Truth in the Bible – What Does Scripture Tell Us About It?
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We live in a society that seems to define truth in a different way each week. We are told what to think and what to feel and, when our “version” of the truth doesn’t align with society or popular culture we are deemed to be intolerant or not “woke” enough, regardless of what side of the political aisle you sit on. It affects all of us these days. So what is this concept of truth and can people have their own versions of it? What is truth in the Bible? Is there such a thing as absolute truth?
We are going to explore these questions in this article. So join me on the search for biblical truth!
The Fluidity of Truth in the World
If the world has the truth and if society has the answers, then why is it that their “truth” is fluid?
A truth, by definition, is a fact. Do facts change? If they do, are they facts or are they opinions or hypotheses that can ebb and flow based on what is popular or the social movement of the time?
At one time the “truth” was that the earth was flat. Was that the truth or was it merely a hypothesis or an idea or an opinion? Well, we all know how it definitely wasn’t the truth.
The indisputable FACT is that it is round. That is the truth. It doesn’t change. You cannot choose to change it. No matter what opinion you have about it, it doesn’t change the fact. It doesn’t care if you don’t like that it is round or that you think it is unfair or inconvenient that it is round. You can dig your heels in and insist it is flat but it doesn’t affect the truth.
What you THINK about something or what you like or dislike about something doesn’t change its truth.
Society’s answers will change with time. Their view of “religion” will change. WHO to worship will change.
What hasn’t changed over time? The Word of the Lord. It has stayed the same throughout human history.
Why? Because the Word of truth does not change. Once truth changes it is no longer the truth! Truth CAN NOT change. Only what one CHOOSES to believe does but that does not make it true.
Society can CHOOSE to determine when life begins but no matter how many times their opinion or decisions change, it doesn’t change the truth of life’s beginning. It doesn’t affect God’s law, His character, or His Word.
If the world has truth if society has the answers, then why is it that their "truth" is fluid? #theWord #Bible Share on XImportance of Truth
We can all have different perspectives on things like politics and current events, we may differ on what sports teams we like or our favorite kind of music. But there are just some things in life that are what they are no matter what we think about them.
I used the example of the earth a moment ago but I would like to use another example that I think is even more illustrative of how dangerous our own way of thinking and operating in our own authority versus a truth can be.
Let’s look at the law of gravity. I think we can all agree that gravity is a truth. We see gravity operate all around us each day.
But what if I decide I don’t believe in gravity? In spite of seeing evidence of its existence all around me and in spite of all the science books that teach me all about it, I have decided I don’t believe in it.
Well, regardless of whether I believe in gravity or not, if I go up on the roof of my house and jump off, I am going to fall to the ground.
My failure to believe in gravity did not affect its truth.
If I fail to believe in God, if I choose to not believe in the hope of eternal life and I choose to reject his son Jesus Christ, it will not change the truth of the Word of God.
Your choice to reject something as truth doesn’t negate its truth.
We don’t get to pick and choose what God is and what God isn’t based on what we like and don’t like.
Once you start to say “TO ME God is….” you are creating a god in your own image. God is God. You don’t get to justify your behavior and your own initiative by redefining who He is.
Once you start to say "to me God is…." you are creating a god in your own image. God is God. You don't get to justify your behavior by redefining who He is. Share on XTruth in the Bible – The Parable of the Sower
Jesus told the parable of the sower in the Book of Matthew:
You see, when our seed lands on anything but good soil, the world’s opinions of “truth” can make us abandon God’s Word and believe that maybe the world has the truth instead of the Bible. So we abandon the things of the Lord God for the things of this world. Our view of truth is shallow like the soil in the parable.
We choose to go with what is fleeting and lasts but a minute in comparison to the longevity of the Spirit of truth.
We believe the Word to be antiquated and outdated and has no place in society today. It is just a creation of man to answer questions about life and eternity and explain the unexplainable.
Yet that “outdated” book has lasted and endured. Why? Because it is the source of truth and truth stands the test of time.
Outdated and antiquated? One can believe that but it doesn’t change facts.
Let’s look at some truth in the Word versus the World’s ever-changing views with some scripture quotations about truth.
What is Truth in the Bible – Bible Verses About Truth
What is Truth in the Bible - Bible Verses About Truth
John 8:32 (TLV)
"You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free!”
John 14:6 (TLV)
Psalm 25:5 (TLV)
"Guide me in Your truth, and teach me, for You are God, my salvation, for You I wait all day."
Psalm 145:18 (TLV)
"Adonai is near to all who call on Him, to all who call on Him in truth."
James 1:18 (TLV)
"Adonai is near to all who call on Him, to all who call on Him in truth."
Psalm 86:11 (TLV)
"Teach me Your way, Adonai, that I may walk in Your truth. Give me an undivided heart to fear Your Name."
1 Corinthians 13:4-6 (TLV)
"Love is patient, love is kind, it does not envy, it does not brag, it is not puffed up, it does not behave inappropriately, it does not seek its own way, it is not provoked, it keeps no account of wrong, it does not rejoice over injustice but rejoices in the truth;"
John 8:31-32 (TLV)
Psalm 119:142 (TLV)
"Your justice is righteousness forever, and Your Torah is truth."
2 John 1-2 (TLV)
"because of the truth that abides in us and will be with us forever:"
Accepting or Rejecting Truth in the Bible and the Truth of Salvation
You can choose to accept or reject the truth. You can choose to reject the words of the Bible and the way of God and that is your choice. But your right to choose does not mean you have the right to choose the moral standards or beliefs of others.
God is a gentleman. That is His divine nature. He will never force Himself on anyone or demand He is believed, followed, or accepted. That is a choice He has given each of us. You can choose to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ or not. You can choose to believe in the only true God or not. It IS a choice.
But the fact that you have free will and a choice does not change the truth. You can choose to ignore it but it doesn’t change it.
Again, I will fall to my death in spite of believing or not believing in gravity. My acceptance or rejection of it does not change its truth. I will still fall to the ground while insisting gravity isn’t real.
Salvation is a gift. It is not a burden. But just as if I had a gift for you and held it out to you, the fact that the gift exists in my hands doesn’t make it yours.
You have to take the gift for you to possess it and enjoy the benefits of it.
Jesus is holding the gift out to you with no strings attached. We do not belong to a religion, we belong to a relationship.
Being a believer in Yeshua isn’t about being perfect. It is about coming to Him where you are. He will not judge you and Christians should not either because:
My righteousness is as filthy rags! I can never be without sin and I can never be perfect! That’s just human nature. If you are a sinner, welcome! So am I! All fall short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23)
But I know a Messiah who took my blame and my punishment. I know a Messiah who went to the cross and died in my place BECAUSE I can never be sinless and can never EARN a place in the Kingdom of God and the guarantee of our inheritance for all eternity.
Do you feel you’ve strayed too far for God to take you back? Your old life can never outrun the grace and mercy of God. The enemy wants you to believe that you have strayed too far but he is the father of lies. Whether it’s been a long time or not, or even if it is the first time, a great starting point is prayer. Simply talk to Him from the heart. God listens and He forgives and He gives grace.
All it takes is a relationship. All it takes is a life lived for the God of truth and our Messiah, Christ Jesus. Jesus said it Himself in Mark 12:30-31
The truth is simple. Truth doesn’t come with a bunch of complicated explanations. Truth is what it is. God’s truth brings with it greater joy and deeper understanding! And Truth cries out for you to come back to the household of God and not the trappings of the whole world whose truth changes every day.
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Scripture quotations are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
NASB – “Scripture quotations taken from the NASB. Copyright by The Lockman Foundation“
Tree of Life (TLV) – Scripture taken from the Holy Scriptures, Tree of Life Version*. Copyright © 2014,2016 by the Tree of Life Bible Society. Used by permission of the Tree of Life Bible Society.
Such a great and timely article! Truth has become twistable nowadays. I love the way you interpret the parable of the sower and the soil. And most of all I love the way you render Biblical truth versus the lies of the world. Thank you!
Thank you so much Hadassah! I am so glad you enjoyed it! I appreciate your kind words!!
That’s interesting that I see this post today. I was looking through some scrap paper on my desk, you know, the ones where you write down notes or ideas you don’t want to forget. Well, I wrote down a quote my brother said one day when we were talking about pagan holidays. He said, “not versions of the truth but The Truth.” Everyone seems to have their version of what they believe to be true but that doesn’t negate the one and only Truth, the Bible. Thanks for reminding us of the whole truth and nothing but the truth, Diane!
That is awesome! Thank you for sharing that Cindy! Yes, versions of the truth is not truth! Well said!
Pontius Pilate asked Jesus “what is truth?” He did not wait for Jesus to answer…
What would Jesus have answered?
We all agree that Jesus already declared Himself to be the truth (see John 14:6) and therefore to know and seek Jesus is to know and seek trutg.
The Bible however indicate that truth has ‘other components’ (strands?).
Jesus pray for His followers to be sanctified by the Father’s word as “thy word is truth”. We find here the 2nd component of truth: the Word of our Heavenly Father.
Jesus comforts His followers that they will receive another Comforter, the Spirit of truth, Who will guide them in all truth. Here we have the 3rd Component of truth: the Spirit of truth.
Dawid pray to God and declare “Your righteousness is everlasting and your law is truth” (see Ps 119:142). Here we have the 4th Component of truth: God’s law.
Truth, seen from the Bible, is a ‘cord’ of four strands. We are to focus on all four to worship God ‘in spirit and in (the fullness of) truth”.