The Truth

John 18:37–38 NKJV

37 Pilate therefore said to Him, “Are You a king then?” Jesus answered, “You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.” 38 Pilate said to Him, “What is truth?” And when he had said this, he went out again to the Jews, and said to them, “I find no fault in Him at all.”

I want to talk to you today about Truth.

Have you ever seen the show, “Is it Cake?” where bakers try to fool contestants. Their goal is to make a cake that looks like some object so realistic that the contestants think it is the real thing.

Sometimes the cake is so good that the contestants are so unsure and so uncertain. They make a big show of not being able to guess and pick it out.

I think life is like that sometimes. Things sometimes look a certain way, but they are not real.

Have you ever experienced uncertainty in life? Have you felt the disorientation and confusion that comes with it?

It’s getting harder to be certain in today’s day and age. Objective truth is being replaced with relative and personal truth. In other words, truth is being twisted.

But we need to find the truth and live in it so that we can be established and secure.

Only One Truth

Unfortunately, the idea of truth is not popular. Or at least the idea of an absolute truth.

Possibly because of the peer pressure or the fear of being cancelled, people are living their lives ignoring the truth and this will ultimately lead to destruction (Hosea 4:6).

Embracing the idea of a personal truth leads to deception. It is dangerous to trust the heart or your feelings or your perspective.

Jeremiah 17:9 NKJV

“The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?

This is why we need to understand that there is only one source of Truth. Ignoring it, rejecting it, or embracing something else will not change this reality.

We must be able to recognize, embrace, and live in the Truth.

Living In Truth

Truth in the Bible means more than accuracy or veracity. In the Old Testament the word has a moral connection with the person of God Himself. It carries the ideas of faithfulness, reliability, certainty, and dependability. The New Testament conception extends the definition to include reality and completeness.

We are invited to live in the truth and to be established in it (cf. Zechariah 8:16).

Truth Originates With God

John 14:6 NKJV

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

As the phrase goes, “All truth is God’s truth” (cf. Psalm 31:5). God is the source of truth.

Truth is an essential aspect of God’s character. It seen in His faithfulness, reliability, justice, and mercy (Numbers 23:19, Psalm 96:13). God hates lies and falsehood (Isaiah 59:14-15). True is who God is.

It is important to recognize that this is why people are seeking to twist the truth in this cultural moment.

Romans 1:24–25 NKJV

24 Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, 25 who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.

This is a part of a larger text that speaks of the disastrous consequences of rejecting God. But the reason of the cultural brokenness was that people exchanged the truth for a lie. They worshiped and served the creature and creation instead of the true and living God.

In writing, having a credible source is important to accuracy and confidence and authority.

Because God is the source of truth anything that is real or true or accurate is from Him. And because the source of truth is not ourselves or other fallen or broken people we can have confidence in Him.

Because God is the source of truth, He is the authority on what is right and just and true. Truth is not subjective to our experience but objective and according to the character of God and corresponds to the reality He has created.

Any conversation about truth is ultimately a conversation about God. If we want to live according to truth and reality, we need to live in relation to God.

The Word of God Reveals Truth

John 18:37 NKJV

Pilate therefore said to Him, “Are You a king then?” Jesus answered, “You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.”

Pilate actually asked Jesus, are you the king? Essentially wondering if He was the one that he had heard about. But Jesus deflected that and redirected Pilate’s attention. He said that the purpose that he came into the world and for which He was born was so that He would bear witness and testify to the truth.

In the Greek, there are two words that are connected to the word truth. One is logos and the other pistis. Logos is used to speak of Jesus in the gospel of John.

John 1:1 NKJV

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

John 1:14 NKJV

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

In the original Greek usage the function of logos was to reveal, indicate, express, or disclose (TDNTA). Jesus, the Word of God, is full of grace and truth. The Word of God testifies and bears witness to the truth of God. It reveals God.

Psalm 43:3 NKJV

Oh, send out Your light and Your truth! Let them lead me; Let them bring me to Your holy hill And to Your tabernacle.

The word of God leads us to truth because it ultimately leads us to God Himself. Not only that, it defines for us reality based on His terms.

Because the word of God leads us to truth it also inspires pistis, the other key word connected to truth. This word means faith or faithfulness, assurance, confidence.

Illustration:

Knowing the truth sets us free (John 8:32). Because of this, we need to pursue the truth in the places where we know it can be found. And the most important place we can go is to the Word of God.

We Are Established by the Truth

2 Peter 1:10–12 NKJV

10 Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble; 11 for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 12 For this reason I will not be negligent to remind you always of these things, though you know and are established in the present truth.

Truth is genuine reality that is firm, certain, reliable, accurate. It is authentic, divine reality that leads to integrity and stability.

When you build your life on the Truth you will be established. To be established carries the idea of being sustained, firmness, supported.

In other words, when you are established by the truth you will be living from a place of confidence, security, stability, and integrity. You will not be moved or tossed about by every fad or idea that blows on by (cf. Ephesians 4:14).

You will be grounded in the divine reality. Your life will be characterized by integrity. While others are drawn away, you will be secure.

Illustration: An anchor keeps a boat in place in the waters and prevents it from drifting away with the wind or the current while it is still. Without an anchor, the boat will slowly drift due to the wind or the current. This can put both the ship and the crew at risk.

Truth serves as an anchor (cf. Hebrews 6:19). It keeps us from being caught up in the passing fads and fading opinions of the people around us. It prevents us from getting entrenched in cultural bias and worldviews that are contrary to the kingdom.

Build your life on the Truth. Build your life on Jesus.

And build your live on the truth of His words.

Matthew 7:24–27 M:BCL

24 “These words I speak to you are not incidental additions to your life, homeowner improvements to your standard of living. They are foundational words, words to build a life on. If you work these words into your life, you are like a smart carpenter who built his house on solid rock. 25 Rain poured down, the river flooded, a tornado hit—but nothing moved that house. It was fixed to the rock. 26 “But if you just use my words in Bible studies and don’t work them into your life, you are like a stupid carpenter who built his house on the sandy beach. 27 When a storm rolled in and the waves came up, it collapsed like a house of cards.”

If you want to be established in this life and unto the next, make sure that you are building it upon the truth. Not the relative truth of the people around you but on the truth of the Word of God and the God of the Word!

Conclusion

Certainty and stability are wonderful things. And though we will not be certain or confident of every facet of our lives, if we begin with what we know to be true, we will find ourselves secure.

We must start our search for truth with seeking God. Because God is the source of all truth.

Approach your life according to the teachings of Jesus. He speaks the truth. His words reveal divine reality and impart understanding and wisdom. Study the word of God so that you can apply it to your life. This is essential because the Word of God reveals the truth to us and makes it accessible to us.

Do these things and your life will be established by the truth. Live according to the example of Jesus. Be led by the Holy Spirit, who is the Spirit of Truth (John 14:17). Apply the words of truth to your life. And you will be established, secured, and anchored in the face of the storms of life.

Pray. Make a commitment to pursuing and living by the truth. A good place to start is by reading the Bible daily.