What is Truth?

Pilate’s immortal question is one which he apparently did not expect an answer to — he immediately left and didn’t wait for Jesus to answer it(John 18:38).  Perhaps he didn’t think there is such a thing, or that it can be known, much as many say today.  But when discussing the gospel, the question is important.  What is truth? 

A foundational question, and for the true Christian the answer is found in the words of God, primarily those in the Bible but also the day-to-day instruction of the Holy Spirit.  I’m not going to spend a lot of time defending this proposition, simply because it’s one of those things you can’t argue someone into.  It’s a matter of fundamental, foundational authority.  One who does not accept the Bible’s authority has no reason to believe what it says about the gospel.  For those of us who do, it is where we find the truth about the gospel.  It is a pointless and fruitless exercise to try to argue someone into believing it intellectually.  This is not to say that it isn’t defensible that way – it certainly is, as is all truth.   It is only that someone depending on their intellectual capacity, not God, cannot discover spiritual truth. 

because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so — Romans 8:7

Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. — Luke 24:45

It is only by God opening our minds, removing the natural blinders of thinking which is twisted by sin, that we can even understand spiritual truth. 

It is interesting to look back at the various confessions of faith that various denominations have historically made.  Until recently, over the last few hundred years the Bible is either the first element or comes directly after some basic statements about their being one true God.  This is because everything a Christian knows about their faith has it’s foundation in the Bible.  It is the standard by which everything is tested.  One needs only to superficially peruse the recorded words of Jesus and the constant mention of things like ‘Do you not know’, or ‘Go and learn what this means’, followed by a direct quote of the Bible, to see the validity of this.  Go back to, say, the century directly following the reformation, and you don’t see this in the confessions of faith at all. It is simply assumed as something which does not need to be said, as the writings we find are filled with references to the Bible as the authoritative source. 

By saying that the Bible is our authoritative source of truth, we do not say that everything that is true is in the Bible.  Obviously it does not discuss basic math, but the fact that 2+2=4 is not in the Bible doesn’t mean it isn’t true.  Rather, we mean simply that it is the ultimate authority, God’s instruction to men.  There is nothing we need that is not revealed to us as Christians, either through the Bible or the daily communication with God:

His diving power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.  Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape teh corruption in the world caused by evil desires. — 2 Peter 1:3-4

Based then on the words of the Bible, we come to a definition of what it means to be a Christian, which will be adequate as an introduction.  One could study the gospel of Jesus Christ for thousands of thousands of lifetimes and not understand fully it’s truths and implications.  But the broad strokes of it our laid out clearly.  It is important to note that you don’t need to clearly understand all these facts to be a Christian, but the description of evidence of faith in the final paragraph is true of everyone who is a Christian.  If it is not, they are no Christian, regardless of what they may claim. 

The gospel is simply this:

Humankind by nature hates and rejects God’s created purpose for him, choosing what is evil instead of what is right.  Eternal punishment is the just penalty for the most insignificant evil, because God cannot approve of evil, ignore it, or excuse it, and remain holy.  The Son of God, Jesus Christ, came to earth as a man, lived a sinless life and died on the cross to satisfy the demands of a just and holy God for all humans who ever have lived or ever will, and rose from the dead. 

To be saved, to become a Christian, is a supernatural, sovereign act of God in which several things happen.  A person’s sin is completely forgiven:  God declares them not guilty.  A person’s fundamental disposition of life is changed:  instead of loving their evil ways of living and hating God’s instructions, the reverse becomes true.  A person is given, in terms of their position before God in a legal sense, the perfection of Jesus Christ — when God looks at them, they see not their evil nature, but the perfection of Jesus.  As a result, the person’s eternal destiny becomes secure; instead of eternal punishment in hell, eternal celebration and worship with God in heaven is their destination.  A person believes in Jesus Christ, and not anything in themselves, as the source of their salvation.

As far as being able to determine who is a Christian and who is not, the difference is in their life.  The desire to live for God and not for themselves is the evidence that a person has been changed by God’s power.  If this desire is absent, no change has taken place, even though behavior may change superficially for a while.  One who is truly changed will have this desire, and will confess Jesus Christ by their words and their lifestyle. 

Now by itself that’s just an opinion, no better than any other.  Let’s look at it step by step understanding what the Bible says about it. 

** ”Humankind by nature hates and rejects God’s created purpose for him, choosing what is evil instead of what is right.”(Romans 3:10-12, Romans 3:23, Genesis 6:5, Jeremiah 17:9, John 3:19)

** ”Eternal punishment is the just penalty for the most insignificant evil, because God cannot approve of evil, ignore it, or excuse it, and remain holy.”(Romans 6:23, Matthew 25:46, Revelation 20:14)

** ”The Son of God, Jesus Christ, came to earth as a man, lived a sinless life and died on the cross to satisfy the demands of a just and holy God for all humans who ever have lived or ever will, and rose from the dead.”(Titus 2:11, II Corinthians 5:8, John 1:14, John 1:29, Ephesians 1:7, etc.)

** ”To be saved, to become a Christian, is a supernatural, sovereign act of God in which several things happen.”(John 6:65, Matthew 11:27, Ephesians 2:8-9)

** ”A person’s sin is completely forgiven:  God declares them not guilty.”(Genesis 15:6, Luke 18:9-14, Romans 8:29-30)

** ”A person’s fundamental disposition of life is changed:  instead of loving their evil ways of living and hating God’s instructions, the reverse becomes true.”(I John 1:6-7, I John 2:15, John 3:20-21, John 14:15,23)

** ”A person is given, in terms of their position before God in a legal sense, the perfection of Jesus Christ — when God looks at them, they see not their evil nature, but the perfection of Jesus.”(Genesis 15:6, II Corinthians 5:21)

** ”As a result, the person’s eternal destiny becomes secure; instead of eternal punishment in hell, eternal celebration and worship with God in heaven is their destination.”(John 14:2-3, Matthew 25:46, Romans 8:18, Revelation 21:27)

** ”A person believes in Jesus Christ, and not anything in themselves, as the source of their salvation.”(Ephesians 2:8-9, Titus 3:5, etc.)

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