Why We're Here (Part IV): The Preservation of the Truth

A hundred years ago, the United Presbyterian Church in North America – one of our predecessor denominations – spent some time and energy thinking about why the church exists. That’s always a good question to ask. It’s important for us to constantly remind ourselves why we’re here, because it is so easy for us humans to lose our way, to wander from the path that God has set before us, to “go astray,” like lost sheep. We can be more intentional about doing that which we know we ought to be doing when we have a deep understanding of what we’re all about in the first place. A hundred years ago, the United Presbyterian Church in North America identified six “great ends of the church” – six fundamental reasons why the church exists. The fourth “great end of the church” is the preservation of the truth. What does that mean for us, here and now?

“You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.” (Exodus 20.16 / Deuteronomy 5.20)

“Lead me in your truth, and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all day long.” (Psalm 25.5)

“And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.” (John 1.14)

“The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” (John 1.17)

“The hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” (John 4.23-24)

“The one who sent me is true, and I declare to the world that I have heard from him.” (John 8.26)

“If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” (John 8.31-32)

“I am the way, the truth, and the life.” (John 14.6)

“This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you.” (John 14.17)

“Pilate asked him, ‘So you are a king?’ Jesus answered, ‘You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.’ Pilate asked him, ‘What is truth?’” (John 18.37-38)

“Speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ.” (Ephesians 4.15)

We believe in a God who cares about truth.

No – scratch that. That’s true, but it’s not the whole truth. We believe in a God who is truth – truth embodied in human form. John’s gospel emphasizes this reality more than any other book in the Bible. The Word incarnate, Jesus Christ, is filled with both grace and truth. God calls us to know the truth, to experience the truth, to live according to the truth, to belong to the truth, and to speak the truth in love to one another. Truth matters, and if we are to walk this Christian journey with integrity, we need to take truth seriously. To paraphrase the fourth great end of the church, we need to preserve the truth.

But Pilate’s question is a good one: “What is truth?” Are there circumstances in which telling something other than the truth could be justified? (What about “little white lies” to cover up a surprise birthday party for a loved one? What about Germans under Hitler’s regime who lied to the Nazis in order to protect Jews who were hiding in their homes?) Perhaps when we pause to consider what “preserving the truth” means, we need to consider the intent behind our words and actions. Could there be situations in which “preserving the truth” might involve speaking an “untruth”? Does “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor” mean that we never say anything that is not 100% factual? Could “truth” be a concept that is deeper and more profound than the distinction between “fact” and “fiction”? Can fiction be “true”? What is “truth”? How do we “preserve the truth?”

I don’t have clear answers to these thorny questions – and lots of people have written far more extensively about this subject than I have – but let me offer a few proposals for your consideration. I don’t claim to have the last word on this subject, so I leave room for any of you to offer a rebuttal!

Deception. One way in which we fail to “preserve the truth” is when we intentionally seek to deceive somebody else for reasons that lack honor and integrity. Trying to smuggle Jews to safety out of Nazi Germany—I would suggest that falls under the category of a cause that possesses honor and integrity, and it is greatly unfortunate that people had to resort to deception in order to save human lives. But there are plenty of times when people seek to deceive other people for reasons that lack honor and integrity, perhaps for selfish gain, or fear of what other people might think, or low self-esteem, or fear of being caught. Any time we seek to deceive other people for reasons that puff ourselves up at the expense of other people, anytime we seek to deceive other people to escape from a bad situation that we’ve gotten ourselves into and we have no one to rightfully blame but ourselves, anytime we seek to deceive other people for reasons that Jesus himself would question – those are times when we are not “preserving the truth;” those are times when we are failing to walk the Christian life with honesty and fidelity and integrity. Those are times when we need to turn from our destructive ways and turn towards the ways of our Savior.

Denial. Another way in which we fail to “preserve the truth” is when we live in denial of the truth, especially when we live in denial of painful truths about ourselves that we would prefer to avoid. Sometimes, we deny the truth that we’ve done something wrong (when in truth we have, but don’t want to admit it to ourselves, let alone anyone else). Sometimes, we deny the truth that we’ve caused someone else pain. Sometimes, we deny the truth that we have anger or fear or envy or insecurity buried inside us that comes out in ways that hurt other people. Sometimes, we deny the truth of the medical issue that we, or someone we love, is facing, and we fail to take appropriate measures to address the situation – such as going to the doctor when we need to but don’t want to, or are afraid to. Truthfully, I’ve been amazed at just how much denial there is out there in the world; I have seen it surface in people’s lives, time and time again. Sometimes, it can be hard – very hard – to face a truth that we need to face, and we humans come up with all sorts of excuses or other ways by which we can avoid facing difficult truths. (But remember: “. . . the truth will make you free.”) Whenever we live in denial of the truth, we are not “preserving the truth;” we are failing to walk the Christian life with honesty and fidelity and integrity. Those, too, are times when we need to turn from our destructive ways (our self-destructive ways) and turn towards the ways of our Savior.

Truth. It takes courage to try to live a life “filled with grace and truth,” trying to follow in the footsteps of our Savior. To be willing to face the hard truths that life throws our way sometimes, to be willing to stand firm to our convictions even when other people around us might try to pull us down, to be willing to speak the truth in love to other people (and to be willing to allow other people to speak the truth in love to us), to be willing to take a stand for all that is good and true and right in the world – none of that is easy. In my younger days, I was not always good about living a truth-filled life; there were times when I lied to protect myself from certain consequences that I wished to avoid; there were times when I exaggerated stories to make myself look good; there were times when I thought other people couldn’t handle the real truth and so I adjusted my story accordingly. I’m not proud of any of that, and I’m grateful that in my adult life I’ve managed to put those destructive behaviors almost completely behind me. (I say “almost” because there are still those times, every now and then, when it’s tempting to fall back into old patterns – when stretching the truth, or telling an outright lie, might somehow feel easier than telling the real truth, because sometimes, the truth is really painful to face.) Living the truth, embodying the truth, preserving the truth – that can all be extremely difficult.

But God doesn’t want us to take the easy road. God calls us to take the road filled with honesty and fidelity and integrity. God calls us to live a life that is worthy of being called “Christian.” That’s not easy. But it’s worth it. Goodness gracious, is it worth it. A life filled with honesty and fidelity and integrity is so much richer, so much deeper, so much more joyful, so much more Spirit-filled, than a life filled with half-truths and lies. The truth does indeed “set us free.” We just have to be willing to face the truth, the hard truth, whatever it may be – and once we’ve faced it square-on, life is better on the other side.

We Christians are called to “preserve the truth.” It’s not easy to do. But it’s worth it. It’s well worth it. May God grant us courage and grace as we seek to do that, each and every day.

Peace and blessings,

Bill