People have been asking about the nature of truth for all of human history. These questions include, but are by no means limited to:
- What is truth?
- Is truth objective and absolute?
- Or is truth relative?
- Is truth even knowable
What does the Bible say about knowledge and truth?
Religion, sexuality, gender identity, abortion, euthanasia, capital punishment, drug use, politics, and more — All these issues and many more continue to divide people today.
Are these questions or issues merely matters of opinion (however strongly embraced) or are there underlying truths at stake?
And if core truths are at stake, then what is truth and who defines it?
Is Truth Relative?
Philosopher Frederich Nietzsche argued that truth as a category never really existed at all. He once famously declared: “You have your way. I have my way. As for the right way, the correct way, and the only way, it does not exist.”
It would appear that most twenty-first century Americans agree with Nietzsche.
According to a 2002 Barna Research Group survey, approximately 64% of American adults believe truth is “relative to one’s circumstances or situation.” Only a third of the respondents cited agreement with the concept of “absolute truth.”
What Does the Bible Say About Truth?
From the beginning, God is identified as the Creator (Genesis 1:1) and Lawgiver (Genesis 2:15; Exodus 20).
He is the source of knowledge and His people are to be guided by His revelation.
At no point is God presented as pluralistic or His revelation as relative or optional. On the contrary, God’s people are commanded to love Him and obey His commandments (Deuteronomy 6:1-9) and are expressly forbidden to worship any other god (Exodus 20:3).
In the time of ancient Israel, David prayed that God would lead him in “truth” and declared the “paths of the Lord” to be “mercy and truth” (Psalm 25:5,10). Later, he states that all God’s work is “done in truth” (Psalm 33:4). David addressed the Creator as “O Lord God of Truth” (Psalm 31:5) and beseeched Him to “send out Your Light and Your Truth” (Psalm 43:3). And David looks forward to the day when God will judge the peoples of the earth according to His truth (Psalm 96:13).
Some of the most eloquent declarations of truth are found in the Gospel of John. Here is a sampling:
- “For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” -John 1:17, NKJV
- “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, NKJV
- “But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” -John 4:23-24, NKJV
- “Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, ‘If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.'” -John 8:31-32
Clearly, the Bible teaches that truth is absolute and that it is embodied within and defined by Almighty God.
What’s more, the Gospel of John declares that truth is made manifest through Jesus Christ.
Is Truth Knowable?
Perhaps the most famous question in all of Scripture is the one that kicked off this blog post.
The eighteenth chapter of the Gospel of John records the encounter. When Jesus told Pilate that he came to “bear witness unto the truth” and that “everyone that is of the truth” hears his voice, Pilate replied: “What is truth?” And, of course, Pilate did not wait for an answer!
A recognition of humanity’s inability to fully grasp truth seems to be what’s behind the Bible’s similar calls for people to exercise mercy and humility.
King Solomon strikes this balance, when he writes: “Let not mercy and truth forsake you; Bind them around your neck, Write them on the tablet of your heart” (Proverbs 3:3, NKJV).
According to the Bible, truth exists, but human beings are not capable of grasping all knowledge. Human beings are limited. They are finite. This is contrast with God, who is infinite in His presence and knowledge (Psalm 147:4-5; Isaiah 46:10).
That human beings are incapable of grasping the full extent of knowledge doesn’t lift the responsibility of learning and growing.
Bible readers are repeatedly encouraged to pursue knowledge and wisdom. The entire book of Proverbs turns on this theme. Indeed, according to the first chapter of Proverbs, the “fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.”
On the issue of truth and knowledge, the Bible is abundantly clear.
According to the word of God, truth is absolute, and it exists under the authority and revelation of God.
And the most significant and profound revelation of that truth comes in the Person of Jesus Christ Himself.
