Truth

     "Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world; if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now is my kingdom not from hence.  Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice.  Pilate saith unto him, What is truth? And when he had said this, he went out again unto the Jews, and saith unto them, I find in him no fault."  John18:36-38

     Was this a hypothetical question from Pilate, or just a moment of frustration?  "What is truth?"  This question has reverberated down through history, but Pilate's question overlooked the fact that many "things" can contain elements of truth, but only one "thing" can BE truth.  Truth must originate from somewhere other than the opinion of mankind.  For example: in the late 1800's, a group of the greatest scientists in the world gathered for a conference.  At the end of the conference, this group of renown men introduced a "truth" to the world- man will never fly.  It was a scientific fact that no bird over thirty pounds could sustain itself in flight.  On December 17th of 1903, the Wright brothers proved this "truth" to be....less than it claimed.

      One of the difficulties of defining truth is that most people today don't believe in absolute truth. The predominate thought is that truth is what you think; everything is relative, which leads to situational ethics-something wrong can be right when you consider the circumstance.  Truth, according to this mindset, is about the world as it "actually" is.  Obviously, when truth becomes fluid, so does untruth.  If you don't believe that there is an ultimate truth, then you can't point at anything and call it wrong.  Such thinking leads to chaos.

     There are 3 accepted theories on truth.  First, there is the coherence theory.  This defines truth in terms of interconnected belief.  It claims a belief is truth if it is consistent with other beliefs we have, or, in other words, there has been a precedent established.  For instance, grass is green so long as everyone else considers the color of grass to be green.  Second is the correspondence theory, which describes truth in terms of relational concepts, or submissions of the real world.  An example of this would be to say that the Seattle Seahawks won Superbowl 48 in 2014. Finally is the Postmodernist Theory.  This theory describes truth in terms of individual perspective and/or community agreement, so it doesn't prescribe to hard and fast definitions, but that truth is a product OF belief- or that truth is constructed by what WE believe.  No wonder our nation is in such a mess.  The Apostle Paul summed it up like this: "ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth."
 

     What do the scriptures say about truth?  Moroni 10:5 states "And if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost; and by the power of the Holy Ghost, ye may know the truth of all things."  The TRUTH of ALL things.  Consider this definition from Section 90: "truth is knowledge of things as they are, and as they were, and as they are to come; and whatsoever is more or less than this, is the spirit of that wicked one, who was a liar from the beginning".  This definition causes us to realize that truth, absolute truth, is eternal in nature.  For truth to be absolute, it must fulfill the three conditions listed; things as they are, and as they were, and as they are to come.  One might consider truth to be "the sun always rises from the east", but the sun won't always rise, because the book of Revelation states that we will have no need of the sun, or the moon, because "the lamb is the light thereof".  Abraham Lincoln once asked a question of his constituents: How many legs would a sheep have if you called its tail a leg?  Those in company quickly responded with 5.  No, said Lincoln; it would still have only 4.  Calling a tail a leg doesn't make it one.  

     I hope the point of this blog is apparent; the ONLY way to know absolute truth-the truth as pertaining to eternal matters-comes only from that which is eternal.  Jesus said "I am the way, the TRUTH, and the light", so absolute truth originates in him.  We have all heard the beliefs of those who are considered experts, which base their understanding of truth upon their own learning, but the Lord calls us to a higher reality, a reality whose roots are based in him.  2 Timothy 3:14 reads "But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them;".  Add to Paul's words this council from Section 9: "but, behold, I say unto you, that you must study it out in your mind; then you must ask me if it be right, and if it is right, I will cause that your bosom shall burn within you; therefore, you shall feel that it is right; but if it be not right, you shall have no such feelings, but you shall have a stupor of thought, that shall cause you to forget the thing which is wrong;".  Interestingly, the Lord WANTS us to study, and arrive at our own understanding, but after we've done so, He wants us to seek his conclusive response, because  "Cursed is he that putteth his trust in man, or maketh flesh his arm, or shall hearken unto the precepts of men, save their precepts shall be given by the power of the Holy Ghost."

     Jesus said "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free".  What he is stating here is that truth has power!  Truth has the power to liberate (John 8:31-38), the power to sanctify (John 17:16-19), and the power to create worship (John 4:23-26).  And such power is promised to all who covenant with the Lord "Even so ye must be born again, into the kingdom of heaven, of water, and of the Spirit, and be cleansed by blood, even the blood of mine Only Begotten; that ye may be sanctified from all sin; and enjoy the words of eternal life in this world, and eternal life in the world to come; even immortal glory.  For, by the water ye keep the commandment; by the Spirit ye are justified; and by the blood ye are sanctified.  Therefore it is given to abide in you, the record of heaven, the Comforter, the peaceable things of immortal glory, the truth of all things, that which quickeneth all things which maketh alive all things, that which knoweth all things, and hath all power according to wisdom, mercy, truth, justice and judgment."

     How interesting it is that when Pilate asked the question "what is truth?", he was looking to Jesus, the origin of all truth.  And so should we.  The search for truth IS the search for Jesus.  He is the truth, and the answer to every question.  As we go forth, let us remember the promise of truth the Apostle James offers us: "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.  But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering; for he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.  For let not that man think that he shall receive anything of the Lord.  A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways."  While this discourse is not comprehensive, I do hope it has opened your mind to the need of seeking truth.  May His Spirit guide us all.  God bless.