Have You Received the Love of the Truth?

 When He appeared before Pontius Pilate for judgment, Jesus Christ had a revealing exchange. Questioned by Pilate about whether He was a king, “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).

Indeed, what is truth? We live in a world so filled with lies that it can be hard to know. At times, it seems as if almost everything you hear is a lie. Politicians lie, scientists lie, doctors lie, the news media lie, “influencers” lie, and many people you interact with will simply parrot whatever lies they’ve been brainwashed into believing.

Worse still, many lies seem to be mixed with an element of truth. A few elements of the narrative can often be verified as fact, causing people to believe the rest.

God spoke of ancient Israel, shortly before sending her into captivity, “Ephraim has encircled Me with lies, and the house of Israel with deceit” (Hos. 11:12). What a perfect description of modern society also! It’s been observed that modern society is built on lies to such a degree that it would simply collapse if everyone stopped lying and started telling the truth, and in part I believe it.

But, as Jesus Christ said on another occasion, “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32). If you wish to be free, you must embrace the truth. So, as Pilate asked, what is truth?

What is Truth?

In the Old Testament, the Hebrew word for “truth” is emet (Strong’s # H571). In addition to the basic meaning of “truth,” Scripture identifies it with the qualities of firmness, stability, perpetuity, faithfulness, and reliability.

In the New Testament, the Greek word for “truth” is aletheia (Strong’s # G225). Thayer’s Greek Lexicon defines it as “what is true in any matter under consideration (opposed to what is feigned, fictitious, false),” and, “truth as a personal excellence; that candor of mind which is free from affectation, pretence, simulation, falsehood, deceit.” Scripture further identifies it with what is real or factual.

We can see these definitions of truth throughout the Bible. They enable us to identify several important qualities of the truth.

First, the truth is stable. The author of Psalm 119 praised our Creator with these words: “The entirety of Your word is truth, and every one of Your righteous judgments endures forever” (Psa. 119:160). Similarly, Yeshua/Jesus prayed to His Father on our behalf, “Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth” (John 17:17). And in Isa. 40:8, we read, “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever.” Because God’s word is truth, it stands forever.

The truth is from God, and God does not change. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Heb. 13:8). With God, “there is no variation or shadow of turning” (Jam. 1:17). This is why we can trust Him: “For I am the LORD, I do not change; therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob” (Mal. 3:6). God is firm, reliable, and stable. He does not change; His Word does not change; and what He said, He will do: “God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?” (Num. 23:19).

Even outside of the Bible, God created all that we see around us with truth, with fixed rules that do not change. All living things reproduce according to established rules of genetics. The earth, the planets, and all the stars follow the courses and the rules — “the ordinances of heaven and earth” (Jer. 33:25) — which God established for them. As the psalmist declared, “Forever, O LORD, Your word is settled in heaven. Your faithfulness endures to all generations; You established the earth, and it abides. They continue this day according to Your ordinances, for all are Your servants” (Psa. 119:89-91).

The laws of mathematics, which God used in His creation, likewise never change. Two plus two equals four; that was true 5,000 years ago, it’s true now, and it will be true in the future.

And because the truth is stable and does not change, it’s impervious to the whims of human beings. Someone can say 2+2=5, but it won’t change the truth. Someone can say that gravity doesn’t exist, but if he jumps off a roof, he will fall just the same. People can fight against the Word of God, contradict it, and say it doesn’t mean what it says, but God’s Word still doesn’t change. And one day, everyone will stand before the throne of God and be judged by that same Word, whether that person likes it or not.

There’s no such thing as “my truth” or “your truth,” phrases that have become fashionable in modern society; these contradict the very meaning of truth! Something is either true or it isn’t. And the truth is still true whether everyone believes it or no one does. People’s perception or understanding of the truth can change, and often does, but the truth itself does not change.

God’s way is truth. Since God’s way is truth, then it stands to reason that everything contrary to God’s way is the opposite of truth. Righteousness is truth; unrighteousness is not. Indeed, the apostle Paul used this very contrast in 1 Corinthians 13, writing that love “does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth” (1 Cor. 13:6).

Truth and iniquity are polar opposites. Iniquity is a lie. Though sin, or iniquity, can seem enticing, it’s all a fraud. It’s like paint and glitter on a pile of manure. Heb. 11:25 speaks of “the passing pleasures of sin,” and Prov. 13:22 declares that “the wealth of the sinner is stored up for the righteous.” Whatever gain or pleasure might come from sin is purely temporary. It’s a short-term gain at the cost of eternal loss.

Anything contrary to God’s instructions is a lie. The apostle John wrote, “If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth” (1 John 1:6). Again, “He who says, ‘I know Him,’ and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him” (1 John 1:4).

False doctrines are also lies. The apostle Paul warned of those “who have strayed concerning the truth, saying that the resurrection is already past; and they overthrow the faith of some” (2 Tim. 2:18). Those who say that the resurrection already happened, or that Jesus Christ already returned, or that Christ has already set up the Kingdom of God and begun His reign on earth have departed from the truth. They are speaking lies and contradicting the Word of God. Those who proclaim any gospel other than the one found in the whole Bible are speaking lies and contradicting the Word of God.

Remember, something is either true or it isn’t. Lies ultimately come from Satan the devil, “for he is a liar and the father of it” (John 8:44). Scripture describes him as the one “who deceives the whole world” (Rev. 12:9). Whoever proclaims false doctrines may not be lying if he believes what he’s saying, but he’s still repeating Satan’s lies or deceptions. This is why we must be diligent to see that our beliefs are truly in line with the Word of God!

The truth is real and sincere. Those who please God are those who obey Him in sincerity and truth, with a loyal heart. This is what God promised to King David: “If your sons take heed to their way, to walk before Me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul… you shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel” (1 Kings 2:4). And when King Hezekiah was sick, and nearly died, he prayed, “Remember now, O LORD, I pray, how I have walked before You in truth and with a loyal heart, and have done what was good in Your sight” (2 Kings 20:3).

Because the truth is real and sincere, it doesn’t pretend or put on airs. Paul contrasted pretense and truth, writing,

15 Some indeed preach Christ even from envy and strife, and some also from goodwill: 

16 The former preach Christ from selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my chains; 

17 but the latter out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel. 

18 What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached; and in this I rejoice, yes, and will rejoice. (Phil. 1:15-18.)

Because the truth is the opposite of fakery, its words and actions don’t contradict each other. Scripture addresses this very matter: “My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth” (1 John 3:18).

There are those who claim to love God, yet who disobey His laws and commandments. Their words and their actions tell two different tales. They are those who, as God said of the ancient Israelites, “draw near with their mouths and honor Me with their lips, but have removed their hearts far from Me” (Isa. 29:13). Scripture calls such people liars: “He who says, ‘I know Him,’ and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him” (1 John 2:4).

The truth is transparent. The truth has nothing to hide, nothing to fear, nothing to be ashamed of. It isn’t out to trick you or take advantage of you. The truth just is what it is.

Yeshua/Jesus contrasted evil deeds with the truth, declaring, “For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God” (John 3:20-21). Those who practice the truth have no fear of being exposed, because there is nothing to expose.

When wicked men were jealous of the prophet Daniel, they could find nothing against him because he practiced the truth: “So the governors and satraps sought to find some charge against Daniel concerning the kingdom; but they could find no charge or fault, because he was faithful; nor was there any error or fault found in him. Then these men said, ‘We shall not find any charge against this Daniel unless we find it against him concerning the law of his God’” (Dan. 6:4-5).

Daniel was so faithful and so committed to the way of truth that his enemies despaired of finding any real fault in him! How many of us are as faithful as Daniel? Yet this is exactly what God desires of us! As the apostle Paul exhorted Titus, “In all things show yourself to be an example of good deeds, with purity in doctrine, dignified, sound in speech which is beyond reproach, so that the opponent will be put to shame, having nothing bad to say about us” (Tit. 2:7-8; NASB).

Do We Love the Truth?

Now, the question is, do we love the truth? Do we realize how valuable the truth is? The Book of Proverbs tells us, “Buy the truth, and do not sell it, also wisdom and instruction and understanding” (Prov. 23:23). The author of Psalm 119 declared that the truth of God’s Word is more valuable than any earthly treasure: “Therefore I love Your commandments more than gold, yes, than fine gold! Therefore all Your precepts concerning all things I consider to be right; I hate every false way” (Psa. 119:127-128).

Most people do not love or cling to the truth. Society changes with the wind, and its moral compass shifts from point to point like the hands on a clock. Abominations once considered unthinkable even twenty or thirty years ago are now widely accepted, and the truth has become unthinkable. In some places, the truth is even considered hate speech by those who hate the truth!

But the sad reality is, most people who claim to be followers of Christ do not love the truth, either. Even among the Sabbath-keeping Churches of God, I would dare say that most people do not love the truth; they love the world far more. A pastor in the old Worldwide Church of God once observed that as the world goes, so goes the church, albeit a few years later. He was right. As tolerance for all sorts of wickedness rises in the world — sins such as fornication, shacking up, drunkenness, drug use, pornography, sodomy, and even abortion — tolerance for these evil acts likewise rises in the church. Many church members have grown to hate, not these sins, but those who condemn such sins! They’ve forgotten what it means to hate wickedness; they’ve forgotten even that they should. The world’s values ultimately become the church’s values, even if it takes ten or twenty years.

And how could it be otherwise, when most families in the church follow the worldly model of both parents holding full-time jobs and the children being sent to government schools to be indoctrinated in the ways of this world? As one pastor observed, you cannot send your children to Caesar for their education and then be shocked when they come home as Romans.

But this isn’t the only way in which many of us Christians fail to love the truth. It’s been said that most people do not really want to hear the truth; they just want reassurance that whatever they already believe is the truth. Many folks out there base their beliefs, not on what the Bible says, but on what Herbert Armstrong said, or on what their church teaches, or on what some other man says. Their ears have become stopped up; they have no interest in hearing anything other than what they already believe, or in comparing it to Scripture to see whether it really is true or not.

God’s Word praises the Bereans because “they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so” (Acts 17:11). They listened to what Paul had to say, but they did not simply believe him without evidence; they compared what he said to Scripture to see whether it was true or not. As King Solomon wrote in the Book of Proverbs, “He who answers a matter before he hears it, it is folly and shame to him” (Prov. 18:13). And again, “The simple believes every word, but the prudent considers well his steps” (Prov. 14:15).

Loving the truth means that we must be willing to change if our beliefs are found to be contrary to the truth. But loving the truth also means that we must hold fast to what is true, no matter how much peer pressure or societal pressure or hatred we face for it. God’s Word is true, and on that rock we must build. Jesus said, “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock” (Mat. 7:24-25).

If we don’t love the truth, dire consequences await. The apostle Paul warned that those of God’s people who fail to receive the love of the truth will receive the antichrist instead and that they will not be saved:

9 The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders,

10 and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved.

11 And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie,

12 that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness. (2 Thes. 2:9-12.)

Many in the world will hate us for loving and practicing the truth; Yeshua/Jesus told us so: “And you will be hated by all for My name's sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved” (Mat. 10:22). “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you” (John 15:18-19).

Those who hate the truth will also hate whoever practices and speaks the truth because the truth shines a light on their evil deeds. As Paul questioned the Galatians, “Have I therefore become your enemy because I tell you the truth?” (Gal. 4:16).

The question is, do we love the truth more than the approval of men? Do we love the praise of God more than the praise of men? Or are we willing to affirm Satan’s lies just so we can get along with people in this life?

Ultimately, those who are ashamed of the truth will not be in God’s Kingdom, just as Jesus warned: “For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels” (Mark 8:38). Those who love Satan’s lies instead of the truth will perish: “But outside are dogs [the impure or unholy] and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie” (Rev. 22:15).

The Truth Will Set You Free

Jesus declared in John 8:32, “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” This applies to God’s way of life, of course. The way of truth is the way of life and liberty, but “all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death” (Rev. 21:8).

But Jesus’ statement applies to life in general, too. If we cling to the truth, no matter how unpleasant it might seem, it will set us free. In the long run, there is nothing to be gained by clinging to a falsehood. As Ronald Reagan once said, “If history teaches anything, it teaches that self-delusion in the face of unpleasant facts is folly.”

Consider the smoker who keeps telling himself that smoking doesn’t really cause cancer, or that he isn’t addicted. He is lying to himself because he doesn’t really want to quit smoking and because he doesn’t want others to think badly of him. But what is he gaining by lying to himself? Nothing! Is his self-deception reducing his risk of cancer? No. Is it helping him quit? No. He must face and accept the truth before he can be free.

Or how about the diabetic who won’t stop eating candy bars and drinking sugary drinks, even though he’s going blind, can’t feel his feet anymore, and has oozing sores on them? He tells himself and others that the sugar isn’t really the cause of his problems. He tries to cast blame somewhere else: his genetics, other foods, anything but the real cause. He is lying to himself because he doesn’t want to give up his sugary addictions. And what is he gaining by it? Is his self-deception halting the rotting of his flesh? Is it making his diabetes go away? No! Only if he faces and accepts the truth can he be free.

And what about the fat people who keep telling themselves and others that they can’t lose weight, or that it isn’t their fault that they’re fat? These are lies, of course. There isn’t a person who’s ever been born who couldn’t lose weight, or who got fat without eating. We all know it, too; look at any picture of concentration camp survivors, or war refugees, or famine victims, and you won’t see a fat person among them. So what’s the point of lying to yourself or others? What is there to gain by it? Does a fat person get healthier if he tells himself there’s nothing he can do about it? No! Only by facing and accepting the truth can he be free.

And we could look at many, many more examples. We could look at the drunk, or the drug addict, or the one who can’t hold a job, or the one who’s addicted to pornography, or the adulterer, or the fornicator, or countless others, but I hope we can begin to get the picture. When we try to justify ourselves or make excuses instead of facing the truth, then we are accepting and loving a lie, and that lie is destroying us.

In every area of our lives, therefore, let us stop lying to ourselves and others and let us stop making excuses. Let us stop hiding from the truth and face it. It is only when we accept the truth, however unpleasant it might seem, that our lives can begin to improve. The truth will set you free.

Back in the 1980s, President Ronald Reagan attempted to say, “Facts are stubborn things,” but he misspoke and said instead, “Facts are stupid things.” And while the former is true, the latter describes how many people respond to facts that contradict what they want to believe. Whenever they contradict what we want to believe, we tend to dismiss facts as stupid things.

But facts are indeed stubborn things. No matter how much they’re ignored, they just go on being facts. The truth remains true. The truth stands whether we agree with it or not. And though the truth can be ignored for a long time, it cannot be ignored indefinitely. It will have to be faced at one time or another. The sooner we face it, the sooner we can be free.

So let us not be among those who ignore inconvenient facts, but among those who have received the love of the truth. The truth will stand. Let us therefore cling to the truth, and we, too, shall stand, for we will have built our house upon the rock. Let us love the truth, pursue the truth, and search the Scriptures diligently to ensure that we align ourselves with the truth!