Preserving Sound Doctrine

By Dr. Thomas Kehn

Most of us are familiar with the phrase used in courtrooms, where the witness is asked to repeat the following words: “I hereby swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.” When thinking about the concept of truth, I’m reminded of Pilate, the Roman Curator, who questioned Jesus Christ when he was on trial and rightly accused of being the King of the Jews. Pilate derisively asked him, “What is Truth?” John 18:38

This is a question worthy of our attention. During the last supper, Jesus told his disciples, “I am the way, the TRUTH and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through me” (John 14:6). Unfortunately, many in the religious world today taken exception to Christ’s exclusionary proclamation about himself. More so, the question and concern for what truly comprises truth needs to be addressed. How can one really know what is true truth?

Jesus told his disciples, who were having difficulty contemplating his soon to come departure from earth, these enlightening words, “Sanctify (or set apart) them in truth: Your word is truth” (John 17:17). On behalf of his disciples, Jesus made this request to his Heavenly Father. He also gave them this promise, “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now hear. But when he, the Spirt of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth” (John 16:12–13). Often, when talking to his followers, Jesus would use the phrase, “I tell you the truth.” In fact, he used it at least 80 times throughout the four gospels. It is quite clear that Truth was high on Jesus’ agenda both throughout his ministry and, in particular, on his last full day together with his twelve chosen disciples. Needless to say, as followers of Christ, understanding what truth is should also be high on our agenda.

The Greek word for truth is Alethia and is described by the following synonyms: “true, fact, integrity, correctness, accurate, and genuine,” It has the clear concept of that which is associated with “the reality of things” or “the opposite of error.” In similar fashion, Webster’s Dictionary defines truth as, “That which is true or certain concerning any matter or subject; the real state of things; fact; verity; reality.”

In the Old Testament, the Hebrew word for truth is Emet and means, “to believe in that which is “reliable, has stability and firmness.” Two examples of this Hebrew word in the Old Testament are found in Isaiah 45:19, “I, the LORD, speak the truth; I declare what is right.” Jeremiah 10:10 states, “The LORD is the true God; he is the living God, the eternal King.” In essence, these are the words that Jesus Christ said about himself. When Pilate asked Jesus, “Are you the king of the Jews? (In affirmation) Jesus said to him, It is as you say.” Matthew 27:11 AMP

In today’s culture and society, there can be some confusing and distorted views of what comprises truth. Therefore, an important distinction needs to be made. We must ask ourselves, “From a biblical perspective, what can we learn about truth?” John 1:14 declares, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

One can stand on the sound premise that Christ, as God’s living Word and the Bible as God’s written word are indeed truth. In the following descriptions of what truth is and what it is not, I will be relying heavily on Scripture. In some cases, the actual word “truth” will be used, while in other instances the concept of truth is implied from the passage. While most of the concepts and terminology used below are my own, I am indebted to Lee Strobel’s book, The Case For Faith, from which some of my thoughts are derived.

WHAT TRUTH IS!

Truth is EXCLUSIVE! God’s Truth must be exclusionary since it must eliminate anything that is not true.

“But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way. For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.” John 4:23-24 NLT

“For you are the children of your father the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies. So when I tell the truth, you just naturally don’t believe me! Which of you can truthfully accuse me of sin? And since I am telling you the truth, why don’t you believe me?” John 8:44-46 NLT

 Ravi Zacharias, stated it succinctly, “Truth, is by definition, exclusive. If truth does not exclude, then no assertion of a truth claim is being made; it’s just an opinion that is being stated. Anytime you make a truth claim, you mean something contrary to it is false. Truth excludes it’s opposite.”

Truth is ABSOLUTE! God’s Truth stays true over time and space; it remains the same for all cultures and generations, as well as in all places. It is unending and unchanging.

“I tell you the truth, this generation will not pass from the scene until all these things take place. Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words will never disappear.” Matthew 24:34-35 NLT

“Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father…He never changes or casts a shifting shadow. He chose to give birth to us by giving us his true word. James 1:17-18 NLT

Truth is VERIFIABLE! God’s Truth can be verified, either empirically, through experimentation, through observation or sometimes through experience.

“To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:31-32 NIV

 “And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable…Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.” Philippians 4:8-9 NLT

Truth is ETERNAL & COMPLETE! Truth is both lasting and comprehensive, even though it may be multifaceted. The totality of truth is found in God and his word.

“For here is eternal truth: When that time comes…you will go directly to the Father and ask him…and he will give it to you, because of your relationship with me.” John 16:23 TPT

“I’ve taught you everything I could about God’s eternal plan and I’ve held nothing back…And so now, I entrust you into God’s hands and the message of his grace, which is all that you need to become strong. All of God’s blessings are imparted through the message of his grace, which he provides as the spiritual inheritance given to all of his holy ones.” Acts 20:27, 32 TPT

Truth is REVEALED! God’s Truth is knowable to men because God has chosen to make it known through his intentional revelation.

“I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel I preached is not of human origin. I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.” Galatians 1:11-12 NIV

“The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ…For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God…But we have this treasure…to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.” 2 Corinthians 4:4, 6-7 NIV

WHAT TRUTH IS NOT:

Truth is not PLURALISTIC! True truth is not subject to change nor us it interchangeable. It is singular in its makeup even though others may try to distort it.

“I am astonished and extremely irritated that you are so quickly shifting your allegiance and deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different [even contrary] gospel; which is really not another [gospel]; but there are [obviously] some [people masquerading as teachers] who are disturbing and confusing you [with a misleading, counterfeit teaching] and want to distort the gospel of Christ [twisting it into something which it absolutely is not].” Galatians 1:6-7 AMP

Truth is not RELATIVE! True truth is not affected by time, space, circumstances or alternating and conflicting views.

“Jesus Christ is [eternally changeless, always] the same yesterday and today and forever. Do not be carried away by diverse and strange teachings…which bring no benefit or spiritual growth to those who observe them.” Hebrews 13:8-9 AMP

Truth is not PERSONALIZED! True truth is not based on opinion, as sincere as it may be. Experience does not automatically equate to something being true or valid.

“There are [obviously] some [people masquerading as teachers] who are disturbing and confusing you [with a misleading, counterfeit teaching] and want to distort the gospel of Christ [twisting it into something which it absolutely is not]. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to that which we [originally] preached to you, let him be condemned…As we have said before, so I now say again, if anyone is preaching to you a gospel different from that which you received [from us], let him be condemned to destruction!” Galatians 1:7-9 AMP

Truth is not PRAGMATIC! True truth is not considered real simply because it works sometimes for some. It must work for all people, under all circumstances and for all time.

“By this we know [and have come to understand the depth and essence of His precious] love…Little children (believers, dear ones), let us not love [merely in theory] with word or with tongue…but in action and in truth [in practice and in sincerity, because practical acts of love are more than words]. By this we will know [without any doubt] that we are of the truth and will assure our heart and quiet our conscience before Him.” 1 John 3:16, 18-19 AMP

“For I was greatly pleased when [some of the] brothers came l and testified to your [faithfulness to the] truth [of the gospel message], that is, how you are walking in truth. I have no greater joy than this, to hear that my [spiritual] children are living [their lives] in the truth.” 3 John 1:3-4 AMP

Truth is not CULTURALLY DETERMINED! True truth cannot be based on the sentiments of society or the ever-changing views and situational ethics of the current culture. Not is it based in majority consensus.

“See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception according to the tradition [and musings] of mere men, following the elementary principles of this world, rather than following [the truth—the teachings of] Christ.” Colossians 2:8 AMP

 “Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ. I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel I preached is not of human origin.” Galatians 1:10-11 NIV

Finally, and fortunately, we can have complete confidence in God’s word found in the Scriptures and in the perfect person of Jesus Christ because both meet all the qualifications and expectations for true truth.

“Every word of God proves true…Do not add to his words, or he may rebuke you and expose you as a liar.” Proverbs 30:5-6 NLT

“And we know that the Son of God has come, and he has given us understanding so that we can know the true God. And now we live in fellowship with the true God because we live in fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ. He is the only true God, and he is eternal life.” 1 John 5:20 NLT