Seek the LORD while he may be found; call upon
him while he is near; let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man
his thoughts; let him return to the LORD, that he may have compassion on him,
and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
Isaiah 55:6-7
This week we are talking about sin and being truthful with
ourselves about our sin. Yesterday we
talked a little about how we can avoid obedience to God by redefining the truth
about sin in our lives. We can avoid the
truth and block it out but then we deprive ourselves of the blessing of God’s
gracious forgiveness.
Relativism Maximizes the
Absoluteness of Self – Relativism, generally speaking, is the
philosophical position that all points of view are equally valid and that all
truth (and value) is relative to the individual. Basically that means that we can make everything
relative to our lives in whatever way we see fit.
Being a relativist enables someone to choose his/her
own truths and moralities, and consequently, to escape from being accountable
to a God of absolutes.
Relativism
makes the statement “There are no
absolutes.” However, this is an absolute statement which is supposed to be
true. Therefore it is an absolute truth and the statement “There are no
absolutes” is false. Thus we can see that the basic theme of relativism is
self-refuting. As Dr. Ravi Zacharias metaphorically explains, “The pure relativist cuts off the branch on
which he is sitting while telling you that branch cannot be severed”. One of the saddest things about the
relativism of our day is that it undermines God's forgiveness. Here's what I
mean.
1. Relativism
constantly minimizes or denies the absoluteness of God.
·
It functions implicitly as if God had no clear
and unchanging character-as though there were no divine measure for human
character.
·
Relativism does not get along well with biblical
statements like, "Be holy for I am holy" 1 Peter
1:16, or, "Be perfect as your father in heaven is perfect" Matthew 5:48. So relativism
minimizes the absoluteness of God and his will.
·
Relativism uses the mind of man to distort the
reason of God. If we redefine the law we may avoid guilt, but we will not avoid
consequence.
2. Relativism maximizes the absoluteness of
self. It says that the way to healing and wholeness is to stop measuring yourself
by external standards or expectations, even God's. Instead, without reference
to God or his Word, be yourself. Make
yourself the measure of what is good and acceptable. Give yourself an unconditional positive
self-regard. The only role that God has
to play in this relativism is to be the divine endorsement of your own
self-affirmation. God functions as a kind of booster for the absoluteness of
self. If he presents himself as one with
standards or commandments, then He is part of the problem, not part of the
solution.
It sounds gracious
on the surface-to say that God has no law, no standards, no expectations, no
commandments, no threats - that He is simply there to affirm me in whatever I
happen to be; that sounds like grace and freedom. But there is one massive glitch…it destroys
forgiveness. Where there is no law, no just standard, no legitimate expectation, no
normative way of relating to God and man, there can be no forgiveness. Because forgiveness is the letting go of real
offenses, real transgressions, real violations, and real faults.
Based on God’s
word, there is a God, there is a holy law, and in the name of Jesus Christ
there is forgiveness. Recognizing our sin and asking for forgiveness is the
first need we have towards sin meeting truth, and God stands ready to meet it.
Gladden the soul of your servant, for to you, O Lord, do I lift up my soul. For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving, abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon you. Psalm 86:4-5
