What Is
Truth?
Truth is that immovable, indestructible
force that still brings an end to sin, heartache, sickness,
and degradation. It’s a rock in a weary land; it’s the salt
that makes men thirsty and the drink that quenches the thirst.
It’s been thru the storm, but the storm couldn’t turn it. It’s
been thru the fire, but the fire couldn’t burn it; fed to the
lions, but the lions couldn’t eat it; thru perils and wars but
never defeated. And while it stands, I shall stand. While it
marches on, I shall march on. It holds me up and I shall
uphold it by the grace of the living God.
As Pilot was questioning Jesus in the
hall of judgment, he asked this question, “Art thou a king
then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this
end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that
I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the
truth heareth my voice” (John 18:27). Upon hearing this, Pilot
responded with this question: “What is truth?” This same
question has echoed down through each era of time, right up to
the day and age in which we live.
There are many voices today in the realms
of religion, and they all claim to preach the truth. To the
world, the message is a confused one, and we often hear them
ask the same question Pilot did: What is truth? How can we
know what truth is and who is right? If we are to know the
truth today, we must go to the very source of truth, for if we
know what is right, then we will know who is right. Jesus
spoke to Thomas in John 14:6, saying, “I am the way, the
truth, and the life…” Jesus was truth personified, and He came
to show men how to live in the way of truth.
Our obedience and our worship must focus
on the truths that Jesus taught. Jesus knew that after He left
this earth, there needed to be another Guide so men could
continue to follow the truth. Therefore, He told His followers
He would send them a Comforter. He said in John 16:13,
“Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide
you into all truth…” Truth is the center of our religious
devotion; the only way that God will accept our worship is in
truth. The Lord taught the woman at the well that God is a
spirit and must be worshiped in spirit and in truth (John
4:24).
Moreover, the Bible is also a witness and
clearly speaks about what the truth is. It also teaches what
it will do for us, as well as what it requites from us. We
read in John 17:17, “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word
is truth.” So to know God’s Word is to know His truth, and
walking in that truth will set us apart from others. The
truths of God’s Word are spiritual and can be received only by
those who are spiritually minded. Those who are carnally
minded will find that the precepts of truth simply require too
much.
Standing for the truths of God’s Word
has brought persecution to the people of God down through time. The
simple fact remains that standing for the truth will affect
our daily lives as Christians; it governs our conduct. As we
are transformed more like the truth, our lives will reprove
unfruitful works of darkness.
Our commitment to truth must be such that
we esteem it higher than our reputation. Just as Jesus (who
was our example in all things) made Himself of no reputation,
the Christian must follow after truth without regard to what
others may think. God has highly exalted His truth. In Psalm
138:2 we read, “I will…praise thy name for thy lovingkindness
and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all
thy name.” God is looking for people who will sell out
completely to the truth. It is through them that God reveals
Himself, and they, in turn, become the light of the world.
It is the truths of God’s Word that
reveal the Church. There is nothing else that can build the
one that Jesus built. In I Timothy 3:15, Paul called it the
pillar and ground of the truth. In his letter to the
Ephesians, Paul showed us that the way of truth is a narrow
way. “There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called
in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism,
One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all,
and in you all” (Ephesians 4:4-6).
God will reveal these things only to
those who are sold out to the truth. If everyone would walk in
truth, there would be no division. God’s people are one in the
truth, and when the Word is preached, it is a rallying point
to which the church comes. It is like a banner to them that
fear thee, that it may be displayed because of the truth.”
The reason there are so many different
religions in the world today is that people have rejected
God’s Word and have gone on to build churches in their own
human understanding. The result is this: there are many
man-made churches in which people have a form of godliness but
deny the power thereof. When you line them up with the Word of
God, you will find that they are built on the creeds and
dogmas of men and not on truth. False prophets are deceiving
millions today. The only way they can succeed is to make
people feel they are teaching Bible for their doctrines when,
in fact, they are unlearned and unstable, wresting the
Scriptures to their own destruction. The word wrest means “to
twist or distort.” So these are men who take Scriptures out of
context and twist the meaning, thus deceiving the people.
Those who are willing to obey the truth
have a promise from the Lord. John 8:32 states, “And ye shall
know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” By knowing
the truth, we are free from the error that has deceived
others, from the traditions that are contrary to the Word of
God, and from the confusion that the devil has spread
throughout religion. It is the will of God that all men know
the truth. Jesus said, “If ye love me, keep my commandments.”
The greatest of all truths is that through salvation you can
live a life of holiness, by keeping the commandments of God
and walking pleasing in His sight.
God has pronounced judgment upon those
who love not His truth. Second Thessalonians 2:10-12 tells us
what well be their end: “And with all deceivableness of
unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not
the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this
cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should
believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not
the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” Those who do
no love truth will yield to compromise. On the other hand, a
real burning love for the truth is the only insurance we have
against compromise.
Samuel had some word to Israel in I
Samuel 12:24 that are still true today, “Only fear the Lord,
and serve him in truth with all you heart; for consider how
great things he hath done for you.” When we consider how
gracious the Lord was when He saved us from sin, it is only
fitting that we manifest our love to Him and to His truth from
our hearts. In fact, it seems such a small thing that God only
asks for our obedience in return for redemption.
Let us consider those who have placed
their faith in the truth. Hebrews, the eleventh chapter, is
filled with examples of people who have put their faith in God
and received what they asked for. What was the reason for
their confidence that God would answer them? They had walked
with God in obedience to His truth. If we do the same, we can
have the same favor with God that they had, for God is no
respecter of persons. To walk in fellowship with Him is the
desire of every child of God, and the only path that God walks
is truth.
