WHAT IS TRUTH?

FINAL PART

I want to end this article by discussing "Absolute truth".

True Christianity is based on the belief that there is absolute truth. When we look at the Bible, we discover three principles about truth:

Firstly truth is absolute by the will of God. God not only reveals Himself as the one true God, but also as the God who determines what is true and false. Jesus says in John 4:23,

"Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks."

That is exactly where the 'crux' of the matter is.

If we really want to discover truth, we must be willing to believe that it is the Creator who determines truth from falsehood - not our own emotions or intellectual theories.

The second principle is that evil, or sin, is the enemy of truth. The biblical definition of sin outlines what is false and hurtful to human beings. Truth is an understanding of reality that ultimately determines thoughts, morality and actions.

And lastly, truth is revealed by God in the life of Christ and in the word of Scripture. In John 17:17 Christ prayed,

"Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth."

Moral truth is contained, then, in moral teachings, or law, given by God. Some of these laws are discovered, lost and rediscovered in various cultures from generation to generation. Since these laws define the reality of life as ordained by the Creator, they exist whether we acknowledge them or not. The consequences of sin are just as inescapable whether committed knowingly or in ignorance.

The foundation of the law is God Himself. By trusting in Him and acting according to what He has commanded, we don't have to experience the painful effects of sin.

Jesus said,

"The most important one", answered Jesus, "is this: 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength'. The second is this: 'Love your neighbour as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these'."(Mark:29-31)

This simple teaching by Jesus Christ forms the basis of all truth. God's laws are reduced to two simple principles: love God and love others. These are God's laws that should rule our thoughts, decisions and actions.

As in everything life has to offer us, there is a choice between simply going on the way you have been and turning towards God.

It's up to you.