¿Is it the absolute truth or does it
vary according to circumstances and opinions? ¿Is it just a philosophical
question? What is truth according to the Bible?
Wiston Churchill once said,
"Sometimes men stumble upon the truth, but most get up and continue on
their way quickly, as if nothing had happened."
Is it possible to know "the
truth"? Or is the truth subject to human interpretations?
Many today think that truth is
relative under the circumstances - that something true in one situation is not
necessarily true in another. This would imply that the truth for one
person is not necessarily the truth for all. If this is true, how can we
be sure of what we should believe and how we should live?
About 2,000 years ago, a Roman
governor asked an unjustly accused prisoner, "What is the truth?" The
governor's name was Pontius Pilate, and the prisoner was Jesus of Nazareth
(John 18: 37-38).
Christ did not answer Pilate's
question on that occasion, or at least we have no record that he did. So
Pilate apparently gave up on his question and simply washed his hands of the
problem, or thought he had. However, Christ did answer this question
elsewhere, and the same writer (John) records it in a prayer from Jesus to his
Father.
What is truth ?: the definition of
Christ
On the night before his crucifixion,
Christ offered a heartfelt prayer to his Father to ask for his disciples - and
not only those of that time, but also those who would follow him in the future. In
the context of that prayer, Jesus said: “Sanctify them [set them apart] in your
truth; Your word is true ”(John 17:17, emphasis added).
Here, Christ is saying that we should
examine the pages of God's Word - the Holy Bible - to learn the truth of all
the important subjects of life. The Bible has the answers to why we were
born, what is our purpose in life, whether God exists, and what is the
potential of humanity, to name just a few of the topics covered in this book.
The psalmist also wrote, "The
sum of your word is truth" (Psalm 119: 160), and it is interesting that
the word "truth" is mentioned more than 200 times in the Scriptures.
The truth according to President
Ronald Reagan
Former President of the United
States, Ronald Reagan, said: “Americans long to explore the deeper truths of
life. Inside that one book [the Bible], "he continued," we would
find the answers to all the problems we face today, if only we read and
believed it. "
Reagan is hailed as one of the
greatest leaders in the United States and, like other leaders around the world,
he believed in the existence of a divine plan for humanity.
Jesus said that He was the truth
In an interesting twist to his
earlier statement, Jesus said to Thomas, "I am the way, and the truth, and
the life" (John 14: 6, emphasis added).
Paul further said to the Ephesians,
"If indeed you have heard him, and have been taught by him, according to
the truth which is in Jesus" (Ephesians 4:21, emphasis added). So
Christ, being God, is the embodiment of truth - the incarnate truth.
In the introductory commentary on his
epistle to Titus, Paul also wrote: “Paul, servant of God and apostle of Jesus
Christ, according to the faith of God's elect and the knowledge of the truth
that is according to godliness, in the hope of eternal life, which God, who
does not lie, promised from before the beginning of the ages ”(Titus 1: 1-2).
And Jesus said to the Jews who
believed in him: “If you remain in my word, you will truly be my disciples; and
you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free ”(John 8: 31-32). Knowing
the truth delivered the disciples from delusions, errors, and heresies.
Christ also revealed that Satan, when
he was Lucifer, had known the truth but did not abide in it; And rebuking
the Pharisees who did not believe in him, he told them that they were from his
father the devil. "He [the devil] has been a murderer from the
beginning, and has not remained in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When
he speaks lies, he speaks of himself; for he is a liar, and the father of
lies ”(John 8:44, emphasis added).
Reflecting the confusion that Satan
has created, Otto von Bismarcken jokingly said once: "When you
want to tease the world, tell the truth."
In short, the Bible describes truth
as the character, teachings, and promises of Christ; and everything that
does not agree with the Bible is false, wrong, misleading and heretical.
Spiritual forces against the truth!
Can we see what all this implies? God
is the source of truth through His Word. Jesus Christ personified the
truth; And an evil being dedicated to falsifying the truth is doing his
thing in our world! People should be more cautious before believing that
"the truth is not absolute." Where did this idea originate in
the first place? For it came from Satan, "the father of lies."
Satan lies now and has always done so
throughout history, literally deceiving the entire human race (Revelation 12:
9). Countless people have believed that they "discovered" a new
idea, when in fact it was Satan who put it into their minds.
Note the warning that Paul makes to
Timothy at the end of the letter that he wrote him: “O Timothy, keep what has
been entrusted to you, avoiding the profane talks about vain things, and the
arguments of the falsely called science, which professing some have turned away
from the faith ”(1 Timothy 6: 20-21).
Science is not the source of truth
Many also think that science can
reveal the truth. But, Kathy Sykes , an English physicist and
professor at the University of Bristol, explains that “science is not about the
truth, but about getting closer to the truth. This is important because
very often people think that scientists have 'the truth'. What we have is
shrouded in uncertainties, warnings, and simplifications. "
Wiston Churchill once said: “The
truth is indisputable. Malevolence can attack it, ignorance ridicule it,
but ultimately, there it is. "
Is there absolute truth?
On the other hand, there are those
who do not believe in the existence of an absolute truth. The Royal
Spanish Academy defines "absolute" as "whole, total,
complete"; and "truth" is defined as "the reality or
real existence of a thing; conformity of things with reality ...; verified
or indisputable fact ”.
Philosophers and scientists have
debated the existence of absolute truth for centuries. But many have
chosen to accept another philosophy, known as "situational ethics." Situational
ethics is defined as "a theory of ethics according to which moral rules
are not absolutely mandatory, but modifiable according to specific situations ( Webster's New World College Dictionary [Collegiate
Dictionary of the New World of Webster ]).
Ironically, when someone says
"There is no such thing as absolute truth," we might ask, "Are
you absolutely sure that's the case?" Affirming that absolute truth
does not exist is itself an attempt to establish absolute truth and is
therefore a statement that contradicts itself!
For example, just because someone
decides not to believe in the law of gravity, this does not mean that the law
of gravity does not exist. The same is true of the existence of God: what
a person believes about his existence has nothing to do with the fact that God
does indeed exist.
To be honest, people should admit
that they don't know if there is an absolute truth about a specific topic. However,
through the Bible God reveals that absolute truth does exist.
It is necessary to worship in truth
As Christ told a Samaritan woman at
Jacob's well, knowing the "truth" is essential to worship God:
"But the hour is coming, and now is, when true worshipers will worship the
Father in spirit and in truth; because the Father also such worshipers
seeks to be worshiped. God is Spirit; and those who worship him, in
spirit and in truth, must worship "(John 4: 23-24, emphasis added).
Even the enemies of Christ (the Pharisees)
admitted: "Teacher, we know that you are a lover of truth, and that you
truly teach the way of God" (Matthew 22:16). This statement probably
had an ironic tone, as the Pharisees were trying to deceive Christ, but their
description of Him was correct.
Furthermore, God describes His Holy
Spirit as a Spirit of truth who would eventually guide those who believed in
Him into all truth (John 16:13).
The example of David and Paul
Let's look at the examples of some
faithful who understood that God has the absolute truth. In Psalms 25: 5,
David prayed saying, "Lead me in your truth, and teach me, because you are
the God of my salvation"; Speaking
to the Ephesians, Paul recalled that "in him [God] also, having heard the
word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and having believed in it, you
were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise" (Ephesians 1 : 13).
To the members of the Church in Colossae ,
Paul said: “… because of the hope that is kept for you in heaven, of which you
have already heard by the true word of the gospel” (Colossians 1: 5). The
gospel that Christ and the apostles preached is the truth of the future Kingdom
of God.
Later, Paul reminded Timothy that he
should be diligent and rigorous in explaining and teaching the Word of God,
saying: "Try diligently to present yourself approved to God, as a worker
who does not have to be ashamed, who uses well [presents correctly] the word of
truth ”(2 Timothy 2:15). This "word of truth" is the Bible.
The apostle also told Timothy:
"... so that if I delay, you will know how you must conduct yourself in
the house of God, which is the church of the living God, column and bulwark of
truth" (1 Timothy 3:15). Here Paul is saying that there is also a
"true Church" where we can find the truth.
Guided by the truth
This is a summary of the biblical
answers to the question "what is truth?":
Jesus said that the Word of God, the
Bible, is true (John 17:17).
Christ, being God, is the personification
of truth (John 14: 6; Ephesians 4:21).
God cannot lie (Titus 1: 1-2).
Satan lies blatantly! We must be
vigilant in their attacks on the truth (Revelation 12: 9).
Christ promised his disciples that
they would know the truth (John 8: 31-32).
Truth is revealed in the Word of God,
not through science.
God only accepts that we worship him
"in spirit and in truth" (John 4:24).
Knowing the truth is wonderful, but
it is not enough! God expects us to act according to the truth as He
teaches it to us. Living the truth - walking in the truth - is more
important than knowing it. Both wisdom and knowledge, understanding and
truth are attributes of God, and He can show us the truth if we seek it
diligently and prayerfully.
“If you cry out for intelligence, and
for prudence you will give your voice; If you search for it like silver,
and search for it like treasures, then you will understand the fear of the
Eternal, and you will find the knowledge [the truth] of God. For the
Eternal gives wisdom, and from his mouth comes knowledge and intelligence
”(Proverbs 2: 3-6). This is the absolute truth!
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