DRAWING NEAR – PART 12

FOUNDATIONS THAT MATTER

 

We spoke in last week about being dogmatic with certain spiritual beliefs and I firmly agree with this position. When we compare Christian absolutism with moral relativism we see a major contrast of view. Christian absolutism believes that morality relies completely upon God’s universal principals and that He is the perfect, ultimate and never changing source of absolute truth. On the other hand I want us to see the other side of the argument how moral relativism claims that any type of ethical “truth” including morality is NOT based on any standard whatsoever whether divine or manmade but rather is based on constantly changing variables like culture, emotions and unique situations. As we said earlier, the world is a fallen environment that began as a Monarchy (where supreme authority and sovereignty is held by a single ruler) and then began to change into a democracy where everyone believes whatever they choose. The word for democracy comes from the Greek word, “demos” which means “the people” and “kratia” which is defined as (power and authority). So, we understand that when God gave mankind the free-will to think and believe however he wanted, He knew it was only a matter of time (especially with Satan working overtime to persuade the blind) when the revolt against absolute truth would become accepted by the majority and considered politically correct.

It is ridiculous to imagine that weak-minded humans could rule themselves and come up with their own creeds and doctrines. Blueprints and compass have been provided for our destiny – God never intended for man to make his own. We are weak, helpless and vulnerable little creatures that are filled with such arrogance. We stump our toe and cry for days yet we are convinced we are so independent, intelligent and capable of ruling the universe. The deception has always been about doing whatever we want as can be traced all the way back to the serpent in the garden. Remember, when the woman said; “if we eat of this tree, we will surely die” and the serpent said “YOU SHALL NOT SURELY DIE.” Satan was launching his propaganda that God is a liar and that He is only trying to trick humans into believing that HE is absolute truth. The devil was revealing his campaign agenda to denounce trusting in God’s Word while promoting the evil doctrine of relativism. Actually this has worked very well and is successfully leading the world today straight into the bottomless pit of eternal darkness and death. Humans are hard-headed and are convinced they all have the “correct” view and that everyone else is wrong. The “relativism camp” is pushing this view very strongly and is aggressive about forcing everyone to accept and respect this correct way of thinking. However, this chaos does not prove that there is no such thing as “true truth.” Christians believe they have this absolute truth with the Lord and that whoever chooses God’s truth are rewarded because of their obedience and faithfulness. So, what we end up with is that both sides of the spectrum are dogmatic according to their convictions leaving not just one but both camps guilty of absolutism.

This brings us to an interesting discussion concerning the idea of “universal morality.” So-called relativists actually reject relativism in most cases because they would not say that a murderer, rapist or child molester is free from guilt because the perpetrator considered this acceptable in their own belief system. To argue that everyone should be able to do whatever seems right in their own eyes would be to cast the world in complete barbaric chaos which goes back to the beginning of how we need to accept divine universal absolutes.  If culture determines right and wrong, how could we have judged the Nazis? After all, they were only following their culture’s morality. Only if murder is wrong according to God – were the Nazis wrong. The fact that they had their own ideas of morality does not change that. Further, although many people have many different practices of moral consciousness, they still share a common “absolute” morality. For instance, abortionists and anti-abortionists agree that murder is wrong, but they disagree on whether abortion is murder. So, even here, absolute universal morality is shown to be true.

It is a fact that all people are born with a conscience, and we all instinctively know when we have been wronged or when we have wronged others and we expect others to recognize this as well. Even as children we knew the difference between “fair” and “unfair.” It is empty philosophy attempts to convince the world us that absolute truth is a myth and that moral relativism is correct. We have compassion on those that are not saved because we realize they are blind to spiritual truth and cannot see deception. However, when a person becomes born-again in Christ Jesus, they now have the Holy Spirit guiding them beyond their natural conscience as the Lord is bringing them into the highest level of revelation, wisdom and understanding. I pray this short explanation of the differences in these two camps of thought has provided want us with a greater comprehension of the driving forces behind the global struggle of good and evil and is at the center of our spiritual warfare every day. In the last article, we started with “JESUS IS GOD” and now I want us to simply make a list of some other crucial foundations of divine truth that are absolute and cannot be altered, compromised or modified.

THERE IS ONLY ONE GOD – AND NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE WITH HIM

GOD IS PERFECT – SINLESS – KNOWS ALL THINGS (OMNISCIENT) – TOTAL AUTHORITY OVER ALL THINGS (OMNIPOTENT) – PRESENT EVERYWHERE AT ONCE (OMNI-PRESENT)

GOD IS SPIRIT – HE IS INFINITE AND ETERNAL – ALPHA AND OMEGA (HE HAS ALWAYS BEEN AND DOES NOT HAVE AN END)

GOD IS THE CREATOR OF ALL THINGS – AND HE IS SOVERIEGN

GOD IS LOVE – HE IS JUST – HE NEVER FAILS – HE IS THE ONLY HOLY RIGHTEOUS JUDGE – HIS PEOPLE ARE THE UNIVERSAL CHURCH, THE HOLY BRIDE OF CHRIST

THE TRINITY IS ONE GOD IN THREE – FATHER, SON AND HOLY SPIRIT

THE HOLY SPIRIT HAS BEEN SENT TO HELP, GUIDE AND COMFORT US

ANGELS, HEAVEN, DEMONS, HELL, SATAN AND SPIRITUAL WARFARE ARE REAL

JESUS IS THE ONLY WAY TO GOD THE FATHER AND THE ONLY WAY TO HEAVEN

ALL PEOPLE HAVE SINNED AND SIN SEPERATES MAN FROM GOD

JESUS DIED ON THE CROSS TO PAY FOR SIN AND REDEEM THE LOST – SALVATION IS BASED ON THE POWER AND AUTHORITY OF THE BLOOD OF JESUS ONLY

JESUS RESURECTED FROM THE DEAD AND ASENDED TO HEAVEN

THE BIBLE IS ALIVE AND IS GOD BREATHED “INSPIRED” ABSOLUTE TRUTH – HIS WORD IS HIS WILL AND SHALL ENDURE FOREVER

THOSE WHO TRUST JESUS AS THEIR LORD WILL LIVE FOREVER IN HEAVEN AND THOSE WHO REFUSE HIM WILL EXIST FOREVER IN THE TORMENT OF HELL

GOD HATES SIN – AND IS THE ONLY ONE THAT CAN FORGIVE SIN

JESUS IS COMING AGAIN – THERE WILL BE A FINAL JUDGMENT

Are there more subjects connected with the Christian faith? Yes. But as I said earlier, the doctrines that so sharply divide us are usually the smaller details of practices and theological persuasions that are important but not critical to our salvation. We have more to be united with than to be arguing about but pride-filled human nature cannot resist trying to prove who is right and wrong. The conflicts among brethren have been going on since time began and it is very difficult to see the unity of the faith being demonstrated. If we throw these foundational truths out the window and consider them archaic stories and fables, then we are left without hope. The traditional generation is an extension of the past that studied God’s Word and experienced His presence. But, as these saints fall and fade away, we must pray that their children will consider absolute truth to be WORTH standing for. All it takes for truth to be lost is for a generation to neglect teaching its children. Think about it! The chain is only as strong as its weakest link and if there is a generation that would rather watch TV at night than train their children and depend on the public education system to form and shape the worldviews of their little ones then we will reap what we have allowed to be sown. When lies are sown into the heart of a child it is very difficult to change them and it is deceptive to claim that we are too busy to teach the children because our spiritual responsibility should be our highest priority. Many today are only worried about material security and do not really care about the future of the world. It does not matter what the government says or what the media declares is politically correct, it is all about how we respond to what THE GREAT I AM – IS! How many will compromise? Who will boldly stand for truth? Are we as God’s light holders going to be dictated by a blind and deceived society?