knife wasn’t planted on the victim. They were pivotal in the declaration of “not guilty” without even knowing it. You and your friend’s perspective might have seemed true to you, but in reality, the man was only guilty of self-defense.
I wrote this in an attempt to show that truth and facts don’t always coincide. Facts, without the right perspective, can be very misleading, and can actually lead to something completely different then the truth. And only having some of the facts and using those to draw conclusions can be extremely inaccurate. That sounds almost like I am agreeing that truth is relative to each person. I am not. Continue reading, and I will show you what truth is.
Before we go any further, we need to look at the idea of perspective. There are a couple of comics out there that show that perspective is the only thing that matters, and I would agree with that, but not how they use it. The first comic has two men looking down at a number from opposite sides.
This number is 6 or 9 depending on how it is looked at. Each man is declaring that what they see is true. So which guy is correct? Well, the premise of the comic says that both are equally correct. However, there is a problem. We are forgetting the single most important person in this equation. That person is the drawer of the number. That number was most likely drawn as one specific number. So, for the sake of argument, let’s say that the drawer was drawing a “6.” That means that the man that asserted that “six” is correct would indeed be correct. Notice, that if you want the truth, you must look at things from the author or drawer’s perspective. Now I said “most likely” because the next comic shows the outlier scenario.
This comic is a drawing of what looks like 4×4 boards or something similar. But this time the drawer uses a “mind trick.” On one side there appears to be four boards, while on the other appears to be three boards. What makes this comic different then the first one? The answer is simple: The drawer designed his drawing in an attempt to deceive. You see, whoever drew this drawing did so in such a way that there is no “right” answer. Saying “3” or “4” are both equally correct answers. But there is a problem. That scenario never happens in reality. There are never two equally correct answers to something. That is like saying that two guys are looking at an elephant from two different sides. On one side there is no shadow and on the other there is. So, one guy declares that there is only one elephant, while the other declares that there are two elephants because there is the elephant itself and its shadow. Anyone would be quick to point out that a shadow doesn’t count as another creature. So, just because he can “see” two elephants doesn’t mean that there are two elephants in reality.
Why is the question, “What is truth,” so important? Well, the Bible makes many truth claims all throughout its pages, and whether you are a Christian or just someone looking into Christianity, that makes this an extremely important topic. In fact, the first sentence in the Bible is a truth claim. Genesis 1:1 says, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” The first verse is claiming that all the “stuff” in the universe comes from God creating it. Most of the current issues that we have today are talked about in the first couple of chapters of the Bible. It talks about where everything came from, that there is a God, marriage, evil, who man is, and work all in the first three chapters. The Bible is also very specific that what it says is the only truth, or the Truth. In a culture where truth is relative to each person, that is a huge claim (and a very disliked claim). I want to help show that truth is God, and His word. It is curious to note that nearly every cultural belief is in direct opposition to what God says is truth. Let’s look at a few examples.
1. The Bible says that God created everything in six days according to His design. In opposition to that the world says that everything came about by chance over billions of years.
2. The Bible says that man is sinful and deserves death, while the world says that man is basically good.
3. The Bible says that there is “man” and “woman” by design, while the world says that we can choose our genders, and there are more than two genders.
4. There is one God according to the Bible, while the world says that either there is no God or that everyone has their own god, and all gods are equally valid.
5. The Bible says that God is an intensely personal being. The world says that, if there even is a God, he is an aloof being who doesn’t care about us.
The list goes on and on. It is my belief that you can look at anything the Bible says is true, and think of nearly the exact opposite thing, and you will have found what the world believes on that particular subject. If truth is reality, then what is real is truth. That means that each subject in this universe has exactly one truth about it. If each subject only has one truth, then only an all-knowing being could know what truth is for each subject. God is all-knowing, all-powerful, and has always been and always will be. Therefore, as Christians, we firmly believe that God is truth, and what He says is truth. For only He has the correct perspective to actually know what truth is in each situation.
It is trickier for Christians though. Satan knows that he can’t go directly against the Bible and still have Christians fall for his lies. So, he uses a lot of truth mixed with just a little bit of lies, and presto! We a perfect opportunity for believers to falter in their faith if they are not firmly grounded in God’s Word.
Jesus speaks into the idea of truth so many times. In fact, He states that it is the reason that He came to this Earth. In John 18:36 Jesus says to Pilate,
“You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”
The very reason Jesus came into this world was to testify to the truth. He is testifying to the truth as one would testify in court. The key difference between Him and the witness in the above situation is that He is the one authority who actually knows what truth is! Jesus witnesses to the truth all throughout the Gospels. You see that when He says, “I tell you the Truth,” or “Truly, Truly, I say unto you.” In Jesus’ time saying something twice in a row was extremely emphatic. Saying “Truly, truly” was basically Jesus saying “Hey! What I am about to tell you is very important and true.” He used this double emphatic 25 times in the book of John alone. He witnesses to the truth literally hundreds of times.
Jesus also made a bold statement saying that every one on the side of truth listens to Him. What is He saying there? He is saying that there are only two sides. Those who listen to Him, and those who don’t. What else is He saying? Those who listen to Him are on the side of truth, while those who don’t listen are on the side of lies. For lies, or falsehood, is the opposite of truth. But not all lies are far from the truth. Some lies can be very close to the truth, but they have just one thing twisted in an effort to deceive. These are the kinds of lies that Christians tend to fall for. Well, if there is only one truth for each and every topic, and God is the only one who can understand truth for all things then what He says must be truth. But what does Pilate say the second Jesus says what He did? “‘What is truth?’ retorted Pilate.” He wasn’t actually asking for he immediately walked away from the one authority who could actually answer that question for him. This is the same thing the world says today. They say truth is relative, while God says otherwise. Jesus actually answered this question of “What is truth” earlier in John 14:6 when He says,
“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
Jesus is saying that He is the truth! Everything He does, everything He says, and everything He commands is Truth.
Humans have been trading truth for lies since the beginning. The first lie that happens is the Serpent telling Eve that she will not surely die if she eats from the fruit that God told her would kill her. She believed the lie, and what God said would come to happen, did. The Serpent, Satan, is the father of lies. He is the one who puts forward truth claims that go counter to God. Jesus talks about this as well as the idea that we all only have one of two fathers. These fathers are not our fathers of flesh and blood, but rather God and Satan. John 8:42-47 says,
“Jesus said to them, ‘If God were your Father, you would love me, for I have come here from God. I have not come on my own; God sent me. Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me! Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me? Whoever belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.”
What is Jesus saying in all of this? He is saying that if you belong to God and follow Him then you will know the truth, but if you do not understand the truth then your father is not God. Your father is the devil. If the Bible is true—and we believe it is—then anything that goes against the Bible and its teachings is from the devil. If God is the ultimate truth in the universe, and Satan is the father of lies, then anything outside of God is a lie and from the father of lies. We must not be arrogant with the knowledge that we belong to God. For those who belong to Satan, are captives. They have been taken captive by lies. So how are we supposed to deal with them? The Bible says this in 2 Timothy 2:24-26,
“The Lord’s servant must gently instruct his opponents…‘in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.’”
The passage that this verse comes from is talking about opponents among believers, however, it is equally applicable to non-believers. Those who are captive by Satan are our opponents, but we are repeatedly called to love our enemies, pray for them, and—as seen in the above passage—gently instruct them in the hope that God will bring them to know the truth. For the truth will set them free.
The Bible regularly compares sin with deceit. In fact, I believe that every sin can be traced back to the belief in a lie. I have the desire to watch porn and lust after women, the lie that I find in me is this, “It doesn’t hurt anyone. As long as no one finds out it’s ok, right?” I gave into those lies for years, and you know what I found? Destruction. I became someone who saw women as worthless except for what their bodies offered. I destroyed myself when I chose to give into those lies. Thankfully, God is able and willing to change anyone who is willing to come to Him, admit their failures to Him, and believe in the truth of who He is.
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L. J. Anderson - Author and Blogger 