Last night the men started a new study based on a video series of lectures from Focus on the Family called “The Truth Project.” As I watched the instructor lay out his argument, I was struck by the simplicity of his point. The topic was “Why did Jesus come to earth?” and the answer was “to testify to the Truth.” Jesus Himself told us this in John 18:37 when answering Pilate at His trial, “Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to Me.” The simplicity of this topic is contrasted with the profundity of the implications for mankind. It involves the great cosmic battle between “The Truth” (Christian Worldview) and “A Lie” (Fallen Man’s Worldview).
In an era of relativism and political correctness, it is easy to lose sight of THE FACT that there is absolute truth. Our culture does not want to admit to this fact because it, by its very nature, causes conflict. Our culture wants to respect everyone’s beliefs in the hope that this will create harmony and unity. If we look at this issue logically, we will rapidly determine that such a pluralistic view of truth is not only hopeless, it is also chaotic and destructive to society (not to mention just plain silly). Who, besides perhaps a philosophy professor, do you know who would argue that 2 + 2 does not equal 4? This may seem like an oversimplified example but, from the viewpoint of “relative truth,” society would have to be tolerant of those who would argue for another answer and cannot definitively condemn their answer. If truth is relative, how can laws controlling human actions be enacted? What is to dissuade us from committing murder, robbery, assault or any other infraction upon our fellow man? How can one “stand trial” for a crime if there is not a set standard for truth? When one takes the witness stand, he is supposed to tell “the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.” How does that differ from a fairy tale if there is no absolute standard for truth? When I was training to be an investigator, one of the interrogation trainers taught me to always preface an interview with a subject by encouraging them to speak the truth about the circumstances of an event because the truth is much easier to remember than a fabricated story which will come back to haunt them.
Given the sad state of society with respect to our attitude about truth, it is easy to feel helpless and hopeless about our future. However, the good news is that there is hope – One hope – our ONLY hope, and that hope is the source of all truth. That hope is logical. That hope is eternal. That hope is never-changing. That hope is available to all who will accept it. That hope has a name – His name is Jesus. And Jesus loves you regardless of who you are or what you have done. He loves you so much that He died to pay for your sins so that you could have hope. Those who do not know “The Truth” are not bad people, they are merely deceived people. They have been deceived by “The Lie” and are held captive by The Great Deceiver himself, Satan. Jesus came to the world to testify to the truth and to set the captives free. He offers us the opportunity to live in truth and to work for the Best Boss, doing the most important work, and enjoying the best retirement plan ever known to man. Is it time for you to make a career change?
-Pastor Dave Jones