Throughout this summer we are doing an apologetic series called, “What do you believe?” In addition, during the month of August we will be offering a few sessions on cults and comparative religions. Our desire as a church is to equip people with the truth so each person can stand up for and defend their Christian faith.
We live in a day and age where people are longing for truth and wondering if it can be known. We want to be told the truth by our friends and loved ones, by our doctor, our employer; we want the truth from advertisers, from researchers, leaders, & politicians. We assume that road signs, medicine and most food labels reveal the truth. In fact, we demand the truth in almost every facet of life that affects our money, relationships, safety, health, and our future. But there is this love/hate relationship with truth. Especially when it comes to the area of morality and a belief in God.
Augustine said:
We love the truth when it enlightens us, but we hate it when it convicts us.
People tend to think there is no absolute truth. Each person should decide for himself” and “If it works for them, fine.” Maybe you have heard the statement, “Your truth is not my truth.” In reality, many times, it is because a person doesn't want to be accountable to an unchanging, objective moral standard or to a transcendent being. But the question is, “Does your truth match with reality?” How do you know it is the truth? This brings us to our passage today.
Please turn with me to John 18:28-38
Then they brought Jesus from Caiaphas into the Praetorium, and it was early; and they themselves did not enter the Praetorium, so that they would not be defiled, but might eat the Passover. Therefore Pilate came out to them and said, “What accusation are you bringing against this Man?” They answered and said to him, “If this Man were not a criminal, we would not have handed Him over to you.” So Pilate said to them, “Take Him yourselves, and judge Him according to your law.” The Jews said to him, “We are not permitted to put anyone to death.” This happened so that the word of Jesus which He said, indicating what kind of death He was going to die, would be fulfilled. Therefore Pilate entered the Praetorium again, and summoned Jesus and said to Him, “You are the King of the Jews?” Jesus answered, “Are you saying this on your own, or did others tell you about Me?” Pilate answered, “I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests handed You over to me; what have You done?” 36 Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm.” 37 Therefore Pilate said to Him, “So You are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say correctly that I am a king. For this purpose I have been born, and for this I have come into the world: to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to My voice.” 38 Pilate said to Him, “What is truth?” And after saying this, he came out again to the Jews and said to them, “I find no grounds at all for charges in His case.
Pilate is asking Jesus here, whether He was actually the King of the Jews and what is the real reason He was standing in front of him. Jesus said: My kingdom is not of this world and… My kingdom is not of this realm.” In verse 37 Pilate said, “Then You are a king!” Jesus confirmed that He was a king and as the King of kings, He replied that the reason He was even born in this world was to testify to the truth.
Pilate’s question was, “What is truth?” We’re not sure if he was sincerely asking or was just being cynical. But this and other questions have been raised throughout the ages:
1. What is truth?
2. Can the truth be known? and
3. Can the truth about God be known?
Let’s look at the first question:
1. What is truth? Very simply, truth is:
? That which corresponds to reality.
? That which matches its object.
? Simply telling it like it is.
What can we observe about the nature of truth?
? Truth is unchanging even though our beliefs about truth change. (At one time, many believed the earth was flat instead of round. The truth about the earth didn’t change, but as they gained more knowledge about the earth their belief about the earth changed.)
? Truth is discovered, not invented. It exists independent of anyone’s knowledge of it. (Gravity existed prior to Newton.) The laws governing nature existed before they were discovered.
? Truth is transcultural; if something is true, it is true for all people, in all places, at all times (2+2=4 for everyone, everywhere, at all times).
? All truths are absolute truths. Even truths that appear to be relative are really absolute.
? Beliefs cannot change a fact, no matter how sincerely they are held. (Someone can sincerely believe the world is flat, but that only makes that person sincerely wrong.)
? Something is not true simply because the masses believe it is true.
In short, contrary beliefs, opinions, views, preferences and feelings are possible, but contrary truths are not possible. Question 2 is…
2. Can the Truth be known?
How would you answer someone who makes statements such as, “You can’t know the truth”, “Truth is relative”, “There are no absolute truths” or “Your truth is not my truth?” First let’s be clear, these claims are self-defeating. What do I mean by a self-defeating claim? If someone says, “No one can know the truth” - you could respond by asking, “Is that true”? If someone says all truth is relative and not absolute you could respond by asking, “Are you absolutely sure?”
What if you were pulled over by the police and they told you that you were driving 60 km in a 30 km zone and you said, “that’s true for you but not for me.” Simply stated, your truth doesn’t match with the radar’s reality. The radar is simply telling it like it is. In fact, in the majority of our interactions and decisions we don’t live like truth is relative or like there are no absolutes. We don’t expect that when you go to buy something that whatever price is printed on the products will be higher when we get to the cashier. If they are, you can be sure we would say something. Why is this the case? Because we live and plan our lives with absolutes, that which corresponds with reality. What would life be like if certain people decided that red lights meant go and green lights meant yield? That I decided which laws I will obey and which I will disregard? We know what the consequences would be, in Austria it would be chaos.
Truth is undeniable. Truth is exclusive and people have a hard time with this in our relative society. People ask, “what about all these other world religions? How can only one be right?” Frank Turek, C. S. Lewis, and others explain that God has implanted right and wrong in our human conscience, so it makes sense that many religions have a similar type of moral code whether you call it the golden rule (what Jesus taught) or the silver rule (what Confucius taught). Ancient Jewish, Nordic, Greek, Roman, Hindu, Babylonian texts all teach about how we should treat other human beings, about human rights, about justice, etc. However, Sean McDowell points out that every religion has its own specific idea of who God is (or is not) and how salvation may be attained. Judaism and Buddhism cannot possibly both be true – God cannot both exist and not exist. There cannot be a God who exists in three persons (the Trinity) and at the same time exist as one person (as Allah).
If someone insists that no one can determine which beliefs are right or wrong, why should you believe this claim? In other words, his or her argument is self-defeating. The question we should be asking is: Which faith or belief system makes truth claims that most accurately reflects the way the world is? And which world religion most comprehensively answers the five big questions in life:
1. Where did we come from? (origin)
2. Who are we? (identity)
3. Why are we here? (meaning/purpose)
4. How should we live? (morality)
5. Where are we going? (destiny)
So why is truth so important?” Because the answer has both temporal and eternal consequences. There are those who are honestly searching for the truth because they organize their lives around what they believe is ultimately true. Many may defer to the discoveries of science to find truth and meaning. Science does an excellent job of explaining the physical mechanisms of the material world but does not explain metaphysical concepts. In other words, science helps explain the what and how questions of life but not why it happens and what it ultimately means. In an article written by William Reville, a professor of biochemistry said:
Science can give us power and comfort but not wisdom and happiness. Science is silent in many areas that are of the greatest importance. Science is silent on values, meaning and purpose…And science is silent on the supernatural. It doesn’t deny the supernatural – it just has nothing to say about it.
Nobel Prize winner Sir Peter Medawar said:
Science is limited since it can’t answer the typical questions of a child. “Where have I come from? What am I here for? What’s the purpose of life?” And he said it’s outside science - to literature, religion, philosophy - that we have to look for answers to those questions.
We can know the truth about the physical world around us but what about the unseen world? Which brings us to our 3rd question:
3. Can the truth about God be known?
How do we know that there is a God? Why do we believe that the Bible is the Word of God? On what basis do we trust the New Testament as a historical record of Jesus’ life and resurrection? How can we be so sure that Jesus was God in the flesh? In this current age, how can anyone believe in supernatural miracles anyway? Truth is not just what corresponds to reality, it points to the Truth giver.
The word truth in the OT is emunah. The semantic range of this Hebrew word includes faithfulness, justice, unchangeableness, solidity, firmness, right/righteousness, soundness, steadiness, loyalty, constancy… and much more. Truth in the NT is aletheia, which literally means to “un-hide” or “hiding nothing.” It conveys the thought that truth is always there, always obvious, open and available for all to see, with nothing being hidden or obscured.
The Word teaches us that God’s existence is obvious, and many of us would testify that His existence is obvious to us personally. Scripture never argues for the existence of God; rather, it states that He is clearly revealed to everyone (Rom. 1:19-20).
Paul said:
…because that which is known about God is evident within them [in their inner consciousness], for God made it evident to them. For ever since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through His workmanship [all His creation, the wonderful things that He has made], so that they [who fail to believe and trust in Him] are without excuse and without defense (Rom 1:19-20).
Jesus said the reason He came to this earth was to testify to the truth (to reality of the seen and unseen). Jesus not only testified to the truth, He is the embodiment of Truth and came to reveal the reality of God. John Lennox stated that Jesus is the truth, His word is truth (John 17:17), Truth is a Person. His nature is truth, it never changes and because He is deity, He knows everything about everything because He is omniscient and omnipresent. As the Truth He knows every thought, every motive and every action. He sees behind our masks and knows our hearts. He knows the end from the beginning, He sees everything in real time, therefore, He sees reality as it truly is. He came to communicate the truth through His Word. He told the truth about the one true God, about the world’s condition and its need for a Savior. He wanted everyone to know the truth of not only how things are but how things should be and will be for those who place their trust in Him.
What do we do with the truth? What do we believe and why?
When we get to know Jesus through His word, we get to know the truth. The truth about God, who we are, where we came from, why we are even here on this earth, how we should live, and where we are going. We read the passage in John 18 today and at the end of his gospel, John stated that he wrote that these things so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God and that by believing you may have life in His name. Jesus teaches us the Truth - that which is unchanging, tran-scultural, and that which corresponds with reality. As His family, the Spirit of truth will always tell us it like it is. The question is are we willing to listen to His voice - if we are and continue to listen to His voice, Jesus said -You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.”
We want to know what we believe and why. What do you believe about God? Are you able to share the reason for the hope that is in you? We will be looking at the evidences for the existence of God throughout this summer and hope you will join us on this journey.
