"Sanctify them through thy truth:
thy word is truth." -Jesus-
In our modern age, it has become quite vogue to accept the philosophy of relativism. Relativism is a belief system that pervades much of our culture, government, and schools. It¡¯s premise is based on the fallacy that all ideas, philosophies, and religions are of equal value. According to relativism, there is nothing that is superior in knowledge, wisdom, and understanding and nothing inferior. All ideas are equal and all cultures have merit. So, if some cultures teach "love thy neighbor as thyself" and some cultures practice eating their neighbors who are we to judge the values and practices of others? After all, all roads (no matter how perverse, deceptive, and false) lead to God and heaven, right? WRONG! Dead wrong!
My friend, in this life, it is self-evident that not all belief systems are of equal value. Obviously, people who love their neighbors and people who eat their neighbors should never be considered equal. One is superior and one is most definitely inferior. In fact, if all belief systems were equal then nothing would be of any value to man. To help clarify this point, the example of precious metals may help. The concept is "rarity determines value." In other words, if gold, silver, and precious jewels were accessible and available as rocks, they would lose their worth. It is the scarceness of these precious metals that adds to their luster. This proposition is also true when it comes to the Bible, the Word of God.
Many religions and so-called enlightened philosophies either claim divine inspiration or conventional wisdom in an attempt to answer man¡¯s eternal questions; questions, such as, "Why am I here?" "Where did I come from?" "What am I to do with my life?" and the most plaguing of all "What happens to me when I die?" Most religions and philosophies of men were established to try an answer these daunting questions that torment men¡¯s minds. Each believes its writings to be sacred, true, or one that provides reliable answers to solve man¡¯s quest for meaning in this vain, fleeting life. But are their claims true? The answer is a resounding NO!
It is self-evident that there are concepts in the human experience, such as, truth and lies, honesty and deception, time honored principles and falsehoods. The burning issue is where in this crazy, mixed up world can we find a reliable guide to distinguish between these conflicting traits that run rampant in the human condition?
TRUTH IS PARAMOUNT
The world considers Christianity a faith or just one of the world¡¯s major religions. Biblical Christianity, however, claims to be the truth with a capital T. Not just a truth out of the many truths that run to and fro throughout the earth; no, it claims to be the only truth. Thus, any idea, philosophy, or teaching that does not originate and proceed from the Bible, it condemns as lies, idolatry, and deceptions that will surely destroy the souls of men.
Jesus declared, "He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad (Matthew 12:30)." With that statement and many others besides, Jesus smashes all neutrality, relativism, and the idol of tolerance which America worships today. Is it any wonder why we crucified Him (Isaiah 53)? Is it any wonder why our nation increasingly seeks to censor the Gospel of the Kingdom and remove the knowledge of God from the public life of our nation? Is it any wonder why our Supreme Court banished prayer, Bible reading, and the Ten Commandments from our schools? Is it any wonder why everything, no matter how perverse is tolerated, except One, who is Jesus, the the Christ of God and His Holy Word?
A good friend of mine, Flip Benham, national director of Operation Save America, penned these words, "The truth of what one believes is far more important than how much he believes it." This is an important statement. Our beliefs, no matter how sincere, does not determine truth. The Truth must determine man¡¯s belief. Those who boarded the Titanic sincerely believed it wouldn¡¯t sink. History records they were sincerely wrong.
The nineteen Muslims who crashed airplanes into our buildings and brought America to its knees, sincerely believed they were serving their god, Allah. Their belief brought many innocent people to an untimely death. If these murderers could come back from the dead, they would reveal a horror much worse than the Twin Towers collapsing. Rather than joining 72 virgins as promised by the religion of Islam, they would scream of the torments of hell. Instead of entering a paradise, they find themselves in a place of eternal damnation that they cannot escape. They can¡¯t even commit suicide again to be released and no belief in the Koran will deliver them from the severe consequence of the lies they believed.
In John 14:6, the Word of God states, "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." Jesus declared that He as a Person was the truth. He declared that God¡¯s Word was the truth (John 17:17) and that the Holy Spirit was the Spirit of truth (John 16:13). Truth is paramount, because truth liberates (John 8:32). It breaks the chains of sin and bondage within man that are reinforced by the lies, vain philosophies, and false religions that enslave man from without.
The Bible teaches that all Scripture is inspired or God-breathed. In other words, when God exhaled, His word went forth and it is alive and full of power to transform the souls of men. God¡¯s wisdom and the time-honored truths contained in the 66 books of the Bible are more valuable than silver, gold, and treasures of every sort. The God who created you and the Savior who died for you chose to record His Word, Will, and Way in one book. Out of all the books in the world, there is only one where truth, God¡¯s revelation can safely be discovered. Rarity does indeed determine its value.
The Bible is a self-authenticating book as well. It declares that God¡¯s Word came by holy men of old as they were moved by the Holy Ghost (2 Peter 1:20,21). God, therefore, does not need man¡¯s opinions or approval to validate His Word. The creature can never stand as judge over the Creator or His holy, inspired Word.
Unfortunately, today, we believe we can. We are taught that what we think, our opinions, cultural trends, our many experiences, science, and reason trumps the authority of God¡¯s Word. Man is thus left to construct his own brand of truth apart from the revelation of God¡¯s objective truth contained in the Bible. As a result, God¡¯s word must be bent, denied, or changed if it doesn¡¯t conform to our modern day culture and practice.
As a result of this folly of becoming a law and god unto ourselves, we are hurling ourselves against the unchanging, immutable, and innerant Word of God. The hard lesson, however, is we can¡¯t break God¡¯s Word and His moral law, it eventually breaks us. This accounts for much of America¡¯s woes, such as, divorce, unruly children, abortion, homosexuality, and false religions that are flourishing and defiling our beloved but broken nation.
A Roman political leader, Pontius Pilate, once asked the question of the ages, "What is truth (John 18:38)?" He asked it of a Man who claimed to be truth incarnate, our Lord Jesus Christ. He asked it of the very One whom the Bible describes as the Word of God become flesh (John 1:1-14). He asked it of Immanuel, which is interpreted God with us (Matthew 1:23)!
The truth is, apart from Jesus and His Word, sin, Satan, and this illegitimate world system that is in rebellion to God¡¯s loving rule will offer you many answers and choices to determine truth for yourself. Every single one of them, if embraced and believed, will rob your God-ordained destiny here on earth and damn your eternal soul.
Jesus declared, "Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me ." Jesus describes two kinds of men, one wise and the other foolish. How can we distinguish the one from the other. The wise hears and applies the Word of God to his life, the foolish hear, but refuses to apply the truth to his life (Matthew 7:24-27). The wise will stand and the foolish will fall. I encourage you to read, study, believe, and apply the word of God to your life. It is alive and full of power to transform you from the inside out. It will save your soul!
Rev. Rusty Lee Thomas
