“What Is Truth?”
Truth should not be difficult to ascertain, but it is. As soon as a statement is made, it seems that experts crawl out of the woodwork, lining up on opposing sides with arguments, statistics, and quotes, leaving many people confused. Then there is the concept of spin, which is often generously applied. One old story involves a policeman standing at an intersection where he observed a motorist fail to stop in time, thus hitting the car in front of him, which was sitting at a red light. The policeman sauntered over to the offending vehicle, and he was about to give the driver a ticket when he recognized the driver as a judge. Thinking quickly, he said, “Your honor, how fast do you think the car in front of you was backing up when he hit you?”
Some make the attempt to bend, distort, or reverse the truth—yes, even what is presented in the Scriptures, but Jesus said that if a person continued in His word, they would know the truth (John 8:31-32). The fact that this question was only 49th in the recent 101 questions readers asked of Google.com may reflect the attitude of postmodernism, which is, “It doesn’t matter because truth doesn’t exist anyway.” If society had not been inundated by this error, the question would surely have been in the Top Ten.
Jesus did affirm that the truth would set people free from sin. “Wait a minute,” someone might protest. “I didn’t see any mention of sin in those two verses.” One should continue reading the context. When Jesus’ adversaries claimed they had never been in bondage to anyone (Had they forgotten Egypt and Babylon?), He answered them:
“Most assuredly I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed” (John 8:34-36).
Jesus definitely did mean that He (and His Word) would set people free from sin. When the Lord stood before Pilate, He unabashedly claimed that the reason He came into the world was “to bear witness to the truth” (John 18:37). He added that everyone who is of the truth hears His voice—which means they listen to it and obey it. John describes Jesus early on as being “full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). Jesus not only spoke the truth; He claimed it was possible for true worshipers to worship in spirit and in truth (John 4:24).
One other verse of note on this subject is John 14:6, where Jesus affirmed, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” So, Jesus said that, by studying His Word, we would know the truth; He is the truth; and He came to bear witness of the truth. The wisest thing that we could do, then, is to pay attention to what Jesus taught while He was upon the earth.
The Way
As already noted, Jesus is the way to the Father; nobody comes to the Father except through Jesus. This statement means, among other things, that Muhammad (the way of Islam) is not the way to God. Muhammad is not going to lead anyone to Paradise or see to it that they receive 70 virgins. Those who have strapped on suicide vests will have only succeeded in destroying themselves and others.
God has promised no reward to those who murder and maim—only punishment—and that is the truth. Jesus taught people to love another (John 13:34-35)—even one’s enemies (Matt. 5:43-48). Jesus used a Samaritan (who were despised by the Jews) to illustrate love (Luke 10:30-37). The leadership of Islam, as well as the Qur’an itself, desires to destroy or limit the freedom of everyone who does not swear allegiance to the prophet. Muhammad did not deliver truth, nor did he know how to save anyone from their sins.
Buddhism and Hinduism are not “the way” either. Returning to life in endless incarnations will not advance anyone. If Jesus is right, every other religious system developed by man throughout the entire world is false. Consider the various results of each religion: Buddhism and Hinduism may make a few people better, but they do not offer salvation from their sins. Islam may promise rewards, but what is the basis of such beliefs? Muhammad said so. An angel spoke to him—allegedly. Joseph Smith made the same claim (see Galatians 1:6-9).
Proof, however, surrounds Jesus. He healed hundreds and thousands of people from all manner of diseases (Mark 6:54-56). He even brought the dead back to life (John 11). Furthermore, He Himself was raised from the dead, a fact to which all of the apostles and others bore witness (Acts 2:32). Those who lived in the first century found the combination of eyewitness testimony and the fulfillment of Scriptures sufficient evidence to believe that Jesus did speak the truth, and millions more have believed ever since.
Of course, atheism has neither genuine nor false hopes to offer. It simply promises that, when a person dies, he ceases to exist, which is as erroneous as Islam’s Paradise. No atheist should advocate that which he cannot prove because in this case great harm will result. In fact, disappointment and punishment will be received by all of those who believe what is untrue. All need truth on this subject, and Jesus brought it. The majority of people will be lost while few are saved (Mat. 7:13-14). Not only will the righteous be rewarded; those who have rejected Christ will be lost. Everyone is either with Jesus or against Him (Mat. 12:30); no middle ground exists. Many will learn too late that the disobedient will go into everlasting punishment (25:46).
Blessedness
Solomon approached the pursuit of happiness the way many people in the world (and particularly in the United States) do today; they seek the physical. The king of Israel looked for the meaning of life in wealth, sex, entertainment, and knowledge, but all of this was vanity and a striving after the wind, as he records in the Book of Ecclesiastes. He finally concluded the whole purpose of man is to fear God and keep His commandments (Ecc. 12:13). Perhaps, he realized, after all, that what Moses wrote was the truth—that God gave commandments for our good (Deut. 10:12-13).
Jesus did not advocate that one could find happiness in those things, either; it actually comes from following God and His precepts: being humble, mourning over sins, displaying meekness, hungering and thirsting after righteousness, being merciful and pure in heart, trying to be a peacemaker, and willing to be persecuted for righteousness’ sake. These things we ought to pursue in life, and happiness will result.
Faith in God
Jesus taught His disciples to pray to the Father in the model prayer found in Matthew 6:9-13. In the opening address we see that the Father is to be respected and revered as the great Being He is. He has the power to forgive our sins and keep us from temptation—especially if it is beyond what we can bear (1 Cor. 10:13). Later, Jesus would instruct His apostles to pray to the Father through Him (John 16:23).
Our Savior talked about laying up treasures in heaven rather than those on earth (Matt. 6:19-21). He also cautioned against worry because God cares about His children (vv. 25-31). He assured all that the Father already knows what we need (v. 32) and that if we seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness first, all of our necessities will be provided (v. 33). We simply must ask, seek, and knock (Matt. 7:7-11). Jesus counsels us to be rich toward God (Luke 12:15-21).
The Golden Rule
A human response to life is to complain about the way others treat us. Jesus said to treat others the way we want them to treat us (Matt. 7:12). “Oh, will that guarantee they give us the proper respect?” No. It doesn’t guarantee anything except that we are doing what’s right and pleasing to the Father. How others behave they will give an account for; we can only be responsible for ourselves.
The good Samaritan did not ask if the man who had been attacked and left for dead would have helped him if the circumstances were reversed; he did what needed to be done no matter how the man might have viewed him (Luke 10:30-37). David did not ask Nabal to pay him for protecting his assets; he did it because it was the right thing to do. The churlish fellow’s attitude reflected poorly on himself—not David.
False Doctrine
Jesus taught that truth is important by issuing a warning: “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves” (Matt. 7:15). Almost anyone who claims to be religious can get a following. Many of the Jews revered the Pharisees; the Sadducees had their own following. These two groups not only disagreed with each other about what God required; they also disagreed with God on some matters as well. Today, some religious hack gets a following claiming to do miracles or by writing works of fluff for “Christians.” More false doctrine dwells among religious adherents than most people realize.
Eventually, Jesus denounced the Pharisees (Matt. 23) and exposed several of their errors. He demonstrated that the Sadducees did not understand the Scriptures nor believe in the power of God (Matt. 22:23-33). One might think that people would take these warnings to heart and be very careful about what they believe, but alas! it is not so. Many claim to speak in tongues or receive modern-day prophecy, though these spiritual gifts came to an end in the first century (1 Cor. 13:8-10). Others deliberately violate the principle of male spiritual leadership (1 Tim. 2:9-14). Nevertheless, all of these error-laden “leaders” have their followings.
Even some in the Lord’s church have traveled in this direction; yet formerly sound brethren not only follow the false teachers—they seem to take great delight in having departed from the truth. Paul would later write that the motive of such men was “to draw away disciples after themselves” (Acts 20:30). Such “trees” will be cut down and cast into the fire (Matt. 7:19).
Obedience
One of the other truths Jesus taught was for His followers to do “the will of My Father in heaven” (Matt. 7:21). No one can “talk” a good fight; Christianity is designed to be lived (Matt. 5:13-16). Many will be surprised on the Day of Judgment to be called, “Lawless,” and to be rejected by the Savior. The reason is that Jesus’s disciples must follow Him in all things—not just a few. He is “the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him” (Heb. 5:9). Christians must be doctrinally sound, moral, and zealous.
Jesus warned the brethren at Ephesus regarding the restoration of their first love (Rev. 2:1-7). Paul also emphasized maintaining good works (Titus 3:8, 14). Jesus chastised Sardis for being spiritually dead (Rev. 3:1) and Laodicea for being lukewarm (Rev. 3:14-16).
Many do not think morality is an important facet of Christian living, but it is. Jesus taught that evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, and blasphemies defile a man (Matt. 15:18-20). He was going to bring a severe punishment upon Jezebel and her followers in Thyatira unless they repented (Rev. 2:18-23). Peter likewise pronounced great woe on Christians who chose immorality (2 Peter 2:20).
Jesus came to bear witness to the truth, and He did. He did so concerning Himself—as to who He was and why He came—to save people from their sins (Luke 19:10). He is the only way to the Father, as well as the only Savior to save men from their sins. He also taught the way we ought to live in order to be happy. He taught that we must have faith in God and love for our fellow man (Matt. 22:37-40), which involves treating others the way we want to be treated. He differentiated between moral and immoral behavior and warned against false doctrine (Matt. 15:1-9). We also must be thoroughly zealous in our worship and service of our God. May we all highly value truth.