A common Old Testament word expressing truth, emeth, speaks of a dependable reality that’s solid and binding. Truth is the bedrock of human relationships (Exodus 20:16), involving an integrity of thoughts, speech, or actions.

Some churches today embrace truth but need a heavy dose of grace. Other churches talk about grace but cry out for a heavy dose of truth.

Ein Zuhause voller Gnade ist zugleich ein Zuhause voller Wahrheit, denn Gnade macht Menschen nicht weniger heilig, sondern ganz im Gegenteil: Sie macht sie heiliger.

Last month, 20-year-old Isabella Chow, a student senator at the University of California, Berkeley, became the center of a controversy when she chose to abstain from a pro-LGBTQ vote.

I loved this post from author and pastor Ray Ortlund. It’s a great reminder that we need to examine ourselves and correct ourselves. We who are truth-oriented, or in Ray’s words, “all certainty,” when it comes to every area of theology, need to go out of our way to affirm grace and choose humility. We who are grace-oriented, or as Ray says, “all openness,” need to go out of our way to affirm God’s revealed truth and anchor ourselves to it.

My son-in-law Dan Franklin is teaching pastor at Life Bible Fellowship in Upland, California. Dan is married to my daughter Karina, and the father of three of my grandsons, but that’s not the main reason he’s one of my favorite teachers. In this video, Dan talks about the problems behind the phrase, “Speak your truth.”  

Suppose a professor or inspirational speaker says, “What’s important isn’t finding the truth, it’s searching for it.” Try applying the same logic to your search for a life preserver when you’re drowning!

Left to myself, I don’t think straight. I believe the lies that are currently popular. God gives me His truth as a moral compass, a reference point to guide me.

Reformer Ulrich Zwingli wrote, “The business of the truth is not to be deserted, even to the sacrifice of our lives.”