Could I Get a Side of Truth with That?

GOD’S TRUTH IS LIKE FIRE SHUT UP IN MY BONES!

Galatians 4:16 (NKJV)
Have I therefore become your enemy because I tell you the TRUTH?

I LOVE YOU

I hope that I have not or will not become your enemy. Thanks to the Love of God poured out in me, I am able to truly love and I love you…

THANK YOU PASTOR MIKE FOR SPEAKING TRUTH

Our pastor at New Beginnings is doing a short series on truth. Today’s message spoke on relativism and how it has permeated the emergent church. I appreciate that he is addressing TRUTH. Only truth (Jesus) can set people free. There is only one truth and that truth is absolute with no wiggle room (i.e., “tolerance” or “compromise”).

A LITTLE LEAVEN SPREADS

I would like to humbly add that this relativism is not limited to the emergent church, but even so-called conservative “Bible-based” churches.

Of course, relativism makes “truth” become completely based upon your own ideas, biases, culture and experiences. You decide who or what “God” is (or if you even want one or not) and make your own standard for what “good” is and what “sin” is and eventually end up serving (or worshiping) yourself, with “self” as the center whether you admit it or not.

Relativism means that there is no “truth” outside of what you want it to be, or what your neighbor wants it to be – EVEN IF YOUR “TRUTH” IS DIAMETRICALLY OPPOSED TO THEIR “TRUTH”! Does this even make sense? It might feel good, but does living a relativistic existence make sense?

ABSOLUTE TRUTH

Obviously, this is the opposite of God’s truth – that is, ABSOLUTE TRUTH. He has given us His revelation in His Son Jesus, through the Holy Spirit and His Word, the Bible. His truth is unwavering.

I KNOW ME, AND HOW MUCH I NEED GOD

I am well aware of my own limitations and finite abilities. With this knowledge, why would I want to try to create my own ideas and then misuse the Bible to support my OWN “beliefs”? This is where even so-called conservative churches veer off into moral relativism – mixing law with grace, mixing old covenant with new, mixing ritualism with relationship, mixing Moses with Jesus, mixing the preacher’s own ideas with what the Bible actually teaches… etc…

YEP, THE CROSS!

In the Bible, right = right and wrong = wrong – PERIOD. God is love and wants to shower this love on everyone but there is only ONE WAY – Jesus Christ and the Cross. This is for the believer, as well as the lost. CHRIST CRUCIFIED, DAILY. Want the full power of the Holy Spirit working in your life daily? Then place your faith in Paul’s Gospel daily – Christ and Him Crucified… I digress…

BUT, PAUL SAYS I CAN BE ALL THINGS, I LIVE UNDER GRACE

TRUTH. Since I know that God IS God, I want to know what He says and embrace that as TRUTH, choose to believe it and live accordingly AS THE HOLY SPIRIT LEADS AND TRANSFORMS ME INTO THE IMAGE OF CHRIST. I am not trying to find “LOOP HOLES” in the Bible and live somewhere within them – many live this way. I want to know what God says and DO or BELIEVE THAT THING!

KNOWLEDGE IS POWER, THAT IS, GODLY KNOWLEDGE

A great quote from the professor of a class I took in Post Modernism as it regards Christianity:

“Our task as Christians is not only to save souls, but also to save minds.”

Charles Malik, Christian philosopher and statesman, noted: “No individual conversion is complete until a Christian mind has been formed in that person.”

“DOCTRINE DOESN’T MATTER, WE JUST GO WITH THE HOLY GHOST”

As ministers, Biblical truth (ABSOLUTE TRUTH) must be emphatically proclaimed without wavering. Today’s believer is potentially being tossed about by every wind of “doctrine” because so few preachers seem to be preaching ABSOLUTE TRUTH and SOUND DOCTRINE.

Paul says that SOUND DOCTRINE MUST be used to exhort and convict. People’s souls are at stake!!! (Titus 1:9)

2 Timothy 4:3 (NKJV)
For the time will come when they will not endure SOUND DOCTRINE, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers;

TESTAMENTAL RELATIVISM

I say we have preachers (good-intentioned but lacking in a full understanding of Paul’s gospel – CHRIST AND HIM CRUCIFIED) who are heaping up for themselves these very people and will use the Bible to begin a message but without considering the FULL COUNSEL of God, Systematic Theology, and the interpretation of the Apostles; therefore, they are leading their congregations back to the weak and beggarly elements of law, ritualism and “do-ism”. While this may be a variation of the above-mentioned relativism, it is relativism, nonetheless. I’ll call it “Testamental Relativism”.

THE BIG “BUT”

It’s almost embarrassing how often I hear this from the pulpits: “Doctrine is important BUT…”, “I know the Word of God says such and such BUT…”, “I know we are living according to grace through the Cross BUT…”

BUT!?!? BUT!?! BUT WHAT!?!

This big “BUT” is the source, cause and doorway to RELATIVISM!

Paul says “PREACH THE WORD”, not “start with the Word and then do your own thing”.

GOD IS NOT ASHAMED OF HIS WORD, I WILL NOT BE EITHER

We must not be internally apologizing for God… think of that! God does not apologize for His Word – IT IS WHAT IT IS!!! We MUST NOT apologize for it either. We must know the truth and it will set us free! As well, it will set others free who hear it and believe it. We all need the truth, we all need the freedom Jesus offers, we all need salvation through the mercy, grace and love of God.

EMPHASIS IS ON ETERNITY

Half-truths and tolerances will set NO ONE free and will save NO ONE – in fact, they have the potential of condemning that individual to eternal punishment. VERY SERIOUS! This is why EMPHASIS on material possession, physical healing and temporal prosperity is so contrary to the PRIMARY  EMPHASIS OF THE GOSPEL. Jesus desires us to want to be with Him, to desire His return and to see His enemies finally placed under His feet. The Message of the Cross is an eternal one with promises for our earthly provisions, but the temporal stuff, while important, is SO SECONDARY!

Matthew 6:33 (NKJV)
But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

Seek the truth and support those who endeavor to speak it without compromise!

I love you in Christ. Grace, blessings and peace to you today!

Darren Noble 🙂