What is Absolute Truth and Can We Know It?
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
We have a choice. Every single human being, regardless of where you were born or when, will make it. Who or what will you trust to be absolute truth.
Absolute truth — Josh McDowell phrases it this way: “That which is true at all times in all places for all people.”
The proposition, that such truth could even exist, is rejected by most in our culture today. This can be seen in the attitudes of our people concerning basic morality.
Barna 2016 — According to a majority of American adults (57%), knowing what is right or wrong is a matter of personal experience. This view is much more prevalent among younger generations than among older adults. Three-quarters of Millennials (74%) agree strongly or somewhat with the statement, “Whatever is right for your life or works best for you is the only truth you can know,” 41% of Christians agreed with this statement across all ages. (https://www.barna.com/research/the-end-of-absolutes-americas-new-moral-code/)
Barna — A sizable number of Americans see morality as a matter of cultural consensus. About two-thirds of all American adults (65%) agree either strongly or somewhat (18% and 47% respectively) that “every culture must determine what is acceptable morality for its people.”
What these numbers tell us is that the majority of American adults believe what is right for you may not be right for me and what is right for me may not be right for you…but both of our choices are right! It is the outright rejection of the idea that there is absolute truth.
They tell us there is no absolute truth! This is an absurd conclusion. Even the proposition itself betrays the absurdity of the notion…to declare there is no absolute truth is in itself a statement declaring a truth to be absolute!
The idea of absolute truth is a problem today…because...Ravi Zacharias --“Truth by definition excludes”
If something is true at all times and in all places for all people it means that everything else is wrong at all times and in all places for all people. We are now living in a culture which will not accept this premise.
We are living in a world dominated by existential thought…a philosophy which always leads to the religion of relativism.
Existentialism — is a philosophy that emphasizes individual existence, freedom and choice. It is the view that humans define their own meaning in life, and try to make rational decisions despite existing in an irrational universe.
Relativism — the doctrine that knowledge, truth, and morality exist in relation to culture, society, or historical context, and are not absolute.
These two ideas are really just an old lie repackaged…they are collectively what Satan sold our first parents in the Garden…you can be your own god...You are the one who defines truth, makes your choices in light of that truth and creates your own reality.
This type of thinking has led to extreme liberalism and godlessness that the majority of our culture now embraces...where each person does what is right in his or her own eyes.
Have you heard that phrase before? It is exactly where the children of Israel found themselves at the end of Judges. Judges 21:25
In those days Israel had no king; all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes.
Our response to this is simple…we tell people truth can be known…we champion the idea that there is such a thing as absolute truth…and that it is found in the God of the Bible
Jesus said, “I am the way, truth and life, no one comes to the father but by me.” This is a statement of absolute truth. Christianity does not allow for the idea of truth outside of the God of scriptures. Our faith does not allow for the idea of a truth birthed from personal experience.
The Choices
The Choices
Everything really boils down to whether or not we will trust God. Will we trust Him as Savior, Lord and the absolute truth to be known in the universe or attempt to be our own god?
Solomon tells us in Proverbs 3:5-6 to trust the Lord with all of our heart and lean not on our own understanding. What does this mean in relation to the question of truth?
First — We must trust (rely upon) God’s perfect character, power and intentions toward us.
The primary attribute of our God is His holiness (complete perfection and uniqueness). He is unlike anyone or anything else in the whole of existence. We must trust His holiness, His perfection.
God created all that exist from His spoken word. He created the world out of nothing-ness. He is infinite in power and we must trust that He is omnipotent — all powerful
God demonstrated His love to us in that while we were sinners Christ died on the cross for our sins....He has stated numerous times in His word that all who call on the name of the Lord and have faith in the sacrifice of Jesus for the forgiveness of their sins shall be saved. We must trust God’s perfect intentions toward us.
God is perfect in character, power and intentions…it is pragmatically, philosophically and theologically sound proposition that we would rely on Him completely.
Next...
Lord — But to trust in God in some abstract, ill defined way is not enough. We must trust Him as our Lord. We must recognize not only His character, power and intentions but His sovereignty over our life. We must recognize that He is our God and He has absolute rule over our life.
This is not a call to trust God with the hard things and those things over which we seemingly have little control…we are to trust God for everything…in all of our ways…completely and totally with complete abandon.
To trust the Lord with all of our heart means to trust God as ruler of the whole of our life. We are no longer defining our own truth, seeking to figure things out on our own and make our own way in the world.
All of our beliefs and decision in life are submitted to God…our vision of right and wrong are submitted to Him…He determines our life’s choices.
And that brings us to...
Lean on your own understanding — The person who believes in existentialism and the religion of relativism believes truth is a matter of personal experience and choice. We are constantly tempted to live this way…by our own experience and choice.
The constant temptation we all face is to be a relativist. To attempt to be our own god and define truth for ourselves based on the understanding we have of our current circumstances and choice…will we do this or will we trust in God as our absolute truth and source for life?
Let me stop at this point and ask the question…how well do you believe you can understand the world in which you live? Do you believe you have a handle on things?
For those wondering the validity of this illustration…the documentation of this was found in some of the records released in 1997 by the JFK Assassinations Review Board and published by the National Security Archive in 1998.
Operation Northwood — Operation Northwoods was a proposed false flag operation against the Cuban government that originated within the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) and the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) of the United States government in 1962. The proposals called for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) or other U.S. government operatives to both stage and actually commit acts of terrorism against American military and civilian targets,[2] blaming them on the Cuban government, and using it to justify a war against Cuba. The possibilities detailed in the document included the possible assassination of Cuban immigrants, sinking boats of Cuban refugees on the high seas,[2] hijacking planes to be shot down or given the appearance of being shot down,[2] blowing up a U.S. ship, and orchestrating violent terrorism in U.S. cities.[3] The proposals were rejected by President John F. Kennedy.
Is there a deep state? Are there dirty politicians? Is everything always what it seems? There are always nefarious agents all around us. There are always things going on behind the scenes we know nothing about. If we cannot know everything how in the world could we ever believe ourselves to be capable understanding of what is absolutely true?
We are incapable of knowing everything about ourselves much less the circumstances in which we live.
Straight Paths
Straight Paths
God tells us in these verses that if we find our absolute truth in Him…if we will trust Him…rely upon His perfect character, power and intentions toward us…He will make our paths straight. What does that mean?
Straight Paths — Our life will have clear direction and purpose. It is not a life free of all trouble but one with clear direction and purpose.
Do you want a life of confusion or clarity? A life of purpose or meaninglessness? A life of blessing, fulfillment and eternal significance? Or a life that is empty? There is only one way…Trust the Lord with your whole heart and stop leaning on the limitations of your personal understanding of current events.
We listen to our Lord…He rules us…He has determined what is right and wrong and communicates that to us…and we trust both He and His word to be absolutely true…He in turn gives us a life of clarity and purpose.
Conclusions
Conclusions
is there absolute truth? YES! And it is found in the God of the Bible…ultimately it is seen in the person of Jesus.
Ours is a religion which believes in absolute truth and this means ours is a religion which excludes anything as true outside of God and His revelation to man. All other truth claims are a lie and counterfeit.
This means we have the message…the truth…the way to God. We MUST share this with the world around us.
The world will continue in its downward spiral of lawlessness and chaos until it either accepts our message or the Lord comes.
Our world is defining for itself what is right and true…how can the world be saved? By repentance and faith in the one who loves us, is true and gave His life to save us from our chaotic, sin filled rebellion against truth.
We must pray for the souls of our fellow human beings who are lost in the chaos of existentialism and relativism. We must pray for those whose eyes are blinded by their sin.
We must stand bold and proclaim the one who is true.
We must live genuine lives — trusting God and demonstrating what it means to have Jesus as Lord of our life…so they might see our life…a life of clear direction and purpose…a life of love and relationship with Christ.
We must ask the world, “Who or what is your truth?” We must make the choices and the consequences of those choices clear.