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WHY WE TEACH -

WE CAN KNOW THE TRUTH

JIM LAWS

A question we often hear is, "Does it really matter what I believe as long as I believe in something?" Sometimes you will hear, "As long as your beliefs help you, then that is all that matters." One needs to be aware of the fact that with such statements as these there is an underlying position that is being espoused, that being, that there is no absolute truth to believe in, it is just the act of believing, that is all that there is. Yet, all of us realize that no matter how hard we may try, just believing in something will not make it so. Truth is not the same as belief. Take for instance, the prophets of Baal in the Old Testament (1 Kings 18:17-41). When challenged by Elijah upon Mt. Carmel, one sees that they believed in their god. They were sincere, they cut themselves with swords, danced into a frenzy, raved and pleaded all day. Yet nothing happened. No one can fault them for not being sincere, nor say they lacked faith in their deity. If sincerity in one's doctrine and the act of believing is all that there is, then those prophets should have been spared. But they were not. Their trust was in the wrong object. They had not chosen to investigate truth, as they should have. Believing that something is the case is one thing and the truth is quite another.

WE CAN KNOW TRUTH BECAUSE ITS DENIAL IS LOGICALLY CONTRADICTORY

Truth, simply put, is that which corresponds to reality as it is. The question is can we know that or are we always searching? A careful consideration of the point will force one to admit that man can know truth for whenever he says that he cannot, he is involved in a serious dilemma. A true dilemma is a logical position one does not want to be in. For instance on one occasion the chief priests and the elders of the people asked Jesus a question about his authority, Jesus put them in a serious dilemma about the Baptism of John (Matt. 21:23-27). He asked them, "The baptism of John, whence was it? from heaven, or of men" (Matt. 21:25)? The Jews reasoned about this and realized that they did not like the consequences of either possibility, but these were the only two choices available. If they were to answer that the baptism of John was from heaven, then, naturally, Jesus would ask them why then did they not obey it. If they were to answer "from men", then they feared the people because all knew that John was a prophet who had come from God. A true dilemma is that way, no matter which choice one makes, one is impaled by the particular horn he chooses. The same is true with the individual who holds to the view that one can not know truth. He puts himself into a true dilemma. When anyone says, "Man cannot know truth," he in effect is saying, I know this much: that man can not know truth. By making such a knowledge claim one can see that his position is contradictory and self-defeating. If a man cannot truly know truth, then he could not know that, either. The dilemma is easily seen when this individual is asked the question, "do you know that," namely, that one can not know truth? If he chooses to say "yes" to that, then he contradicts his own position. If he chooses to say "no", then he is in reality saying that he does not really know what he is talking about and for all he knows man can know truth. There is no escaping the horns of such a dilemma as these two answers exhaust the possibilities.

By now the reader may think that we have involved ourselves in a simple word game, and that these matters really do not count for much. However, please remember, the way of error is cunning and the Christian response is twofold: first, understand the error and second, he must understand how to defeat it (Phil. 1:7, 17; Jude 3). Whenever a position is proven to be contradictory as this has, then it proves itself to be self-defeating and in turn--false. Skeptical systems relative to the knowledge of truth face this dilemma; they presuppose what they are trying to deny, that being, the reality of knowledge and truth. It is clear, then, that any skeptical position that tries to deny the objective reality of truth is self-defeating and must be rejected.

WE CAN KNOW TRUTH BECAUSE THE BIBLE TEACHES THAT WE CAN

The Bible is very forthright in its presentation regarding this matter of truth and our knowing it. It does not make the logical mistakes and inconsistencies that human epistemological systems do. It teaches the truth about the truth. It teaches that truth comes from God and is not the invention of mere man. God is a God of truth (Isa. 65:16). His law is truth (Ps. 119:142; 151, 160). God speaks and acts in truth and due to his divine perfect nature he cannot lie (1 Sam. 15:29; Heb. 6:18; Jas. 1:17-18). Consequently, whatever he does or says is always right and true. Jesus Christ described himself as the truth, that is, the ultimate word or revelation of God to man (John 14:6; John 1:17). The Bible presents the fact that God's word is the truth (John 17:17) and that it is truth, not error, that saves (John 8:32-33). Knowing what the Bible says about the truth and our ability to know it we can naturally draw the following deductions about some of its qualities.

(1) Truth is Attainable. To say that truth is attainable is to say that truth is there for us and that it is knowable. This is an important conclusion to draw. A failure to recognize this feature of truth and the fact that the New Testament is the body of truth that all men will be judged by has eternal consequences. Jesus' statement, "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" has not changed (John 8:32). When Paul told the church at Colosse to "let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom," he was presupposing the fact that they could know it and understand it (Col. 2:16). In writing about the great "mystery" which has now been revealed regarding the inclusion of the Gentiles into the church of the Lord, Paul says that when we read this we, too, can come to understand his knowledge about these matters (Eph. 3:4). Paul tells us plainly that God's will for our lives is given for us in the Scripture and that we can know and understand what that will is (Eph. 5:17). Paul commends Timothy for the fact that even as a child he has "known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation" (2 Tim. 3:15). The word of God is attainable, that is, the mind of man can come to know it.

(2) Truth is objective and not subjective. To say that truth is objective is to say that truth is not changed based on the reception or the rejection of the hearer; it is still the truth no matter how one chooses to receive it. In other words, truth has its own objective reality; it stands on its own. Truth, then, is outside the mind of the individual and is independent of one's feelings, likes, dislikes, and prejudices. For instance, an interesting incident occurred during Paul's second missionary journey. He goes to Athens and speaks to them about God, the creator of us all (Acts 17:24-26), how he is within reach of all (vs. 27-29), how he makes salvation available to all (vs. 30-31), and that God will judge the world one day by Christ whom he raised from the dead (vs. 31). However, when the Athenians heard about the resurrection of the dead, they rejected the message. Did the rejection of the message of the resurrection by the Athenians some how change the truth about the resurrection? No. Because truth is objective in its nature. It is not the truth, because the hearer chooses to accept it, nor is it any less the truth, if the hearer chooses to reject it--it is still the truth.

(3) Truth is absolute. To say that truth is absolute is to say that it is complete and unchangeable. Truth does not change with the passing of years. Time does not make it truer than what it already is, nor does it diminish its truth-value. Our western culture has been influenced by the modern philosophy of Subjectivism (with its many verities), which wants to view truth in a type of fluid form. To the pragmatist, simply stated, truth is what works. Does it deal successfully with the problem at hand? An idea may for the time being work and for the pragmatist be true. However, the same idea may later fail and for the pragmatist be false. To express the notion that lying is wrong, to the relativist, is but the expression of one's attitude about lying, rather than the view that lying, in and of itself, is always wrong. Lying, then, would mean that I along with others disapprove of lying, rather than saying that it is objectively wrong. However, the truth of the matter is that lying is always wrong, because it exists independent of the mind. By an examination of the nature of truth along with the presentation of such from the pages of the Bible one may know that truth does exist and that it exists objectively, that is, independent of our wishes, likes and dislikes.

(4) We must love the truth. Not only did Jesus make clear that mankind can know truth (John 8:32) and that God's word is the truth (John 17:17), but that we will be judged by the truth (John 12:48). Therefore, our attitude toward the truth becomes very important. For, if one does not love and respect the truth of God, how can anyone truly say he loves God? If one does not love and respect the words of Christ, how can one truly say he loves Christ (John 14:15)? If one does not love and respect the Bible, how can anyone truly say they love God the Holy Spirit who revealed the divine will to man? They, in fact, cannot make such a claim. Paul makes this point by referring to those who are perishing, because, "they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved (2 Thess. 2:19). Therefore, we can not be indifferent to truth and at the same time be pleasing in the sight of God.

Loving and respecting the truth will mean that we will not mishandle it. We recognize its importance, so we do not add to it or take anything away from it (Gal. 1:8-9). If we were to do such, God would count us as liars (Prov. 30:5-6). So, we study it and handle it properly (2 Tim. 2:15); we recognize that it accords with godliness (Titus 1:1) and that it sanctifies (John 17:17). We understand that not everyone will love the truth as they ought, so they will do their best to change it trying to make it say something it was never intended to say (Matt. 4; Jer. 9:5; Romans 2:8; 1 John 5: 9,10).

Loving and respecting the truth means that we will obey it. Truth is not a mere abstract concept that one would agree with or reject at leisure, but one is to love the truth to the point that he accepts it. As the Old Testament writer states, "Buy the truth, and sell it not," (Prov. 23:23). Peter states, "Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren," (1 Peter 1:22). We are to have our loins girded with truth (Eph. 6:14; Psalms 91:4)--a phrase which carries with it the idea of surrounding ourselves with and bracing ourselves with truth. We, as Christians, are born by the word of God: the truth (James 1:18). We worship God in truth (John 4:24); we serve him in truth (1 Samuel 12:24), and we are to walk before him in truth (1 Kings 2:4). We are to rejoice in truth (1 Cor. 13:6); we are to speak the truth to everyone (Eph. 4:24); we are always to think on truth (Phil. 4:8); as well as write it on our hearts (Prov. 3:3). We simply cannot be pleasing to God without a love, respect, and faithful obedience to the truth

Loving and respecting the truth means that we will defend it. As the first century church went about its great work of preaching the gospel to the lost, they immediately found that everyone did not share their love for God, for Christ, for God's word, nor the church, we read about in God's word. Consequently, there was the ever present need to defend the truth and that they did (Jude 3). Paul says that he was set for the defense and confirmation of the gospel (Phil. 1:7, 17). Paul also said, "men, brethren, and fathers, hear ye my defense which I make now unto you" (Acts 22:1). When the king gave Paul the opportunity to speak, he cheerfully made his defense (Acts 24:10). Paul made his defense before King Agrippa (Acts 26:1). Peter states that we should be ready to give an answer to every one who would ask us about our faith (1 Peter 3:15). If one loves the truth, as he ought, he to will defend the truth against error, regardless of the consequences.

THE CONSEQUENCES OF FAILING TO UNDERSTAND THE BIBLICAL VIEW OF TRUTH

A failure to understand what the Bible teaches about truth will lead to a number of consequences that one does not really want to espouse.

(1) A failure to know the truth and the New Testament, in particular, as the truth that will judge all men one day, has led to religious division. Without a respect for God's word the religious world will be hopelessly divided, whereas, when one follows God's word the unity that the early church enjoyed can be ours as well. Take for instance Paul advice to the church at Corinth, "Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment" (1 Cor. 1:10). When God's word is followed as the truth, then religious division will come to an end.

(2) A failure to know the truth has led some to say, "Since no one knows everything, then no one can know anything." Obviously no one man or group of men can know all there is to know: that ability belongs to God and not to man. No one who understands the Bible can honestly say that he knows all there is to know about the Bible, as the Bible is of such a nature that one will continue to learn more and more each time he studies it. However, simply because man cannot know everything, does not mean he can not know some things. The Scriptures make it clear that we can (John 17:17; John 8:32).

(3) A failure to know the truth has led some to say, "I admit that we can know but my perception of it is faulty." This position, in effect, admits that knowledge of the truth is at least possible, but that one's perception is faulty to the point that we can not be certain. It is my view that this type of agnosticism is killing the church of the Lord today. Can we know some things with such certainty that we can not be wrong? Yes we can. That does not mean that I know everything about them with a perfect knowledge, but it does mean that we can know. We can know that the God of the Bible does exist; that he has communicated his will to man, the Bible. We can know that everything the Bible says is right, as there are no mistakes in it, none whatsoever. We can know that Jesus of Nazareth is God's only begotten Son and that he is the author of our eternal salvation. We can know that this salvation is available to the entire human family if each individual will freely decide for himself to obey. We can know that there will be a great Day of Judgment in which God will judge the world; that there is a heaven to be gain and a hell to be shunned. This certainly does not exhaust the matters of which we may be certain; the list goes on and on. However, think about this, on which of these matters may we be mistaken and still be pleasing in the sight of God. We cannot afford not to know and understand these crucial matters as each has eternal consequences.

(4) A failure to know the truth has led some to say, "I believe it but I cannot know it." This view wants to make faith and knowledge antagonistic to each other, while the biblical view teaches that they are complimentary to each other. It is because of "what we know" that we have faith. Faith is trust in God and in his word. In other words, we take God at his word in true faith (Heb. 11:1; Rom. 10:17). One's faith rests upon the knowledge one has received through study and evidence. Biblical faith is not a matter of probability where one believes and behaves "as if he knew," to do so would be hypocritical. For a preacher to preach as if he knew God existed, but in reality only believed that He does exist, is hypocritical. For one to contend that Jesus is the Son of God as if he knew that He is, but is not genuinely certain of the matter, is hypocrisy. On the contrary we can know these great matters and it is for that reason that our faith grows more and more, as our knowledge of them grows (Rom. 10:17).

(5) A failure to know the truth has led some to say that human language is vague and ambiguous and is simply not sufficient to communicate truth. If it is the case that human language is not sufficient to communicate truth, then why did God do it? First, why did he give us language to begin with and, second, why did he try to communicate saving truth in language? Is one going to say that God tried and failed? Is one actually going to take the position that the Bible fails in its attempt to communicate salvation's message? To hold to such a view is an indictment upon the work of God the Holy Spirit, who revealed the divine message to man. However, God gave us truth (John17:17). He expects us to accept it and we are considered evil, when we oppose it (2 Tim. 3:8); the wicked turn their ears away from it (2 Tim. 4:4), and the wicked follow the commandments of men, rather than the truth (Titus 1:14). All of these elements presuppose that truth is knowable, because it has been properly communicated. The failure is with man and his unwillingness to submit to heaven's mandates.

CONCLUSION

This article has examined the matter of truth. It has examined this important matter from several different standpoints. It has emphasized that truth does exist; it has given some of its qualities; it has shown why it is so important and must be obeyed, and it has briefly presented some of the implications that follow from saying that man can not know the truth. The importance of such a study should be obvious, as all questions relating to what we believe really go back to this one. More than 2000 years ago Socrates insisted that "the unexamined life is not worth living." This is still true today. Today, as much as ever, one needs to know that his faith is grounded on truth. The reader will see that the Bible, the word of God, provides such a foundation. The Bible is God's declaration to man concerning the all-important matter of salvation. If we miss the truth that God has given, then we have missed it all.

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