“You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:32 (NIV)

For many years, there has been what I call a crisis of credibility in our culture. You can find corruption pretty much everywhere—in politics, business, sports, academics, entertainment—and even in churches. You probably could give an example of a scandal in every major sector of society.

What is the cause of this decline in moral values? I can say it in two words: truth decay. 

Jesus said, “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32 NIV). Freedom comes from truth. The more you know the truth, the freer you are in your spirit, in your life, in your family—in every way! The opposite is also true: The more you give up on truth, the more you forfeit your freedom.

I intentionally chose this phrase “truth decay” because I think it exemplifies what’s been happening in our society. Slowly, little by little, there has been an erosion of the value of truth. We don’t value truth like we used to—and it’s slowly eroding the world we live in.

It’s the same with your teeth. When tooth decay begins, you don’t even notice it. You can’t feel it; you can’t see it. But it’s happening—and if you don’t stop it, you’ll eventually lose your tooth.

In recent decades, there has been a shift away from truth as the foundation of our society. At one point, most people genuinely agreed on what was right and what was wrong. If people didn’t do right at least they knew right. But today many people claim they don’t even know the difference between right and wrong—or that there’s no such thing as right and wrong.

This idea that there is no such thing as truth is called postmodernism. It’s built on the idea that there are no absolutes. But that’s an unworkable, irrational philosophy. Everyone depends on absolutes.

When you go into a pharmacy, you trust that the pharmacist will absolutely give you the correct prescription. When you approach a stop sign, other drivers expect that you’ll absolutely stop. When a rocket heads into outer space, there are thousands of absolute calculations to keep it on course. The whole world, every single day of your life, operates on absolutes.

In postmodernism, people value tolerance more than they value truth; all ideas are equally valid. But that’s nonsense. If I say, “The moon is made out of rock,” and you say, “The moon is made out of Swiss cheese,” those ideas are not equally valid. There are a lot of things in life that are absolutely and always true—and there are a lot of things in life that are absolutely and always false. 

In a world that values tolerance over truth, it’s easy to let truth decay into your own heart and life. During the next few days, we’re going to look at how you can know and hold on to what’s true so that you can live in the freedom Jesus promises.