Some people think there is no absolute truth. “Truth” for them is simply what they think. Everything is relative, and what is true for them might not be true for others.
People have all kinds of ideas about truth. Whatever your view is, you would be wise to consider what Jesus Christ taught about truth. He taught not only that there is truth, but also that He is the Truth. In His words, “I am the way and the truth and the life” (John 14:6). He also taught about lies and said Satan is the father of lies.
Satan’s lies started in the Garden of Eden. When God created man and woman, He placed them in a beautiful and perfect environment. God said, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die” (Genesis 2:16-17). Then Satan came along in the form of a serpent and said, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden?’ … You will not certainly die” (Genesis 3:1, 4).
In our generation, people question whether the Bible is really the Word of God. They put doubt in people’s minds, asking, “Did God really say that?” (See “Is the Bible true?” for more.)
Adam and Eve had to make a choice between God’s truth and the devil’s lie. They chose the devil’s lie. And today our sinful nature also sides with the lie instead of the truth. Jesus said, “This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed” (John 3:19-20).
From the moment we are born, we have a tendency to sin. Our moral universe is out of focus, and we won’t get it back into focus until we come to Christ. We accept lies as truth and truth as lies. We don’t know what’s right and what’s wrong.
We don’t have to be taught to sin; we inherit it. The question is, what will we do about it? How can we escape the deception and delusion that plague our world?
Jesus said, “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32). He also said, “I am the … truth” (John 14:6).
Jesus told the truth about many things, including repentance—asking forgiveness for your sins. He said, “Unless you repent, you too will all perish” (Luke 13:3). Unless we turn to Christ and try to change our sinful lives, we will suffer. We will be eternally separated from God. But if we put our faith in Christ, we can enjoy eternity with Him in heaven!
Regardless of what people say they believe about truth, the fact is that every day, we live our lives on the basis of things we believe are true. We step onto airplanes that we believe will fly. We flip switches that we believe will bring desired results.
Yet in Jesus Christ we have the most profound truth. He is the only One who can bring peace and joy and the total satisfaction you have been searching for.