What is Truth?

How Can We Determine Truth Vs. Lies?

How can we determine what is true? What will we look to for the source of truth? We often hear that we are to listen to our heart. But do our hearts provide the guidance we need? What about our culture? Is it the source of truth? One thing you may notice is how quickly our culture shifts its' view on what is acceptable and right. Is there a timeless standard for truth? This video covers three foundations for determining what you believe. Which one do you rely on? Or, are there others?

First, you can say that you are the authority for what is true. This means that you look internally and rely on your wisdom, experience, and feelings to determine truth vs. lies. Be true to yourself. Live your truth. These are our cultural mantras. This may work out some of the time, but given that our perspective is limited, this is not a great foundation for truth. The Scripture warns us that:

“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9, ESV)

And I’ll bet that what you believe is true today is different than what you believed ten years ago. For me this is certainly true. We are subject to change. In the end, looking inwardly is not a great determination of the truth.

The Second option is to say that our culture can determine what is true. We can rely on the community to put our heads together and find the truth. But in America today we are divided on many significant issues from gender, to abortion, to biology, to history, and more. And the community can change what they believe quite quickly. Public sentiment is prone to rapid change.

Ultimately our culture tends to push us toward being true to ourselves and being our authentic self. But it doesn’t matter how much they push this message, I can prove that they don’t actually believe that. We have thousands of laws that are in place to prevent you and I from living out whatever truth we desire. Thankfully, sexual assault is against the law, no matter whether or not that is you living out your truth. So, the community does not provide a good source of authority for determining truth vs. lies.

The third option, is to say that God has the authority to determine truth. His ways are higher. He never changes. That for me, the source of truth is God and His Word.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” (Proverbs 3:5–6, ESV)

“For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:9, ESV)

We can typically find common ground with one another that there need to be standards and boundaries in our world. But the disagreement is on who gets to set them. Will it be the individual? The community? Or God, shaped by His Word?