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Pastor Scott L. Harris
Grace Bible Church, NY
November 7, 2021
Truth: Definition, Origin & Importance
Selected Scriptures
Introduction
John 18 records Jesus’ trial before Pilate, the Roman appointed Governor. There was an interesting exchange between them as Pilate tried to determine why the Jews had brought Jesus to him with a demand that He be executed. Pilate asked Jesus directly if He was king of the Jews since that was one of the accusations. Jesus explained that His kingdom was not of this world to which Pilate concluded that Jesus was a king. Jesus then answered, “You say correctly that I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.” Pilate’s responded saying, “What is truth?” Jesus could have easily answered that question since He is the way, the truth and the life, but Pilate was not looking for an answer. He said it as a cynical, rhetorical statement, for he then “went out again to the Jews and said to them, ‘I find no guilt in Him.’” As Jesus’ trial progressed, Pilate proved to be a man without integrity or courage, for though his own conclusion matched the truth that Jesus was not guilty of anything, he gave into the demands of the religious Jewish leaders and sentenced Jesus to be crucified.
Pilate would actually fit well in modern American society in which truth is of decreasing importance. A few weeks ago, the Barna Research Group released an analysis of the American Worldview Inventory 2021 poll of 2,000 U.S. adults showing that “54% of the survey’s participants embrace the postmodern idea that all truth is subjective and there are no moral absolutes.” Barna stated, “Most people would say all truth is subjective and there’s no kind of objective truth based on an external standard.” That is disturbing in itself, but such a worldview has immediate ramifications. The same poll found that more than one third (39%) responded that “human life has no intrinsic value” with 29% expressing a commitment to seeking revenge, and 28% treating “people based on their current feelings and circumstances.” Pilate would fit right in with these people.
The post-modern paradigm began to strengthen its position on college campuses at the beginning of this century. I remember that more than a decade ago Jonathan described a conversation he had with another college student who stated emphatically that “there are no absolutes.” Jonathan asked him if he was sure about that, and he responded, “absolutely,” without any recognition of the contradiction in what he had just proclaimed. That this idea has become widespread among people is easily seen in the statement, “your truth, my truth,” or other similar phrases that have become common as if truth can vary from person to person even when contradictory. It is no wonder then that so many people are disconnected from reality in claiming things are simply not true nor can they be true.
The most obvious example is gender dysphoria in which a boy claims to be a girl or girl claims to be a boy despite the fact that every cell in his or her body testifies to what is true. While I have compassion on those that have this psychological dysfunction, I have only disgust and disdain for the adults that affirm children in these lies, and it is flagrant child abuse to give them puberty blockers and even worse to surgically mutilate their bodies. Yet because truth is believed to be relative and determined by how a person feels at the time, such people are given political protection and hailed as virtuous heroes. Absolute lies are being substituted as an alternative reality.
Speaking of alternative reality, Facebook Inc., announced a little over a week ago that it was rebranding as “Meta” to encompass its virtual-reality vision for the future which Zuckerberg calls the “metaverse.” He described it as “a world of endless, interconnected virtual communities where people can meet, work and play, using virtual reality headsets, augmented reality glasses, smartphone apps or other devices.” That is not the description of an intriguing game or an incredible travel program. That is the quest to offer people a virtual life in what he termed a new “ecosystem.” It would be more accurate to call it life in a fantasy world of your own choosing. Fantasy is an escape from reality, so this is a quest for a life in which lies, falsehood and deception will force truth and reality not just into the back seat, but out of the car into a trailer being dragged along that you can stop and visit once in awhile if choose to do so. This will be incredibly dangerous since it will be exponentially worse than the problems already associated with addictions to internet devices and current reality substitutes such as pornography.
Truth is truth whether anyone recognizes or believes it or not and it does not morph from person to person. Lies are still lies even if everyone believes them. What then is truth?
Definition of Truth
Webster’s 1828 Dictionary gives multiple definitions of truth which encompass its nuances of meaning and emphasis depending on the context. These include: 1) Conformity to fact or reality; exact accordance with that which is, or has been or shall be. 2) True state of facts or things. 3) Conformity of words to thought. 4) Veracity; purity from falsehood. 5) Correct opinion. 6) Fidelity; constancy. 7) Honesty, virtue. 8) Exactness; conformity to rule. 9) Real fact or just principle; real state of things. 10) Sincerity. 11) The truth of God is His veracity and faithfulness. 12) Jesus Christ is called the truth. The etymology of the word traces to the Old English treowth and treowe which refer to fidelity and faithfulness. This is very similar to the Hebrew and Greek words
According to the Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (TWOT) and the Theological Dictionary of the New Testament (TDNT), the Hebrew word, jm6a0 / emeth, has a root meaning of firm, solid, valid, binding, certain which are all characteristics of what is true. The ideas of being certain about, to be assured, tie this to the concepts of faith and belief. It was used as a legal term to express what rests on authentic facts as compared to calumny – deception. In religious use it often tied to the certainty of trust that arises out of God’s own character and actions which are always righteous and faithful to what He says. God is true.
The Greek word group which includes ajlhvqeia / alātheia originates in a meaning of “non-concealment” which expresses that what is seen or presented is as it really is with nothing hidden, falsified or suppressed. The New Testament usage of ajlhvqeia / alātheia also expresses the Old Testament concepts found in jm6a0 / emeth as already explained. The term was used to express concepts of certainty; the valid norm; what is genuine, proper; judicial righteousness; reliability and trustworthiness; sincerity, honesty; faith.
Combining all these together, truth is what conforms to fact, reality, what actually is, has been or will be. For those reasons it has veracity and purity from falsehood so that it can be trusted as what is firm, solid, valid, certain. Or perhaps to state it more simply, it is actual reality, which is a contrast to man’s quest for “virtual” realities which are contrived substitutions.
Mankind has always been susceptible to believing lies that challenge truth and especially so when the lie appears to be more attractive and beneficial than the truth. Let’s face it, that is why marketing can be so effective in getting you to purchase a product or service that proves not to be as advertised and may even be detrimental to you.
This penchant for believing lies goes back to the garden of Eden in which Satan slanders God and lies in order to deceive Eve into believing God’s command was detrimental to her best interests. The fruit from the tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil was good for food, a delight to the eyes, and desirable to make one wise, so she rejected the truth that God’s command protected her and she ate. She then gave to her husband, who was not deceived, but ate it anyway – perhaps because Eve continued to look normal after she ate it – and mankind was plunged into sin and they both recognized their shame. God was true to His word. Adam and Eve both died spiritually that day as they hid from God separating themselves from Him, and the process of physical decay bringing death began.
Humans are still quick to believe lies and deception when that appears to be more favorable than the truth. It is not just marketers and politicians that take advantage of that. All humans are sinful by nature and so have a bent to seek to deceive and be deceived in order to avoid reality if possible. However, believing something to be true does not make it true, and as I will point out later in this sermon, reality has a way of exerting itself to intrude on fantasy because truth is necessary for both life and community.
Truth has been taking a beating lately. The 11th edition of the Merriam-Webster Dictionary includes this definition for truth, “a judgment, proposition, or idea that is true or accepted as truth.” That last phrase is dangerous because it changes the standard of truth from reality to simply what people accept. That opens the door for marketing, propaganda, censorship, pseudo-science and philosophy to all be used to persuade a population to accept lies and deception as truth, and then use that acceptance to declare it to be truth. That is the reason for use of phrases such as “trust the science” and “settled” science or law when what is advocated is contrary to knowledge and science, and neither science or human law is ever “settled.”
Origin of Truth
Since truth is properly directly tied to what conforms to fact, reality, what actually is, has been or will be so that it is pure from falsehood and can be trusted as something that is firm, solid, valid, certain, then the quest for truth is a search for being able to determine what actually does meet this criteria. This is the philosophical branch of study known as epistemology which comes from a compound Greek word which means “to stand upon.” Or put more simply, how do we know what we think we know is true?
As would be expected, philosophers can wax eloquent in their many ideas about how to solve this problem, but it is not really all that difficult as long as two things are kept in mind. 1) Certainty exists on a continuum ranging from questionable hypothesis as ideas are explored for evidence of validation to absolute certainty because it is declared by our Creator. 2) Multiple lines of evidence create greater certainty about truth upon which you can stand than single lines.
The scientific method was developed as a means to overcome the inherent weaknesses of philosophy and rationalism by testing ideas in the real world for validity. Progress would be made in gaining a greater understanding of what is true and therefore greater certainty as observations and tests would refine ideas by eliminating what was proved to be invalid. It only takes one falsification to force a change in the hypothesis or theory (the ideas being tested). Even scientific “laws” become modified by continued experimentation. This is why science is never “settled,” and anyone that claims that it is only proves that he or she is not a true scientist regardless of what credentials they may possess. That applies to those claiming that man caused “climate change,” which used to be called “global warming,” is such a danger. Their own data has falsified their claim as has the evidence of history with multiple periods that were much warmer than the present and during which civilization prospered and expanded.
Multiple lines of testing and observation would increase certainty as would using testing methods that quantify data according to a standard that can overcome the weaknesses of human senses which can be easily fooled. That is the importance of instruments that measure things such as mass, size, density, wavelength of light or sound, chemical analysis, etc. Any experiments that are done must also be repeatable. The scientific method is based on observation and testing that is repeatable.
The repeatable aspect of the scientific method is important not just for additional verification, it is also important as a means to test the veracity of those that have done and reported the results of their test. People lie, and especially so when getting the desired results instead of what is true is necessary to gain prestige, money or both. Let me give you two quick examples of both.
Most science journals and University Science departments are biased toward evolution and against anything that supports either Creation or Intelligent Design. Ben Stein’s 2008 film, Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed, documents how non-evolutionists are shut out from publishing in those journals and kept from prestigious university positions. Creationists and Intelligent Design advocates had to create their own journals, research societies and work in other fields or find jobs in more tolerant colleges, or they had to keep quite about their beliefs.
A second example are experiments designed to produce the results desired. Twenty-five years ago we came across research that demonstrated that some children react with ADHD symptoms to the salicylate chemical structure which is also commonly found in many artificial colors and flavors. We tested our son, Jimmy, and found he was one of those so affected. However, medical journals denied the findings based on experiments that eliminated only one color at a time instead of the salicylate structure which actually causes the problem. The experiments were purposely designed to support both the food industries use of artificial colors and flavors and the use of drugs instead of diet to control behavior which favors the pharmaceutical industry. The same is true of the experiments done in 2020 to attack the use of inexpensive hydroxychloroquine for treating COVID-19. The studies did not follow the protocols already developed, but instead purposely gave the patients extremely high dosages already known to cause heart arrhythmia and then acted alarmed when patients had negative reactions and some died. Why do this? So that very expensive experimental drugs would be used despite their own adverse reactions and for the development of genetic therapy interventional medical products (purposely and falsely called “vaccines”) which have been pushed with false claims of being “safe and effective” and then mandated despite multiple serious adverse reactions becoming known and despite completely unknown long term side effects. Now they want to give it to children who have proven to have less than a thousandth of a percent risk rate. Again, why? The old adage of “follow the money” applies.
What is the origin of truth? Ultimately it must go back to God, our Creator. Why? First, because the certainty of truth demands that everything about the subject and anything related to it be known and understood, and only God is omniscient in knowing everything about everything and how everything inter-relates. He created and designed it all. As Romans 1:18, 24 explains, rejection of God as the Creator is one of man’s great problems for in doing so he suppresses truth in unrighteousness and exchanges the truth of God for the lie. Man foolishly thinks that he is somehow wiser than God.
Second, truth has its origin in God because it is one of His attributes as stated in many Scriptures. Exodus 34:6-7 records the Lord’s proclamation of His glory to Moses on Mt. Sinai saying, “The Lord, the Lord God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth; 7 who keeps lovingkindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin; yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, visiting the iniquity of fathers on the children and on the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations.” David recognized Him as his redeemer, “O Lord God of truth” (Psalm 31:5). Isaiah also calls Him the “God of truth” (Isaiah 65:16), and the martyrs in Revelation 6:10 proclaim the Lord is “holy and true.”
The attributes of God the Father also belong to God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. Jesus said of Himself in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” In John 1:14 Jesus is the Word that became flesh and dwelt among us and full of “grace and truth,” and verse 17 states that it is though Jesus that grace and truth are realized. Jesus specifically states several times that He spoke the truth (John 8:40, 45), and even His enemies acknowledged Him as a teacher who was truthful (Mark 12:14). Jesus calls the Spirit the “Spirit of truth” in John 14:17, 15:26 & 16:13 and states that He would guide the disciples into all truth.
Discerning truth is often dependent upon the testimony of witnesses such as in a trial or recounting an historical event. However, the confidence of the validity of any testimony is only as great as the truthfulness of the one giving the testimony. When God swears an oath of promise, He swears by Himself because there is no one and nothing greater than He (Amos 6:8; Hebrews 6:13). Because God is true, then what He reveals can be trusted. David recognized this proclaiming in 2 Samuel 7:23 after God made a covenant with him, “O Lord God, You are God, and Your words are true.” That has direct bearing on the Scriptures for they are inspired – breathed out – by God (2 Timothy 3:16). The Bible is true because it is the word of God, and Jesus states directly in John 17:17 that God’s word is truth (John 17:17). In Ephesians 1:13 Paul states that the message of truth is the gospel of salvation. That message is that Jesus Christ, God in human flesh, lived a sinless life, then voluntarily died as the payment for man’s sin and then rose from the dead on the third day proving His claims about Himself and His promises including forgiveness of sin for those that believe in Him are true.
Because God is the ultimate origin of truth, the quest for truth then begins with knowing what God has said and then extends to striving to understand what God has done and His design for His creation including man. At this point I need to point out two different aspects of truth. There are the facts that are discovered about God’s creation and its design. That is the basis for technological advancement. There are also the moral truths of how God wants us to live in fulfilling our purposes of existence. Technological advancement must be used properly according to God’s commands – moral truth – otherwise it will be used in the pursuit of lies and deception which cause man and creation harm and ultimately condemn man. For the rest of the sermon I want to talk about the importance of truth and its application in life.
Importance of Truth
Let me begin this section by expanding on my last point. By using his reason, careful observation, testing and paying attention to the wisdom acquired by previous generations, man has been able to figure out many things as he has uncovered some aspects of truth about God’s design for the world. Areas of inquiry and study such as mathematics, chemistry, physics, engineering, biology, medicine, agronomy, etc., have enabled man to develop technology that works. In centuries past in the Western world, the explosion of scientific knowledge was fueled by men of integrity who sought to understand God’s thoughts after Him. Truth was critical to that understanding in both the technology aspects and its application. Nearly all fields of science were established by men who believed God was the Creator and were heavily influenced by a Christian worldview if they were not Christians themselves. In the Western world, that prevailing Christian worldview tempered the sinful uses of technology.
In the more recent century as “scientists” have rejected the God of creation, the technology has continued to advance, but its application has increasingly reflected those described in Romans 1 who worship and serve the creature instead of the creator, the immorality of those given over to their lusts, and the utter sinfulness of those given over to depraved minds. Selfishness dominates motivations so lying, cheating, stealing, exploitation of others, physical harm and even murder are all found acceptable in pursuit of personal desires and whatever is currently politically correct.
Case in point. Computers and smart-phones are incredible advancements of technology and have great potential for much good. However, if moral truth does not direct their usage, they can become very detrimental. Even if you avoid the evil stuff available on the internet such as pornography, gambling, cultic and occultic material, of what real value is it to you if you become addicted to even apps that may not be morally evil and real life passes you by? That includes social media, games, becoming a news junkie, etc. Set limits on the amount of time spent on such things so that you can be involved with real people, serve Christ, help meet the needs of others, etc. There must be moral discernment gained by knowing and applying God’s truths about life – His commandments – to what you do.
I could spend much time listing out the effects of the lack of truth in destroying business, corrupting politics, perverting society, exploiting people, harming people and putting lives at risk, but I think it is more prudent to point out several basic Scriptural principles about the importance of truth.
1) Being truthful reflects God for that is one of His attributes as already explained. Pursing truth enables you to reflect God even better. This matches both the purpose of God creating man in the beginning and in saving sinners so that they will be conformed into the image of Christ.
2) As also already mentioned, the pursuit of truth will lead you to God and His word for both are true. The message of truth, the gospel of salvation, (Eph. 1:13) brings forgiveness and reconciliation to those that place their faith in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ.
3) Freedom. John 8:31–32, 31 So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” Free from what? Jesus explains in verses 34-36 that He is talking about freedom from sin. Jesus does this because He already knew that their belief in Him was false. Jesus had just had a confrontation with the Pharisees and they were impressed with Jesus’ rebuke of them and teaching. However, they did not believe His claim to be from God the Father. In verses 37-47 Jesus confronts them on their desire to kill Him and points out that the devil was their father for they were not of God. Truth brings freedom from sin because the gospel message is truth and faith in Christ brings salvation from sin and its slavery.
4) Sanctification. John 17:17, “Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.” The context here is Jesus’ High Priestly prayer and this verse is from the section in which He intercedes for His disciples. Sanctification is the process of God making us holy – increasingly set apart to Him. Jesus ties sanctification directly to truth and specifically the truth of God’s word, for it is in and through the Scriptures that God has revealed Himself and His will. God’s commands direct us in how He wants us to live.
5) Maturity. Ephesians 4:15, “but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ.” This verse is part of the explanation of how the church, the body of Christ, functions to bring about maturity, and truth is one of the elements necessary for that to happen. Speaking the truth in love encompasses both extremes of encouragement and admonishment and everything in between. Truth here refers to what is in God’s word and its specific application in the life of others.
6) Protection. Ephesians 6:14, “Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth . . .” This is the first piece of the full armor of God that we are to put on daily in order to resist and stand firm against the schemes of the devil. When I preached through Ephesians years ago, I had four sermons just on the belt of truth. Knowledge of truth is what enables you to recognize Satan’s lies and deceptions. Without truth you will fall to them. It is also the piece of armor that holds the breast plate of righteousness in place and provides a place for the sword of the Spirit to be kept. The other pieces of armor are the shoes of the preparation of the gospel of peace, the shield of faith and the helmet of salvation. (See: https://www.gracebibleny.org/category/sermons/ephesians/page/3)
It is lack of and rejection of truth that causes the non-Christian to fall prey to Satan’s deceptions. Romans 2:8 speaks of the moral unrighteous who condemn those that are obviously immoral, yet they do the same things though on a lesser scale and more hidden. Paul describes them as those who are “selfishly ambitious and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, wrath and indignation.” This includes the religious people that Paul warns about in 2 Timothy 2:3-4 who “will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, 4 and “will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths.”
We saw in our study of 2 Thessalonians this past Summer that it will only get worse in the future and especially in the tribulation period when the man of lawlessness, the anti-Christ, will use the deception of wickedness which will combine with a deluding influence that will lead them those who are perishing to believe what is false. Why does that happen? Paul specifically states it is because “they did not receive the love of truth so as to be saved” and would “not believe the truth” (vs. 10 & 12).
Conclusion
I fully recognize that truth is not very important in our society. Even among professing Christians truth is often held in low regard. Some years ago while we were still raising our sons, I actually had a man in the church attempt to rebuke me for holding my sons to a strict standard of being truthful. He actually thought that lying was normal and so should be tolerated. I agree that lying is normal, but it must not be tolerated in a family for it destroys the trust upon which the relationships are built and depend. It is the parent’s responsibility to teach their children to value what God values and that includes truth. Those of you who are in your active years of parenting must keep that in mind and apply it in both encouraging your children toward righteousness and correcting them when they sin for the good of their souls. If you are loose with the truth yourself, then it is time to get that area of your life in order and reflect Jesus Christ living in you. Set your heart to be like David who desired truth in his inner being.
Truth is essential to salvation and for the Christian life. Do not let either Satan or society diminish its importance in life and especially in your own. It is because our society has largely rejected the God of the Bible that what is important to Him is also disdained and His commands are flagrantly violated. This includes His commands to speak truth and not to lie, yet a great many of the ills our society is facing is directly tied to the lack of truth and the practice of lying. I implore you, do all you can to be more like our Lord Jesus Christ and less like our deceitful and lying society. You and those around you will be blessed as you do.
Sermon Notes – 11/7/2021
Truth: Definition, Origin & Importance – Selected Scriptures
Introduction
Pilate did not want an answer to his rhetorical question, “What is ________?” He would fit modern society
____________ of Americans believe all truth is subjective and there are no moral absolutes.
The _____________paradigm that began on college campuses a couple of decades ago is now dominant
Gender dysphoria is an obvious example of what is thought to be true ______________reality
Zuckerburg’s vision of a “metaverse” as a new “ecosystem” will be an incredibly __________fantasy world
Truth is _________ whether anyone recognizes or believes it or not
Definition of Truth
Conformity to fact or ___________; exact accordance with that which is, or has been or shall be
Hebrew, jm6a0 / emeth, has a root meaning of firm, solid, valid, binding, _________- characteristics of truth
It is tied to concepts of faith and belief, _________facts compared to deception, and certainty of trust in God
Greek, ajlhvqeia / alātheia, arises from “non-concealment” to express what is presented is as it _________is
Truth is ____________reality and encompasses the concepts that arise from that fact
Mankind has always been susceptible to believing ______& especially so when the lie is fits existing desires
Eve was _____________by Satan’s slander & lies, and Adam ate anyway plunging mankind into sin
Humans are _______by nature & so have a bent to seek to deceive & be deceived to avoid reality if possible
Changing the standard of truth to what is “_______as truth” opens the door for all sorts of lies & deceptions
Origin of Truth
The quest for truth is a search for being able to _________what actually does meet the criteria of being true
Epistemology seeks to understand how to discover and validate knowledge – how do you _____what is true?
1) Certainty exists on a ______________ranging from questionable ideas to absolute certainty
2) _____________lines of evidence create greater certainty of truth than single lines
The scientific method developed as a means to overcome the weaknesses of philosophy & ______________
One ______________forces a change to the hypothesis or theory – so science is never actually “settled”
Testing methods that ____________measurement data help overcome the weaknesses of human senses
The scientific method is based on observation and ____________that is repeatable
_________of experiments is important to verify both results and the veracity of those that did the initial test
People ______, and especially if money and fame / prestige are involved
Ben Stein’s 2008 film, Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed
Experiments designed to produce the results _______: 1) Artificial colors. 2) Discredit Hydroxychloroquine
_____is the ultimate origin of truth because: 1) Truth demands omniscience and only God has that attribute
2) Truth is an _______of God the Father (Exod 34:6-7), the Son (John 14:6) & the Holy Spirit (John 14:17)
Confidence in any testimony is only as great as the ___________of the one giving the testimony. God is true
God’s word is also truth because it comes from God. The message of truth is the ___________(Eph. 1:13)
The quest for truth then begins with striving to know what God has ______and then what He has _______
Importance of Truth
Reason, observation, testing & heeding acquired wisdom enables man to uncover truths about God’s ______
A Christian worldview helped ___________evil uses of technology advances
Rejection of God as Creator has led to the moral decline described in Roman 1 & ______uses of technology
Computers and smart-phones could be used for good, but they also present great ______________to evil
______of truth results in destroyed business, corrupt politics, perverted society, exploiting people, harm, etc.
1) Being truthful __________God for it is one of His attributes
2) The ___________of truth will lead you to God and His word for both are true
3) _______________from sin. John 8:31–32
4) _______________- becoming more holy. John 17:17 –
5) _______________as the word is spoken in love. Ephesians 4:15,
6) _____________- the belt of truth enables you stand firm against the schemes of the devil. Ephesians 6:14
It is lack of and rejection of truth that causes the non-Christian to fall prey to Satan’s __________(Rom 2:8)
Conclusion
Truth may not be important in our society, but it should be very important to every professing ___________
Do all you can to be _________the Lord Jesus Christ including being truthful, and less like our lying society
KIDS KORNER – Parents, you are responsible to apply God’s Word to your children’s lives. Here is some help. Young Children – draw a picture about something you hear during the sermon. Explain your picture(s) to your parents at lunch. Older Children – 1) Count how many times the word “truth” is mentioned. 2) Talk with your parents about what truth means and the importance of seeking truth and being truthful.
THINK ABOUT IT! – Questions to consider in discussing the sermon with others. What is post-modernism? When did it arise? What is the relationship between gender dysphoria and post-modernism? What are the dangers of the development of Zuckerberg’s “metaverse.” Define truth and its major facets. Why is mankind susceptible to believing lies and being deceived? Why is defining truth as what is “accepted as truth” very dangerous? What is epistemology? Why are philosophers usually wrong about it? What is the scientific method and how does it help overcome weaknesses in philosophy and help establish truth? How do standardized measuring devices help the scientific method? Why is “climate change” / “global warming” NOT “settled” science? What are reasons a “scientist” would lie or would design an experiment to get only the desired results? Why is omniscience needed in order to be certain of truth? What scriptures declare the fact that every person in the triune Godhead is truth? Why must the quest for truth begin with knowing God and His design for creation? How does a Christian worldview temper evil uses of technology? Give examples of how evil uses of technology have increased as the nation turns away from God. What effects have you experienced / seen because of a lack of truth? Why is truth important? How does truth produce freedom from sin? (John 8:31-32). Sanctification? (John 17:17). Spiritual Maturity? (Ephesians 4:15). Protection from Satan’s schemes? (Ephesians 6:14).
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