My truth, your truth and the truth

“Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."

John 8:31-32 [KJV]

One time, I was trying to explain to a non-Christian what the Bible taught on a specific subject. The girl listened politely and even asked a couple of questions. But eventually she said, “Well, that’s your truth, and I’m happy for you. My truth is different.”

She changed the topic, apparently satisfied that neither of our contradictory perspectives was wrong. Meanwhile, I was left frustrated by her use of the word ‘truth’.

It wasn’t the first or last time I heard the concept of ‘your truth’ versus ‘my truth’. Self-help books encourage us to find ‘our truth’ in meditation and self-reflection. Government ‘truth-telling’ sessions claim Indigenous Australians have been on the continent for over 80,000 years. Celebrities caught out lying about events are quick to claim their story is ‘their truth’. Nobody gives opinions in our modern age either; instead, we all share ‘truths’ that nobody else has the authority to question.

However, despite society’s claims, the correct definition of truth is “what matches reality”. There’s no such thing as ‘my truth’ or ‘your truth’, there is only, ‘the truth’. I’ve been thinking about this concept lately for two reasons. Number one, because sometimes in life it is difficult to know what is true when we live in a world controlled by the father of lies, Satan (John 8:44), and number two, because my theme verses for an upcoming writing project are John 8:31-32. These verses read, “Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” Let’s look at John 8:32 together: how to know the truth, what the truth is, and how it makes us free.

How can we know the truth? The previous verse tells us, “Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth” (John 8:31-32a). This verse gives three keys to knowing truth: faith, Scripture and obedience. Christ is “the way, the truth and the life” (John 14:6), and He said, “For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see” (John 8:39a). The Apostle Paul declared, “the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not… [but] God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Corinthians 4:4-6). When we recognise our spiritual blindness, and come by faith to Christ, He gives us eyes to see (John 9:39-41) and the Spirit of truth to indwell us (John 14:17). We also know truth through reading Scripture. Jesus rebuked the Sadducees, saying, “ye do err, not knowing the scriptures” (Matthew 22:29b), and Psalm 119:130 says, “The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple”. Truth is found in the Bible, not tradition (Matthew 15:9) or man’s wisdom (1 Corinthians 2:13). Truth is also associated with obedience. 1 John 2:4 says, "He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him." As disciples of Christ, we are called to obey Him. This results in God manifesting (revealing) Himself to us (John 14:21) and protects us from falling victim to deceivers (2 John 1:6-8).

What is truth? Pilate asked this question mockingly (John 18:38), but we ask it sincerely. The Bible tells us two things are truth: the living Word of God and the written Word of God. Jesus is the “Word [that] was made flesh, and dwelt among us” (John 1:14a), and He is “the way, the truth and the life” (John 14:6). He came to earth so that we could know the true God, as stated in 1 John 5:20, “And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.”   God’s written Word is also “true from the beginning: and every one of thy righteous judgements endureth for ever” (Psalm 119:160). The Scriptures are truth, so if something does not align with the Word of God, it can not be true. Society, government, media, religious leaders, friends, our own emotions and even churches will sometimes claim they can decide what is truth, but this is a lie. God’s Word is truth (John 17:17), and “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16). The Bible teaches us truths about Christ: Search the scriptures;” Jesus said, “for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me” (John 5:39). Amongst many other things, we learn in Scripture of God’s holiness (1 Peter 1:15-16), our sin and judgement, our need of Christ as our Saviour (Romans 6:23), salvation through repentance and faith (Acts 20:21), the permanency of salvation (1 John 5:11-13), the Holy Spirit’s enabling (John 14:26) …the list could go on and on! There’s more to knowing truth than simply filling our minds with wonderful facts, however, and this brings us to our final point.

“The truth shall set you free.” Knowing the truth changes our lives. The freedom Jesus speaks of is not just a reference to the moment of salvation, when God “delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son” (Colossians 1:13). It’s also an ongoing freedom and enabling to live a holy and pure life, the outcome of the prayer Jesus prayed over His disciples, “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth” (John 17:17). We are freed from having to sin: “But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.” (Romans 6:22). We are also freed from bondage to fear. We women tend to worry about everything that could be worried over. Yet God’s “perfect love casteth out fear” (1 John 4:18b), and the Psalmist confidently declares, “I sought the LORD, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears” (Psalm 34:4). God is true, His Word is true, and this means His promises of guidance, protection and eternal security are also unchangeable truths. We’re freed too, from having to decide on and implement our own plans for our lives. We can easily be overwhelmed or tempted to manipulate circumstances in response to life’s big questions: job, spouse, friends, where to live, how to raise your children, ministries and many others. Yet when we seek first the kingdom of God, God takes care of all our needs (Matthew 6) and His “word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path” (Psalm 119:105). I’m sure you can think of other freedoms: write a list of these truths and they will uplift your heart.

In a world where deception and opinion are the norm, I am so thankful that we have the certain, knowable truth of the living Word and the written Word. May you be encouraged as we think on the certainty of Jesus’ promise, “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”