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Last Updated: Aug 22, 2008 - 12:10:50 AM |
“That may be true for you, but it’s not necessarily true for me.”
Now, if people who say the above were only talking about the style of music they enjoy, or what kind of food they like, then I would see no problem. However, most people speaking this way mean more than likes or dislikes in taste; they mean anything a person believes to be true is relative and not absolute.
It’s not that people no longer believe in ‘truth,’ but rather, few believe there is ‘truth’ out there that’s applicable to everyone. At one time there was common consensus as to what was ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ ethically. However, today ethics has been relativized to the point that what may be wrong for one person is not necessarily seen as wrong for another.
On the other hand, the Bible sees ‘truth’ as absolute. It doesn’t matter if everyone disagrees with God regarding something being true; it is still true if God decrees it to be so, because he is absolute and thus, what he decrees is also absolute. For instance, the commandments given by God are absolutely true – no exceptions. All the denial on our part cannot take away their ‘truth factor’ even if we do not wish them to be true.
Our society declares that it doesn’t matter what ‘god’ you believe in as long as you are sincere. However, that is not what God of truth declares. He declares he is the only God there is. “Is there a God apart from me? he asks. “I know not any.” He declares this to be absolute. “Gods” other than him are really ‘no gods’ at all. He is absolutely true, while all other ‘gods’ are absolutely false.
This has an important implication for everyone. It means we cannot determine the place of truth in our lives. Rather, it is the God who created the universe and us, who determines what is true. It is this God who has come among us in the person of Jesus. The Apostle John tells us that Jesus is “the true God and eternal life.” The Apostle Paul tells us that “truth is in Jesus.” Jesus himself declares, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” No amount of denial or reasoning away will change the truth that God has come among us in the person of Jesus. No amount of reasoning can take away the truth that in Jesus God has taken the world’s sins upon himself at the cross and suffered the judgment against those sins that all people deserved. No amount of reasoning will undo the truth that Jesus has risen from the dead and gives forgiveness and life to all who put their trust in him. These truths are absolutely true for all.
Absolute Truth is unpopular in our day and age. Yet, it is the very truth of God coming to us in Jesus Christ that gives us any hope of anchoring our lives to something solid in a world that seems to defy any truth whatsoever. The truth that is found in Jesus will not always be popular with people. Many will deny it. Others will scoff at it. However, those who accept it will be anchored to something solid in the shifting sands of this life and they will have something to look forward to in the eternal future that is found only in the God of truth who has truly come in Jesus. This is absolutely true.
Pastor Douglas Morton is pastor of St. John’s Lutheran Church, Marengo. His email is pastor@forgiveninchrist.com. Bible verses for the above article are from Isaiah 44:8; Jeremiah 5:7; 1 John 5:20; Ephesians 4:21; John 14:21.
© Copyright 2008 by The East Iowa Herald
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