Posted: 06/02/09

Truth!

Dr. David M. Berman                                                                                                 www.wakeupandsmellthetruth.com

Ah…"truth" That most disturbing word, the declaration that makes the left recoil as though it was made up of four letters. Truth is that thing that threatens illogical foolery and so it is mocked, and twisted, and met with its opposing force of lies or worse yet; relativism. Relativism is a mindset that makes truth subjective to one's personal feelings at the time. Relativism is this illogical world view that makes truth subject to feelings rather than what it is; objective.

Jesus said:

John 14:6 "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me"

Now there is a statement that would have made modern relativists take notice and stand against what Jesus dared to say; "I am the way, the truth, and the life." The fact is that it is not just modern day relativists who think in these terms. Consider what Pilate said to Jesus after Jesus told of his mission to proclaim the truth;

John 18:38 "Pilate saith unto him, What is truth? And when he had said this, he went out again unto the Jews, and saith unto them, I find in him no fault at all"

What is truth? This is an excellent question. It is at least better than the supposition now in the minds of most Americans that all is relative and there is no truth at all. Truth is the foundation of life and it is a set of laws. God created the Heavens and the Earth. We have observable laws such as gravity. If you are one who thinks that gravity is something that is only my truth, try jumping out of the window with your relativistic view of truth and experience what happens. In the same way the Creator made natural laws, he also made spiritual ones. This however is the problem with relativism. It seeks to make the individual the creator of his/her own set of spiritual laws. This mindset only produces selfishness as the person becomes more deceived of his/her own importance of subjective feelings. This leads ultimately to a person believing in their own intellect and emotional feelings as they believe they alone are the adjudicators of what their "truth" is. A relativist is one who stands on nothing, stands for nothing (accept what they personally feel at a given time), and is motivated by short term thinking influenced by circular reasoning. It is not logic that dictates the relativist; it is corrupt emotion and deception that clouds the real reason for relativism. The reason, whether known by the relativist or not, is unbridled pantheistic licentiousness. It ultimately is the desire of an individual to be as a god. In the original temptation in the garden Satan tempted with the following words:

Genesis 3:4-5 "And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil"

Notice the temptation is to disobey God who told them truth. God said death would enter mankind, Satan said that God was not speaking the truth. Satan then says in his deception that the restriction placed on them by God was due to God not wanting them to be "as gods." He tells them that if they listen to him they will be gods. Therein lays the constant temptation placed before all men and women. Will God be God or will we attempt to be our own god?

The reason people in modern day America do not like truth is because we have been sold a lie from the Devil by way of his prophets. The devils prophets are all those who preach against truth. They reject God's Word, and seek to destroy the true prophets of God. Anyone who dares to stand for objective truth must be ready to be persecuted for it. Most American Christians worship their jobs, friendships, social positions, and desire to be accepted much more than they do Truth. True mature Christians worship He who is truth itself. Jesus said "I am the way" (the only road) "the truth" (emphatically absolute)" the life (literally life itself). Jesus was clear here that he was not simply a person who spoke truth but rather he is truth. This is why so many in the world hate the Jesus of the Bible. They often like the Jesus they make up in their minds, but they hate the true Christ. Jesus is an absolutist. Why do people hate true Christians? It is simple really. Jesus explains it in the following passages:

John 3:17 "For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved"

We see from this that God did not send Jesus into the world to condemn it. Why? Because the world was condemned already! Jesus came to save us from the consequences of our sinful nature that desires to be a god. We tend to think we have the right to decide what is right or wrong based on our own intellect and human feelings. Jesus came to save us from that disposition and bring us to the understanding that He is truth, He is God, and He decides what is right and wrong. By His grace we are saved as we in our sinful state accept His grace (unmerited favor) by faith (trust) and are saved from the wrath to come. It does not mean we are perfect in ourselves since only God is perfect. It does however mean that we are saved from the wrath of God because we received Jesus as our Savior and he has provided His righteousness to all those who have been born again.

John 3:18 "He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God"

He goes on here to express the truth of the difference between the believers who are now saved, and the condemned that are on their way to Hell because they reject the truth (Jesus is the truth). It is not that any preacher is condemning a person who rejects Christ. I as a preacher simply explain that Jesus said without Christ a person is condemned already because they have "not believed on the only begotten Son of God."

John 3:19 "And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil"

Jesus tells us why here when he says "men love darkness rather than light." This is the problem with a relativist; Relativists do not believe there is a difference between darkness and light. They do not believe there is wrong or right. Why? Jesus says because their "deeds were evil." The truth is that the reason people are relativistic is because they do not want to place their deeds under the inspection of God's truth.

John 3:20 "For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved"

People who continue in this mindset hate the light of Christ and therefore they refuse to come to it because they do not wish to be reproved for their actions.

John 3:21 "But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God"

The believer comes to the light because he/she knows the light (Jesus) has forgiven their sins. Again, it is not that any Christian is perfect in themselves. It is that God has made them perfect legally before God through the blood of Jesus by paying the price for their sins. Jesus paid the price for all mankind's sins however in order to receive the benefits all must receive Christ personally as their Savior and Lord. Because the believer believes in He who is the truth, the believer walks in it. It is not perfection that the believer does in his/her own power. Sin is not simply an action of disobedience pertaining to a single evil deed. It is much more than that. Sin is a condition that every person is born into. It is the disposition that believers and unbelievers alike are tainted by. The difference between the believer and the unbeliever is a matter of spiritual legal standing, not a matter of personal perfection one over the other. The believer simply has been pardoned of the eternal penalty of sin by the act of Christ on the cross. It is the imputation of the perfection of Christ that changes the believer into a position of innocent spiritual legal standing. It is the unbeliever who is sadly left in the mire of his own sinful legal position due to his incredulous rejection of this pardon.

When Pilate asked the question "what is truth," he was asking a profound question. At least he asked it. He, like so many, could not see the truth standing in front of him. In our culture we see tangible evidence of the negative results of our turn from objective truth to subjective relativism.

1)      We have turned from family accountability and support to government support without accountability

2)      We have moved toward an "anything goes" mindset and called it freedom when what that mindset really brings is an imprisoned heart.

3)      We have turned from the financial principles of hard work, buy what you can afford, pull your own weight, and reward for risk to government bailouts, an entitlement way of thinking, and intense unsustainable government spending.

4)      We have gone from a country that believed in free speech to a nation that has to walk on egg shells worrying about offending some group.

5)      We have gone from a nation bound together by a set of absolute Judeo-Christian principles to a nation splintered by the insanity of multi culturist thinking.

6)      We have left local control and have gone to the centralized power of Washington's corruption.

7)      We have gone from a nation that lauded the Constitution to a nation that spits on it.

8)      We have gone from a nation that respected the Bible to a nation that mocks God and His Word.

9)      We have gone from a nation that realized the importance of marriage to a nation that seeks to impose the vile works of homosexuality by forcing its acceptance through judicial activism.

10)  We have gone from "mom, apple pie, and Chevrolet" to "transgender step mom" used to be a male, Chinese apples, and Chevrolet made in Mexico.

11)  We have gone from a nation of on fire churches with Holy Ghost Bible preachers to a milk toast, emergent, tickle ears, fear of persecution churches in name only (thankfully some Churches are still faithful).

What does all this have to do with truth? Everything! Jesus gave us the foundation for blessings and we have squandered it with our self proclamations of greatness, human will, and intellect. Jesus said this:

Matthew 6:33 "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you"

Since our nation has turned its back on He who is the truth, since we have long since abandoned the principles found in the Scripture pertaining to life and godliness, since we no longer seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness, we are losing the "other things." Truth is Christ and Christ is truth. He is the foundation of blessing. Without Him, we have what we see, a nation broken spiritually, emotionally, physically, and financially. Wake up and smell the truth. The only way to live in true liberty is to return to our Constitutional, Judeo-Christian roots.  

By Rev. Dr. David M. Berman Th.D. Click here for bio and archived articles