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By Dan Mielke

Grace Baptist Church

How do you know if you are believing a lie?  How do you know that you are not deceived?  Our society is filled with peddlers on every street corner seeking to sell you the genuine truth at a discounted price.  They claim to sell truth and validate their wares through self-affirming whims of opinion, popularity, and progress.  Yet behind their fluid standards remains the assumption that there is such a thing as truth.

Why should there be truth?  If we evolved, why care if there is truth?  Why do we bother with truth claims if atheist Richard Dawkins is right?  “We are simply dancing to our own DNA.”  As far as I know earthworms are not debating the what and whys of truth, and they seem to be happier for it.  It is only humanity that wrestles with the truth question.

“What is truth?”  That is one of the most fundamental questions of humanity and was the question asked by the Roman magistrate Pontius Pilate in John 18:38.  Do you not see the irony of the leader of the court confounded by the very thing he claimed to dictate?  Can you not hear the same voice echo down through the halls of justice and reverberate in every aspect of society, “What is truth?”  We all claim to have truth, it is thrown about in our political discussions or social media memes and rants, yet what is truth?  Shouldn’t we at least understand what truth is before we claim to possess it or follow it?

The second question that must be asked is, “Where does truth come from?”  Truth by definition must be eternal and unchanging.  It cannot be one thing today and another tomorrow.  If truth ever ended, it would be the same as if it were able to change, so truth must come from an eternal source.  The Bible says that the starting point for all truth discussions begins with God.  Jesus, the very one who started the truth discussion with Pilate said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” (John 14:6)  The Bible also connects unchangeability with Jesus, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.”(Heb 13:8)

In John 19:5 Pilate thinks he has ended the truth discussion when he proclaims, “Behold the Man.”  Ironically, if Pilate had simply put his two phrases together, he would have had his answer to both truth questions, “What is truth?  Behold the Man.”

So we see that the two most fundamental questions of mankind, “What is truth?” and “Where does truth come from?” are actually met in a person, Jesus.  Are you willing to follow the Source of truth, or would you rather cast your lot with a society of uncertainty?  The truth questions still remain, the question becomes whether or not we will follow the Source of truth, or seek to stand in judgment of Him?

Pastor Dan Mielke pastors Grace Baptist Church in Austin and will be interacting with this topic of truth and other topics Sundays at the Hobby Lobby Parking lot at 1 p.m.  All are welcome to come. His messages and service will also be broadcasted at 1 p.m. through KAUS 1480.