The following student report was submitted by Ambassador League Agent Joshua F. during the 2009-2010 League.
Mission: Research on Truth
If you were to search for the word "Truth" in the Bible, many of the results would be someone saying that people "rejected the truth". Or you'll find someone saying "I tell you the truth,". If someone tells you "I tell you the truth," then in reality they are saying "I'm not lying." It's a black and white spectrum with nothing in the middle, either you're telling the truth or you're not. You can add a bit of untruth and say "It was only partly a lie," or a lot of untruth and say "Well at least I never told you my name is Bob," but you're still lying. You can be like the devil and mix truth with lies, and base your lies on truth-but the lie will be the lie and you can't change that.
If you lie, what you're saying is not truth, and if you tell the truth than what you're saying is not a lie. Now others can choose to reject what you say, or not believe what you say, but you did your part in presenting the truth. This same concept plays into the "truth of the gospel" (see Ephesians 1:13 and verses like it). We can bring it to people, and it would be truth, but some will still reject it. This is a major and recurring theme in the New Testament. In Romans 1:25 the writer states that some exchanged the truth of God for a lie. Which is doubly interesting since the truth of God is our next subject.
The psalmist, more accurately 'a' psalmist, said in Psalms 119:160, "The sum of thy word is truth." This is very interesting if we consider that Jesus Himself is both Truth, and the Word (John 14:6 and John 1:1). Jesus identifies himself with truth-something that is not mixed with lies or deceit. Something that is pure, holy, and set apart from all that is not perfect. Jesus himself states continually through the Gospel that what he says is truth. But even since the Old Testament God's standard has not changed. After all, He's the same yesterday today and forever. The Bible states as much in Hebrews 13:8. If you will look with me in the book of Isaiah (chapter 45, verse 19) He Himself says that He states the truth and declares what is right. Looking back in Exodus chapter twenty, we find that God set the standard for truth even way back then. One of the Ten Commandments told the Israelites not to give ‘false testimony against your neighbor' a foundational truth. From which we learn through the spirit of that law, that it is Gods' desire for us to tell the truth. We followers of Christ can glean a lot from the spirit of the laws of old. Though we are not beholden to that commandment in the sense that we can say "I didn't lie about him in court… only to my friends," it is evident that part of the Spirit of the law is truth and honesty.
You know how I mentioned that God is the same yesterday, today and forever? The forever part comes into play in Romans 2:2 which states that Jesus will judge based on truth, and that judgment has yet to come.
Now focusing on the application of truth (and honesty - as mentioned above) I must clarify that honesty is not going up and telling the stranger driving the car in front of you "You're fat, go lose some weight." But instead we are to be honest while seeking to (as the author of Ephesians put it) speak the ‘truth in love' seeking to be like Christ in our gentleness and in wisdom in what we say and when we say it. We are to put off falsehood and put on honesty (Ephesians 4:25). It (honesty) is to be part of what non-believers notice about us. Honesty is a part of the righteousness that we are to be clothed with.
Jesus is truth, and that is a pretty tough standard to measure up to. But it is still a worthy goal, for which we are to continually strive for each and every day.
