"...For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world--to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice" (John 18:27, ESV).
"For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ" (John 1:17, ESV).
It is paramount that we ascertain the truth and be devoted to making it known; for all truth is God's truth and meets at the top. Mahatma Gandhi (called Mohandas Gandhi or "Great Soul") said that truth is God and God is truth--this obfuscates the issue that we can know truth as an absolute and that the truth is in Jesus (cf. Eph. 4:21). The erroneous view that truth is relative is unbiblical and one must wonder, "Relative to what?"
When Jesus said that He is the embodiment or personification of truth itself, He meant we can know it and progress in our knowledge of it. "No lie is of the truth," says 1 John. 2:21, and this emphasizes that also that truth is absolute and something cannot be true for one person and not for another, as if it's all relative. Jesus summed it up, saying, "You shall know the truth and it shall set you free" (cf. John 8:32). God is a God of truth and cannot lie (it's against His divine nature); what kind of God would lie to us?
We are in the business of determining truth in a world filled with lies from the father of lies himself, Satan, the deceiver. We must be willing to stand up for the truth and show our colors--faith is not believing in spite of the evidence, but obeying despite the consequences!
Sometimes the truth even hurts, but we are to always speak the truth in love (cf. Eph. 4:15). We are not to be offensive and reply that we were only speaking the truth and being honest--tact and manners apply. The problem is that all men are liars according to Scripture, and God is seeking an honest person--it's amazing what God can do with an honest comedian who can laugh at himself; much more can be accomplished with an honest believer who doesn't take himself too seriously.
In the end result, though even Abraham and Isaac lied, the Bible teaches that honesty is the best policy. Why? Someone said, "Oh, what a web we weave, once we practice to deceive [Lincoln said you better have a good memory!]." I believe the Bible teaches that we cannot be too honest, because God "desires truth in the inward parts" (cf. Psalm 51:6). Remember, partial truth or half-truths are not truths at all. We are incapable of telling the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help us, God, because only God can do this! Mark Twain summed it up quaintly: "Tell the truth; it will confound your enemies and astound your friends."
There is no absolute belief or universally accepted truth; however, truth is absolute and fixed so that God determines what is truth and it's His expression or what He would decree or say. In today's postmodern worldview, people believe truth is a short-term contract; however, there is a truth war going on and each of us must engage in this angelic conflict against lies and deception.
In the final analysis, objective, universal, absolute truth exists that is true everywhere, for everyone, for all time and is knowable in the person of Jesus Christ; it's true whether one believes it or not and is defined as the expression of God--it's true because God says so--He decreed it! Soli Deo Gloria!
"For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ" (John 1:17, ESV).
It is paramount that we ascertain the truth and be devoted to making it known; for all truth is God's truth and meets at the top. Mahatma Gandhi (called Mohandas Gandhi or "Great Soul") said that truth is God and God is truth--this obfuscates the issue that we can know truth as an absolute and that the truth is in Jesus (cf. Eph. 4:21). The erroneous view that truth is relative is unbiblical and one must wonder, "Relative to what?"
When Jesus said that He is the embodiment or personification of truth itself, He meant we can know it and progress in our knowledge of it. "No lie is of the truth," says 1 John. 2:21, and this emphasizes that also that truth is absolute and something cannot be true for one person and not for another, as if it's all relative. Jesus summed it up, saying, "You shall know the truth and it shall set you free" (cf. John 8:32). God is a God of truth and cannot lie (it's against His divine nature); what kind of God would lie to us?
We are in the business of determining truth in a world filled with lies from the father of lies himself, Satan, the deceiver. We must be willing to stand up for the truth and show our colors--faith is not believing in spite of the evidence, but obeying despite the consequences!
Sometimes the truth even hurts, but we are to always speak the truth in love (cf. Eph. 4:15). We are not to be offensive and reply that we were only speaking the truth and being honest--tact and manners apply. The problem is that all men are liars according to Scripture, and God is seeking an honest person--it's amazing what God can do with an honest comedian who can laugh at himself; much more can be accomplished with an honest believer who doesn't take himself too seriously.
In the end result, though even Abraham and Isaac lied, the Bible teaches that honesty is the best policy. Why? Someone said, "Oh, what a web we weave, once we practice to deceive [Lincoln said you better have a good memory!]." I believe the Bible teaches that we cannot be too honest, because God "desires truth in the inward parts" (cf. Psalm 51:6). Remember, partial truth or half-truths are not truths at all. We are incapable of telling the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help us, God, because only God can do this! Mark Twain summed it up quaintly: "Tell the truth; it will confound your enemies and astound your friends."
There is no absolute belief or universally accepted truth; however, truth is absolute and fixed so that God determines what is truth and it's His expression or what He would decree or say. In today's postmodern worldview, people believe truth is a short-term contract; however, there is a truth war going on and each of us must engage in this angelic conflict against lies and deception.
In the final analysis, objective, universal, absolute truth exists that is true everywhere, for everyone, for all time and is knowable in the person of Jesus Christ; it's true whether one believes it or not and is defined as the expression of God--it's true because God says so--He decreed it! Soli Deo Gloria!