What Is Truth?

What Is Truth?

You and I live in a world that has almost totally rejected the existence of absolute truth. The current pervading mindset today seems to be that everyone has their own truth, and that everyone else must affirm them in whatever truth they claim to have—despite how ridiculous it may be. In fact, the more ridiculous your truth is, it seems the more celebrated you should be..

Now I’m not going down this rabbit hole this morning, but just to illustrate my point, some of you may have seen in the news this week where a man actually won the Miss Netherlands beauty pageant and will go on to represent the Netherlands in the Miss Universe pageant. I’m not saying this to be unkind, I’m really not; but most rational people know this is ludicrous, but are afraid to say that this guy’s truth is not really truth for fear of being labeled intolerant or transphobic, and suffering society’s wrath for the horrendous crime of not affirming this guy’s truth.

Today, in just about every facet of life, the world is constantly demanding that we reject the existence of absolute truth and subscribe to, and enthusiastically promote, subjective truth: that is, a truth that is subject to a person or group’s own feelings, preferences, or emotions. And the proponents of subjective truth vehemently insist that their agenda is motivated by and based on love…

And who’s to say it’s not based on and motivated by love? But I want to suggest to you this morning that the enemy of our souls has produced an evil counterfeit for nearly every good thing that God has given us. In our first message in this series we learned that there are counterfeit gods, in the message of on the fourth commandment we learned there is a counterfeit Sabbath, there’s a counterfeit spirit, there’s counterfeit love, and there’s even a counterfeit truth...

John 18:36-40 Pilate had asked Jesus if He was the king of the Jews. 36 Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place.” 37 “You are a king, then!” said Pilate. Jesus answered, “You are right in saying I am a king. In fact,

for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”

What kind of truth do you think Jesus came into this world to testify to? Subjective truth? Fickle, transient truth? Or an absolute, infallible, unchanging, and eternal, truth?

I want us to think about Pilate for a moment. Here us a man who knew all too well the deep seated corruption he’d witnessed and practiced all his life, the political corruption in the government, social corruption, and even worse, the religious corruption he saw within the Jewish leadership. This same Pilate who I believe honestly didn’t know what truth really was—or even if it actually existed…asked Jesus perhaps the most important question recorded in Scripture:

38 “What is truth?” Pilate asked. (either this was a sincere question and he really wanted to know; or he had given up on the idea that there could even be an absolute truth and the question was merely rhetorical.) With this he went out again to the Jews and said, “I find no basis for a charge against him. 39 But it is your custom for me to release to you one prisoner at the time of the Passover. Do you want me to release ‘the king of the Jews’?”

40 They shouted back, “No, not him! Give us Barabbas!” Now Barabbas had taken part in a rebellion. ( Mark and Luke mention that he was a murderer as well as an insurrectionist. Barabbas means: “son of the father.”)

John 14:6 6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

The people chose to set free the counterfeit deliverer and insisted that the real Deliverer, called the Truth, be crucified—that very same Truth that could have set them free! Isn’t that exactly what’s going on today?? Our society is calling for the crucifixion of the very Truth that could set them free!

John 8:31,32 To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

But they rejected the Truth...

2 Thessalonians 2:9-12 The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders, 10 and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. 11 For this reason (because they refused to love the truth) God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie 12 and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness.