What Is Truth? Scoffers Ask
There was once a human who told God to His face that there wasn’t anything recognizable as truth, no matter who made the claim.
It happened as Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor of Palestine, questioned Jesus Christ. To Pilate, the only thing of real substance was the raw power of Rome; but in a way, he spoke for all humanity.
Jesus had just given him the answer to every earthly problem, and that answer was the truth. Not any man-made idea of truth, but the truth. Jesus had confirmed that He was a king, and that He was sent as a witness of the marvelous truth given to Him directly from God.
To that, the cynical Pilate scoffed, “What is truth?”
All of us humans are often skeptical, like Pilate, and often for good reason. We are all negatively influenced by the “god of this age”—Satan the devil—for one. But we’re also cynical because we live in a world where truth seems impossible to find. Furthermore, many scientists, educators and philosophers are modern-day Pontius Pilates, teaching us to scoff at any notion that absolute truth or spiritual truth even exists. Ironically, they state those beliefs as though that is sacred truth!
In contrast to Pilate, Jesus firmly taught, “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
Freedom. We yearn for that, don’t we? But are we really free? Are we not really slaves to all sorts of humanly derived ideas—our own versions of what is “truth”? Look around at all of the man-made beliefs that exist and ask yourself, Have they really led to true and lasting happiness? If not, why do we willingly cling to our versions of truth, instead of looking for God’s?
That is the crux of the problem—apart from the truth of God, there is no real freedom. We are slaves to whatever ideas we believe are “truth.”
Any individual or nation willfully ignorant of God’s truth will find itself enslaved to self-indulgent, aberrant behavior.
But there is a way to escape the enslavement of man-made ideas.
Here’s what you do: Simply answer Pilate’s question, “What is truth?” It’s not easy; it takes work—but you can know the truth. You’ll have to take an honest look at what God says—not what humans say He says—and prove what is truth from His Word. The truth will surprise you … and set you free!
It is all up to us. We can either cling stubbornly to our way—our definition of truth—or surrender to His will, recant our old ways, learn the truth and start living an abundant life now—and be forever free from the lies that have enslaved humanity.
For Life, Hope & Truth, I am Britton Taylor.
