"25 Bible Verses About Truth" title card with an open Bible on a stand

What Does the Bible Say About Truth?

If someone has lied to you, or you no longer know who to believe, the Bible points you to a source of truth that does not shift. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6), and He promised, “you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32). In Scripture, truth is not only a set of correct facts. It is a Person, and God’s Word is how we come to know Him: “Your word is truth” (John 17:17). The Bible verses about lying and deceit show the other side.

  • “He will guide you into all truth.” (John 16:13)
  • “The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth.” (Psalm 145:18)
  • “Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, but those who deal truthfully are His delight.” (Proverbs 12:22)
  • “Speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ.” (Ephesians 4:15)

Below are 20 New King James (NKJV) Bible verses about truth in four groups: seeking truth, truth being revealed, truth and lies, and telling the truth.

Bible Verses About Truth

Summary

The Bible teaches that true truth ultimately comes from God and is revealed through His Word and through Jesus Christ. Scripture contrasts truth with deception and encourages believers to live honestly, seek wisdom from God, and walk in truth through the guidance of the Holy Spirit. These verses highlight how truth shapes worship, relationships, and the believer’s spiritual life.

Key Bible Verses
  • John 8:32: Truth brings freedom.
  • John 16:13: The Spirit guides believers into truth.
  • Psalms 25:5: God leads His people in truth.
  • Psalms 145:18: God is near to those who call on Him in truth.
  • John 14:6: Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life.
  • 1 John 4:6: Truth revealed through those who know God.
  • 2 Timothy 2:15: Correctly handle the word of truth.
  • John 1:14: Jesus came full of grace and truth.
  • John 1:17: Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
  • John 18:37-38: Jesus came to testify to the truth.
  • 1 John 1:8: Denying sin rejects the truth.
  • James 1:18: God brings believers forth by the word of truth.
  • John 4:24: God must be worshiped in spirit and truth.
  • John 17:17: God’s word sanctifies through truth.
  • 1 Corinthians 13:4-6: Love rejoices in the truth.
  • 1 John 3:18: Love expressed through deeds and truth.
  • Ephesians 4:15: Speak the truth in love.
  • Exodus 20:16: Do not bear false witness.
  • Proverbs 12:22: Truthful lips delight the Lord.
  • Ephesians 4:25: Speak truth with your neighbor.

In this world, everyone is searching for truth. Yet no matter how hard you search, genuine truth can only be found in the Word of God and the person of Jesus Christ, Jesus as the way, the truth, and the life. Let’s look at some verses about truth and what God has to say about it.

Bible Verses About Seeking Truth

Amidst the universal search for truth, the Bible talks a lot about how we can seek truth and how we can find it. Spoiler alert: all roads to truth start with God Himself.

John 8:32 NKJV Bible verse about truth: "you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" with hands over a Bible

1. “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” John 8:32 (NKJV)

When we truly seek truth with our hearts, scripture says that we will find it and know it, and that it will set us free. How can this happen? God is truth and God sets us free from ourselves and our sinful nature by His salvation. By the truth of what Christ did on the cross, we can be set free as we begin to know Him. This is why having a relationship with God is so important. By having a relationship with the truth, we can be set free from the sin that so easily entangles us on a daily basis, the hope behind the Bible verses about the forgiveness of sins.

John 16:13 NKJV Bible verse about truth: "He will guide you into all truth" with a cross in a sunset valley

2. “However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.” John 16:13 (NKJV)

This verse in John 16 casts an interesting perspective on God being truth as it centers the focus on the Holy Spirit, calling Him the Spirit of truth. This makes sense as all three persons of God are truth, but it is also an encouragement to us as the Holy Spirit lives in us once we become born again. This means that truth itself lives inside of each of us who has the Holy Spirit and that we can always have access to the truth who will guide us into more truth as we walk with Him.

Psalm 25:5 NKJV Bible verse about truth: "Lead me in Your truth and teach me" with sun rays and a distant cross

3. “Lead me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; on You I wait all the day.” Psalms 25:5 (NKJV)

Truth is found in the wake of God. As we follow Him down the paths of righteousness, we not only find hope to spend eternity with God, we find truth as He leads us. This only emphasizes the importance of a true and close relationship with Him. The closer we are to God, the better we can hear His voice as we try to follow it. The better we can hear His voice, the closer we are to truth as we seek it in relationship with Him.

Psalm 145:18 CSB Bible verse about truth: "The Lord is near all who call out to Him" beside a cross

4. “The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth.” Psalms 145:18 (NKJV)

Simply put, God is only as close to us as we are close to Him. As it says in James, we must draw near to God, and He will draw near to us. When we call upon Him diligently, He will be near to us when we call upon Him in truth. This means that we need to call upon Him in the right fashion and for the right reasons. We need to align our desires with His desires, seeking God's kingdom first, that are laid out for us in His Word. When we do this, we get closer to Him and He draws near to us in truth.

John 14:6 NKJV Bible verse about truth: "I am the way, the truth, and the life" with hands raising Bibles against blue

5. “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.’” John 14:6 (NKJV)

Finally, Jesus Himself says that He is the truth. As we mentioned, if God is truth, then each of His three persons are also the embodiment of truth. Jesus here quite plainly claims to be the truth which is interesting as Scripture also reveals to us that He is the Word. You can see how all of this comes together and we always arrive at the conclusion that if we want to seek truth, we must seek God. Truth and God cannot be separated and therefore, we always know where to find truth when we seek it out.

John 14:6 NKJV Bible verse about truth: "I am the way, the truth, and the life" over golden sunlit grass

Bible Verses About Truth Being Revealed

By His plan, God chose to reveal the truth in the person of Christ and He chooses to continue to reveal it through us today. These verses help us to see how exactly He has done that and does do that in us.

1 John 4:6 NKJV Bible verse about truth: "the spirit of truth and the spirit of error" with a cross on a rocky hill

6. “We are of God. He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.” 1 John 4:6 (NKJV)

The spirit of truth is revealed in others by the way they respond to God and His people. When we boldly proclaim the truth, with a spirit of power, love and a sound mind, we can see whether people have a spirit of truth or a spirit of error based on the way they respond. As the verse says, if they know God, they will hear us and have understanding. If they don’t, they will do the opposite and find themselves confused. This reveals the truth preserved in them.

2 Timothy 2:15 NKJV Bible verse about truth: "rightly dividing the word of truth" with a pink flower on blue sky

7. “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15 (NKJV)

God’s people are meant to be people who are not ashamed of the gospel as Romans 1:16 says, and who are able to correctly study and teach the word of truth to others. This is what it means to ‘rightly divide’ the word of truth. We should be able to rightly study and reveal the truth that God has put into His scriptures to those around us. As we study the Word of wisdom and instruction, let us be prepared to share it with others in goodness and righteousness.

John 1:14 NKJV Bible verse about truth: "full of grace and truth" with silhouettes raising crosses at sunset

8. “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:14 (NKJV)

Jesus was quite literally the embodiment of God’s character, being full of grace, mercy, and truth. When we search for truth, we simply have to look to Christ to find it. God ultimately revealed His truth, which He decided to send from heaven when He revealed Jesus to the world. In Him, we have seen that one of God’s core attributes is truth, meaning that we can have a relationship with that truth by cultivating a relationship with God Himself through Christ, who is full of truth.

John 1:14 NKJV Bible verse about truth: "full of grace and truth" on a card with a dried leaf

9. “For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” John 1:17 (NKJV)

When the law was given to Moses, it revealed how sinful and devoid of righteousness and peace humanity truly is. We are truly evil people who delight in evil. Yet when Jesus Christ was put on this earth, He revealed true grace and truth by showing that God’s love is more powerful than our own unrighteousness and wickedness. God revealed the truth about us through Christ by having Him die for us, which is the meaning of John 3:16, impressing upon us how truly evil and opposed to God we really are. Through Christ, God brought justice and godliness before our very eyes.

John 18:37-38 NKJV Bible verse about truth: "Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice" with clasped hands over a Bible

10. “Pilate therefore said to Him, ‘Are You a king then?’ Jesus answered, ‘You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice. Pilate said to Him, ‘What is truth?’ And when he had said this, he went out again to the Jews, and said to them, ‘I find no fault in Him at all.’” John 18:37-38 (NKJV)

Pilate’s question is one that we all ask at one point or another: “What is truth?” Although we don’t have a recorded answer from Jesus here in John, we see Him previously say that everyone who has truth hears His voice. This implies, along with other scripture, that Jesus Himself is truth. If we want to know what truth is, we simply must look at Christ and we will find it within His person, on both heaven and earth.

Bible Verses About Truth and Lies

Throughout scripture, we consistently see a sort of battle between truth and lies. Jesus is the manifestation of truth, while Satan is called the father of lies or deceit. These verses shed light on that contrast and what it means for us today.

1 John 1:8 NKJV Bible verse about truth: "the truth is not in us" with a cross against a pink sky

11. “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” 1 John 1:8 (NKJV)

Even though we all know that we are sinners, it can be easy to get to a place where we feel like we’ve hit our peak or that we’ve put out all the fires of sin in our lives. Yet, we are reminded here that if we think we have reached the point of no sin, we are deceiving ourselves or lying to ourselves and we are not abiding in truth. We cause inner confusion and speak lies within ourselves. We must always remember that only Christ is sinless.

12. “Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.” James 1:18 (NKJV)

This verse is interesting because it says that God brought us forth by the word of truth. This seems to reflect Genesis where God created us initially and everything around us by His Word. In a similar manner, He brings about our second birth or our new creation by His word, the word of truth. God’s Word truly has more power than we can even imagine and is constantly in battle with the lies of this world.

John 4:24 NKJV Bible verse about truth: "those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth" with a cross at sunrise over water

13. “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” John 4:24 (NKJV)

Jesus’ statement here should shape the way we worship, as the verses about worshiping God show. If we desire to truly worship God, how can we worship in spirit and truth? The way we can worship in truth is by worshipping Him according to what His truth says. For example, we should be careful to abide by His Word and the way we worship should conform to what scripture prescribes for worship. Otherwise, we are worshiping by our own standards, which is a lie compared to the truth. If you want to know more about that, check out Romans 12. Let us strive to be true worshipers of Him who is worthy of praise.

John 4:24 KJV Bible verse about truth: "worship him in spirit and in truth" over pink ranunculus flowers

14. “Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.” John 17:17 (NKJV)

Interestingly enough, Jesus here asks God to sanctify His followers by God’s truth. Being sanctified by truth is an odd concept, yet is it not the Word itself that sanctifies us? As it says in Hebrews 4:12, it is the Word that digs deep into our hearts, judges us, and in reality, sanctifies us and makes us righteous. Rather than the lies of this world, we should always abide in the faith and truth that He has laid out for us in scripture and allow it to sanctify our souls as we are walking in truth.

1 Corinthians 13:4-6 NKJV Bible verse about truth: "rejoices in the truth" with a glowing cross in a dark room

15. “Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth;” 1 Corinthians 13:4-6 (NKJV)

In Paul's description of love, he adds that steadfast love rejoices in the truth. What does this look like? If you think about it, the quickest way to destroy any relationship of love is to begin to lie to the other person and begin to bring deceit into the relationship. Love does not flourish in lies, it flourishes and rejoices in the truth.

Bible Verses About Telling the Truth

Although we would all agree that telling the truth is something that God wants us to do, let’s take some time now to look in detail at what Scripture specifically says about telling the truth.

1 John 3:18 NKJV Bible verse about truth: "in deed and in truth" with a cross against a setting sun

16. “My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.” 1 John 3:18 (NKJV)

We may not think about it like this sometimes, but telling someone the truth is, in fact, an act of love. Someone who loves is someone who speaks truth. Of course, there are correct and incorrect ways to tell the truth, but overall, truth is a thing associated with love and faithfulness. You wouldn’t tell someone who is deathly sick that they are okay because you love them, right? Rather, God calls us to love in deed and in truth by proclaiming His kindness and truth and telling the truth in the right fashion.

Ephesians 4:15 KJV Bible verse about truth: "speaking the truth in love" with green trees

17. “But, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head Christ” Ephesians 4:15 (NKJV)

When we talk about the right way to tell the truth, Paul makes it clear to us here. We are to speak the truth in love. When we tell the truth, we shouldn’t be harsh or accusatory, or sarcastic, we should tell it in love. It’s all about the motive behind the truth and judgment that you are telling. When we look in the Gospels, we see that Christ speaks the truth, but in love, with the right motives. When we speak the truth in love, we become more like Christ who showed a great compassion for those to who He spoke the truth.

Exodus 20:16 NKJV Bible verse about truth: "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor" with clasped hands

18. “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.” Exodus 20:16 (NKJV)

This is probably the most common verse that we’ve all heard about lying. This is part of the 10 commandments, which were the commands or laws that were given to Moses by God on the top of Mt. Sinai. What’s interesting about this command is that it is counterintuitive to Jesus’ later command to love your neighbor as yourself. Lying to someone is not loving them or in this case, lying about them is not loving them either. Again, truth is closely linked with love and a pure heart throughout Scripture.

Proverbs 12:22 NKJV Bible verse about truth: "Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord" under a snowy sky

19. “Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, but those who deal truthfully are His delight.” Proverbs 12:22 (NKJV)

If any verse makes it clear, it’s this one. God does not like a lying tongue or deceitfulness. He wants His people to be people who deal truthfully and justly, as the Bible verses on character and integrity show. Since God is truth and light, He wants His people to also be people of truth and light. We should keep this in mind because we often lie here and there, even if they are just small instances, but regardless, lying lips are an abomination to the Lord. Let us honor Him especially with the things that we say.

Ephesians 4:25 NKJV Bible verse about truth: "speak truth with his neighbor" with a cross at dusk by the water

20. “Therefore, putting away lying, ‘Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor,’ for we are members of one another.” Ephesians 4:25 (NKJV)

This verse in Ephesians from Paul takes the command found in the 10 commandments a bit further, giving us the perspective of our neighbor now being one with ourselves in the body of Christ. Especially now that we are all united with one another within Christ’s body, we should most definitely not speak lies and rather firmly uphold truth with one another. Otherwise, we are damaging the body of Christ and truthfully, we are damaging ourselves in the process.

Conclusion

If there’s one thing that is clear from all of these verses that surround the subject of truth, it is that despite what the world tells us, the only place we can find truth is in God. If we want to find truth, that’s where we need to go. In fact, He lays it out for us right there in His Scriptures! Let us always recognize and remember that God gifts us with everything that we need to not only survive but to thrive. Find truth in Him and be revived by His refreshing nature.