Truth Is Whatever You Want It To Be Series

### Introduction: The Red Balloon and the Culture of Subjective Truth

Each week in this series we’ve let culture speak first — and then we’ve asked, ‘What does God say?’

Today I want to show you a short, funny little sketch that captures our cultural moment about as well as anything I’ve seen. Watch what happens when a simple fact — the color of a balloon — becomes… negotiable.”

Video Ill.: Red Balloon by One Time Blind

So… what color is the balloon??

Right. Red. Unless it’s green. Or yellow. Or blue… or purple from the back row… or nonexistent if you only see in black & white… or if ‘there is no balloon’ at all!”?

Here’s my favorite line from the skit: ‘The funny thing about truth is, it’s true… whether you believe it or not.’

We live in a world where truth has become a personal preference.

The mantra today is: “You do you.” “Live your truth.” “What’s true for you is true for you.”

But when everything is true… nothing is.

Over the past several weeks, we’ve been walking through some of the most dangerous lies our world tells — and the truth God speaks in response:

1. “You Are Not Enough” — The world says you do not measure up. But God says you are made in His image, and His grace is sufficient.

2. “Your Past Defines You” — The enemy whispers that your mistakes disqualify you. But in Christ, your past is redeemed, and your story is not over.

3. “We Are Not Strong Enough” — Culture tells us to rely on ourselves. But God’s strength is made perfect in our weakness.

4. “We Are Alone in This World” — The lie is isolation. The truth is Immanuel — God with us — always present, never leaving.

5. “God Has Abandoned Us in Our Struggles” — In hard seasons, it can feel like God is silent. But His Word assures us: His mercies are new every morning, and His presence never fails.

6. “What You Have Defines Your Worth” — The world measures value by wealth and status. But God says your worth is found in being His — created, loved, and redeemed.

This morning, in a world that says, ‘Pick the version of reality that fits you best,’ Jesus claims something far bolder — not a truth, but the Truth.

Today, we are going to confront that lie head-on: the lie that truth is whatever you want it to be.

And we are going to hold it up to the light of the One who called Himself the way, the truth, and the life.

### **I. The Lie: Truth is Relative**

Even in Jesus’ time, some believed that truth was relative. Believe whom you wanted to believe. Follow whom you wanted to follow. Follow along from John 18 as we see just one example of relativism playing out.

33 Then Pilate went back into his headquarters and called for Jesus to be brought to him. “Are you the king of the Jews?” he asked him.

34 Jesus replied, “Is this your own question, or did others tell you about me?”

|| 35 “Am I a Jew?” Pilate retorted. “Your own people and their leading priests brought you to me for trial. Why? What have you done?”

36 Jesus answered, “My Kingdom is not an earthly kingdom. If it were, my followers would fight to keep me || from being handed over to the Jewish leaders. But my Kingdom is not of this world.”

37 Pilate said, “So you are a king?”

Jesus responded, “You say I am a king. Actually, I was born and came into the world to testify to the truth. || All who love the truth recognize that what I say is true.”

38 “What is truth?” Pilate asked. Then he went out again to the people and told them, “He is not guilty of any crime. 39 But you have a custom of asking me to release one prisoner || each year at Passover. Would you like me to release this ‘King of the Jews’?”

40 But they shouted back, “No! Not this man. We want Barabbas!” (Barabbas was a revolutionary.) (John 18, NLT)

What is truth?

The very question that prompted Pilate to go back to the crowds. The very question that was the nail in Jesus’ conviction.

Pilate certainly would fit in our world today. Go to any college campus and you can see Pilate’s question metaphorically written on the walls!

What is truth?

And listen to the answers: It’s whatever you want it to be. Believe whatever you want as long is it works for you.

Pilate’s world, just like ours, was full of competing voices — Roman gods, Greek philosophy, Jewish law, political power, and personal ambition.

But when confronted with the real truth, Pilate could not hear it. He chose the truth of political power, of Roman gods, of personal ambition.