Confident in the truth

One of UCCF’s values is ‘confident in the truth’. We want Christians in our CUs to be deeply convinced of the gospel’s truth. After all, this conviction not only imparts assurance and joy to Christians but it also energises their mission, while they are students and beyond. Here Pete Dray (Director of Creative Evangelism) shares why we so desire for Christian students in CUs to be deeply rooted in the truth.

A few years ago, I learnt that the concept of ‘truth’ is used in two interrelated ways in the New Testament. Helping students to understand truth in both of these ways is essential if they are to be healthy disciples, confident witnesses and those who persevere when life is hard.

True, as in not false

In the West, we instinctively think about truth as the opposite of falsehood. When, in court, we promise to tell ‘the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth’, we are rejecting lies, untruths and our own subjective opinions.

Cleopas and his friend use the word ‘true’ in this way. Rushing back to meet the apostles having met the risen Jesus on the road to Emmaus, they exclaim: 'It is true! The Lord has risen and appeared to Simon.' (Luke 24:34).

In diverse and pluralistic settings like British universities, it’s essential that Christian students come to see the gospel as true in this way. Some are studying in departments that seek to undermine the intellectual credibility of Christian truth claims – and even the concept of truth itself. Other students arrive at university with nagging doubts. And all of this takes place in a context in which emerging adults increasingly evaluate all truth claims through a therapeutic lens.

Freely willing to admit that both they and society are broken, most students admit that they’ll receive help wherever they can find it – so long as it works. Many seekers are willing to explore Christianity at this therapeutic level. They’re generally happy for their friends to follow Jesus, if it’s doing them good. They’re less keen when categories of truth are invoked.

As those who breathe the air of this therapeutic culture, many Christian students also need help appreciating that Jesus’ call to follow Him goes beyond the therapeutic. Increasing numbers of Christian students need help accepting the uniqueness of Jesus’ claims and work.

In the United States, the Barna group found that 94% of committed Christian emerging adults agreed that the best thing that could happen is for someone to know Jesus. However, they also found that more than half of the same group believed that it is wrong to share one’s personal beliefs in the hope that they will one day share the same faith.

I would be surprised if the numbers are quite the same here in Britain – but we are certainly seeing similar trends. Christian students need confidence in the uniqueness of Jesus in a world that often evaluates truth claims therapeutically.

True, as in entirely trustworthy

The second way in which Scripture talks about truth complements the first. If we were describe someone as a ‘true friend’, we are not simply saying they have more substance than Toptick, my childhood imaginary friend. We are saying that they are loyal and trustworthy. So when Jesus is described as being ‘Faithful and True’ in Revelation 19:11, we are being reassured of the perfect loyalty Jesus has towards His people.

I remember a conversation with Ahmed*, a student from a closed country in the Middle East. He had come to believe that the gospel was true, but agonised as to whether he could be a Christian. Shortly before he left the UK, Ahmed shared his concerns with me about returning home as a follower of Jesus. The cost of doing this could be high. Ahmed needed to know not only the intellectual truthfulness of the gospel, but the unfailing trustworthiness of the Saviour he was committing himself to.

Bringing it together

Experiencing this kind of transformative faith – which can sustain students in the midst of opposition – requires them to know the truthfulness of God’s Word. The gospel is, as Paul puts it in Ephesians 1:13, the ‘word of truth.’ Co-authored by the Spirit of truth (John 16:13), the Bible is a written word that not only corresponds with reality but furnishes our trust in Christ. How wonderful that God has not left Himself without testimony. The God who has shown Himself to be true has given us a Word that we can know to be unfailingly true.

When a student can stand upon this conviction, it can be life-changing.

So please pray for UCCF Staff and Relay Workers as we help students to be confident in the truth. Pray for the many one-to-one and small group Bible studies that will take place. Pray for UCCF’s Leadership Network staff as they help students in challenging disciplines. Pray for us as we help students to speak both humbly and confidently in a diverse and pluralistic university context. Pray for us as we listen to students’ honest doubts.

May each student find intellectual ballast and emotional balm in the God who said, 'I am… the Truth.'

This article was written by Pete Dray, Director of Creative Evangelism. It was first published in our termly magazine, Impact. Sign up today to receive the next edition by post.