When presented with the truth of the Scriptures, how do you react? Are you a person that considers biblical truth to be relative? Do you only accept truth from the Bible if it suits you and your way of thinking? Or perhaps you are an individual who picks out from the Scriptures what you want to hear as truth, and you skirt over all the other subjects, with which you do not entirely agree. If you are a Christian, do you believe the complete Bible to be true, or do you find yourself having gray areas? In a nutshell, do you take issue with the truth as taught in the Bible?

For instance, if someone presented you with the truth that you are a sinner and your sin has separated you from God, would you take issue with that truth because you believe you are a good person? Romans 3:23 directly states: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…. Some people strongly oppose that statement; they take issue with God’s Word. It is offensive to them. However, if only they could grasp the truth found in Romans 5:8, it would give them hope: But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Here is the simple truth: if you embrace the wonderful truth of the Gospel message, humbly repent, and accept Jesus as your Savior, your will receive eternal life (John 3:16).

People who choose to live together instead of being married may think relatively about marriage. Their truth is that marriage is old fashioned, and a marriage certificate is just a piece of paper. Yet the Bible is quiet clear. 1 Corinthians 6:18 warns us to, flee sexual immorality! “Every sin a person commits is outside of the body”—but the immoral person sins against his own body.

If you are ignorant of the Scriptures, like I was, then maybe you are familiar with the phrase, “living in sin.” For me, I had to try and quench the guilty feeling and ignore the truth of that phrase. I knew all too well that living together with my boyfriend was wrong. The point is, when everyone begins to have their own reasoning of what is right and what is wrong, they will model themselves after the same behavior as the nation of Israel in Judges 17:6, which states: In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes. In today’s society we are dealing with a free for all––a moral indulgence of anything goes. There are no moral absolutes.

Recently, I spoke plainly and honestly, and in sheer disbelief, with a young woman who had exchanged the truth for a lie. It saddened my heart so much to think how this woman, now clad in a Muslim headdress, left the Christian faith. She had attended a Calvary Chapel where she had received line upon line teaching from the Bible, but, because she could not believe intellectually what was taught about the person of Jesus Christ and the trinity, she embraced Islam! She was convinced Jesus was not needed as the go-between to pray to God. She could speak to God directly herself. Even though I reasoned with her from the Scriptures, she denied the truth written in 1 Timothy 2:5: For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. God is holy. We are sinners. How then can we approach a holy God? Jesus told Thomas, a disciple: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me (John 14:6). Jesus established that the only way to have a relationship with a holy God was through Him. Eternal life can only be attained through Christ alone. Our eternal destination, heaven or hell, is determined by the acceptance or rejection of God’s truth. Therefore, truth is vital for a person’s salvation.

Pilate, in his personal interrogation of Jesus, asked Him a straightforward question in John 18:38, that has resonated through history since the time of the cross: “What is truth?” Prior to this statement Pilate had asked Jesus if He was a king, and, Jesus had said: Jesus answered, “You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice” (John 18:37). Yet, Pilate caved under pressure of the crowds to crucify Jesus (John 19:12-16). Interestingly, you can hear the truth, be somewhat influenced by truth, and yet, even though close to accepting the truth, remain so far away from the truth.

So why do some people take issue with the truth? One clear reason is given in John 3:19: And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. The truth of the matter is that people enjoy their sin––they love the darkness.

If you are a Christian who believes the Bible is indeed infallible and the inspired Word of God, as 2 Timothy 3:16 states: All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, then you are on the solid ground of Truth. The Apostle Paul described the Church as …the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth. Believers need to study the Bible, line upon line, so they will have the whole counsel of God. Understand, there are no gray areas in the Bible. Be aware that you cannot choose one Scripture from any passage and take it out of context. It needs to be read in the setting and background of the whole chapter.