God is Truth

Victoria Sample

Mr. Lindow
British Literature
April 20th, 2015

A dictionary defines true as being in accordance with the actual state or

conditions; conforming to reality or fact; not false (True). In the world today, people
have many different ideas of what truth actually is and how it applies to them. As a
Christian, I have a very specific definition of truth: God and everything that comes from
God is truth. Gods truth is what I believe and how I live my life. In contrast, most of the
secular world does not believe in the divine truth. Instead, the real truth of God is cast
aside for false ideas of truth. The Bible clearly proves what real truth is.
John 14:6 states: Jesus answered, I am the way and the truth and the life.
(NIV Life Application Study Bible). God is truth. The definition of truth is not based on
anything in the world. Instead, it is based on the almighty and eternal God. John writes
about Jesus that the true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world
(John 1:9). Belief in God as truth requires acceptance of non-empirical knowledge. I
believe that God exists, and that he is the source of all truth. Many secular philosophers
follow the correspondence theory of truth, where something is true only if there is a
corresponding fact in physical reality (David). However, for Christians, God is not
tangible, but he is still completely real. My faith in God is what allows me to know that
he is completely true. Truth is not ambiguous; it does not change from person to person.
Therefore, my definition of truth is everything that is God-like and that follows His
teachings.
As a Christian, I believe that the Bible is without error. As Psalm 119:160 says,
All your words are true; all your righteous laws are eternal. Daniel refers to Gods
Word as the Book of Truth (Dan. 10:21). Everything recorded in the Bible is absolutely
and indisputably true. God, who is truth, revealed himself to us through the Scriptures. I
can put my trust into every verse in the Bible because I know that it comes from God,
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who cannot speak anything false. While Jesus is praying in the Garden of Gethsemane
before his arrest, he asks God to sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth (John
17:17). Truth is not things that people want to be true for their own sinful reasons. Truth
comes directly from God, because truth is a quality of God. Anything on earth that can
be correctly regarded as true must come from God. In my life, I use my recognition of
truth to try to live a godly life.
David wrote in one of his psalms, Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you
are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long (Psalm 25:5). Jesus later tells us,
If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth,
and the truth will set you free (John 8:31-32). The knowledge that God is truth is only
valuable if you believe in Him and seek to follow his teachings. I know that God has a
reason for every command in the Bible. Because there is no falsehood in God, I must
obey each of his teachings. To help us in life, God has given us the Holy Spirit - also
referred to as the Spirit of Truth (John 14:17). People who do not know the Lord do
not have the Spirit, so they do not have knowledge of the Truth.
Any theory of the nature of truth that does not have God as its basis is in error.
Some philosophers such as Bertrand Russell state that someone can know something is
true only if they have a direct cognitive relation with that object (Irvine). Under this
premise, God cannot even exist as there is no evidence of him in reality. Other writers
take truth philosophy in a different direction, such as the pragmatism movement.
Pragmatists believe that truth can be defined on how valuable something is in
application. For example, the pragmatist philosopher William James defined truth as
something that is good, helpful, and useful in belief or experience (Hookway). If a
person receives comfort from believing in a god, then that god is true for that person. I
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believe that this is one of the worst fallacies about truth. Truth is not relative and does
not change from person to person. As Paul writes in the Bible, some people will turn
their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths (2 Tim. 4:4). God is the source
of all truth, and it is the same for everyone. Those who believe in false ideas of truth will
perish because they do not have knowledge of the one, true God.
I believe in the triune God and accept the Bible as His divine revelation to us. I
know from my faith and from verses in the Bible that God is always true, and has no
falsehood in him. People must have a theory of truth that they apply to actions in their
life. Those who do not believe in God are following a false way of truth, and will perish.
Truth cannot change from person to person but is a fixed concept, based on God. I feel
joy and gratitude to know that my life is dedicated to the actual source of truth, God.

Works Cited
David, Marian. "The Correspondence Theory of Truth." Stanford Encyclopedia of
Philosophy. Ed. Edward N. Zalta. Stanford University, 2 July 2009. Web. 26 Mar.
2015.
Hookway, Christopher. "Pragmatism." Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Ed.
Edward N. Zalta. Stanford University, 7 Oct. 2013. Web. 26 Mar. 2015.
Irvine, Andrew David. "Bertrand Russell." Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Ed.
Edward N. Zalta. Stanford University, 10 Mar. 2015. Web. 26 Mar. 2015.
NIV Life Application Study Bible. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011. Print.
"True." Def. 1. Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com, n.d. Web. 14 Apr. 2015.