At his trial before his crucifixion, Jesus said to Pilate, “I have come into the
world to bear witness to the truth, and everyone who is of the truth hears my
voice.” Pilate responds with a cynical question, “What is truth?” (John 18:37-38)
Earlier, Jesus had said to his disciples, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No
man can come to the Father but through me” (John 14:6). Jesus is offering
Pilate an opportunity to come to the truth. Truth is defined as “the true or
actual state of a matter, or conformity with fact and reality.” Jesus is declaring
to Pilate that the path to reality and the actual state of genuine life, meaning,
and purpose is to listen to Him, to hear His voice and His Word. Simply, Jesus
says “Hear me and you will hear the truth.” Pilate, still thinking in the abstract
and skeptical about the real existence of truth in terms of absolutes, bluntly
pushes Jesus aside with the rhetorical question, “What is truth?”

 

The spirit of Pilate is alive and well in our nation today. Cultural and religious
studies by Pew, Barna, and others reveal the growing role of “nones” – those
who reject all religious affiliation and even beliefs – with each succeeding
generation. We are fast becoming a nation that rejects any form of absolutes or
institutional claims to being arbiters of the truth. Therefore, the Bible and the
Lord Jesus Christ revealed in it is out of hand rejected as the sole purveyor of
spiritual truth moral values, and by default, the churches that advocate for the
authority of God’s Word and Jesus’ teachings.

 

What has disappeared from American Christianity is a commitment to the
revelation of God in Jesus Christ and God’s precepts as given in the Word of

God. Instead, we have completely yielded to the “Jamesian” (pragmatism of
William James) individualism that everyone has a right to believe what they
will. In a liberal democracy this individualism and perspectivism are united in a
radical insistence of the concrete value of a belief – whatever it is – for ME. As
applied to eternal, spiritual truth, or morality and ethics, it is my feelings,
perspective, experience, and ideas that guide my understanding of truth. All
external claims to truth, even those of Jesus Christ and the Scriptures, are set
aside or redefined to suit my own preferences. This “self-deification” is
rampant in our culture and our churches. The “I” has replaced the “I AM” of the
Word of God!

 

As Christians, we proclaim that we have no opinions or perspectives as it
applies to eternal Truth in Christ and His Word. As best we can, we advocate for
the clear teachings of our Lord and the ethical, moral, eternal teachings of the
Holy Scriptures. Our conscience is not guided by tolerance for sin by “expanding
our understanding” or loosening moral, Biblical boundaries. We are guided by
the teaching of the Lord and His Word. For Christians, there are no alternative
lifestyles and beliefs guided by the individual. It is Jesus Christ in the Holy
Scriptures that offers us the solid framework of Truth for all of life. “What is
truth?” There is only One, and His name is Jesus Christ. “What is truth?” It is
found in the Holy Scriptures, the Word of God and absolute of God’s people,
found outside of my perspective or individualistic persuasions. Jesus is Lord!
His Word is truth! What I think or want to believe is truth doesn’t matter.
“What is truth?” It is not you or me. It is the Lord Jesus Christ and what He has
to say on the matter. Follow His way, His truth, and you will find true life now
and in eternity!