What Is Truth?

TNG Radio, where today's culture and timeless truths come together. It's reasoned, relevant content apologetics, worldview and answers to the questions that you need to know. From Alex McFarland Ministries, this is Truth for a New Generation Radio.

And now the man who preached in 50 states in 50 days, speaker, writer and advocate for Christian apologetics, Dr. Alex McFarland. Does truth exist? Absolute truth? Objective truth? Moral truth that's applicable to all people?

Does it exist? Welcome to TNG Radio. Alex McFarland here. We're going to be doing a series on apologetics. And we've been doing a lot of things over Christmas. We talked about the birth of Christ and we've done some scriptural studies. But I want to take the next few shows to really lay some basic foundation for Christian apologetics and a defense of the faith. We're going to talk about does truth exist? Does God exist? Are miracles possible? Can God intervene in the world? Is the Bible true? Is Jesus really the Son of God? And several other things that I think are pretty important topics these days.

Because we live in a time, as you all know, there is so much spin, there's so much battle for really the voice of people and the ear of the public. And so the church has always got to be vigilantly ready to rise to the challenge of Jude, verse 3, and earnestly contend for the faith once delivered to the saints. Defending the faith once delivered. And so notice that we are to passionately, fruitfully, consistently defend the faith. Notice Jude, verse 3 says, the faith, not a faith.

And I think about this too. The faith once delivered to the saints. The gospel is not something that we revise and we improve on and tweak over the years. Last summer, a leader of a major denomination said that unless we're addressing social justice, and unless we're addressing gender issues, we're not preaching the gospel these days. I disagree with that. If you read 1 Corinthians 15, 3 through 5, the gospel is the death, burial, resurrection of Jesus for the sins of the world.

Now think about this. For those that are liberal, and even in once conservative denominations now saying, well we have to address all of these other issues, well these issues might be important, but look, if we have to add social justice, and if we have to add gender issues and things like that to the gospel, and if we're not preaching the gospel unless we add on these liberal pet causes, does that mean that from the first century to the last five years people weren't preaching the gospel? Because if you read everything from Pentecost to the early church, up through the Reformation, Martin Luther, John Calvin, Minnow Simons, Zwingli, all through early America, George Whitefield, Jonathan Blanchard, Charles Finney, D.L.

Moody, R.A. Torrey, Billy Sundy, Billy Graham, C.S. Lewis, they weren't preaching gender roles and social justice. They were preaching the death, deity, resurrection of Christ for the sins of the world. So be careful for those that want to garnish or enhance or revise or update the gospel. A sure way to make the church irrelevant is to try to change the gospel to make it more relevant. We are to earnestly contend for the faith once delivered to the saints, the death, burial, resurrection of Christ. We proclaim it, we explain it, we defend it, but we don't improve upon it because it can't be improved upon. It's perfect, the sacrifice he made on the cross. And praise the Lord, Jesus is as close by as a prayer.

If you've never called on Jesus to be born again, to be saved, we would urge you to do that today. But the world in which we live today is a very unique society. With the technology of the last few decades, the world is more connected than ever before and planes travel faster and take people all over the world.

And for those that don't want to travel, the internet provides pictures and videos and all the information anyone could ever possibly want about any part of the world. And all of this technology has resulted in a massive globalization. Eastern cultures are no longer unique only to Eastern societies. And the technology of the 21st century has completely revolutionized humanity. It really is a unique time in which we're alive and it's no longer uncommon for young people and people on social media to have friends scattered all around the world.

Now, let's talk about some of the implications of this, however. It is great that cultures are intertwining and it is possible to experience things that people of previous generations would never have even known about or perhaps could only have read in a book. But globalization has also caused a greater awareness of other religions and other belief systems.

For example, Eastern religions were largely popular in the 1960s due to bands like The Beatles promoting them, and then a belief system like Islam really only was known to most Americans vaguely in the 1970s with the American hostage situation and the Shah of Iran being deposed from his country. I think about atheist blogs on the internet. They're very common and even Facebook hosts a network that is a place where atheists can safely post their beliefs about their rejection of God. So much has been going on with the advent of internet culture.

We're wired up 24-7 and people with mobile devices, literally they've got the Library of Congress in the palm of their hand. Now this great globalization gives us an opportunity to share the gospel of Christ like never before, but it also gives people of other belief systems entree into the lives of our kids. People have more awareness of other belief systems that challenge the faith. Christian apologetics seeks to provide reasonable evidence against other belief systems, but also positive evidence for the claims of Christianity. And we're going to talk about how we can know truth, explain truth, live truth, model truth, and when called upon to do so, we can defend truth.

Stay tuned. From I Am A Watchman Ministries, here's today's I Am A Watchman Minute. Do you ever feel low, unworthy, worthless to God? Consider the story in Zechariah 3. There we see the high priest Joshua standing before God in heaven. This man, who represents the best and most holy of men, is shown in filthy clothes, which means he's sinful, unfit to stand before the presence of God. If the high priest was shown to be unworthy, then what hope do we have?

But there is hope. In Zechariah 3, Joshua is, quote, snatched from the fire like a stick still smelling as smoke. He's given new clothes to where he's cleansed and forgiven.

Yes, Satan accuses, but God through Jesus Christ acquits. We all fall short, but in Jesus we find hope for forgiveness and for eternal life. Be bold, be faithful, be a watchman.

I am a watchman dot com. Christians don't necessarily agree with one another when it comes to questions of religious pluralism, homosexuality, the role of government, abortion and war. Too often we manage these disagreements by ignoring them. Yet we're called to engage the world for the sake of Christ.

How can we be effective if we avoid society's most pressing questions? In 10 issues that divide Christians, Alex McFarland challenges us to drill down to the biblical core of 10 current issues, such as social justice, evil and suffering, pornography and environmentalism as he echoes the biblical invitation. Come, let us reason together only by engaging the scriptures deeply, thinking clearly and speaking truthfully. Can we and God's family address our differences and discover the peace that comes with unity of purpose? 10 issues that divide Christians.

Find this book and many others at Alex McFarland dot com. When we're told to do something, we like to ask why we don't follow traditions merely for the sake of tradition. We seek a biblical worldview and search for reasons behind answers for the Christian who wants to dig deeper. There's engage magazine dot net packed with relevant articles from movie reviews and life tips to culture and the believer's spiritual life. Share truth. Apply scripture.

Engage magazine dot net. At Liberty University, you'll earn more than a degree. You'll earn the satisfaction of seeing what you can accomplish and what God can accomplish through you. Choose from more than 600 degree options from an associate to a Ph.D. and study 100 percent online more affordably than you think. Discover God's truth through every degree at Liberty University, where we train champions for Christ. Go to Liberty dot edu backslash explore to learn more.

That's Liberty dot edu backslash explore to learn more. For apologetics resources, books by Alex McFarland, and to find out where Alex is speaking, visit Alex McFarland dot com. Does truth exist? We're making the case for absolute truth. In John 18, 38, Pilate asked Jesus, what is truth? Increasingly, skeptics argue that there are really no longer issues that are right and wrong for all people in all places.

And when it comes to things like transgenderism and homosexuality and belief systems, constantly we're really given the mantra, well, that's true for you, but not for me. You have your truth. I have my truth. Can we still make a case for absolute truth?

Well, on today's edition of TNG radio, we're going to try to do that. And the case begins by answering the ancient words Pilate asked Jesus in John 18, 38, what is truth? Pilate understood that there were different sides to the story.

The Jews wanted Jesus killed, and Pilate believed that Jesus had done nothing wrong or nothing worthy of death, but Pilate also wanted to please the crowd. Now, today, we know that similar controversies exist today. People can claim that there are no absolutes, but does that make their claim true? You see, the problem with the mindset when somebody says, well, you know, there's no absolute truth or there's no truth that everybody has to respond to or acquiesce to, but that claim itself is an absolute statement. The very claim that there is no absolute truth has to overcome two issues.

Now, think about this. First, if this statement includes itself, then the statement there is no absolute truth is not true. It's relative, not always true. Now, if this statement is somehow exempt or excluded from its own claim, there's no absolute truth except this one. Well, the person that is claiming an absolute while denying absolutes is really making a contradiction.

In either case, how do you deny absolutes when you're making an absolute statement? Now, that might sound like a lot of lofty gobbledygook, but it really makes sense. I mean, words have meaning. We use words to try to convey truth.

Laws hold each other accountable for the way we use or misuse words. So if people say, well, you have your truth, I have my truth, they're really saying there's no absolute truth and it's absolutely true what I've just said. That's a contradiction.

So let's talk about something. Let's go way back to a couple of hundred years before the birth of Christ to Aristotle and the Greeks that taught us how to think reasonably. Although reasonable thought has existed ever since the Garden of Eden, we've just used our reasoning powers in the wrong way sometimes.

Adam and Eve tried to reason and legitimize why it was better to listen to the serpent than obey God, and they reasoned wrongly and chose to sin. But by the time of Aristotle, they were codifying and explaining and trying to categorize different types of logic and logical principles, one of which is called, now listen, the law of non-contradiction. Now this law states that two opposing ideas can't both be true and false at the same time. In other words, two plus two cannot equal four and two plus two cannot equal five at the same time under the same conditions.

If two plus two equals four, logically it cannot be three or five. Now some skeptics that are more influenced by an Eastern worldview than they might realize, well, they'll say, well, everything is just relative. It's all perspective. You've got your perspective, I've got mine, because everything is really just this illusion. But this claim is really ludicrous because it contradicts the reality that all people experience. You can't say everything is an illusion unless there's some other clear reality with which to compare it.

Now think. Somebody says, you know, the world is just, maybe it's a program running in somebody's computer. It's a matrix. We've got to escape the matrix, like that movie said a few years ago. Everything is an illusion.

Well, compared to what? You would only know something was fake if there was something real that you also were familiar with. You could only discern that life is somehow an illusion if you also knew that there was, on the other hand, reality. But now, careful, who's to say that this is not reality and something else is illusion or vice versa? Again, claiming that this world is some empty illusion avoids reality, but it doesn't really answer our true existence while we're here. So what I want to talk about are some ways that we know there is truth. For one thing, God has spoken to us and he's given us a mind and a conscience.

And here in the pampered, prosperous West, we pontificate and we don't have to get up every morning and just, most people don't at least, have to fight for food and sustenance like so many do in the world. It's really in the decadent West that people for the last several decades have been able to sit back and try to pass judgment on God and reality. And really, it's ludicrous to think of people speculating, well, does reality even exist?

Obviously, it does. There is something real, otherwise we wouldn't be here to even debate about it. So God has given us a reasonable mind. We're accountable for how we use it. We're accountable for our response to known truth. The Bible says that in times past, God winked at man's ignorance, but now commends people everywhere to repent. Because God has spoken to us in a number of ways. He's revealed himself through creation. He's revealed himself through our moral knowledge, that is our conscience. He's revealed himself through Jesus Christ. He's revealed himself through the pages of scripture.

Even in some extreme circumstances, in extenuating circumstances, God reveals himself in dreams and visions to people to make himself known. So we can perceive truth, we can understand truth, we can grow in our knowledge of truth. But what the Holy Spirit of God calls people everywhere to do, and maybe God is calling you to do this right now, is to respond to truth. To humble yourself and turn to the God who's revealing himself to you, maybe even knocking on the door of your heart right this moment. And you've known things about God, but you're being offered a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. And that begins when we admit that we're sinners, and we turn away from sin and we say, Lord, I am sorry for my sin, and I believe I'm accepting the reality that Jesus died on the cross, and he did that for the whole wide world, but he did it for me. Do you know Jesus did that for you? Do you know that Jesus loves you so much? You matter to God, whoever you are. Believe it. You matter to God. Now stay tuned, we're going to come back, we're going to talk more about truth, and why we so, more than ever in this day and age, need to know it and defend it.

Stay tuned, we're back after this. Alex has written many books to help you defend your faith. One of them answers questions from skeptics.

It's cleverly titled, Ten Answers for Skeptics. Today's skeptics are looking for authenticity, integrity, and straightforward truth. And in the book, Alex McFarland identifies the ten most common types of skepticism that plague doubters' minds and offers believers proven strategies for connecting intellectually and spiritually with those who are skeptical about the claims of Christianity. Learn how to answer intimidating questions, identify the root issue behind those questions, and dismantle the spiritual bombshells dropped by atheists.

Plus, find encouragement to face hostility by persevering in love. The ultimate apologetic Christians can offer is a witness to our loving God. Check out Ten Answers for Skeptics when you visit AlexMcFarland.com Christians don't necessarily agree with one another when it comes to questions of religious pluralism, homosexuality, the role of government, abortion, and war. Too often we manage these disagreements by ignoring them. Yet we're called to engage the world for the sake of Christ.

How can we be effective if we avoid society's most pressing questions? In Ten Issues that Divide Christians, Alex McFarland challenges us to drill down to the biblical core of ten current issues, such as social justice, evil and suffering, pornography, and environmentalism, as he echoes the biblical invitation, Come, let us reason together. Only by engaging the scriptures deeply, thinking clearly, and speaking truthfully, can we and God's family address our differences and discover the peace that comes with unity of purpose.

Ten Issues that Divide Christians. Find this book and many others at AlexMcFarland.com In the midst of a culture obsessed with relativism, Alex McFarland is a voice you can trust to speak the timeless truths of Christianity in a timely way. You're listening to Truth for a New Generation Radio. Welcome back to TNG Radio.

Alex McFarland here. And we're talking about truth, how we can know truth, and why it's so important that in this day and age we defend truth. And it's very important that we impart truth to our children. And I want to tell you something really, really exciting. Every summer we do a youth apologetics camp.

Apologetics, biblical worldview. It's a blast. Last year we had students from seven states. It's coming up this summer, July 23-24. We're going to be in western North Carolina. Truth for a New Generation. We have rented this Y camp.

It's a wonderful ropes course, activities. But we're going to have 15 sessions on what does it mean to be a Christian. How can I study my Bible?

How can I stand strong for my faith? Listen, when your son or daughter is in middle school, high school, or when they go to college, you don't want them to become an evolutionist, an agnostic, a socialist. And so we talk to kids about God and country. There's going to be music, there's going to be food, fellowship, friendships that are made for a lifetime.

Go to my website, alexmcfarland.com. Youth groups, young people, this is the perfect gift, and I would say it's imperative, as we are in a battle of worldviews. Teach your young people to defend truth, and our apologetics camp and our staff will do our utmost to show them Jesus and to equip them to stand strong for the Christian faith. Also, I want to make people aware of the fact that I'll be at the Cove. I'm so excited to be making a return trip to just the most beautiful Christian retreat you'll ever see, the Cove, the Billy Graham Training Center at the Cove. I'll be there in late July to teach through Daniel and Revelation. We'll learn Bible prophecy together, how God writes history in advance.

Their website is thecove.org, C-O-V-E, thecove.org, and I would love to see you at the Prophecy Study in late July at the Cove. Well, let's go back to the subject of truth, and I want to read an interesting quote. John Wesley, the great founder of Methodism, Wesley said, quote, Christianity, true scriptural Christianity, has a tendency in the process of time to undermine and destroy itself. For wherever true Christianity spreads, it brings diligence and frugality, which, in the natural course of things, brings riches, prosperity. And riches naturally begets pride, love of the world, and every temper that is destructive to Christianity. Wherever Christianity prevails, there's the danger, said Wesley, that it would sap its own foundation.

I think about this. Kids today, and millennials and younger, they love a free, safe, unimaginably prosperous America with so many technological breakthroughs. But what many of them don't understand is that it was Christianity, and it was a moral compass, and it was deferred gratification and self-restraint and frugality and working hard and saving your money, basically living moral, righteous, Christian lives for two centuries that gave us this free, safe, prosperous America. So Wesley's observation was that basically Christianity, which brings discipline and right living, which brings success and prosperity, there's the danger that as people come along that lose sight of the Christian virtues, humility, self-restraint, frugality, generosity, rather than decadence and being a spin-thrift, it can destroy a culture. The fruits of the tree destroy the tree that bore the fruits.

Now, J.D. Unwin, Cambridge sociologist, anthropologist, historian, he wrote a very famous book in the 1930s about sex and culture. And he basically said where sexual restraint is gone, cultures digress and fall apart.

He studied the top 80 civilizations over the course of 5,000 years of human history. And he talked about marriage and family and moral restraint being the building blocks of society. And he said, but where you have morality, family, hard work, a work ethic, self-restraint, you become prosperous. And when the children and the children's children and the children's children's children don't have those moral, virtuous attributes in their heart, values and the greatest value of all in the eyes of Unwin, the anthropologist, sexual restraint.

He said, and this is 90 years ago, when sexual restraint is gone, a culture is irrevocably bent for destruction. Think about Jonah and the Ninevites. The Ninevites were pagan. They were indulgent. They were immoral. And they, like perhaps America of the 21st century, were irrevocably on a track for destruction.

What saved Nineveh, though, was that God in his mercy and through the preaching of Jonah sent a great revival. But America, we're irrevocably bent on self-destruction, the loss of our Constitution, increased lawlessness, anarchy, decadence. Unless by God's power, his providence and his sovereign mercy, unless God sends a great revival, we need that. Truth exists.

The fact is, though, that we're not living it. Truth has been revealed and we've not responded to it. Truth can be defended, but so many people today don't want there to be truth. Because if there is truth and a God from whom that truth emanates, that means that they're going to have to repent of sin. And so Wesley is right that Christianity, unless it's in every generation newly stoked and solidly imported, Christianity saps its own foundation.

I would say not Christianity, but the fruits of Christianity, which is the blessing and the increase that comes from following the true and living God. See, there are a lot of people that love the blessings, but they don't know the blesser. And so our call as we get into this study for several weeks, we'll be looking at apologetics. We're going to talk about the ways we can know truth, creation, conscience, Christ, scripture. And God has sometimes spoken in other ways, but these are ways that we can understand and impart today. We can grow in our walk with God and share him with others. Hey, go on my website, alexmcfarland.com.

Find my calendar. I want to meet you when I come to your city and let us know how we can come along and help you be equipped to stand strong for the truth. How we can together evangelize the lost and equip the saved. Thanks for listening to TNG radio and take your stand for truth. That's 877-YES-GOD1. That's 877-YES-GOD1 and the number one or give online at alexmcfarland.com. While you're there, listen to program archives, read Alex's blog, invite Alex to speak at your event or contact Alex with a question or comment alexmcfarland.com. Thanks for listening today and join us again next time as we bring you more truth for a new generation on TNG radio.