Pilate asked Jesus, “What is truth?”, then walked away without waiting for an answer. Two thousand years later, our culture is asking the same question, just louder. In this episode of Equipped for Purpose, we explore what the New Testament means by truth, why you can trust the Scriptures that reveal it, and two practical weekly rhythms, one for disciples, one for leaders, that let truth transform you from the inside out. We close with a simple, gracious framework for engaging skepticism without becoming defensive or dismissive.

🌐 SUBSTACK:

Substack ➔ https://substack.com/@vincentream

📲 SOCIAL STUFF:

YouTube ➔ https://www.youtube.com/@vincentream

X ➔ https://x.com/vincent_ream

Facebook ➔ https://www.facebook.com/vincent.a.ream/

Instagram ➔ https://www.instagram.com/vincent.a.ream/

TikTok ➔ https://www.tiktok.com/@vincent.ream

Threads ➔ https://www.threads.com/@vincent.a.ream

📨 CONTACT:

Email ➔ [email protected]

🤝 Consider supporting the show!

If this episode is adding value to your walk with Christ, I'd be honored to have you partner with the mission. You can support the show through a one-time tip or a monthly membership. Every contribution helps keep this show growing and reaching more people who are ready to integrate deep discipleship with impactful leadership. Find the link below to get started.

Support the Show ➔ https://equipped-for-purpose.captivate.fm/support

🎶MUSIC:

Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):

https://uppbeat.io/t/abbynoise/night-thunder

License code: TAT19YLX8QY2ZBCY

Welcome to Equipped for Purpose. I'm your host, Vincent Ream, and this is the podcast

where discipleship meets impactful leadership. Whether you're new to faith or a seasoned follower

of Christ, this podcast is designed to help you deepen your relationship with Jesus, grow as a

leader, and make a difference in every area of your life. Together, we'll explore practical tools,

biblical insights, and real-life strategies to equip you for the purpose God has called you to.

Let's dive in.

Pilate looked Jesus in the eyes and asked, what is truth?

And 2,000 years later, our world is still asking the same question, just louder.

Welcome to Equip for Purpose, where we grow as disciples of Jesus and leaders who serve with

integrity. And today we're talking about the truth of Christianity, not as a debate to win,

but as a way of life to walk in. If you felt the ground shifting around phrases like

my truth and your truth, this episode is for you. Truth isn't just an abstract idea. It

culture you create at home, at work, and in your church. Leaders can't build trust on,

fog, and disciples don't grow in confusion. John 18:37 records Jesus saying,

everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice. That's the invitation. Learn to recognize and

respond to the voice of Christ in a noisy world. Here's where we're going today. We'll define truth

the way Jesus does, as a person in a path that sets people free. We'll look briefly at why we can

trust the New Testament that bears witness to him. Then we'll get practical, a simple weekly

practice to let truth transform you from the inside out. Three conversation tools to engage

skepticism with grace. We're not here to score points. We're here to become more like Jesus,

full of grace and truth. So let's begin where the New Testament begins, not with an idea to argue,

but with a Savior to follow. In the New Testament, truth is not just accurate information. It carries

a dual weight. It refers to what actually corresponds to reality, to what is genuinely

and objectively true and is reality revealed in a relationship with Jesus. Truth isn't just a fact

you verify, it's a person you know. It corresponds to reality and it forms you in relationship with

Jesus. When Jesus says, I'm the way, the truth, and the life, he isn't pointing us to a concept

floating above life. He's pointing us to himself. You don't merely learn truth, you meet truth.

John says Jesus came full of grace and truth.

Truth has a face, a voice, and a way.

That's why Jesus tells Pilate,

everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.

Truth is recognized in relationship,

hearing and responding to Christ.

Beautiful truth is relational.

It's also personal.

God doesn't aim to fill our heads with data

while leaving our hearts untouched.

He forms truth in us.

6 says,

Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being.

That's why Jesus ties truth to abiding, remaining in his word, not just visiting it.

The truth sets us free not as a slogan, but as a lived allegiance to Jesus.

The Holy Spirit called the Spirit of Truth was sent to guide the disciples into all truth,

completing and clarifying Jesus' own revelation.

And the same Spirit continues to form us today, shaping our motives, words, and habits as He applies the truth of Christ to our lives.

Here's why this matters.

Beyond theology books, when we say Jesus is the truth, we're saying He is the anchor for our identity, the source of our mission, and the ground of our hope.

that anchor, we're drifting, shifting with our moods, the news cycle, or whoever shouted loudest

that day. But when truth is a person we follow, we have stability, courage, and love that can

risk being honest. Notice how truth, as both objective reality and personal relationship,

corrects two common errors. First, it corrects relativism. Truth isn't whatever I feel. It's

anchored in the character and revelation of Jesus, in what is actually real. Second, it corrects

cold intellectualism. Truth isn't less than propositions, but it is more. It's a path of

trust and obedience that changes us from the inside. So what does that mean on the ground for

a disciple and a leader. So here are two practices for disciples, simple ways to let truth get inside

you. The first one I call abide, attend, act. Think of it like breathing scripture. Sit with Jesus's

words until they sit in you. Then ask, what lie is this confronting in me today? Pick one small

action that lines your life up with what he just said. For example, if you're reading Ephesians 4:25

put away falsehood let each one speak truth with his neighbor maybe the next one action is sending

that uncomfortable text or email the one where you have to say the truth instead of the easy thing

abiding keeps truth coming in the second practice keeping short accounts ensuring nothing blocks

the flow. When you notice you shaded the truth or avoided it, bring it into the light quickly.

A simple prayer of confession and if needed a quick conversation to make something right goes

a long way. Freedom follows honesty. Now the takeaway from this is truth isn't just known,

it's walked with Jesus, confessed quickly, and lived in community.

And that was two practices for disciples.

Now here are two for leaders.

And the first is simply defining reality kindly.

You can open meetings with clarity saying,

here's what's working, here's what's not,

and here's what we'll do next.

Kind doesn't mean vague.

Kind means clear and honoring.

For instance, instead of saying, we're doing fine,

say, we had our goal on outreach.

We're two weeks behind on follow-up.

And here's the plan to close the gap.

The second practice for a leader is celebrating candor.

Thank the person who surfaces the inconvenient fact

when someone on your team says,

we're behind schedule.

You can respond with, thank you for bringing that up.

That's the clarity we need to move forward.

What you celebrate, you multiply.

The takeaway here is that truth builds integrity, integrity builds trust, and trust multiplies

your influence as a leader. Here are some questions to help you reflect. Where do I prefer

ideas about truth over obedience to truth? Whose voice is shaping my definition of reality most

this week, Jesus's or the algorithm? What one practice will help me abide as a disciple and

define reality kindly as a leader over the next seven days. If truth is relational and personal,

rooted in Jesus and forming us from the inside out, the next honest question is,

can I trust the New Testament that bears witness to him? But here's the thing. Most people don't

reject the Bible because they've studied it deeply. They reject it because they've never

learn to read it well, humbly and in context. So let's take a clear accessible look.

Christian truth isn't a private hunch. It's grounded in public events and eyewitness testimony.

Luke says he investigated everything carefully to write an orderly account that you may

have certainty. Paul cites a living chain of witnesses to Jesus' resurrection.

Peter insists we did not follow cleverly devised myths.

Do questions remain?

Of course.

Manuscripts have variants, and sincere people wrestle with difficult passages.

But that wrestling doesn't mean the story's untrue.

It means we approach Scripture humbly, using context, genre, and the whole counsel of God.

We don't stand over the Bible to master it.

We sit under the Bible to be mastered by Jesus through it.

Humility plus good reading habits help us hear what God actually said so we can live it.

Psalm 119 verse 18 declares,

Open my eyes that I may behold wondrous things out of your law.

That's our starting prayer.

God esteems the one who is humble and trembles at his word.

Practically, humility means I'm ready to be corrected.

I slow down and I read in community.

Here's one example that shows why context matters.

13, I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

Now ripped out of context, it sounds like a guarantee of success in anything.

But read verses 11 through 12 and Paul is talking about contentment in every circumstance.

in plenty or hunger, in abundance or need.

Christ strengthens him to be faithful and content, not to crush every goal.

Context changes everything.

Quick tip, just read 10 verses before and after any passage.

Ask, what problem is this passage addressing?

And then ask, how does this sentence serve the author's argument?

That's the simple answer for reading in context.

and after that we have to take genre into account now genre is the form the text takes and the form

sets the rules a parable makes one main point through a story don't over allegorize every detail

a letter like ephesians builds an argument with logical words therefore so that for and trace those

connectors. Apocalyptic imagery like Revelation uses heavy symbolism, majoring on clear themes,

Jesus's lordship, endurance, hope, and minors on speculation. A quick tip about genre before you

read, ask, is this narrative, poetry, a letter, prophecy, or a parable? And then let the genre

guide your expectations. Now, after working on our expectations through genre, we have to then

consider reading with the whole counsel of God. That is counsel meaning advice, guidance,

or professional opinion. So what does that mean? Scripture interprets scripture. Use clear passages

to interpret unclear ones. For example, in Romans 3, Paul says, we're justified by faith apart from

works of the law. James says faith without works is dead. Is this a contradiction? Well, no. Paul

addresses how we're made right by faith, and James addresses what real faith looks like, its works.

The whole council holds them together in Christ. Now, if you're newer to Bible study, don't let

this overwhelm you. Start with one question. What's the context? The rest will come, and if

If you carry doubts about a passage, about Jesus, about the whole thing, don't hide them.

Bring them into the light of community and good resources.

Doubt is not the enemy of faith.

Dishonesty is.

Trusting scripture is the starting line.

Transformation is the race.

If humility, context, genre, and the whole council help us hear Jesus rightly,

the next step is to practice what he says.

And here's the beautiful paradox.

Truth doesn't just inform us, it reforms us from the inside out.

Biblical truth is formative.

Paul imagines a church speaking the truth in love so that we grow up into Christ.

Real truth produces real fruit. Confession over image management. Reconciliation over resentment. Integrity over expedience.

Let me give you two simple practices. One for disciples, one for leaders. And these aren't theory. They're weekly rhythms that let truth get inside you and shape the culture around you.

The first is the discipleship practice of the truth exchange.

The goal is replace a lived lie with a lived New Testament truth.

Number one, you're going to read.

Pick one short New Testament passage.

Reveal.

Name one lie you've been living like it's true.

Maybe it's an I am what I produce, or I have to keep everyone happy,

or God is disappointed in me.

And then number three, replace.

Write a short replacement from scripture.

For example, in Christ, I'm God's workmanship,

created for good works, not defined by them.

And then number four, in this, I repeat.

I pray it out loud.

I breathe it like it's a confession.

And then five, I report.

I text one trusted friend.

My lie this week was fill in the blank.

I'm replacing it with, again, fill in the blank.

And then finish that text off with, ask me Friday how it went.

See, truth isn't just known, it's practiced.

Do this once a week or once every other week and watch your inner world recalibrate.

Then there is the leadership practice of defining reality quickly.

This could be a 10-minute weekly huddle or part of the agenda during a weekly meeting.

The goal is to build a truth-telling culture that pairs clarity with honor.

It's a simple agenda.

Number one, wins.

One specific win that matched your stated values.

And number two, reality.

One metric or observable fact that isn't where it should be.

No spin on this.

The third part of this is candor round.

Each person shares one clear sentence.

What's the truth I see that will help us?

And then fourth part of this is commit.

Name one next step, an owner and a deadline.

And then close the loop next week.

Both of these practices for disciples and leaders,

though both are simple,

put truth in the relational and personal frames

we talked about earlier.

Truth with Jesus, truth in community,

truth that transforms.

Now, when truth transforms us, we become witnesses,

People who can speak truth with grace in a skeptical world.

And that's exactly what we need because modern skepticism isn't just arguments,

it's overload, hurt, and mistrust.

So how do we respond without becoming defensive or dismissive?

Let me give you a conversational tool.

This first tool is engaging skepticism with grace.

Pilate asked, what is truth?

But he didn't wait for an answer.

He walked away.

Today's skeptics often do the same, not because they're stubborn, but maybe because they've

been burned by Christians who cared more about winning than listening.

So our stance is this, curious, compassionate, clear.

We're not here to win.

We're here to love people toward Jesus who said, everyone who is of the truth listens

to my voice.

so here is a simple conversational framework it's the four a's ask affirm answer ask again

this first one ask what do you mean by that or can you tell me more after that we affirm we find

common ground i care about honesty too if that's the topic and then answer one clear sentence plus

example. And then ask again, does that make sense? Or how does that land with you? Keep your answers

around 30 to 45 seconds. If it gets dense, say, well, this is a bigger conversation and I'm happy

to keep talking, but here's the short version. So here are some common conversations you might

bump into or objections you may hear when talking about Jesus, the gospel, and the kingdom of God,

where you can put this framework into practice.

But before we dive in, there are three guardrails so you don't lose the room.

First, there's no stat dumps.

One point, one story, one question.

Then honor the person.

Never caricature their view.

Repeat it back fairly.

And then testimony over theory.

Share how Jesus' truth set you free from something specific.

so here's the first one truth is personal and this could be around the topic of my truth or

your truth ask when you say my truth do you mean preferences or facts about reality

and then affirm your story and perspective matter and then your answer some things are personal like

music tastes, but some things are true whether I like them or not. Jesus claims to be the truth,

which is a testable claim about reality, not just preference. And then ask again,

would you be open to exploring Jesus's words and life together?

Remember here, preferences are personal. Reality isn't. Jesus invites us to follow reality himself.

So a second scenario you could run into is that Christians are hypocrites.

You can ask, have you seen or experienced something specific that hurt you?

And then listen.

And then you'll affirm, that matters.

Jesus cares about integrity too.

And you can answer, the New Testament is blunt about hypocrisy.

When Christians fail, it's not proof Jesus is false.

It's proof we need him.

The way forward is repentance and repair.

And then ask again, if Christians owned their failures more, would that change how you see Jesus?

Hypocrisy breaks trust.

Jesus restores truth with repentance.

The third scenario you might run into is Christianity is intolerant or exclusive.

And you can ask, what feels intolerant to you?

You can then affirm, dignity and love for all people matter to me too.

And then answering, Christianity's invitation is radically inclusive.

Everyone is welcome.

Its claim is exclusive.

Jesus is the way to God.

Think of it like a hospital.

Open to all, but healing happens in a particular way.

Then ask again, how does an inclusive invitation plus a clear path land with you?

It's an exclusive claim, but it's an inclusive invitation.

Pilate asked, what is truth?

And the truth stood right in front of him.

The same is true for us today.

Jesus isn't hiding.

He's inviting.

And the invitation isn't just to understand more.

It's to walk in truth with him.

Pilate's question, what is truth?

It still reverberates.

But today we've seen that truth isn't just an idea to argue.

It's a person to follow and a path to walk.

In the New Testament, the word truth carries both weight and warmth.

It is what is objectively real, and it is reality made personal in Jesus Christ,

who embodies truth and invites us to abide in his word so we become people who are free,

honest, and loving. So we learn to approach scripture with humility, paying attention to

context, genre, and the whole counsel of God. So we hear what God actually says.

We named how truth forms disciples through confession, community, and obedience,

and how truth builds leadership cultures of integrity and trust. We practiced engaging

modern skepticism with curiosity, compassion, and clarity. Truth stood before Pilate,

and he stands before us now. Here's what I want you to do. This week, carve out 15 minutes and

do the truth exchange. Pick one short New Testament passage, name one lie you've been living,

replace it with one truth from scripture, pray it out loud, then text one trusted friend and say,

My lie this week was blank.

I'm replacing it with blank, whatever that truth is.

Ask me Friday how it went.

That's it.

One practice, one lie exchange for one truth.

And watch what Jesus does when you give him that much space.

Jesus is the truth who stands before you today.

May you hear his voice, walk in his words, and find the freedom he promises.

May you become a person marked by grace and truth, rooted in reality, shaped by love,

and sent to bear witness to the one who said, I'm the way, the truth, and the life.

Go in peace, walk in truth.

Thank you for tuning in to Equipped for Purpose.

I hope today's episode gave you tools and inspiration to deepen your discipleship

and strengthen your leadership.

Don't forget to subscribe so you never miss an episode.

And if you found value in today's content, share it with someone who could benefit.

Let's connect on social media and through my website.

And remember, you are being equipped for a purpose.

Go make an impact.

music