Answering Our Culture
#2 – There is No Absolute Truth
John 8:31-21
John 14:6
July 28, 2002
[NOTE: this message is the result of reading a number of different sources, especially True for You, but Not for Me, by Paul Copan (1998, Bethany House Publishers), and Rick Warren’s message, THE FOUNDATION FOR HAPPINESS – Exploding the Myths That Make Us Miserable. I have noted those sections that are borrowed from Rev. Warren. I offer this message not as the creation of mine, but rather as the result of research and compilation of materials from people who helped me say it better than I could have on my own.]
Introduction
I want to start this section by reading two small passages from the Bible:
JN 8:31 To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."
JN 14:6 Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
I will refer to these passages again later, but wanted to introduce them here, and I think that as the message progresses you will get a better understanding for them in the context of our discussion today.
How many of you growing up were taught about the tooth fairy? Can I see your hands. How many of you heard about Santa Claus? How about the Easter Bunny? All right, is there anybody here who was taught about the Great Pumpkin? Okay, a few of you, all right. How many of you were taught that you should always wear clean underwear in case you were in an accident?
Some things we can recognize immediately as myths, but some things aren’t as easy to recognize.
And it makes some people wonder if anything is really true, and has led many people to reject the notion that absolute truth exists, and to embrace the notion that all truth is relative.
In other words, what might be true for you, but not necessarily for me. In the spiritual sense, it would mean that I might believe Christianity is true, but it may not be true for someone else.
Well, why do people reject the notion of absolute truth?
There might be others, but I thought of three reasons:
They feel that absolute truth is too hard, if not impossible to find.
That’s easy to understand, especially when just about everybody and their dog is claiming to have “the truth,” and some people’s truth is different from other people’s truth, and so on.
After all, who do you choose – the Dalai Lama, Buddha, Jesus, or Karl Marx?
Too many charlatans.
Related to the first reason, but while there are many who honestly believe they have the truth, or at least access to it, there are plenty of people who exploit people’s desire for truth, luring them to spend their money for phony cure-alls for their spiritual need.
This is not helped by the Elmer Gantry types who use the Bible to pad their pockets in the name of Jesus.
It’s easier to believe in relativism, because there is no accountability to a standard.
If my lifestyle fits my personal definition of truth, then it’s okay for me, even if you think it’s wrong.
Today, I want to look at the implications of relativism and also explore some of the implications of the possibility of absolute truth.
Before we get started, I want to challenge you to be as open-minded as you wish Christians were to your point of view. After all, it’s hardly fair to expect something from someone that you are not willing to do yourself, is it?
I had to open myself to the possibility that I would find things that contradicted what I saw as the truth. I’m asking you to do the same.
You may very well disagree with me on these issues, and that’s okay. I invite you to contact me and we can talk in a civil manner, and I hope that we can become friends in spite of our difference of opinions.
Let’s start with the implications of relativism.
I. If truth is relative, then…
A. All spiritual truth is valid.
This means that all religions and philosophies carry the same weight. Christianity is no better than Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormonism, or atheism.
This sounds real nice on the surface, because after all, shouldn’t we all just get along? Why can’t we just let everybody have their own faith and philosophy?
Let me answer that with another question: what do you do with spiritual “truths” that are mutually exclusive?
Example: Jesus claimed He is the only truth and only way to God – that no can come to the Father except through Him.
Islam claims that Christianity is false.
How can they both be true? They cannot be true for some, and not for others – they make claims of exclusivity. Jesus did not qualify His remarks by saying, “I am the way, the truth, and the life for Palestinian Jews and Western Europeans.” He claimed to be the only way for everybody.
Islam declares that Israel should be destroyed. Pacifism would reject that. Which is right? Why? Why should I listen to your religious philosophy if mine is just as valid, even if it means I have moral freedom, and maybe even a moral obligation to kill others in the name of my religion or philosophy?
You cannot have mutually exclusive viewpoints be true. One must be right and another wrong.
The next implication of relativism is that…
B. Persuasion is not allowed – tolerance is king.
I have found that people are proud of their tolerance, and angry when they perceive attitudes of judgmentalism in others.
Here’s the problem: if you are as tolerant as you claim, you have no right to judge my position as being invalid, even if you disagree.
My exclusivistic Christianity must be accepted by you as being a valid viewpoint if you are going to be consistent in your observance of tolerance.
It has been my personal observation that tolerance with most people is a one-way street. They want me to be tolerant, but refuse to be tolerant of my views in return. That’s hypocrisy, and that is exactly what many people accuse Christians of being!
I have a personal friend who entered the homosexual lifestyle, rejecting what she had been told from the Bible about it.
She went on to become the president of the campus homosexual student organization, and was very vocal about her involvement and belief in that lifestyle.
All the while, she would sporadically attend church, and when she did, the pastor and others would put their arms around her and tell her they were praying for her, asking if there was anything she needed.
They were not harsh, but also did not condone her lifestyle. They showed her love, in spite of her actions.
After awhile, however, she decided to leave that lifestyle. And guess what the reaction of the homosexual community was? Sadness at her leaving?
No. Anger and hostility. She began receiving threats of physical violence from people who were advocating “acceptance.”
She found out that the people who were most accepting to her were the ones who loved her enough to tell her we disagreed, yet loved her anyway.
If you claim to be tolerant, examine yourself to see if you are tolerant to all views, even if they don’t agree with your own.
The last implication we will look at here is related to the last two, because it flows logically from them:
C. No moral absolutes.
The usual context of this is that no one can make moral judgments on someone’s lifestyle choices.
First of all, let me tell you that I have found absolutely no one who doesn’t make moral judgments all the time.
I might judge it to be wrong, you might judge it to be okay. Those are both moral judgments based on a perceived moral absolute, yours being that it is morally wrong to condemn someone’s moral choices.
But let’s take this to the next step, because you need to take things to the next level to test how feasible your logic is, okay?
If there are no moral absolutes, then Hitler, Manson, racism, rape, etc. are okay, because without absolutes, you cannot condemn anyone’s actions as being wrong.
Yet I have found no relativist who claims that racism is right, that rape is allowable if it meets someone’s moral code.
Let me ask you something: what was your gut reaction to hearing of the kidnapping and murders of those little girls lately?
My guess is that you were shocked and horrified, and I’m willing to bet that a part of you wanted to see the murderers brought to justice.
Why? Because fundamentally within us we know that murder, especially of innocent little children is wrong. Absolutely wrong.
Let’s review:
If truth is relative, then there are no spiritual absolutes, no persuasion is allowed, and there are no moral absolutes.
And we looked at a few of the problems these views present.
So let’s move on the implications of absolute truth.
II. If truth is absolute, then…
A. It can be found.
Truth may be difficult to find, but that does not mean it is impossible.
Definition: truth must be objective (true for all people), universal (true in all places), and constant (true for all times).
I came across a story about Abraham Lincoln, in which he was having a disagreement with another man.
Lincoln asked the man, “how many legs does a cow have?” The man answered, “Four.” Then Lincoln said, “What if we called the tail a leg, then how many legs would the cow have?” The man answered, “Well, he’d have 5 legs.” To which Lincoln replied, “Now that’s where you’re wrong. Calling a tail a leg doesn’t make it a leg.”
If you are not willing to come to standards like these, then I would have to say that you do not seek truth, but rather justification for your rejection of truth.
That’s not exactly being intellectually honest, is it? At least have the guts to admit you don’t care about truth, if you are not willing to submit to an objective, universal, and constant standard.
Seeking truth, and hoping to possess it someday is not arrogant, but rather an admission that you don’t know everything, and that you would like to know the absolute truth about something.
That’s not arrogance, it’s honesty, and if this is your attitude, I commend you for it.
Where can absolute truth be found? My obvious answer is the pages of Scripture. I can tell you with confidence that the Bible is full of truths that will change your life for the better.
It is totally relevant for your life here in the 21st century, just as it has been for the last 20, and the 15 before it.
In a later message, I will be giving you reasons for trusting in the reliability of the Bible, including the historical evidence for accurate preservation and translation of it.
Ask God to reveal the truth to you. The words “truth,” “true,” and “truly” appear in the Bible 338 times. Jesus says, “I tell you the truth,” 80 times in the Bible, and another 20 times Jesus says, “You have heard it said, but I say to you.”
God believes in truth. All truth is God’s truth. So if you find something that claims to be truth but contradicts the God of the Bible, it is not truth at all, but error.
This section (to letter B) is paraphrased from Rick Warren’s message)
In the search for truth, you need to ask yourself a fundamental question. I don’t care if you’re a Christian, a non-Christian, whether you’re a Baptist, a Buddhist, Jewish, or whatever; every person eventually has to ask this question in life, either consciously or unconsciously: What is going to be the authority for my life?
What’s going to be the basis for my beliefs and my behavior? What’s going to be the guidebook I rely on?
What’s going to be the standard by which I evaluate my life? What am I going to base my life on?
What is my authority; the final authority in my life?
When it comes down to it, you only have two options: you either have the world or the Word, the Word of God.
It’s important that you start with the Scriptures rather than man’s opinion, including my own.
Man’s opinion changes all the time. Let me give you an example:
I was born in the last year of what was called the “Baby Boom.” During the years from 1948 to 1964, 73 million children were born. That’s about 1/3 of all Americans.
While my generation was being raised, everyone looked to Dr. Benjamin Spock for advice on raising kids.
The only problem is that in his 70’s, he held a press conference to say, “Oops, I was wrong. That’s not the way to do it. Never mind.”
The point is that an entire generation was raised on one way of parenting that studies later confirmed didn’t work.
The average lifespan of a science textbook is - get this – 18 months, because knowledge is increasing so rapidly.
You don’t want to put your faith in something that might eventually get you to the top of the ladder only to find that the ladder is leaning on the wrong wall!
God’s Word has stood the test of time, and withstood all attempts to destroy it.
The Bible says the Word of the Lord will stand forever, and it has.
But listen to this: The Bible says that it is impossible for God to lie. If you are serious about finding the truth, go the source that never changes and will never go away.
Absolute truth can be found if you’re truly serious about finding it.
Next, if absolute truth exists,…
B. It must be acted upon.
It’s one thing to know truth – it’s another to own it as your own, and to do that you must act on it.
Let me read again the words of Jesus:
JN 8:31 To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."
I want to point out something very quickly:
Notice that Jesus didn’t say, “You will know the truth so you can hold to my teachings and obey them.”
He said, “Hold to My teachings, then you will know the truth.”
This is where the rubber meets the road, because I have found that the main reason people prefer to be relativistic is to justify not following the known commands of God.
In one of the future messages, we will look at this very relevant topic – that I don’t want to change my lifestyle.
By the way, I understand how you feel. There are lots of things that Christ asks of me that I don’t like. But Jesus didn’t say it would be easy. He said it was true and right.
And one last thing before we move on here: you need to understand that you are accountable for the truth that you know or had access to.
I am telling you truth today, and if what I am saying is true, then you will be held accountable by God for it.
With truth comes responsibility to act on it, and accountability for that action.
You need to act on the truth you know, which leads to the last implication of absolute truth,…
C. Anything untrue must be rejected.
If you know the truth, than falsehood must be rejected.
Here is where a person has to recognize that some things are true and others are not.
In this case, you need to make a judgment regarding truth and error, keeping the truth and rejecting the error.
Let me remind you of the other verse of Scripture I read at the beginning of the message:
JN 14:6 Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
You need to decide if Jesus was telling the truth here, or if He was lying, or if He was insane.
If He is lying, or in error (in which case He would be insane for claiming to be the only way to God), you must reject it.
If He is telling the truth, then you must act on it, coming to Christ to open the door of heaven for you.
And you must reject other teachings that say all paths lead to God, since Jesus claims to the exclusive path to God.
You cannot believe that Jesus is the only way, and still believe that a Buddhist or Muslim will go to heaven.
You must reject those things that contradict the truth.
Let’s review this section briefly: if absolute truth exists, it can be found, it must be acted on, and you must reject whatever is not the truth.
III. Commitments (borrowed and paraphrased from Rick Warren message)
I want to give you the opportunity to act on the truth you’ve heard today. I want to challenge you to make three commitments regarding absolute truth.
And I want to again remind you that open-mindedness is essential.
The first commitment is this:
1. I commit myself to seeking the truth.
Listen to this verse:
“There is going to come a time when people won’t listen to the truth but will go around looking for teachers who tell them just what they want to hear.
They won’t listen to what the Bible says but will blithely follow their own misguided ideas. (2 Timothy 4:3-4)
Can you say, “Psychic Hot-lines?”
This commitment is tough – I need to be honest, because if you make a commitment to seek the truth the rest of your life, it’s not always easy to seek the truth. It’s not always popular to seek the truth because often the truth contradicts popular opinion, it contradicts conventional wisdom that says, “its okay because everyone’s doing it.”
And I need to warn you that sometimes the truth is painful. Sometimes the truth is scary. It can be unpleasant because we don’t want to face the truth about our past, or we don’t want to face the truth about ourselves, or our failures.
But I also need to tell you that the only way to emotional health and stability is to face the truth, to seek it and to know the truth and admit it.
The first commitment is to commit yourself to seeking the truth.
The second commitment is that…
2. I commit myself to living the truth.
This is harder to do. Truth is not something you know, it’s what you do, something you practice and apply.
In the book of Ephesians in the New Testament we find these words:
We will no longer be like children, forever changing our minds about what we believe because somebody has told us something different or cleverly lied to us and made the lie sound like the truth. Instead, we will lovingly follow the truth at all times – speaking truly, living truly – and so become more and more in every way like Christ.
The third commitment is this:
3. I commit myself to believing the truth.
This isn’t as easy as it seems on the surface. Remember, I said earlier that to accept truth you must reject error.
But what I need to emphasize here is that you must choose to believe.
And Jesus is calling you to choose to believe Him at the expense of everything else.
Jesus said, I am THE TRUTH.
That’s pretty exclusive, wouldn’t you say?
You need to decide that Jesus is telling the truth, that He is the truth. And you need to put your faith in it.
And He promised that obeying His truth will lead to spiritual freedom, allowing you to enjoy all the benefits God has for you.
He promised that He would give you a full life in Him. It won’t always be easy, but it will be full and abundant.
But not only that, He promises you a home in heaven.
You can go to bed tonight knowing that you will spend eternity in heaven when you die.
How can you know? Because He promises it, and as I said before, God cannot lie.
Would you like to get that taken care of right now? Would you like to know right now that you are going to heaven?
Then pray this prayer along with me in your heart:
(Prayer).
If you prayed that prayer with me, do me a favor and contact me. I would love to pray with you, and get you some information about how to live a Christian life, experiencing the abundant life Christ wants for you.
Also, I can give you information about finding a good church. There are many in this area, and I would love the opportunity to invite you to Aberdeen Wesleyan Church or to suggest one these other fine churches.
If you did not pray that prayer, or if you have questions about what I talked about, contact me through the information on the label on the CD. I would love to talk with you personally and try to answer your questions.
Thanks for listening. God bless you!
