The following student report was submitted by Ambassador League Agent Joshua E. during the 2007-2008 League.
AML BIBLE STUDY #9: TRUTH
Truth is that which corresponds to reality. It is the glue that holds Christian theology together and is the basis for everything we believe. Truth is integral to our Christian understanding because, if there is truth, we should (logically) pursue it and base our lives on it. Jesus rarely concluded an important lesson without saying, "I tell you the truth" in order to emphasize the transparency of his messages. When God revealed himself to us on earth, he made a point of showing us that falsehood is against his very nature.
In Old Testament times, truth was understood in terms of outward honesty. To go against the truth, one would bear false testimony (lie) and the sin was considered primarily as an external act. This was considered a serious crime: "If a malicious witness takes the stand to accuse a man of a crime, the two men involved in the dispute must stand in the presence of the Lord before the priests and the judges who are in office at the time. The judges must make a thorough investigation, and if the witness proves to be a liar, giving false testimony against his brother, then do to him as he intended to do to his brother. You must purge the evil from among you." (Deuteronomy 19:16-19) This penalty of receiving the action that was meant for your brother is conducive to the Old Testament maxim of "an eye for an eye." Exact payback was the law of the land. Of course, telling the truth is also one of the Ten Commandments: "You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor." (Exodus 20:16) According to the Torah, we are not to mess with the truth.
The book of Proverbs reads: "The Lord detests lying lips, but he delights in those who tell the truth." (Proverbs 12:22) Truth is important to God - it brings a smile to his face. Again in Proverbs: "Buy the truth and do not sell it; get wisdom, discipline and understanding." (Proverbs 23:23) We sell truth by devaluing honesty; whenever we value something (relationships, possessions, time, or prestige) more than truth, we are literally exchanging truth for a lesser commodity. We buy truth when we exalt honesty; whenever we realize that we are living a lie and decide to rectify the situation by aligning with the truth, we are buying truth back with what is truly less valuable. In summary, the writer of Proverbs exhorts us to focus wholeheartedly on following the truth in our lives: whatever it takes!
While the Old Testament view of truth was primarily focused on the prevention of false verbal testimony, the New Testament view focuses on truth as a way of life; it encompasses not only telling the truth, but living in the truth. Jesus said that the Holy Spirit leads us to truth: "If you love me, obey my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn't looking for him and doesn't recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you." (John 14:15-17) Because we know the Holy Spirit and are working to live a God-centered life, we have the advantage of the Holy Spirit leading us in a life of complete truth.
Before addressing what it is to live in the truth, we must look at our original heritage: living in falsehood. When man disobeyed in the Garden of Eden, Satan told the first and greatest lie in history: "The serpent told the woman, 'You won't die.'" (Genesis 3:4) When Adam and Eve bought this lie, they accepted falsehood as a way of life. To understand why accepting this lie was more than just disobeying God, we must understand what the lie was in its most basic form: man is the measure of all things and is able to make it on his own without Gods help.
When Jesus spoke with Pilot just before his crucifixion, he talked of truth as being a key part of who he is: "'You are a king, then!' said Pilate. Jesus answered, 'You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.'" (John 18:37) What did Jesus mean by "testifying to the truth?" I believe that, among other things, Jesus referred in this passage to the ultimate God-reality that surrounds us throughout our lives. The truth he spoke of was simply this: man was made for God, and will never be able to live a truly fulfilled life until he acknowledges this dependence on his creator. To live in truth is to live in the reality of God.
Jesus' life was a life of complete truth in this new sense. Real truth is more than just telling the truth; it is living the truth as a lifestyle. We can no longer pretend that we do not know what is true or right; God's spirit lights the way for us. As the Message reads in John 3:19-21: "This is the crisis we're in: God-light streamed into the world, but men and women everywhere ran for the darkness. They went for the darkness because they were not really interested in pleasing God. Everyone who makes a practice of doing evil, addicted to denial and illusion, hates God-light and won't come near it, fearing a painful exposure. But anyone working and living in truth and reality welcomes God-light so the work can be seen for the God-work it is."
The belief system of relativism seeks to undermine this God-reality by asserting that there are no universal truths. Relativism considers itself a philosophical foundation while still stating that valid philosophical foundations are impossible. It also fails to take into account the existence of the universe, the objective moral law that we all "magically" agree on, and the documentation of miracles (i.e. the Resurrection). Romans reads: "For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities-his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God." (Romans 1:20)
Jesus knew the implications that truth had in the lives of his followers: "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.' They answered him, 'We are Abraham's descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?'" (John 8:31-33) The Jews misunderstood what freedom was; their sense of national pride clouded their view of their own bondage. Jesus knew that truth (God-reality) was the only thing that could set people free from their main enemy: their own selfish natures. We should do everything we can to live in truth and lead others to do the same.
