Does truth change? "All is relative" has become one of the slogans of our generation. In the Western World, multitudes have rejected the possibility that such a thing as absolute truth could exist. We often hear phrases like "that may be true for you, but it’s not true for me". Truth is seen as a personal preference or perception that cannot extend beyond a person’s personal boundaries. If truth is dependent on one’s perspective than it has to be ever changing. This could lead one to the next logical conclusion that nothing can be classified as wrong; it’s simply a matter of perspective. With that said, if all this is true then we are left with a huge problem. The Bible claims to be God’s truth revealed, Jesus claims to be the truth and the Bible teaches that there are absolute moral standards. The dilemma that exists for us is that both views cannot be right. Either the Bible is right and the postmodern worldview wrong, or vice versa. Does all this really matter? The answer to the question of absolute truth turns out to be very important, not only in drawing religious conclusions, but also in the matter of ethics. Ethics is important to all of us, because it deals with the question of what is right and wrong. Every person hates some kind of activities. But if there is no such thing as absolute truth, then there is no ultimate moral rightness or wrongness about anything. It may be "right for you" but that doesn’t mean it is "right for me". The writer of Hebrews from chapter one through the end of the book, has placed Jesus Christ at center stage. He has held Him up as an example to be followed. Consider Jesus; better than the prophets, better than the angels, better than Moses, better than the Old Testament economy of ordinances and feasts and sacrifices. Now as he draws his book to a conclusion the writer points out that Jesus is the same, yesterday, today and forever. He does not change, His standards do not change and His promises do not change. Let’s take some time to discover that truth is not every changing, it is absolute.
I. Understanding the perceived death of truth in the postmodern culture.
A. The main areas where postmodernism is wide open to criticism.
1. Postmodernists shoot their own view in the foot by saying that no one can claim to know objective truth, since that in itself is a statement of objective truth.
2. They claim that peoples are helpless prisoners of their own cultures, but there are many examples of people who have rejected the views and values of their cultures revealing a degree of personal freedom.
3. They exaggerate the isolated problems in observation and a few unsolved mysteries and use it to try and show that science is not fact but merely objective.
4. Postmodernists believe since different communities live in different realities it is impossible for us to understand each other, so why try.
5. They claim that those who believe in absolutes are oppressive, exclusive and intolerant. But the postmodern worldview has produced some of the most oppressive and controlling views and conduct ever seen in America.
B. Does postmodern thought get anything right?
1. Postmodern thought has shown us that without the infinite personal creator God of the Bible, knowledge and reason is quite uncertain.
2. Faith in the idea that western society is progressing toward some glorious future based on technology and advanced learning is nothing more than a myth.
3. CS Lewis is quoted as saying, “Education merely makes man a more clever devil.”
4. People even though they will not admit it are quite subjective. People often import their own prejudices and values into areas such as history and science.
5. People are social beings and our cultural setting shapes our values and thinking.
II. God is the originator of truth which means that He is also the creator of rationality and reason.
A. Christians must not accept or compromise with postmodern assumptions.
1. The existence of the one unique God and the person and work of Jesus Christ are examples of objective and absolute truths.
2. Postmodernism is just another member of a series of ever changing worldviews, philosophies and teachings.
3. Despite of all the changing conditions in life, there is One who remains eternally the same: Jesus Christ.
4. The Hebrew writer holds Christ up as our ultimate model and our faith is grounded in the eternity of our Lord and His unchangeable being.
5. Since Christ is eternally the same, one who truly trusts in Him will not be persuaded by strange and new teachings.
B. When we accept the Bible and God’s absolute truth we then begin to understand that the problems we face in the world is due to man’s fallen nature.
1. In Romans 3:10, Paul states that there is no one righteous, not even one.
2. But consider these words, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23—NIV)
3. Our reality is one of holes in the ozone layer, poverty, hunger, oppression and terror. Due to the fallen nature of man we live in a world where abuse, loneliness and fear run rampant.
4. The postmodernist says the acceptance of certain belief systems are the cause of our world’s problems but God says they originate in the heart of man.
C. Christians should never minimize the importance that God places on knowing the truth.
1. 31 To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31-32—NIV)
2. The object of our faith is Jesus Christ who did not merely say that He knew the truth but said that He was the truth.
3. Without truth Christianity will itself vanish or be swallowed up in an ocean of subjective religious experience.
4. Paul said that the truth is evident and clearly seen even by people without the Bible. People can use their minds to draw reasonable conclusions from nature such as:
a. God exists
b. By nature God is infinite and personal.
III. How does accepting the existence of absolute truth impact the church?
A. We need to realize that besides our own reason we need revelation from God.
1. Reason can tell us a lot about the world but not everything. So it is reasonable to believe that reason cannot tell us everything about the infinite personal creator.
2. We have a personal and reasonable God who speaks to us and tells us the truth about His actions and character.
3. How does God provide His people with revelation?
a. God reveals Himself through creation.
b. God reveals Himself through the Bible.
c. God reveals Himself in our hearts.
d. God reveals Himself through Jesus Christ.
4. The truth is that the moment that we deny the existence of reason and revelation we deny the existence of the truth.
B. We need to realize that Jesus is the answer to the longings of the postmodern heart.
1. In this ever changing culture people definitely need truth. In a time when people are coming to believe that nothing is knowable, that nothing is sure, we have something completely sure.
2. Jesus said, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.” (Matthew 24:35—NIV)
3. His Word is not only more timeless and certain than the culture of His day, but more timeless and certain than the heavens and earth itself.
4. This is the foundation, the certainty that people increasingly long for in our postmodern world.
5. If we learn to be unapologetically faithful and able to express the truth in meaningful ways, the world’s longing will be satisfied with the truth of Jesus Christ.
C. The church needs to learn how to connect with our postmodern culture.
1. If you keep doing what you’ve been doing, you’ll keep getting what you’ve been getting.
2. We live in a visual and technologically advanced society and if we hope to reach them with the Gospel message we need to completely change the way we think about and do church.
3. Does this mean that the message changes? No it means the way we deliver the message and reach out to the community changes so that we can be more effective in connecting with the culture.
4. The most effective way to gain in-roads for presenting the Gospel to our culture is meeting people where they are at, loving them and striving to meet their needs.
5. Unlike human leaders and philosophies Jesus Christ never changes. Christ has been and will be the same forever. Because of what He has done in the past and continues to do in the present, He is sufficient to meet any need any person will ever have.
“I Can’t Change Jesus” Bill Irwin, a man who is blind, has a talking computer he uses to study the Bible. He’s had a few chuckles over some of the pronunciations. "For a long time," Bill says, "the computer pronounced Holy Bible as ’holly bibble’ until I figured out how to modify it." But there was one thing Bill couldn’t change. The computer uses the Spanish pronunciation for Jesus Christ--HEYsus Krist. "The programmer is Hispanic," Bill told me with a smile, "and he made sure that HEYsus Krist cannot be altered." I like that. It reminds me that among the things in life that can be changed to suit my taste, one remains tamper-resistant--I can’t change Jesus. When life is unsettled, I gain great comfort from the Bible’s affirmation that "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever" (Hebrews 13:8).
