When Jesus stood before Pilate, "Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end have I been born, and to this end am I come into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice.” Pilate saith unto him, "What is truth?” (John 18:37-38). Pilate was looking at truth when he looked at Jesus. Earlier Jesus told His disciples, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one cometh unto the Father but by me” (John 14:6).

What is truth? The term itself indicates that which is pure, free from all error or falsehood. God's truth is embodied in Jesus Christ. As He and the Father are one (John 10:30) He is the truth just as God is true (Isaiah 65:16). Because Jesus reveals God in word and deed, to know Jesus is also to know the Father (John 1:14).

In addition to being the truth, Jesus teaches the truth, and it is that truth which He is and reveals to us which can makes us free. "Jesus therefore said to those Jews that had believed him, ‘If ye abide in my word, then are ye truly my disciples; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free’” (John 8:31-32). That Jesus is talking about freedom from sin, from living in it, from the consequences it brings, is clear as he goes on to say, "Everyone that committeth sin is the bondservant of sin. And the bondservant abideth not in the house forever; the son abideth forever. If therefore the Son shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed” (John 8:34-36).

In an age where everyone’s subjective opinions carry equal weight, we are in need of knowing the truth that proceeds from Christ, for this is where genuine faith comes. "So belief cometh of hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17). The message of the gospel, then, is truth, as it is the message of Christ, and reveals God’s truth to us (Ephesians 1:13). We do not have to rely on opinion, which may or may not be based in truth, to know what is real, genuine, and factual. We have Christ and Scripture that reveals truth to us.

If one desires to follow Christ, then the love of truth, in both words and conduct, must come from the heart and permeate all of one’s life. We are to speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15). We are to live by the pattern of truth found in Scripture (Eph. 4:21-24). While there are those who exchange the truth to believe and follow after lies (Romans 1:25; 2:8), to believe in Christ is to acknowledge Him as the truth, and to follow His will as that truth which leads to eternal life. "He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; but whoso keepeth his word, in him verily hath the love of God been perfected” (1 John 2:4-5). Is your life centered in the truth of Christ?

Robert Johnson, Longview TX