What is truth?
Is there any such thing as absolute truth?
Will we ever reach a point when we know everything there is to know? What if we had a nation full of Einsteins? Would that make it possible to eventually know everything that there is to know? Our automatic response to these rhetorical questions is "no."
For many people then, it brings them to the same conclusion reached by an agnostic named Herbert Spencer who stated, “No man has ever been known to penetrate with his finite mind the veil which hides the mind of the infinite. The Infinite cannot be known and agnosticism is secure.”
You see, we are always learning some new truth and none of us can imagine a time when we will have learned all that there is to know. Ideas and propositions that were considered certainties just a few years ago are proven to be inaccurate as we discover new truths.
These facts have caused many to conclude that there is no such thing as absolute truth (something that remains true for all people, in all places, for all times). There is one slight problem with such a conclusion. To say, “there is no absolute truth,” is a logical contradiction, because that statement itself would be an absolute truth!
If we do assume there is no absolute truth, then we have no real stable foundation for life. If there is no absolute truth, then ultimately nothing can be trusted and we are inevitably led to despair.
But wait. There is an alternative to despair. It sounds too simple – too good to be true, but the answer is faith.
Since our knowledge of truth is always expanding, it would seem that truth, in the absolute sense, is infinite in nature. Consequently, for a moment it might seem that Spencer was right and it really is impossible for finite beings to know absolute truth.
However, there is one possibility that hasn't been mentioned yet. What prevents truth from being revealed by an infinite being? It is logically possible for an infinite being to know absolute truth, and therefore capable of revealing that truth to finite minds if desired. Well, my friend, that is exactly what the Bible claims.
The Bible declares, “Thy Word is truth” (John 17:17). The infinite, eternal God has not left us to stumble in the darkness of ignorance and despair. He has revealed truth to us, because He wants us to know Him. This knowledge liberates us from the prison of hopelessness and despair. “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free” (John 8:32).
In addition to this, we can also have a genuine relationship with the one who boldly declares, “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). Jesus Christ is God’s truth personified. His Spirit will also “guide us into all truth” (John 16:13).
Do you have truth? Do you have Christ? Do you have faith to believe the truth revealed in God's Word?
Don’t go another day without Him. Yield your entire life to Him today and he will give you truth to guide you each and every day. He will also give you eternal life so you can continue to explore all of His truth forever.
To make a commitment of faith in Him right now, pray this prayer: God, I thank you for revealing your truth in your Son, and in your Word. The truth is, I’m lost and I need your salvation. Forgive all my sins and come into my life right now. Make me what you want me to be. Right now I place my trust in the sacrifice that Jesus made on the cross. I thank you for saving me from my sin, my error, and my despair. Amen.
Is there any such thing as absolute truth?
Will we ever reach a point when we know everything there is to know? What if we had a nation full of Einsteins? Would that make it possible to eventually know everything that there is to know? Our automatic response to these rhetorical questions is "no."
For many people then, it brings them to the same conclusion reached by an agnostic named Herbert Spencer who stated, “No man has ever been known to penetrate with his finite mind the veil which hides the mind of the infinite. The Infinite cannot be known and agnosticism is secure.”
You see, we are always learning some new truth and none of us can imagine a time when we will have learned all that there is to know. Ideas and propositions that were considered certainties just a few years ago are proven to be inaccurate as we discover new truths.
These facts have caused many to conclude that there is no such thing as absolute truth (something that remains true for all people, in all places, for all times). There is one slight problem with such a conclusion. To say, “there is no absolute truth,” is a logical contradiction, because that statement itself would be an absolute truth!
If we do assume there is no absolute truth, then we have no real stable foundation for life. If there is no absolute truth, then ultimately nothing can be trusted and we are inevitably led to despair.
But wait. There is an alternative to despair. It sounds too simple – too good to be true, but the answer is faith.
Since our knowledge of truth is always expanding, it would seem that truth, in the absolute sense, is infinite in nature. Consequently, for a moment it might seem that Spencer was right and it really is impossible for finite beings to know absolute truth.
However, there is one possibility that hasn't been mentioned yet. What prevents truth from being revealed by an infinite being? It is logically possible for an infinite being to know absolute truth, and therefore capable of revealing that truth to finite minds if desired. Well, my friend, that is exactly what the Bible claims.
The Bible declares, “Thy Word is truth” (John 17:17). The infinite, eternal God has not left us to stumble in the darkness of ignorance and despair. He has revealed truth to us, because He wants us to know Him. This knowledge liberates us from the prison of hopelessness and despair. “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free” (John 8:32).
In addition to this, we can also have a genuine relationship with the one who boldly declares, “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). Jesus Christ is God’s truth personified. His Spirit will also “guide us into all truth” (John 16:13).
Do you have truth? Do you have Christ? Do you have faith to believe the truth revealed in God's Word?
Don’t go another day without Him. Yield your entire life to Him today and he will give you truth to guide you each and every day. He will also give you eternal life so you can continue to explore all of His truth forever.
To make a commitment of faith in Him right now, pray this prayer: God, I thank you for revealing your truth in your Son, and in your Word. The truth is, I’m lost and I need your salvation. Forgive all my sins and come into my life right now. Make me what you want me to be. Right now I place my trust in the sacrifice that Jesus made on the cross. I thank you for saving me from my sin, my error, and my despair. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment