By Hank Hanegraaff
This is the very question Pontius Pilate asked Jesus (John 18:38). In the irony of the ages, he stood toe-to-toe with the personification of truth and yet missed its reality. Postmodern people are in much the same position. They stare at truth but fail to recognize its identity.
First, truth is an aspect of the nature of God Himself. Thus, to put on truth is to put on Christ. For Christ is “truth” (John 14:6), and Christians are to be the bearers of truth. As Christian author and social critic Os Guinness explained, Christianity is not true because it works (pragmatism); it is not true because it feels right (subjectivism); it is not true because it is “my truth” (relativism). It is true because it is anchored in the Person of Christ.
Furthermore, truth is anything that corresponds to reality. As such, truth does not yield to the size and strength of the latest lobby group. Nor is truth merely a matter of preference or opinion. Rather, truth is true even if everyone denies it, and a lie is a lie even if everyone affirms it.
Finally, truth is essential to a realistic worldview. When sophistry, sensationalism, and superstition sabotage truth, our view of reality is seriously skewed. The death of truth spells the death of civilization. However, as Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn discovered, “One word of truth outweighs the entire world.”
Adapted from The Covering
Pilate therefore said to Him, “Are You a king then?”
Jesus answered, “You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.”
Pilate said to Him, “What is truth?”
John 18:37–38 NKJV
For further study, see Os Guinness, Time for Truth (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2000).
***Note the preceding text is adapted from The Complete Bible Answer Book: Collector’s Edition: Revised and Expanded (2024). To receive for your partnering gift please click here. ***