What Is Truth

We all have certain things that we believe to be true. Many times we choose to believe that something is true because we trust the source of the information. When it comes to spiritual matters, we ought to always ask ourselves why we believe what we believe.

No one wants to believe error. Many years ago most people believed that the world was flat. The reason they believed the earth was flat is because they trusted the source of information, and believing that falsehood did not really have any direct impact on their lives.

But, a number of things can and do have a very direct impact on our lives if we choose to believe the information presented. A very silly illustration would be if you really believed that eating french fries every day would help you to live longer. I'm sure that even that silly example could cause a debate somewhere as battles for what is good or bad for you continue to rage on day after day.

Likewise in the spiritual realm debates over what is true continue on and on. Various religions all claim to have the "truth." Even Christians who use the same Bible as their source are divided on what is true.

For example, some believe that baptism requires total submersion in water. Others believe that sprinkling water on the head is the right thing to do. Those are just two of the "right" ways of baptizing, without even taking up the debate of how old one should be in order to be baptized.

So how does one find the truth? How can you be sure when it comes to spiritual matters that what you believe is genuine truth? Sadly, many people allow the packaging and presentation to convince them that what they are hearing is indeed the truth.

I have heard people on many occasions talk about how many people attend their church. They talk about how great the choir is, and how beautiful the building is, and how entertaining the pastor is. I'd much rather hear people talk about the message, or what they learned, or how they are applying in their life what they learned.

Here's a simple truth. Truth is truth no matter who says it or where they say it. A five year old could tell you something that is true. You could be driving and see a billboard with a message that is true. Even a condemned criminal could speak words of truth.

The real question is how do you know what is truth and what is not? We all have things that we currently believe. When we hear something that contradicts what we believe, then little alarms go off. We recognize that what we are hearing is in conflict to what we believe as true.

But if we trust the source of that information, then we are more apt to consider what is being said, even if it is contradictory to what we believe already. We may get convinced that what we thought was true is not. Or, because of what we already believe, we may dismiss this new information.

This process goes on all the time, but what is the standard for truth? This is most especially critical in spiritual matters, but should be taken seriously in other areas as well.

If you are going to buy carpet for a room in your house, you first measure the room. Someone could look at the room and tell you that it is ten feet by ten feet. You could walk heel to toe and determine that it is ten feet by nine and half feet.

But if you want to be accurate then you use a standard for truthful measurement. A measuring tape will provide a very accurate and true measurement of the room so that you don't buy too much or too little carpet.

When it comes to spiritual matters, if there is no standard for truth, then we will all just go through life guessing. We can latch on to whatever seems interesting at the moment. We can believe what we want to believe, live our lives, and all for what purpose? We don't really know unless there is a standard for truth!

The greatest man who ever lived answered the question for us. In praying to his heavenly Father, Jesus said, "Your word is truth." He also told his disciples that the truth would set them free.

Having a right understanding of what the Bible declares will give you a standard for truth. Having that standard for truth enables you to then measure any other information up against the truth, so that you will not be led into believing error.

On the other hand, if the Bible is not the standard for spiritual truth, then what is? How do you know? Far too many people base their spiritual beliefs and their corresponding actions in life on information that they just "feel" is right.

It is of great profit to continue to build an accurate understanding of what the Bible says. With that understanding and belief in the truth, you are then able to separate truth from error. Without a standard for truth, if you are honest, you have to admit you are going through life guessing and hoping you are right.

But with a standard for truth, you will know that a big basket of french fries every day is not healthy; you will know that the world is round and not flat; and, you will know that the room is actually ten feet by ten and a half feet.