Just before Jesus’ crucifixion, during his trial before Pontius Pilate, Pilate asked Jesus, “What is truth?” With this he went out again to the Jews gathered there and said, “I find no basis for a charge against him,” (John 18:38). It seems to me that Pilate responds to Jesus arrogantly regarding His previous statement about the truth. Perhaps his arrogance comes from Pilate’s position of power in the Roman Empire. He would have been a man responsible for making rules and decisions which impacted many people; perhaps he thought his position gave him the authority to dictate truth.
In this scripture the word truth is from the Greek word alétheia. According to Strong’s Lexicon alétheia is used to denote truth in a variety of contexts, including the truth of God, the truth of the Gospel, and the truth as a moral and ethical standard. It signifies not only factual correctness but also sincerity, integrity, and faithfulness. Alétheia is often contrasted with falsehood and deception, emphasizing the divine nature of truth as revealed in Jesus Christ and the Scriptures.
I often find it discouraging when factual correctness is distorted and integrity is not seen as important. It seems more and more these days that things which were once seen as truth are no longer held to be true. There is also an unwillingness to stand up for the truth – a reluctance to speak up when the truth is not accurately portrayed. We live in a world where people can make up their own truth and present it as factual. Is it possible for truth to be so fluid? If things we thought were true are changing, how can we count on truth to guide us and our children? We need to be able to anchor our lives on things that we know are truthful and not going to change. If we deviate from fundamental truths or standards, this can lead to catastrophic consequences.
I feel like the changes in truth today are similar to what we called in the industry where I worked, “normalization of deviation.” Normalization of deviation occurs when people become desensitized to an unacceptable practice and it becomes the new norm, or in some cases it becomes a slow reduction in standards where negative consequences are not experienced, and the reduction in standard is accepted as the new norm. A simple example of this is the common practice of some people to drive up to 99 km/hr in an 80 km/hr speed zone and not expect any consequences. This practice of exceeding the speed limit has become an accepted new norm by many. Obviously, those who don’t believe in God’s word as truth will ignore it. But should Christians practice that same attitude? Regrettably, there is a trend of some, who do believe in God’s word as truth, to slowly drift from it. Why the change and lack of commitment to the truth? Cultural changes and personal desires seem to cause deviations from God’s truth, and they become the new norm.
God’s truth must be the standard by which we can all live our lives by. We need to be able to count on this standard as consistent and unchanging. If we allow the standard to change or determine for ourselves what the standard should be, then the consequences will be unacceptable.
This reminds me of Aaron’s two sons who offered strange fire in their sacrifice to God. They deviated from what God had commanded them, with the result that fire went out from the Lord and devoured them, and they died in God’s presence (Leviticus 10:1-2).
In Deuteronomy7:1-4 the Israelites were warned against intermarrying, as this would turn their sons against following God and lead them to serving other gods. Despite God’s command and warning, many intermarried and learned the practices of ungodly people. In time they rejected God and started serving other gods. This cultural difference resulted in a deviation from God’s truth and the acceptance of other cultures and religions.
Even Solomon, who was blessed by God with wisdom and much more, found himself disobeying God through intermarriage. He loved many foreign women and had 700 princess wives and 300 concubines who turned his heart from God. Even worse, on the Mount of Olives east of Jerusalem, he built shrines dedicated to Chemosh, the detestable Moabite idol, and to Molech, the detestable Ammonite idol (1 Kings 11:1-8). The consequences of Solomon’s disobedience led to the division of the kingdom of Israel. God allowed the ten tribes of the northern kingdom to be ruled by Jeroboam, a servant of Solomon, and the two southern tribes to be ruled by Rehoboam, Solomon’s son, 1 Kings 11:14-43. These consequences not only impacted Solomon, but the entire Israelite nation.
David recognized that God is the source of truth and the importance of God teaching him truth.
- In Psalm 25:4-5 he writes “Show me Your ways, O Lord; Teach me Your paths. Lead me in Your truth and teach me, For You are the God of my salvation; On You I wait all the day.”
- And in Psalm 119:105 David recognizes God’s law as the source of understanding and truth “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”
Jesus reinforced what David tells us. He taught that truth was not simply a concept but it is embodied in Him. Truth is the very nature of God. In John 14:6 we read, “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” Contrast this with what Jesus said to the Pharisees with His warnings against the lies and deception of Satan in John 8:44, “You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.”
Truth comes from God, while lies or falsehoods come from Satan. Moses knew that God was truth. Just before his death, in his song to the Israelites, he said to them, “He is the Rock, His work is perfect; For all His ways are justice, A God of truth and without injustice; Righteous and upright is He” (Deuteronomy 32:4).
God’s truth does not change as it is rooted in His perfect nature. There is no need for God to adjust his truth based on culture and circumstance. There should be no need for us to advocate changes to God’s truth based on our changing culture. We can rely on God’s truth being unchanging and consistent. Scripture reveals that God is unchanging which means that His promises and character are as reliable today as they were yesterday, and will be for eternity. Despite what we may see going on in the world around us, this should give us hope for today, hope for our children and grandchildren in generations to come.
Malachi 3:6 teaches us, “For I am the Lord, I do not change; therefore, you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob.” There are many other scriptures which reveal that God’s truth does not change and will not change (Hebrews 6:17-18; James 1:17; Matthew 24:35).
God’s truth has the power to change our lives, our hearts and minds. His truth can make us new. God’s truth sets us free from the bondage, guilt and shame of sin. John states, “Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32).
God’s intention in giving us His truth is not just for us to store up that knowledge, but to put it into action. His word is able to change how we live our lives, how we interact with and love others, and how we handle difficulties and trials. God’s word allows us to imitate Christ in our daily lives.
James writes, “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does” (James 1:22-25).
As we continue to abide in God’s word, our character, our love and our purpose will gradually be shaped to reflect the very nature of Christ.
In II Corinthians 3:16-18 we read, “Nevertheless when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.”
Following God’s truth can result in a complete transformation for us as we learn a new way of living. We have the ability to put off our former sinful nature; our minds can be reshaped to see ourselves and others through the eyes of Christ. We have been given a new self, a new identity, forgiven and known by God – now able to live righteous and holy lives through the grace of God. In Ephesians 4:20-24 we read, “But you have not so learned Christ, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.”
So, what is truth? Truth is the word of God. I don’t know who to credit with this saying, which I heard recently. But it went like this: “When a man changes the truth, that’s an act of the devil. But when the truth changes a man, then that’s an act of God.”
Let us be willing to accept God’s word as absolute truth and never deviate from it or change it. Let us stand up for that truth and guard it against those who seem willing to change it or deviate from it. And let us allow God’s truth to continually transform us into the people we need to be for Him. Let us work to embed in our children and our grandchildren the assurances that come from following God’s truth. Let us have a desire to share God’s truth with those with whom we come into contact.
Owen Sound