I have been studying in the book of John the 18th chapter. This chapter contains the account of the Lord Jesus and His arrest in the garden of Gethsemane. Then, later as He was put through at least five trials with Annas the former Jewish high priest and his son-in-law Caiaphas the acting high priest, Pilate, Herod Antipas, and then back to Pilate. These were all illegal trials with no evidence of the charges and no credible witnesses.
The second time that Jesus came before Pilate He was asked if He was the King of the Jews. Jesus’ reply was that His kingdom was not of this world. In other words, not a kingdom of politics and corruption. At this time, the Lord’s kingdom is a spiritual one and the King dwells in the heart of every child of God. Notwithstanding, the literal kingdom on earth will not be established until the great tribulation spoken about in the book of Revelation, chapters 4-19. Pilate, then, asked the Lord again, “Art thou a king then?” He admits that He is a king and states, “To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice.” To this, Pilate responds by asking a question which has always been asked by those of the world who deny that there is one true and living, sovereign God creator who rules over heaven and earth. The question that Pilate asked was, “what is truth?”
So, what is truth? Can we know truth? Is there such a thing as absolute truth? The Bible tells us that God is truth, John 14:6, “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” Notice, Jesus did not say, “I tell the true” or “I am always truthful,” but “I am…the truth.” Any truth that exists comes from God. I say without hesitation or apology, that any claim, statement, concept, philosophy, law or teaching which does not completely agree with the Bible, is not truth. All
error is of man and as the Bible states in Romans 3:4, “…let God be true, but every man a liar…” In other words, let everyone who does not teach or preach the whole counsel of God according to the Bible be a liar; for God is truth. So, to answer the question, “can we know truth” I say, unequivocally, yes, we can know truth because the Bible, the word of God is the source of truth and is the only source of truth. I sometimes reference the statements of men, but no statement of any man or woman can be held as truth unless it completely agrees with the word of God in the Bible. We can know truth because we have access to the Bible and freedom to read and study the Bible. Oh, what a wonderful privilege it is to be able to read and study the Bible! If only people would realize the immense value the Bible holds.
The second question, “Is there such a thing as absolute truth?” can only be answered if you believe that God is truth and the only source of it. The word absolute is defined as “something regarded as the ultimate basis of all thought and being.” The basis of all true thought is the word of God. The truth that mankind rejects the most is the truth about his own spiritual condition, and his position before a holy and righteous, sovereign God. “The truth is, that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God,” Romans 6:23. The truth is, if mankind wants to have a relationship with God he must seek it on God’s terms. The term for having a relationship with God is only through His Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus died and rose from the dead to justify sinners. Faith in God the Son and His finished work as the sacrificial Lamb is the only means by which a man can have a relationship with God and that is the only absolute truth. The apostle Paul stated, Galatians 1:8, “But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.” E-mail, johnpruitt@frontiernet.net
