Truth

Truth . . .

What comes to mind when someone says the word truth? These days if you follow the ever changing mood of society there are probably a number of dif-ferent things that pop up when the subject of truth comes into the topic of conversation. Some would probably even go so far as to say there is no truth, which honestly I don’t see how one could actually hold to that idea, because even in that statement they are making a statement of truth.

In the “norm” of society there is a battle between whether or not truth is sub-jective or objective. Is there a truth that is constant for all of man at all times and under all circumstances or is truth different for different people at different times in their lives and under different circumstances?

And that battle is ongoing among non-believers and believers alike these days. A recent Barna Research Group survey (as recent as 2005 I believe) said 66% of Americans say there is no such thing as absolute truth. What is maybe even more startling is 72% of 18-25 year olds expressed this same idea.

Well there seems to be a real battle in this area. And so one may ask how can that be? Let’s take a look at a few examples of how that is actually a true struggle.

Is 1+1=2 a true statement?

Well it depends on who you ask. If you ask the average first or second grader they would emphatically tell you that 1+1=2 is indeed as true a statement as one can find. If on the other hand you were to ask a computer programmer is 1+1=2 they would tell you without a doubt that is not the case that 1+1 act-ually equals 10.

See in the world of mathematics one is representative of a single object, while two represents a pair, so it’s logical that 1+1=2 in the world of math. How-ever in the world of computer programming only the numbers zero and one exist, so it is impossible to have 1+1=2. So our original question shows us that there are some truths that are subjective, and the answer actually depends on the context one is speaking, at least in this area of our discussion.

In the world of religion and science there has been a battling raging for many, many years as to the actual age of the earth. The question has been raised has the earth, regardless of what one believes as to its origins, developed over millions, possibly billions of years or is the earth less than 10,000 years old?

Well in the final analysis of this situation there is a correct answer and there is a correct answer. Either faith groups (and actually this battle plays itself out among faith groups) are right or science is right. Some people think that there is a right answer and that one will just never know what it is, while others know there is a right answer and one day all people will know.

There is a battle that rages between faith groups. Is there one god as the practitioners of Judaism and Islam proclaim? Or is there one God that exists in three different Persons as Christians proclaim? Or is there a great number of gods that exists as the Hindus, Buddhists and other religions say. Or is there in fact no God, gods or any other sort of deities that exists as the atheists say?

Well just as in our previous example there is a right and wrong answer.

This battle rages in the area of morality it seems more now than ever before. One of the easiest ways to see this battle of absolute truth and subjective truth comes in the ongoing battle of abortion. This is even very difficult for some of the most well-meaning Christians today.

The first line drawn in the battle is where life begins. And once again there is a right and wrong answer. It’s just one of those questions were there is little room for debate. Life begins at some point. And how one answers the faith question largely determines how they answer this question.

Then the question becomes is it okay to do away with a life that has not had a chance to exist outside of the mother under any circumstance. There are plen-ty of folks that will say yes and it is completely up to the mother. There are some folks that would say it is never okay unless the mother-to-be is a victim of rape or if the mother-to-be’s life is in grave danger. Then there are other folks that say it is never okay to do away with a life no matter what the cir-cumstance might be.

So the battle between absolute truth and subjective truth is alive and well to-day in just about all aspects of life.

The question that I want to focus on comes out of an understanding that there is a God, which has always been without a beginning point. And God has al-ways been one in three and will always be one in three throughout the endless ages.

This question comes out of an understanding that God has chosen to reveal, at least in part, His plan to mankind through His Word the Holy Bible.

And my question is, is there a single truth revealed in God’s Word or is there a great number of truths revealed in God’s Word and it just depends on one’s personal interpretation of the Bible.

The answer that I have come to is indeed there is a single truth that God has revealed as the Holy Spirit guided roughly 40 men to pen what we today know as the Canon of Scripture.

In John 14 verse 6 Jesus says that He is THE way, THE truth and THE life. There are over 25 times that the Bible references “the” truth. Now with our preliminary finding determined (which is there is a single revelation to mankind given by God through the Holy Spirit), I will say that I think there are Biblical principals that can be applied to a number of different areas of our lives, but there is one objective truth that has been laid out my the Holy Spirit.

I say that to say this in II Peter chapter 1 verse 20 that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s interpretation, that is was given by the Holy Spirit without the act of man’s will.

That says that God is a God that says what He means and means what He says.

And if we want to know what the Bible says then we are going to have to find out what God’s truth is in the matter, not what man wants the Bible to say. And one might ask what does that matter. Well it actually matters a great deal, because what you believe directly impacts what you do in practice.

And there are a great many different people that are trying to get one to be-lieve as they believe for a variety of different reasons. Therefore there are a lot of folks that are making claims on truth, whether it be politicians, salesmen or preachers.

I want to focus more on preachers, and preachers within Christianity, because there seems to be about as many denominations these days as there are states in the union, if not more.

But all of these so called “truths” can’t be right, because they contradict each other. And it is not man’s responsibility to teach one truth, but it is the Holy Spirit that we are supposed to lean on to lead us and guide us into all truth. But let it be known there is only one truth as given by the Holy Spirit and we must be about searching and seeking for this truth.

Will we ever get everything that God has laid out in His Word? I say probably not. I truly believe that we can have a grasp of a solid foundation on which to build, and we can get the structure completely built, but I doubt that we will ever be able to plug in ALL the details that go onto the structure.

So I pray that you will journey with us in the coming days, months and years (Lord willing) as One Heart Ministries strives for God’s meaning to His revealed Word to mankind.