There is no such thing as your truth or my truth. There is only the truth, and it comes from God,” affirmed the late theologian and author Voddie Baucham, Jr.
Today, however, we often hear people discussing religious, moral, or philosophical issues with the statement, “Well, that’s your truth. But it’s not my truth.”
Each of us has personal experiences and perspectives. But when “my truth” means I can determine what is spiritually or morally true for myself, regardless of what God has revealed, personal experience has been elevated above His Word.
Today’s Five Day Bible Reading Program highlights an important passage in John 8:32 that speaks to this issue, where Jesus said: “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
What is missed by New Agers and Free Thinkers is that Jesus, the Son of God, came to this earth, sent by the Father, as the embodiment of Truth. On another occasion, He clearly affirmed, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (Jn. 14:6).
When people use “your truth” and “my truth” to deny God’s revealed truth, they reject the objective revelation given by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. They believe there are many ways to God. They believe one religion is just as good as another. Others would say we don’t need religion at all. Just be true to yourself.
It is relativism gone to seed. And its fruit is being seen in many who are now rethinking Scripture and “thinking outside the box.” I like what Ed Harrell once quipped, “Before you think outside the box, you better know what’s inside the box.”
Jesus affirms there is such a thing as “the truth.” It is called “the truth of the gospel,” which the Colossians heard, believed, and obeyed (Col. 1:5). To the Ephesian saints, Paul put it this way: “In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise” (Eph. 1:13).
Too many are influenced by celebrities, televangelists, and popular books that lead them away from the Truth. Spending more time reading the Bible would produce greater knowledge, deeper faith, and stronger convictions.
We can know truth. It is discernible. Understandable. And recognizable. We can distinguish it from error.
God’s truth is not flexible or fluid, changing with every new opinion. While some passages require careful study, the Bible affirms that we can understand its message when we read and examine its contents (Eph. 3:3–5).
It is also important to understand the context of Jesus’ promise. He connected knowing the truth with continuing in His word and being His disciples (Jn. 8:31–32). Then He explained that the freedom He offered was freedom from the bondage of sin (Jn. 8:34–36).
Knowing the Truth will set us free. It will free us from sin’s bondage, burden, and condemnation. It gives us the power to resist Satan’s snare and our own selfish desires, fleshly allurements, and carnal enticements. It offers forgiveness for our guilt and hope in place of fear and futility. And it frees us from being bound by human tradition.
Clinging to the popular notions of “your truth” and “my truth” will not ultimately satisfy the soul. Because there is no standard. Nothing absolute. Because it is subjective, it is always changing. And new experiences lead us to look for something else. It is feeding on the empty husks of relativism. It leaves us empty. Hollow. And spiritually malnourished.
When this world’s philosophy sounds louder than God’s voice, turn it off. Turn back to Jesus. And turn your attention to “the Truth.”
—Ken Weliever, The Preacherman
