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The Truth About the Truth
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Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God? Maybe you recognize that question. It's what they ask witnesses in a court of law right before they testify for or against an alleged criminal. I guess the idea is that if a person's future or even life hangs in the balance of what you may or may not say, it's sort of important that you get your facts straight, right? I have another question for you. One that is even more important than if you were standing in a courtroom before a judge with someone's life on the line, because the way you answer this question will determine your verdict when one day you are standing in the ultimate courtroom before the ultimate Judge with your eternal life on the line.
The question is this:
"Do you swear to know the absolute truth, the whole absolute truth, and nothing but the absolute truth, so help you God?"
You see, there are only two ways to answer this question. There are those that say "no". These are the folks that don't believe in such a thing as absolute truth (i. e. a truth that applies to all people everywhere for all time), so why would they swear to know it? To them, everybody makes their own "truth," and it greatly offends them when anyone comes along and says differently. And this isn't just a small group of people, either. According to a Gallup Poll, 52% of volunteer church leaders don't believe in absolute truth! Huh? Why do they even bother going to church, because of the awesome jokes the pastor tells? I kinda doubt it.
Anyway, the problem in denying the existence of absolute truth is that you put yourself in a self-defeating position. By saying there is no absolute truth, you are making an absolute statement presented as a truth. In other words, these people are saying something like this:
It is an absolute truth that there is no absolute truth.
That's like me saying: "I cannot speak English."
Duh! I just did!
When you think about it, there are absolute truths all over the place. Take gravity for example. If you drop an object and there is nothing attached to block its descent, it is going to fall. You can argue against it, refuse to believe it, call it offensive, whatever. None of these things will change the absolute truth that while on earth, gravity exists. There are also absolutes in other areas: aeronautical engineering, medicine, and science. I know I'm glad the person who designs airplanes believes in absolute truth and is not just "winging it!" Or how about your doctor? Don't you feel a little more secure knowing that he or she went to school and learned the truths that apply to medicine?
Actually the people who say there is no absolute truth actually do believe in them when it comes to things like gravity and science. But when you start to apply the same principle to morality and religion, they can get pretty uptight pretty quickly. Maybe that's because deep down they know that if there is absolute truth that applies to everyone everywhere in morality and religion, they might have to (heaven forbid!) CHANGE their lifestyle and choices!
They can't handle the truth!!!
The truth is that there is absolute truth that applies for all people in all places for all of time. The reason it exists is because it comes from the God who created all people and places and is outside of time. He wrote a book called the Bible, which contains the only inspired words of the Creator of the universe. The only place you will find absolute truth is in this book. It's not in the Koran, and it's not in the Book of Mormon. Those books were written by flawed men with flawed ideas. The Bible was written by a perfect God with perfect ideas...period. Jesus said,
"I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me." (John 14:6)
Notice He didn't say, "I am a way, a truth, and a life..." Jesus made the boldest statement ever made, that there is truth and it exists in Him. That's about as absolute as you can get, wouldn't you say? Jesus also said this: "And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." (John 8:32) Obviously if there wasn't such a thing as truth, then Jesus would have been lying when He said this. But since He IS the truth, He cannot lie, which means that His statement about the existence of truth is true!
So let's go back to our original question. Do you swear to know the absolute truth, the whole absolute truth, and nothing but the absolute truth, so help you God? One day God will ask all people how they responded to the claims of the Truth - His son Jesus. Those who denied the absolute truth of the gospel message will be denied entrance into heaven. Sadly enough, at that moment they will be the biggest believers in absolute truth that ever lived. Unfortunately it will be too late and they will live eternity in a place called hell. Those who know the Truth by trusting in Jesus for their salvation will get their reward for believing Jesus: an eternity in heaven.
Decide today to become a truth seeker. Read the Bible as the very words of God to build your life on. Don't fall into the post-modern trap of "anything goes because there are no absolutes," because that road is the surest and quickest way to a miserable life and an eternity in hell - and that's the truth!
Head: What you need to know about this truth
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Heart: What you need to feel about this truth
I honestly don't know how people who don't believe in truth make it through the day. Think about it, they wake up everyday believing that there's nothing to believe in, and that the only truth is that there is no truth. I don't know about you, but I'd be pretty confused. As well, death is sort of an undeniable reality, and those without truth are those without hope. There is no promise or guarantee as to what will happen when they go six feet under. Maybe reincarnation? Maybe just dust and ashes? Who knows? Contrast that with those who know the truth and have based their life on the absolute truth of Jesus Christ. We wake up every morning knowing that what we know will stand true forever. We have the promises of a perfect Parent in God our Father, and His promises will never be broken: our sins are forgiven, He hears and answers our prayers, when we die we have a paradise awaiting us, and on and on. This week, take some time to reflect on the promises of God from His Word and think about how they affect your life when you see them as absolute truth.
Hands: What you need to do about this truth
Everyday the super tolerant world becomes less and less tolerant of intolerant Christians who have the guts to say that there is absolute truth. People get "offended" because you are rude enough to let them know that their view of truth is a lie. It's time for all Christians everywhere to stand up to this ridiculous situation and start telling the truth about the truth! This week, I challenge you to talk to your friends about their view of truth. I guarantee you won't believe what answers you will get. In fact, I probably wouldn't believe them either, so that's why I also challenge you to take on this assignment: e-mail us with the results at expert@dare2share.org. One of the quickest ways to graduate from P. U. is to start making highly offensive statements like "the Bible is truth" or "Jesus is the way." By the way, when someone asks you, "How can you say that Jesus is the ONLY way to God?" you simply respond, "I didn't say that...He did, and I happen to believe Him. Here's why..." This leads to a perfect opportunity to present the GOSPEL Journey.
