Thomas Merton wrote that we are much like Pontius Pilate, asking, “What is truth?” then crucifying the truth that stands before our eyes."

GK Chesterton wrote, “Having an open mind is nothing, the purpose of an open mind, as of an open mouth, is to shut it again on something solid.”

What is the truth upon which you build your life? How do you set your priorities, what are your motives? The truth can be hard to face, uncomfortable.

John 8 vs. 32, 34, 36 tells what Jesus says about Truth. “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free …‘I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin … So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”

2.) You and I live in a culture that says that truth is arbitrary, truth is a bias, a slant, it’s all relative. And, when it comes to God, God is whatever you want God to be.

Christ commands us to love. I will love, as god gives me the strength, even my enemy. But to love does not mean that we compromise truth. to give up truth in the name of tolerance is to make a crucial error. What is tolerance? I respect your right to believe what you choose to believe. In fact, I am willing to fight for your right to believe whatever you choose to believe.

But, according to the scriptures, tolerance does not mean that every view is equally true or valid. At Grace Community Church we are seeking to build a community of faith where the love and grace of our Lord, Jesus Christ, flows freely, but the unity is based on the truth that God has revealed, the truth of Jesus Christ.

The Bible from Genesis to Revelation communicates the importance of worshipping the one, true, living God. Scripture reveals that God is not a consciousness or force or "everything." Books, movies, music in America are presenting a false view of God. I am not part of God. God is the creator, God has a will, God has given me a free will, but just because I choose something with that God-given free will, doesn’t mean it is right.

People seem to believe that choice is God. If ethics is just something of our own creation, then there is no right or wrong. What grounds do we have then, to challenge what is unjust or unfair. Moral relativists in relationships who can say “you should not have spoken to me that way” are contradicting their belief that truth is relative.

The Bible communicates clearly that God is good just and holy. Because he is good, he has given you and me a conscience. With our conscience we can understand the difference between good and evil. But, we get confused, not only do we get confused, but we have a sinful nature that tempts us to make wrong decisions. That’s why Christ calls us to confess our sins, to repent, and with the help of his holy spirit live lives of truth, integrity, goodness. When he created us, he to be good men and women of integrity, who are humble and who serve him by serving others.

In Genesis 6 we see that Noah understood that there is a God in heaven who will judge evil. In Genesis 6:5-6, we read, “The Lord saw how great man's wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time … The Lord was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain.” God has emotions, God is not a cosmic ignition system that started the world. Not just, as Thomas Jefferson believed, “…  a brilliant clockmaker”. He is a personal being.

3.) Many feel our feelings define the truth.

In 1 Kings 18:21 we see how, “Elijah went before the people and said, "How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him." But the people said nothing.

In Numbers, we learn how Caleb and Joshua believed God and understood that truth is not defined by majority opinion. Caleb understood that God has expressed his will, and though I may not feel like fighting and going into the promised land, I am going to submit to God’s will. In our individualistic society a lot of people think “I” define my truth. But, I am capable of getting out of touch with reality because I want a fantasy to be true. Caleb understood that God is real. God reveals a moral plumbline that we can measure our conscience against.

What defines moral value?

In Exodus 20 we don’t read about the ten suggestions, they are the ten commandments which are moral absolutes. Do you really believe that values are relative?  Or, is there a just God who has defined justice, revealed it and we twist those values?

If the majority of Americans believe that slavery is right in a particular part of the United States , does that make slavery right? Truth exists separate from what the majority feels. Ghandi, Martin Luther King, Abraham Lincoln all followed their conscience, what they believed to be true. Instead of following the status quo, they refuesed to believe that the majority defines truth.

Do we judge right and wrong in the context of a culture such as Calcutta where parents purposely cripple their children to make their begging more successful, or in India, where aborting a female is a choice people make because a having a son will help you in old age? As an American, or a Russian, are we not to judge another culture’s practices? Right and wrong are defined by God. He is just, kind, and loving and has given us the ability to understand the difference between right and wrong. Right and wrong are not defined by culture, they are defined by God's character, which is good and just.

How do we judge the truth?

The Jesus Seminars is a group of religious scholars that work to determine what Jesus actually said by reading the Gospels and asking two questions:

1.)    Is it possible that a Jewish Rabbi or a Christian said these words. If so, then they conclude that Jesus did not say it.

2.)    Multiple attestations. It must be said by many witnesses.

With these tests, they have decided that the only part of the Lord’s Prayer that Jesus actually said, is “Our Father.” These tests are not the kind of tests that are applied to any other ancient historical recordings. The “Fellows” or participants in The Jesus Seminars aim is to discredit the gospels.

Confronted by His truth, how do you respond?

Summary submitted by Ellie Miller