Characteristics of Truth

“The sum of Your word is truth, and every one of Your righteous ordinances is everlasting” (Psalm 119:160).

David affirmed that the entirety of God’s word – the sum, not just some – is truth. This is what we should expect since the word is from God (1 Corinthians 1:10-13; 2 Timothy 3:16) and “it is impossible for God to lie” (Hebrews 6:18; cf. Titus 1:2).

While it is important that we understand that the word of God is truth (John 17:17), it is also important that we appreciate various characteristics of truth. Certainly there are those who do not accept the Bible as truth; but of those who do (or claim that they do), many simply do not understand the nature of this truth. It is not whatever we want it to be. Truth is from the mind of God whose ways are infinitely higher than our own (Isaiah 55:8-9; 1 Corinthians 1:25). So let us consider some of the characteristics of truth.

Truth Is Controversial

“Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints” (Jude 3).

Why did Jude need to tell his audience to “contend earnestly for the faith”? It is because people will oppose the word of God – the source of faith (Romans 10:17). We are involved in a spiritual war (2 Corinthians 10:3-5) and we must be prepared for conflict when we stand for the truth. Paul told Timothy, “Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 2:3). This was necessary – and is still necessary – because many “will not endure sound doctrine…and will turn away their ears from the truth” (2 Timothy 4:3-4). Truth is controversial, but we must defend it anyway.

Truth Is Offensive

“After Jesus called the crowd to Him, He said to them, ‘Hear and understand. It is not what enters into the mouth that defiles the man, but what proceeds out of the mouth, this defiles the man.’ Then the disciples came and said to Him, ‘Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this statement?’” (Matthew 15:10-12).

It is amazing to see how far some will go in trying not to offend others in religious matters. Yet Jesus offended the Pharisees when He refuted their error. On another occasion, the large crowd that had been following Him left because they did not want to accept His teaching (John 6:60, 66). Too many today are focused on teaching what is pleasing to their hearers. Yet Paul said, “If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bond-servant of Christ” (Galatians 1:10). If we preach the gospel without compromise, many will not want to hear it. Truth is offensive, but we must proclaim it anyway.

Truth Is Divisive

“But perceiving that one group were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, Paul began crying out in the Council, ‘Brethren, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees; I am on trial for the hope and resurrection of the dead!’ As he said this, there occurred a dissension between the Pharisees and Sadducees, and the assembly was divided” (Acts 23:6-7).

When Paul was on trial before the Jewish Council, he recognized that it was made up of two groups – the Sadducees and the Pharisees. Paul had been a Pharisee, but this was one part of his past that he “counted as loss for the sake of Christ” (Philippians 3:5, 7). Yet on this occasion, he used the division between these two groups to his advantage (and for the furtherance of the gospel). The Pharisees believed in a resurrection while the Sadducees did not (Acts 23:8). They could not both be right. Paul preached the resurrection – not because the Pharisees believed in a resurrection, but because it was true (Acts 23:6; 1 Corinthians 15:3-8). For every point of truth in the word of God, some will believe and some will not. When people cannot agree, the result is division (1 Corinthians 1:10). Many in the religious world prefer to ignore differences for the sake of unity, but we cannot do this and please God (2 John 9-11). Truth is divisive, but we must hold fast to it anyway.

Truth Is Exclusive

“Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me’” (John 14:6).

While it is true that the way of salvation is open to all (Mark 16:15-16; Acts 10:34-35), we must follow the truth that leads us to salvation. Those who do not love the truth will not be saved (2 Thessalonians 2:10). Salvation is only in Christ (Acts 4:12). If we follow or teach another gospel, we stand to be accursed (Galatians 1:6-9). If we practice lawlessness instead of doing the will of God, we will be told to depart from the Lord (Matthew 7:21-23). Peter said, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life” (John 6:68). There is nowhere else we can turn to find truth and, consequently, salvation. Truth is exclusive, but we must try to bring others to a knowledge of it.

Truth Is Universal

“And He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation’” (Mark 16:15).

As God has made salvation open to all, the gospel that is God’s power for salvation (Romans 1:16) must be proclaimed to all. The word of God is for all people “even to the remotest part of the earth” (Acts 1:8); regardless of their culture, language, history, technology, etc. God’s truth is for everyone and we will all be judged by His word (John 12:48; 2 Corinthians 5:10). Truth is universal, so we must be willing to teach it to anyone at any opportunity that arises.

Truth Is Constant

“‘But the word of the Lord endures forever.’ And this is the word which was preached to you” (1 Peter 1:25).

After stating that the sum of God’s word is truth, the psalmist added: “And every one of Your righteous ordinances is everlasting” (Psalm 119:160). When God reveals His word, man has no right to change it. We are to “hold fast the pattern of sound words” (2 Timothy 1:13, NKJV) rather than altering it. Peter said, “For you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God” (1 Peter 1:23). This word is the seed which is sown in the hearts of men that, when followed, leads to salvation (Luke 8:5-15). The seed is not going to change. Therefore, if we are going to please the Lord, we must be content with the word as it has been revealed. Truth is constant, so we must preach the word as it was preached in the first century.