An Answer to Skeptic’s view of God’s Justice and Truth (Rom. 3:3,4)
Illustration:
7000 Protestant youth from many denominations were asked whether they agreed with the following statements:
"The way to be accepted by God is to try sincerely to live a good life." More than 60% agreed.
"God is satisfied if a person lives the best life he can." Almost 70% agreed.
"The main emphasis of the gospel is on God’s rules for right living." More than half agreed.
Despite the efforts of evangelists, parachurch ministries and local churches, the percentage of American adults who are born again Christians is no different now than in 1982, according to a study by the Barna Research Group.
The study found that 34% of all Americans can be identified as born again--that is, they have made a personal commitment to Jesus Christ, and say they will go to heaven because they have confessed their sins and accepted Christ as their savior.
Among those surveyed, 62% said they had made a personal commitment to Jesus Christ that is still important in their lives today. However, among those who have made a commitment to Christ, only 55 percent believe they will go to heaven because of accepting Christ as their personal savior (the basic belief in the "born again" movement)...Most of those surveyed said they would go to heaven because of living a good life, or obeying the 10 commandments, or because all people will go to heaven. Others who said they had made a commitment to Christ said they were unsure about what will happen to them after they die.
Reported in Inland Northwest Christian News, March 1990, p. 3.
1. Have you ever thought if unbelieving skeptics affect God’s truth and justice?
Martin Luther must have wondered about that when he sought to question the authority of the Pope using the truth and justice of the scriptures.
Few had dared to challenge the authority of the Roman Catholic Curch for fear of death. During his most perplexing time of life, the young priest wrote these words, "That Word above all earthly powers, No thanks to them (Skeptics), abideth (remains true and constant).
The Spirit and the gift are our. Through Him who with us sideth. Let goods and kindred go, This moral life also; The body they may kill; God’s truth abideth still, His kingdom is forever."
When Luther wrote those words his enemies were less interested in truth than in the preservation of their own Pharisaical positions. Martin Luther’s faith was so grounded on the truth and justice of God’s word that he was prepared to sacrifice his life in standing for the truth and authority of the scripture over that of human authorities.
You can tell how much a person believes in truth by how much they are willing to sacrifice for its propagation.
As a result of Luther’s courage hundreds of millions have been encouraged to go directly to the scriptures to find unshakeable truth and justice not diminished by skepticsm.
Ask the Lord to help you give your best for the teaching of God’s truth and justice regardless of the opposition.
2. Paul taught the Romans that God’s faithfulness is unaltered by human unbelief. Paul writes, "Does their lack of faith and faithfulness nullify and make ineffective an void the faithfulness of God and His fidelity to His word? By no means!"
Too many people say, "I cannot accept the whole Bible as truth because I see so many inconsistencies in the lifestyles of Christians." God’s truth, justice and salvation message is to be evaluated by the merits of God’s Word not by its human proponents.
If you want to know something about a movement, study its originator. Christ is the source of truth and life and in Him is no changing or alteration. The writer of Hebrews wrote, "Jesus is always the same, yesterday, today and forever." (Heb. 13:8)
No inconsistency of men can change any part of God’s truth and justice.
Ask the Lord to help your decisions be based more on the consistency of truth and justice rather than on the inconsistency of human teaching, opinions or circumstances.
3. Paul taught that God’s justice is not affected by the outcome of human sin. Some would argue that justice should be tempered with mercy. This argument stems from the belief that law should adjust to the moral standards of each society.
The Lord judges each person’s character according to His standards of truth. Do not think that a person can expect God to tolerate anything less than what the Bible teaches about truth and justice.
God overrules the erroneous cultural relativism of individuals and organizations.
Our God’s justice is not situational in nature.
God’s justice requires punishment and consequences for not measuring up to the righteousness of God.
Thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ who allows us to be declared acceptable through His blood.
Ask the Lord to help you guide others more by God’s justice than by the relativistic evaluations of human opinions, polls or whims.
4. Paul shows that humans are not justified by using sinful means to achieve a positive outcome.
Some people might assume that sometimes, the ends do justify the means.
The great apostle Paul teaches that God overrules sinful actions for His good.
Even though some may insist by saying, "Let us do whatever works! This gambling project is for a good cause! Now is the best time to take advantage of the changing norms of our culture!"
Ask the Lord to help you set yourself and your church’s decisions on the truth and justice of God and against the demoralizing relativistic ideas of the majority.
Conclusion:In one of his sermons, A.C. Dixon told of an incident that took place in Brooklyn, N.Y. A detective who had been looking for a local citizen finally tracked him down in a drugstore. As the man began to make his purchase, the officer laid his hand on the citizen’s shoulder and said, "You’re under arrest; come with me!"
Stunned, the man demanded, "What did I do?"
The detective calmly replied, "You know what you did. You escaped from the Albany penitentiary several years ago. You went west, got married, and then came back here to live. We’ve been watching for you since you returned."
Quietly the man admitted, "That’s true, but I was sure you’d never find me. Before you take me in, could we stop by my house so I can talk to my family?"
The officer agreed. When they got to his home, the man looked at his wife and asked, "Haven’t I been a kind husband and a good father? Haven’t I worked hard to make a living?"
His wife answered, "Of course you have, but why are you asking me these questions?" Her husband then proceeded to explain what had happened and that he was now under arrest. He apparently had hoped that his record as an exemplary husband and father would impress the officer. Even so, he was still an escaped criminal. Though he was "right" with his family, he was all wrong with the state of New York.
Source Unknown.
