All about the Truth

As amazing as it may be, the truth has become controversial. What is the reason for this astounding reality? This article will illuminate all about the truth.

What is Truth?

What is truth? According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, truth is the body of real things, events, and facts: actuality. Also, the state of being the case. A transcendent fundamental or spiritual reality.

Therefore, truth is the body of real things—reality, but, oh how far we have been removed from this definition. Since the creation, there has always been the lie, which is the opposite of the truth. It is the body of false things. However, the truth has been at the forefront and objective, and the lie in the minority.

However, with the advent of the post-modern movement, the lie is now equal to or, in some cases, placed ahead of the truth. The truth has now become subjective, subject to what an individual feels truth is.

So, how big of a problem is this? Huge! Truth should be the base of our functions. Outside of time, truth is the only stable element in our lives. Without truth as a base, there is no credence for anything.

Truth is the stabilizer; there is no spin to the truth, and the truth is non-negotiable.

Our words are very important. We must be able to trust each other. Otherwise, our words mean nothing. Words are powerful, and we are judged by the words we speak. Jesus said in Matt 12:37, “For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.” In the context of this Scripture, Jesus is referring to the judgment.

No word is immaterial to God, as every spoken word discloses what is in the heart. Since God knows our hearts, our words are crucially important to Him. Therefore, our words will be a basis for judgment because words reveal who a person truly is.

Additionally, Jesus also encourages us to speak the truth. In Matt 5:37, He is recorded as saying, “Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one. NIV

Here, Jesus plainly emphasized that we should tell the truth: When we say yes, we mean yes, and when we say no, we mean no. Otherwise what we speak is from the devil. In other words, say what we mean and mean what we say.

Nowadays, we truly see how the world is by the actions and words spoken. We are living in an age where we are overwhelmed with information, but not all of it is necessarily true. We live in turmoil because we do not know what to believe.

We actually have a body of falsehoods known as conspiracy theories. Conspiracy theories increase during periods of widespread anxiety, uncertainty, or hardship, as through wars, economic depressions, and natural disasters such as tsunamis, earthquakes, and pandemics. Unfortunately, they do not provide aid during these events at all; they only add more confusion and uncertainty to the events that are supposed to be addressed because they are not truthful but are theories. Only the truth can bring absolute clarity and closure to a situation or issue.

The World of Unbelief

Thanks to the subjective approach to the truth, we now live in a world of unbelief. The former President of the United States could not be trusted to tell the truth. According to the Washington Post, President Trump’s false or misleading claims totaled a whopping 30,573 over four years. Lies, lies, and more lies!

So if we cannot trust the President to tell the truth, what about the rest of the government? Politicians on both sides of the aisle engage in “alternative facts.” Alternative facts—what an oxymoron!

Moreover, unbelief spreads to science. Citizens in the US refuse to follow science, such as scientific proof that wearing masks and being vaccinated prevents the spread of COVID19.

Many in the US claim that the virus does not exist, even though, at the time of this writing, close to a million individuals have died from it in the US and over six million worldwide.

It gets better. Unbelief spreads to religion. In the subjective climate we live in, it is easy to discard God and the Scriptures [For more info on this topic, please read the article, The Bible and Cancel Culture on this website]. Is there really a God; is the Bible really truth? Is there such a thing as sin? Why does it matter whom I have sex with or who I marry?

Unbelief spreads to our bodies: “my body says I’m a male, but I feel like a female” (and vice versa). See the article, Transgenderism and the Bible.

In the world of unbelief, people simply will not accept facts and are walking around in their own reality.

The Answer

How do we find the truth with all the deception and unbelief permeating the world? Unbelief is a spirit and one of Satan’s powerful and effective weapons used in spiritual warfare. He has been using it since the creation of man (Gen. 3:4-5). But praise God, He has supplied us with spiritual weapons of our own to counter Satan’s assaults.

Let’s look at what the Scriptures tell us in 2 Cor. 10:4-5

4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)

5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

Therefore, we do not use worldly weapons but God’s mighty weapons. We use these weapons to beat down human interpretations and strongholds and demolish false arguments. Casting down every thought and proud obstruction that stops individuals from knowing God. We “bring into captivity” their rebellious thoughts and ideas and teach them to obey Christ.

Therefore, let’s take a look at these weapons in Eph 6:10-15

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.

11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.

12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.

14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place,

15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.  

16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.

17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. NIV

This passage describes the armor we are to use with the metaphor of a soldier. We are, in fact, soldiers of spiritual warfare.

It encourages us in verse 10 to “be strong in the Lord,” as we cannot be strong in ourselves against this enemy.  Verses 11 and 12 identify the enemy and his location.

Notice in verse 14 where it mentions “the belt of truth.” This truth is the weapon to use against the spirit of unbelief. Truth will stand against falsehoods any day of the week! But how do we buckle this belt of truth around our waists?

Discernment

We must acquire a spirit of discernment to counter the spirit of unbelief.

So what is discernment?

• Discernment is about making the right judgments.
• It’s looking beneath the surface to see what is actually there.
• It’s having the ability to hear what an individual is saying and yet hearing what they don’t say.
• It’s taking nothing for granted by evaluating, investigating, and distinguishing; looking deep down below the surface to find the truth.

Spiritual discernment is an essential tool in our arsenal to fight against the spirit of unbelief. It is vital to knowing the will of God for our lives. We must know whether we hear from God, other sources, or ourselves when making crucial decisions.

Spiritual discernment is essential to differentiate truth from error and avoid being deceived by sin, and it leads us to question the consequences rather than focus on the immediate pleasure. It allows us to see beyond what we hear, see, or feel.

The fact of the matter is that it is hazardous in the times we live in not to have spiritual discernment because it is our most significant protection.

How do we acquire spiritual discernment?

The first step is prayer, such as the one David prayed in Ps 119:65-66

65 Do good to your servant according to your word, O Lord.

66 Teach me knowledge and good judgment, for I believe in your commands. NIV

We must, as David did, pray to God to bestow “knowledge and good judgment” upon us, and He answers us through the Holy Spirit, who is the source of spiritual discernment.

Let’s look at Jesus’ description in John 14:16-17

16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever—

17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. NIV

When we accept Jesus as Lord and Savior, He gives us a “counselor” to live inside us. He is the “Spirit of truth.” He guides us into the truth about God, and He will guide us “into all truth” (John 16:13).

The Holy Spirit is our “Counselor”
and our “Helper” (KJV) and will help us make wise decisions and choices. Without the Spirit, we are as lost as a blind mind walking without a cane. Paul makes this clear in Rom 8:5-8

5 For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.

6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.

8 So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.

Here we have a comparison of the spiritual mind against the carnal, fleshly mind without the Spirit. To be without the Spirit is to be in the flesh, carnal-minded, and an enemy of God. They are simply lost in their flesh. They cannot please God because they cannot understand God or the things of God. Paul additionally said in 1 Cor. 2:14, “The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.” NIV

Bottom line: only the Spirit of God can provide us with the Spiritual discernment we need to know right from wrong in all areas of our lives. Without it, we are lost.

The next source for spiritual discernment is the Word of God, which is the basis of all Spiritual discernment and keeps us on the right track. Ps 119:11 reads, “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.” NIV

Hiding or keeping God’s Word in the heart is a deterrent to sin. One way to accomplish this is by memorizing Scripture. However, that is only the beginning because, in addition to memorizing Scripture, we must apply it and live by it (James 1:22).

Conclusion

The truth can be painful at times. However, denying it is not the answer. There are too many in the world denying the truth, walking around in their own reality. The problem with that is sooner or later, truth will prevail, and reality will come crashing down upon them.

Jesus warned about denying reality in Luke 17:26-30, where He is quoted as saying:

26 “Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man.

27 People were eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all.

28 “It was the same in the days of Lot. People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building.

29 But the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all.

30 “It will be just like this on the day the Son of Man is revealed. NIV

This passage is part of Jesus’ prophecy regarding His second coming. As we are witnessing today, individuals will be in denial, carrying on with life until the time of judgment arrives, just as it happened in the days of Noah and the days of Sodom.

Therefore, we should seek the truth and walk in it to be able to stand before the Lord.

I close with this final Scripture. Luke 21:36

36 Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.” NIV

Amen

Questions, comments, and concerns are more than welcome below.

Blessings!