Absolute Truth and Modern Thinking
Can the majority be trusted? Sometimes they get it right, but the vast majority will follow the broad way to destruction (Matt. 7:13-14). Unconvinced? The reason for that may be because you do not believe in absolute truth, which the Scriptures reveal. According to the Barna Research Group, most Americans don’t—or at least 2/3 of them do not (on average). By age, it breaks down like this:
Seniors – 56% Boomers – 68% Busters – 72%
Remember, the statistics above are the percentage of people who do not believe in absolute truth. The pattern would seem to be that the older the generation, the more likely to believe in absolute truth, while the younger are less likely. This trend needs to be reversed. It may relate to the fact that fewer young people are learning the Bible while, at the same time, being taught in school, “Everything is relative.” Furthermore, chaos frequently reigns when some utter lies that sound nearly as valid as the truth. Many conclude that it really doesn’t matter what people believe.
In fact, this is the upshot of what is called postmodernism—that all views are equally valid and contradiction is all right. So, I may not agree that couples living in fornication is moral. But who am I to say that my view is right and theirs is wrong? We need to allow all views to exist—without any antagonism on either side toward the other. This is the way we all get along in the modern world. It is also the means by which society continues to degenerate. Cities do not become like Sodom overnight; the world did not wake up one day to notice it was filled with violence and evil thoughts. These conditions are the result of a continual slide; destruction awaits at the bottom.
But now let’s consider the percentages of those affiliated religious groups. Be forewarned that the majority of these also do not believe in absolute truth. Below, the groups are arranged from the greatest numbers of disbelievers to the least.
Mainline Protestants 73%
Catholics 68%
Evangelicals 53%
Born again Christians 53%
The first statistic is not a surprise. Protestantism has grown more and more liberal in the last 100 years. The founders of these groups would be appalled today to see modern members championing such things as abortion, homosexuality, fornication, and adultery. That is not to say that all denominations do so or that some within each group do not protest such actions, but the majority seem to. We could wish that these were broken down by each religious group, but they were not. Some of the above groups overlap, also, but the poll remains instructive.
That so many Catholics do not believe in absolute truth is somewhat surprising, but there could be three contributing factors. One is that different popes have emphasized different views, and they are not sure where they should stand on certain issues. Also, there may be more disagreement with the church’s moral positions than in the past.
A second factor might be the recent scandals that the church has experienced and the unwillingness to take prompt and decisive action against prominent leaders who were guilty. A third reason is that various popes have endorsed evolution, which leads to a rejection of absolute truth. Were Adam and Eve the first couple, or did man evolve? Both ideas cannot be true. So, what is a Catholic supposed to believe—Creation or evolution? Or does it matter? Can they believe both even though they contradict each other?
Evangelicals continue to emphasize grace far more than obedience; most have turned their backs on 1 Timothy 2:9-14, also. “Faith only” seems to be the order of the day despite what the Scriptures teach, along with its twin error, “once saved, always saved.” As long as these two tenets are agreed to, they often feel free to overlook other disagreements. Many no longer oppose “Pentecostalism” in their midst, either.
And that brings us to the fourth category which heavily emphasizes the Holy Spirit. Since their beliefs are so subjective, it is ironic that they have the highest ranking in believing in absolute truth. The Bible, however, never refers to a “born again” Christian. One who has obeyed the gospel has been born again. No one can become a Christian apart from the new birth. In baptism, a person is buried with Christ and raised up to walk in newness of life. This is the new birth.
Our Statistics?
No one has compiled statistics on the members of the churches of Christ (to our knowledge). If Barna or some other polling group did so, however, they ought to discover that 0% challenge the concept of absolute truth. That is to say, 100% of the members of the body of Christ should acknowledge that they believe in absolute truth. Would they actually obtain such findings? Probably not. Most of the liberals (who still profess to be members) surely would not agree with the concept. Generally speaking, liberals think that truth is negotiable and that we can fellowship those who differ widely from each other (and the truth).
What things are absolutely true? Several suggestions follow. These are not intended to be a creed by any means, but they are doctrines well attested in the New Testament. They are true—absolutely! They are not a thorough list nor designed to take the place of the Bible. They simply call to mind spiritual truths.
Absolute Truth
God is the Creator of the universe (Gen. 1:1). The Father created it through Jesus. “All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made (John 1:1-3). God “has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom He also made the worlds” (Heb. 1:1-2). Can there be any doubt concerning the matter of Creation? If so, what is it? We can be confident that this is the way things occurred.
We may know of a certainty that God completed His creative work in six days (Gen. 1:1-31). God brought the raw materials into being immediately (Ps. 33:9) and then operated on it for six days, resting on the seventh (Gen. 2:1-3). We know it was not done over billions of years, or God would have communicated that to us. The Genesis account is never contradicted in the Bible; in fact, God has Moses repeat that the Sabbath day was to be a day of rest for Israel just as God rested on the seventh day and was refreshed (Ex. 31:12-17).
It is absolutely true that God created Adam and Eve on the sixth day (Gen. 1:26-31). Adam was formed out of the dust of the ground (Gen. 2:7), and Eve came from one of his ribs (Gen. 2:21-22). This first man and woman did not evolve from apes or any other primates. Jesus reminded the Jews that God made Adam and Eve “at the beginning” (Matt. 19:4). No one today needs to wonder whether or not these things are so; they are absolutely true.
Truth itself exists (Pr. 23:23), it is found in the words of Jesus and His apostles (John 8:31-32; 14:25-26; 16:12-13). Furthermore, the Bible does not teach us to “follow our hearts,” thereby setting our subjective selves as the judge of all matters. “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?” (Jer. 17:9). Without a love of the truth, a person cannot be saved (2 Thess. 2:10). Thus, mankind has an objective standard of right and wrong, good and evil. This standard comes from God Himself and is revealed in the New Testament.
We are not subject to the Old Law, which God gave to the Jews; the New Testament of Jesus is our law—the perfect law of liberty (James 1:25). In this system, Jesus has all authority in heaven and on earth (Matt. 28:18). In these last days, God has spoken to us by His Son (Heb. 1:2). Jesus is the One Who shall judge us in the last day, and He shall do so by the Words that He taught (John 12:48).
The Law that God gave Israel was designed to be a temporary one and has been replaced by Jesus’ new covenant, which was established on better promises (Heb. 8:6-7). One cannot appeal to the Old Law without abiding by all of it. Surely the Jews would not desire to return to the former covenant—and be debtor to keep it all. Anyone attempting to do so is fallen from grace (Gal. 5:3-4). Our covenant possesses the great salvation (Heb. 2:3).
The Great Salvation
Before we can enjoy the great salvation and the Savior Who made it possible, we must first realize that we have committed sin, which separates us from God (Rom. 3:23; cf. Isa. 59:1-2). Furthermore, the fact that we have chosen to sin earns something—the wages of sin is death (Rom. 6:23a). Mankind has placed himself into an impossible situation: we chose sin, and we deserved to die—eternally (which many will, according to Revelation 20:10-15). No, we were not born sinners; we exercised our free will to choose evil or good. This is the same choice Cain had after Adam and Eve had already fallen (Gen. 4:7). Having made our decision to reject God and practice wickedness, we have nothing to look forward to except certain and everlasting punishment (Matt. 25:41).
EXCEPT for God’s grace. If God were not gracious, we would have nothing else to discuss at this point. We could not do anything about our predicament, but God could—and did. The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord (Rom. 6:23b). We are justified freely by His grace (Rom. 3:24). Freely—but not unconditionally. If salvation were completely free, it would of necessity need to be universal, which it is not, or the majority of people would not be lost (Matt. 7:13-14).
Even the passage that most “grace only” advocates like to quote mentions a condition—that we have faith (Eph. 2:8-9). “Oh, but that is only one condition.” But if we admit there is one condition, then we must admit that others might exist. And they do. “But faith is the only one listed in Ephesians 2:8-9.” True, but a person must consider that being saved by grace through faith involves other elements; faith just encompasses them all.
Jesus, for example, said: “I tell you, no; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish” (Luke 13:3). Did Jesus say that repentance is absolutely necessary? Yes. But it is a different concept than grace or faith. It is not part of grace; therefore, it must be part of man being saved by faith. Again, however, acknowledgement of this fact means that other elements can be part of faith. The Bible does not teach “faith only,” or Jesus is wrong in insisting upon repentance.
On the day of Pentecost, those whom Peter convinced that Jesus was the risen Christ asked what they should do. Peter never mentioned grace, but were it not in evidence they would not have received an answer to their question. Peter did not mention that they needed faith, either; if they did not possess it, they would not have asked the question. The answer for them was to repent and be baptized for the forgiveness of their sins (Acts 2:38). God’s response to His grace included faith, repentance, and baptism in order to have those sins washed away. Were the three thousand saved by grace and faith? Absolutely—when they repented and were baptized (Acts 2:41). And then they were added to the church, the body of Christ (Acts 2:47, Eph. 1:22-23). This short description is the truth about God, Jesus, truth, sin, and salvation—which the Scriptures declare.