When Jesus was standing before Pilate, He made the comment that He was born and came into the world that He should bear witness to the Truth, and that everyone who is of the Truth hears Him. Pilate then asked a question sarcastically, without wanting an answer, “What is truth?” (Compare John 18:37-38.)
That is actually a very good question. What is Truth? How can we know that what we know is the Truth? Where does Truth come from? How should we handle the Truth?
To Pilate, Truth depended on what was politically expedient at the time. What gave him favor with those he was pleasing.
Even to historians, Truth varies or becomes colored, depending on who has commissioned the writing of historical events. If a history book put a current king of that time in a bad light, the historian may not have lived to see his book published.
So what is Truth? I found a number of definitions, of which I will quote a few:
–The true or actual state of a matter
–Conformity with fact
–A verified or indisputable fact or reality
–Honesty, Integrity
–Accuracy
–Agreement with a standard or original.
This last definition is very useful, and it will be mentioned later.
How do we know that we have Truth when many religions say they have “truth” and their “truth” is different from what we believe? Is it because of our superior intelligence? Are we so smart that we can work out logically what Truth is?
When I think about Church members, myself included, I recognize people who are fallible, people who make mistakes, people who are human, subject to error. We are not the most intelligent people in the world, even as God tells us, “not many wise according to the flesh” are called (compare 1 Corinthians 1:26). So it is not our intelligence that enables us to know the Truth.
In fact, it is because we know that we are fallible that we can come to know the Truth. We are willing to admit that what we previously thought we knew, before our conversion, may have been wrong, especially about God and His Church. Because of that, we can change when the Truth is pointed out to us.
Many really intelligent people who know they are intelligent find it very hard to admit error. It hurts their pride too much to admit that they could be wrong.
But what is more important than knowing we are fallible, and being willing to change, is that real Truth can only come by God’s inspiration. Once we have that inspiration from God, we can prove that the Bible is His Word, for instance, by means of fulfilled prophecy. We can also prove God exists by the facts of science and the wonders of creation.
So without God’s inspiration, we cannot know the Truth about the meaning of life, or of any spiritual Truths like, Why are we here? What are we? What does the future hold? How can we attain eternal life?
So to understand these Truths, we have to admit that we are human and subject to error. We need to change, again, which God makes possible as He grants repentance (see 2 Timothy 2:25), and we need God’s Holy Spirit, and then we can know the Truth.
God gives us much instruction about handling the Truth.
Actually, in this world, there are people who do get to the bottom of a matter. People conducting inquiries like judges or lawyers. These people also know that humans are fallible. The majority of the information people relate is exaggerated, colored, misinterpreted, based on assumptions, or just altogether false.
These judges and lawyers know that in order to arrive at the actual truth of the matter, diligent inquiry is necessary to sift fact from falsehood. They know that what the majority believe or what “they say” may not be true.
If you say something to them, they may ask you, “How do you know that is true? Did someone tell you or did you see the event yourself? Is it effectively hearsay or is it something you are fully aware of and know to be a fact? Can you prove it?”
This is how God instructs us to handle His Truth. 1 Thessalonians 5:21 tells us to “Test all things; hold fast what is good,” or as the Authorized Version says, “Prove all things.” Don’t believe anything without proof, even things we may have believed all our lives. Be willing to change when proven wrong.
Romans 12:2 tells us: “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” We have to prove that God’s Way is better than the way of the world, and be changed to live that Way. We must not just assume because someone tells us, but make a diligent search into God’s Word and into His promises, to see what is really true.
Let us look again at that last definition of Truth, “Agreement with a standard or original.” We remember that Christ said in John 17:17, “Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.” The Bible is the standard for spiritual and moral Truth and that should be what we compare Truth against. Anything that does not match up is not God’s Truth.
Looking at the first recorded human sin, Adam and Eve had God’s Word, the Truth that if they ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they would die, but Satan deceived Eve with a lie. She did not compare Satan’s words with God’s Truth. And once one lie is believed, it is easier to accept other lies and be totally deceived.
In the love chapter, we can read that the righteous man rejoices in the Truth (compare 1 Corinthians 13:6). The first part of the armor of God is to have your waist girded with Truth (see Ephesians 6:14). Truth is protective against being deceived and led astray by Satan or evil spirits.
So we need to walk in the Truth, studying it so we can rightly divide it. But God gives a very important warning in 2 Thessalonians 2:9-13: “The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish…” Why? “…because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness. But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth.”
So, to please God, we must believe the Truth, which is of course, God’s Truth. But even more so, we must have the love of the Truth. We must cherish the Truth, seek it diligently and apply it in our lives every day.
Remember, God’s Word is Truth.