Veracity

The search for truth is one of the most difficult journeys in life. Today’s culture constantly bombards everyone with messages. Some are true; others are not, we simply learn to test what is being said with what we know to be truth. Then comes the question, What is Truth? That which is truth is defined by its characteristics, its evidences, and its obstacles. There is no truth without a way to define it.

The characteristics of truth are constancy, discoverability, and relevancy. The first characteristic is constancy. Truth is absolute and unchanging. Flannery O’Connor once said, “Truth does not change according to our ability to stomach it.” In other words, it is only our perception and our interpretation of truth which changes over the centuries. For example, 2 + 2 will always and forever equal 4. It is a truth of addition. One can state that 2 + 2 5, but simply stating that mathematical equation does not make it truth. It has to work in the physical as well.

A second characteristic of truth is it has always existed and we only need to discover it. Galileo said, “All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered; the point is to discover them.” This is the most amazing characteristic of truth, because it involves human understanding, despite how biased it can be. The human mind is a very dangerous weapon in the pursuit of truth: it can harm or it can help. And discovering a truth and formulating it into a theory or law does not mean it is a new truth, only that it is new in our mind. For example: Gravity always existed. No one has every randomly floated off into space. We did not know what to call it, or that this force involved mathematics, but we did know it worked. Sir Isaac Newton was the one who formulated the theory that gave way to law. And now everyone knows about gravity.

Thirdly, truth is always relevant. Cultures change and people change, but truth is not affected by the culture. All that was true last century is true today and also relevant today. All that was relevant to the house churches of Asia in the first century applies to Christendom today. For example: the issue of women in the Church. The exact role of women in the Church is a matter of debate, some places more so than others, but what Paul and other epistle writers wrote to the churches way back when is still prominent in what role women play in the Church.

Obstacles to truth are the step after the characteristics of truth. Obstacles to truth are anything and everything that hinder the pursuit and adherence to truth. In the Christian worldview, the main obstacle is our fallen nature. Other obstacles result from this nature: personal bias, ignorance, laziness, and etcetera. This is because we all want to be in control of our lives and dictate what happens to us. There are also outside factors that hinder truth as well: the culture of the day, other people’s opinions, and whether or not the truth is hidden from us, purposely or subconsciously. Every single one of these obstacles does only one thing: they keep the truth hidden, which is exactly their purpose. The hidden truth is what we want to discover, but there are many obstacles to achieving it. The search is worth all you give for truth, after all, sets us free.

The Biblical response to truth is the Triune God. God is truth. “Show me your ways, O Lord, teach me your paths; guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long (Psalm 25:4,5).” God the Father’s word is truth. “I, the Lord, speak the truth; I declare what is right (Isaiah 45:19).” And because all Scripture is from God (2 Timothy 4:16), we can be sure it is truth. Jesus is the Word made flesh (John 1). “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me (John 14:6).” And as evidenced, Jesus declared himself the truth. The Holy Spirit is also of truth. “When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me (John 15:26).” The Holy Spirit relies on truth to teach us. He reveals to us the ways of the Lord which are truth. God, the Father, God the Son, and the Holy Spirit are truth. They reveal truths to us and keep some hidden so that we may trust in them. The application of this truth of God and the Scriptures is summed up in one verse: “Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil (Ecc. 12:13-14).”

In conclusion, truth is hidden from us by the world and ourselves, but we have been given the Word of God and a Guide to help us discover the truth. And truth will never change, but it will need to be discovered, and it will always be relevant. In the end only this matters, “the truth will set you free (John 8:32).”