Truth
There is a huge need in our culture and our churches to examine truth and how it guides (or should guide us in) how we live. Isaiah 59:14-15 seems to have application to our culture today:
So justice is driven back, and righteousness stands at a distance; truth has stumbled in the streets, honesty cannot enter. Truth is nowhere to be found, and whoever shuns evil becomes a prey. The LORD looked and was displeased that there was no justice.
This seems to describe our culture today. The distortion and suppression of truth results in a society who decides for themselves what is right and wrong, which ultimately ends in chaos. Truth is not found in apologetics, philosophy, or intellectualism, but in the character of God. The character of God is best seen in his exact representation of his being, Jesus Christ (Hebrews 1:3). The real question is not “what is truth,” but “who is truth”. Jesus said “I am the way, the truth, and the life…” (John 14:6). John MacArthur states that “Truth is that which is consistent with the mind, will, character, glory, and being of God.”
This means truth is always relational. Man either violates or redefines truth to live like he wants to live or submits to truth and lives out the character of Jesus, which is what God desires. Jesus said in John 8:31-32 “…If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
Freedom is found in the person of Jesus. Truth is personal, relational, and transformational. John Parsons describing how truth is personal says the following:
Indeed, Pilate’s famous question, “What is truth?” is a category mistake, since truth is not about “what” but about “Who.” That is, truth is not something objective and static, a thing to be known and studied from a distance. No. Truth is up-close and personal. Understood in this way, truth is a way of living, a mode of existence, and inherently relational. It is a mistake to think of God as an “object” to be studied. No, God is not some static thing but rather a dynamic and forceful Person. Unlike the Greek philosophers who tended to regard God as little more than a “machine” (deus ex machina) or device that caused the universe to “get going,” the LORD God of Israel is intensely personal, feeling, emotional, compassionate, angry, and so on. The Hebrew view of God is that of a Living Person, a Spoken Word, and a Fiery Breath that broods over the events of the physical world.
Truth is not a loner. Because it is relational, you see it accompanied by grace, love, and peace. Jesus came full of grace and truth. You discover this when you see how He responds to people and their need for help. The Father is the
God of truth, Jesus is the way, the truth and the life, and the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth who has given us the Bible, the Word of truth that we might come to know God through Jesus and walk with Him in holiness. In the words of Jesus, “Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth” (John 17:17).
Truth and grace not only convert us but grow us in holiness. Our continual sanctification is dependent on the revelation of His word. In other words, consume the Word of God and become more like the Word of God, Jesus. Truth changes us.
So what is our responsibility concerning truth in the culture we live in? If truth has fallen in the streets (Isaiah 59:14) is there any hope? Yes, because like Jerusalem of old, the presence and blessings of God can be restored by His power and through His people.
Zechariah 8:3,16-19: “This is what the LORD says: “I will return to Jerusalem and live in it. Then it will be called the City of Truth…These are the things you should do: Tell each other the truth. In the courts judge with truth and complete fairness… you must love truth and peace.”
As people who follow Jesus we must speak the truth, practice the truth, and love the truth. That truth is Jesus. Truth changes us. We don’t change it. Our testimony must be stronger than ever in a culture where truth has fallen in the streets.