“Listen to your father who begot you, and do not despise your mother when she is old. Buy the truth, and do not sell it, also wisdom and instruction and understanding” (Proverbs 23:22-23)
When it comes to truth, we must always be buyers and never sellers!Unfortunately, many in our world today are guilty of “selling out” the Word of Truth.Isaiah 59:14 reads, “Justice is turned back, and righteousness stands far away; for truth has stumbled in the street, and uprightness cannot enter” (NASB). Isaiah spelled out the people’s sin problem and their only hope for deliverance. The prophet emphasized that their sin had separated them from God. He confessed that their unrighteousness had caused a profound sense of loss and confusion, and one of the major effects of their sin was that the truth had been compromised. It was no longer embraced by the people. It had been sold or, as Isaiah stated, it had “stumbled in the street.”“Yes, truth is lacking,” Isaiah went on to write, “And he who turns aside from evil makes himself a prey” (Isaiah 59:15).When truth is lacking, when it is no longer embraced, when it is sold, it makes one a victim to evil passions and desires. It allows the entrance of falsehood and godlessness. It spits in the face of Biblical authority in favor of manmade doctrine.Where there is a lack of truth, there is an absence of godliness.
Unfortunately, truth is so little valued in this day and age.People hold opinions rather than convictions.People follow their feelings rather than Biblical precedence.People exalt cultural standards over what God has authorized.We live in a day and age where truth is being sold as if it were nothing more than a cheap trinket at a weekend garage sale.We live in a day and age where moral relativism seems to define our societal views. We have become our own tailor of truth. Truth has become whatever one believes it to be.No longer is it, “God said it and that settles it.” No longer do we hear, “What would Jesus do?” Now it’s, “I said it and that settles it,” or “What would I do?” I am my own guide when it comes to deciding what is ultimately right and wrong. Truth depends on my point of view.Truth is subjective and open to interpretation. What might be true for you may not be true for me and vice versa. Everyone’s measuring stick is different based on his set of circumstances.
As if moral relativism were not enough of a threat to truth, we have seen an even more aggressive effort to vandalize and dismantle truth in favor of personal tastes. Beyond the notion that truth is relative is the postmodern mindset that there is no such thing as absolute truth. This mindset has made a considerable impact on our modern world and spills over into virtually every aspect of our society, including theology. The Lord’s church has certainly been a victim of the postmodern ideology. Since a basic tenet of postmodernism is the denial of absolute truth, the Lord’s church and the Holy Bible become primary targets. Postmodernist thinking scoffs at the idea that there is an objective body of spiritual truth contained within the pages of holy writ, and that this truth must be learned, believed, and lived in order to be pleasing to God. Those adhering to a postmodern way of thinking choose to maintain that no one can really know anything for sure. Nothing is hard and fast. There are no concrete truths. Everything is relative and subjective. As a result, God’s inspired Word is reduced from a divine instruction manual on how we are to live to nothing more than a collection of stories and letters that were written with a cultural bias. In other words, Biblical writers only addressed issues of their time. Because our world is so much different today, these writings are no longer applicable. What may have been true for the first-century culture has no bearing on a pluralistic, postmodern society.
When inspiration and authority are ignored, one is left with a custom-made religion tailored to fit precisely what man desires. If absolutes do not exist and morality is relative, then people are free to live and worship in virtually any manner they choose. It should be noted, however, that the postmodern view as it relates to religion and theology does not intend to destroy God. Religious postmodernists still acknowledge God and maintain a belief in the heavenly Father. They still worship Him as Lord of their lives and give credence to the Bible. But if God’s Word is not inerrant and its truth is not universally objective, then what type of God are we left with? We cannot have it both ways. We are left with an either/or scenario. Either we accept God as the supreme ruler of the universe and His Word as absolute, perfect truth or we don’t. We cannot take some hybrid approach that allows one to believe in a Holy God but at the same time diminishes His influence. Either “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. ” (2 Timothy 3:16-17), or it is not. If inspiration does not result in inerrancy then it has no purpose. If the Scriptures are “God-breathed,” then they are without error. It is true that man penned the words and although man is fallible, his words were infallible because God intended them to be. Man did not originate prophecy (2 Peter 1:21). A prophet was a spokesman for God; he did not speak for himself nor did he add any comment. The Holy Spirit guided man so that he spoke and wrote exactly what the Spirit wanted him to write. Man was the instrument; God was the author. He was inspired of God and divine inspiration must be inerrant and infallible or else God is imperfect and so is His Word. What would be the purpose of serving an imperfect God?
Logic does not seem to be a factor when it comes to propagating this “no absolutes” theory. Think about the statement, “There is no such thing as absolute truth.” Is this not an absolute truth statement? This statement is logically contradictory, is it not? If this statement is true, then it means that absolutes do exist. In other words, if it’s true, then that makes it false. Think about the statement, “Truth is relative.” Here again we have an absolute. But, if a statement is relative, it is not always true. This means there are absolutes, which means the above statement is false. It is an undeniable fact that two plus two equals four. There is no refuting that water freezes at thirty-two degrees Fahrenheit. These are absolute truths. There is no denying that they exist.
What cannot be argued logically is that truth is absolute by nature. It is restrictive by nature. It is exclusive by nature. If it were not, then it would not be truth. If something is true, then everything that stands in opposition to it must be false. Truth is not subjective. It is not open to interpretation. Truth is not affected by feelings or emotions, questions or doubts, approval or disapproval. Truth will always be truth no matter what trials or scrutiny it is subjected to because truth stands independently of man. It is what it is regardless of what one feels about it. And absolute truth is just as much a reality in the metaphysical realm as it is in the physical realm. Jesus stated, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6). This is a truth statement. Is it narrow? Yes. Is it restrictive and exclusive? Yes, but that is the nature of truth. It is what it is, and no illogical, circular reasoning can change its nature. Jesus said that we can know the Truth (John 8:32). What truth was He referring to? The perfect, authoritative, and absolute truth of God’s Word.
When all the layers are peeled back, when the dust settles, and when the muddy waters become translucent, postmodernism becomes exposed for what it truly is—an illogical, nonsensical ideology that attacks truth in an effort to customize religion and spirituality into something that better suits the times (a.k.a. cultural tastes). In the midst of such customization, may we remember the words of Paul to Timothy in 2 Timothy 1:13-14, words that clearly were not written with a first-century bias but were meant to be passed on to future Christians. “Retain the standard of sound words which you have heard from me, in the faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. Guard, through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, the treasure which has been entrusted to you.”
