OPINION: HARRY MARTINEZ: What is Truth?
Feb. 7—It would seem that Truth, which is an absolute, would not be subject to continued argumentation and persistent questioning. Usually, the first rebuttal heard when someone hears Truth and denies or doubts the validity of God's Word, is to define Truth as that which is relative and opinionative.
The source for such a position finds its origin in creation with the Fall of man. Though Scripture does not address as to the time of Satan's appearance in the Garden of Eden, it is unlikely that the Deceiver lingered in approaching Eve and questioning God's Word.
As the Sovereign Creator, God permitted the first man and woman to enjoy to the maximum all that He had made. There would only be one prohibition given for their spiritual well-being ... "And the LORD God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die" (Gen 2:16-17 NIV). The death to be avoided was not physical in nature, but spiritual. Disobedience to this command would result in immediate spiritual death, the acquisition of a sin nature and eventually physical death.
The Genesis account recounts the Fall of man. "Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?" The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, 'You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.'" "You will not surely die," the serpent said to the woman. "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil" (Gen 3:1-5 NIV).
While the serpent initiated the temptation by questioning God's mandate, the decision to disobey the Divine prohibition fell solely upon Adam and Eve. However, the successful tactic used by the serpent in the temptation empowered Satan to pursue using the same strategy throughout all the succeeding ages to thwart the Plan of God. He would instigate an all-out effort to prevent the curse placed on him from coming to fruition ... "And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel" (Gen 3:15 NIV).
The Apostle Paul begins his letter to the Christians in Rome with an extended discourse on the tactics Satan used in his continuing efforts against Truth, God's Word. The tireless efforts of the Adversary to suppress the Truth are exposed. "The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them" (Rom 1:18-19 NIV). Therefore, God declares ... "For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities — his eternal power and divine nature — have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse" (Rom 1:20 NIV).
Paul's discourse also reveals the results of suppressing the Truth — the thinking of man becomes spiritually darkened. Now devoid of Truth, the downward spiral continues: the individual's mind and personality becomes egocentric, self-absorbed, and an open receptor for that which is false. The apostle continues ... "Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles" (Rom 1:22-23 NIV). Man's worship, whether of self or other created creatures, is in opposition to the Divine design as well stated in the Westminster Shorter Catechism ... "the chief end of man is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever."
Harry Martinez, a resident of Albany, is a retired minister who served a nondenominational congregation in Florida. His weekly column appears in several South Georgia newspapers.
