What is Truth?

Good morning, for the last two Sunday post I looked at "Does God Exist?" Of course that is not a question easily answered in a blog or two, but I did want to give a compelling answer as I see it. Today is the next question in this series, "What is Truth?" Truth is has been the subject of philosophical discussions, countless books and of course numerous religious debates, including the exchange between Christ Jesus and Pilate. So again this is not an in depth look, but a good starting place.   

John 18:37-38
37 Therefore Pilate said to Him, "So You are a king?" Jesus answered, "You say correctly that I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice."

38 Pilate said to Him, "What is truth?" 

 

Once the Devil was walking along with one of his cohorts. They saw a man ahead of them pick up something shiny. "What did he find?" asked the cohort. 

"A piece of the truth," the Devil replied. 

"Doesn't it bother you that he found a piece of the truth?" asked the cohort. 

"No," said the Devil, "I will see to it that he makes a religion out of it." 

Klyne Snodgrass, Between Two Truths - Living with Biblical Tensions, 1990, Zondervan Publishing House, p. 35.

During the trial of Jesus, Governor Pilate interrogated Jesus about His kingdom. In His response, Jesus affirmed the spiritual nature of His kingdom and told Pilate, “Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.” To which Pilate cynically answered, “What is truth?” [John 18:37-8] And that same ambivalence pervades our culture today. It is even common today for some to flatly deny the truth exists. But the denial of truth never extinguishes truth.

   

Today we will take a quick look at current thoughts about truth and conclude with the Biblical claims of truth. A study of truth presents several unique problems.

1. The problem of defining truth.

A survey of common definitions reveals the commonly accepted variables of meaning. Consider the following definitions:  

Dictionary.com -The actual state of matter in conformity with reality. 

Wikipedia – To be in accord with fact or reality.  

Merriam-Webster Dictionary - Fidelity, Constancy, fact, actuality.  

This morning we will define truth as, “An understanding of the facts that corresponds to reality.”

2. The problem of inconsistency in the approach to determining truth in the physical realm as opposed to the meta-physical.

Why do we demand concrete truth in the physical realm but deny absolute truth in the spiritual realm? 

We want truth in the physical realm to be concrete and fixed. There is no room for broad-mindedness in the chemical laboratory. Water is composed of two parts hydrogen and one part oxygen. The slightest deviation from that formula is forbidden. The same holds true in biology, athletics, and mechanics.  

Yet we want truth in the meta-physical realm to be fluid, non-factual, morally neutral, and open to interpretation. People hold this position because spiritual realities make moral judgments about right and wrong. And we don't like to be held accountable for our moral and spiritual choices. 

3. The problem of a lack of consensus on the basis of truth.

Much of this discussion is based on philosophical questions. What makes something true? How do we know what we know? Does this proposition satisfy the theory of correspondence [a statement or proposition is true if it coincides with reality]?

In contrast to those thoughts, we find one of the most quoted saying of Jesus. Our Lord said, “You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.” [John 8:32]  

Last week we examined the question, “Does God exist?” If we believe that God exists then we should ask, “Has He spoken?” While this message is just a survey of prevailing thought about the source of truth, we affirm that the Bible is God’s message of love to the world.

The Bible doesn’t just contain truth, it is truth. It is the inerrant Word of God!

Consider these views of truth.

I. The secular approach: Truth is perspective. 

Some have suggested that perspective is truth. The basis for their approach is personal opinion.

This approach is contingent on two variables. 
Consensus: This is the idea that the majority opinion of a cultural group determines the truthfulness of something. 

Relativism and situational ethics:  
1. The idea of relativism has been summarized by the popular phrase, “Truth for me.” 

2.  But what happens when “your truth” is in conflict with “my truth?”  

3.  Those that embrace relativism lack an objective standard by which to determine the truth.  

4.  Truth to them is simply an issue of expedience. In short, the secularist believes that truth changes.

It is this approach to truth that has led to the notion that every view, concept or idea should be tolerated and respected – even it is blatantly wrong. That is every view, concept or idea except those of Christianity. 

We have the secular approach, next is the:

II. The spiritual approach: Truth is tradition. 

The basis for this approach is religious mysticism. Our world is full of religions. Each of them claims to possess the truth. And our so-called tolerant society tells us that they are all right. In short, the argument goes like this, “All religions are basically teaching the same thing.” But we need to ask if that statement is true. 

Can we or should we challenge religious beliefs? Yes!  For that matter, we, as Christians, welcome those challenges. When comparing the truthfulness of all religious claims, there are only two options: 

1. Both claims are false.

2. One is truth and one is false. 

Just consider the comparisons between any monotheistic system of belief [Judaism, Christianity, and Islam] and any polytheistic system of belief [Hinduism, Shintoism, Animalism]. They may both be false, but they can’t both be true.

We have seen the secular approach and the spiritual approach, but wait there’s more. There is:

III. The scientific approach: Truth is facts. 

The basis for this approach is verifiable empirical data.

We must guard against assuming that the scientist are unbiased and neutral in dealing with the data. While the scientific approach can discover certain facts about our world, it cannot make any moral judgments in regard to those facts. Further, scientific “truth” does not necessarily affect human behavior. There are limits to the collection of data. Thus, science cannot know everything, especially regarding the meta-physical or spiritual arena. 

The Secular, the spiritual, and the scientific approach, can there be any more? Yes, the final approach we will look at this morning is:  

IV. The Scriptural approach: Truth is a person. 

Ultimately, we are asking, “Has God spoken?” And, if so, what has He said?” As Christians, we believe that God has spoken and that He has revealed Himself through His word – the Bible.

Consider these biblical truth claims. Although this is not an exhaustive list of truth claims, it is foundational to our understanding the source of truth. 

A. Objective truth exists - John 8:32

1. This is also called propositional truth.

2. We believe that just as we can boldly assert mathematical truth, we can affirm spiritual truth.

3. Further, this truth exists independent of one’s acceptance of it. 

B. The absence of truth creates bondage - John 8:32

             1. We might call this spiritual bondage. 

C. The application of truth liberates - John 8:32

             1. Truth only liberates if you believe it and apply it to your life. 

D. God’s Word is truth - John 17:17

             1. God has spoken.

             2. God desires to communicate with us.

             3. God’s communication is consistent with His nature.

             4. God breathed is Word into existence - 2 Timothy 3:16

E. Jesus embodies truth - John 14:6

             1. Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life” – John 14:6

Conclusion: “Lew Wallace, governor of New Mexico, was writing a book against Jesus Christ and in the process was converted to Christianity. He told a friend how it happened.” 

“I had always been an agnostic and denied Christianity,” Wallace said. “Robert C. Ingersoll, a famous agnostic, was one of my most intimate friends. He once said, ‘See here, Wallace, you are a learned man and a thinker. Why don’t you gather material and write a book to prove the falsity concerning Jesus Christ, that no such man has ever lived, much less the author of the teachings found in the New Testament? Such a book would make you famous. It would be a masterpiece, and a way of putting an end to the foolishness about the so-called Christ.’ ” 

“Wallace went home and told his wife about the project. She was a member of the Methodist Church and did not like the idea. But Wallace began to collect material from libraries all over the world that covered the period in which Jesus Christ should have lived. He did that for several years and then began writing. He was four chapters into the book, he says, when it became clear to him that Jesus Christ was just as real a personality as Socrates, Plato, or Caesar. “The conviction became a certainty. I knew that Jesus Christ had lived because of the facts connected with the period in which he lived.”

So he asked himself candidly, “If he was a real person, was he not then also the Son of God and the Savior of the world?” Gradually Wallace realized that since Jesus Christ was a real person, he probably was the one he claimed to be.”

“I fell on my knees to pray for the first time in my life, and I asked God to reveal himself to me, forgive my sins, and help me to become a follower of Christ. Toward morning the light broke into my soul. I went into my bedroom, woke my wife, and told her that I had received Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior.”

“ ‘O Lew,’ she said, ‘I have prayed for this ever since you told me of your purpose to write this book, that you would find him while you wrote it!’ ”

“Wallace went on to write a famous book. Every time I watch the epic film Ben Hur, based on that book, I wonder at how it was written by a man who wanted to disprove that Jesus ever existed and instead became convinced that he was the greatest man who ever lived.”