Dr Mike Murphy
“Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
How many times have you heard these words spoken? From the classroom to the courtroom, we have heard these words over and over, and often see these words above the buildings as we enter. Words that remind us how every free society must be centered in the depths of those words. That without the truth, the structure of even the greatest of societies will soon collapse, crumbling into the lie that it is left with.
So exactly what is the truth? The dictionary tells us that truth is “the body of real things, event, and facts; a fundamental statement of reality”. But despite what the definition might tell us, many look at the truth and proclaim to us there is no reality in it at all. That truth is nothing more than perception and opinion, not set in absolutes but in only found in conditionalities, partialities, and obscurities. Many today will tell you with certainty there can never be an absolute truth. But in making that statement, do they not prove themselves wrong? Does not making such a statement requires the very absolute they say does not exist?
The world today has looked to erase the word “absolute” from our very existence, unless that absolute is based in tolerance. Tolerance, not fact, has now become the standard by which we judge the truth by. With the world defining anything that makes claims of tolerance as good, while anything that is perceived as intolerant is taught as the very definition of evil. And anyone in this world who holds tight to an absolute belief, is viewed as filled with intolerance, and mocked as hateful and sinful. Truth is only seen through eyes that shout to this world to believe whatever you want, just as long as you do not try and impose your beliefs on others. But in imposing tolerance as the truth, do they not then absolutely become intolerant, by imposing their view on others? By insisting that all must accept their standard of tolerance, do they not then impose a truth that violates their own standards?
All truth, all views, must be set on a standard of right and wrong. And the bottom line is, all who try to take that standard away from the truth do so because they do not want to be held accountable for their own actions. Making right and wrong a standard of perception and opinion, instead of one base on absolute truth. For the sake of argument, let us play out a standard of truth based on opinion. If right or wrong is based on personal opinion, anything I deem necessary in my situation could never be denied me. So right or wrong then becomes conditional and situational, changing constantly by how I might perceive it. And in doing so, the truth I might claim today, could be the very truth someone else might claim against me tomorrow. In a world without absolute truth, chaos soon becomes the standard we are left with.
If there is an absolute truth, then there must be an absolute standard of right and wrong that all must live by. And no matter how hard we might try to deny it, we all must live by and to those standards. It is those standards that people are rejecting when they refuse to follow or accept an absolute truth. The truth has to be more than just whatever simply works. No matter how hard one might try, the ends can never justify the means, as a lie might appear to work at times. But the truth reveals to us, at the end of the day, you are still left with nothing more than a lie.
Truth is not what makes people feel good, and it is not what the majority might think. The majority of a group are well capable of reaching a wrong decision, and in doing so they do not change the truth of the situation. Truth cannot be defined by good intentions, as our intentions, no matter how good, can still be wrong. Truth is not what is publicly proved, as sometimes the truth can stand tall in private. The truth is not how we know, the truth is found in what we know, and above all, it is found in Who we know.
Anyone who does not think the truth matters, then let him stand on the receiving end of a lie. Simply put, this life and the next has consequences for being wrong, for denying the truth, and for not accepting and following what God tells us and shows us the truth is. The Word of God tells us, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness”(Romans 1:18). Without an absolute truth, without us looking to God for that truth, we are only left with the lie that unrighteousness will bring.
Through every aspect of our life, God shows us His absolute truth, and gives us evidence of the existence of that truth. Our human conscience daily reveals to us His truth. How often does your conscience show you when something is wrong? We you see and feel love, generosity, compassion, and goodwill, you know the righteousness that is in front of you. But when you see pain, suffering, anger, and evil, you immediately know the unrighteousness that is there. Romans 2:14-16 tells us that God has placed the truth of His law inside of each of us, that He has written it on our hearts. And when our conscience reveals the truth to us, we are constantly being reminded of the absolutes of His law.
All around us each day, we see how God reveals the absolute of His truth to us. When we look at science, God shows us the existence of His absolute truth. Science is our pursuit and our desire to know more. But for us to truly know and understand more, there must be realities and certainties in the universe for us to discover. Without absolutes, what would our pursuit be, and how could anyone know what they discovered was real? Without the absolutes truths God has given us, science could never be exact. And when we look at religion, we also see the evidence of God’s absolute truth. In every religion, we see man’s attempt to define life and to bring meaning to it. We see in religion a desire for something more than just ourselves. And in our desire for more, we come to the absolute truth that God has given us. We see the truth that Christ brought us, we see what separates Christ from all other religions, and we see why Christ came to bring us a relationship with God, not just another religion of rules to follow. It is through the absolute truth that Christ brought to this world that we are called to turn toward Him, and to accept Him as our Savior(John 14:6-7). Without that absolute truth, we would be left with just another religion, just the hope we might one day know a little more.
The Word of God tells us, “For we cannot do anything against the truth, only for the truth.”(2 Corinthians 13:6). Sadly, we have watched as the Church in this nation today has forgotten those words. We are quickly becoming a Church that allows this world to define truth for us, a Church far more interested in being seen as tolerant than truthful. Not thinking for a second, that without the truth we can never offer this world true tolerance, or a tomorrow filled with a hope that only the truth can bring. How does this Church expect people who do not know the truth to tell us what is the truth? How can this Church allow truth to be defined by those who do not believe there is a truth?
Look where this is leading both this Church and our society. And do not only look at where it has led our nation today, but look closely at where it will take us tomorrow. We do not have to look any farther than our own government to see a picture of where a standard without absolutes will lead. Once in our history, we watched as George Washington proved to this nation he could tell a lie. Then, we watched as Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton proved to this nation that they could not tell the truth. Now we watch as a nation of politicians and the media show us each day they do not know the difference between either, giving us a glimpse of what a nation without the absolute truth looks like. And why are we getting this glimpse? Because the Church in this nation has abandoned our calling, and allowed this world to define what truth is for us, instead of showing all around us that only God can define the truth. Abandoning our post on the watchtower, and not warning this nation of the dangers that are rapidly approaching without His truth standing guard.
Let us take a moment, and go back to that original verse we discussed, John 8:32, “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” Why did Jesus speak these words? If we look at what He told those listening in the verses that lead up to those words, we begin to understand the power of those words. Christ made it clear, that only those who heard and followed His voice could ever know the truth. The simple truth is, without God we cannot know the truth. We can know opinion, we can know self desire, we can know human logic, but we can never know the truth unless we first know God. Without Christ, we can never know the freedom and liberty that only the truth can offer. We can only be free from sin, from condemnation, from the horrors that death can bring, if we look to Christ for that truth, not to this world for what they want us to accept and believe as the truth. And that is a truthful statement this Church seems to have forgotten.
“Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:32
