What is Truth? - Pt 2

So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. (John 8:31-32 ESV).

What is truth? Answering that question is made more difficult in view of the fact that all of us lie. It might be a lie to sell something or a lie to make yourself feel better. It could be a lie to help somebody else or perhaps to make another feel better. Perhaps you just exaggerate (preachers call that “ministerially speaking”). You brag. That’s not lying, right? That’s just expanding something to be more than it should be. There probably wouldn’t be any harm if we didn’t live such nuanced lives. A required smile is just a glint away from a genuine grin. A really great product is only a few words away from a product that often fails to work. Life becomes nuance and wordplay; and, freedom is pushed further from our reach. I do believe that unaltered, unbiased truth without the spin of nuance is the source of freedom. It is not freedom from work, or pain, or tribulation; however, it is freedom from the shame and guilt of our failure that erode away at our joy. When we find the truth, we find freedom that reaches out to catch us when we start to fall. So, what’s the truth? Or, better yet, how do we recognize it when we see it? Well, here’s a simple definition drawn from what the Bible teaches: Truth is that which is consistent with the mind, will, character, glory, and being of God. Even more to the point: Truth is the self-expression of God. That is the biblical meaning of truth. Because the definition of truth flows from God, truth is theological. If I am working on a project in the shop and the plan calls for a length of cut at sixty inches, it simply must be sixty inches. The real key is in the measurement. And, that requires a standard from which measuring tools are compared. Without detailing the ancient origin of the “inch” let me simply say there is a standard, replicable length which is accepted as such. For the truth, the standard is God. If you want accuracy in your life that sets you free, measure it against God. John MacArthur wrote: “In fact, the one most valuable lesson humanity ought to have learned from philosophy is that it is impossible to make sense of truth without acknowledging God as the necessary starting point. Truth is not subjective, it is not a consensual cultural construct, and it is not an invalid, outdated, irrelevant concept. Truth is the self-expression of God. Find God, you will know the truth. Find Jesus and you will know God. Read the Bible you will find Jesus. Then, and only then will you be set free. Maybe “WWJD” (What Would Jesus Do) was not just trendy!