Absolute Truth Is Universal

For Your lovingkindness is before my eyes, And I have walked in Your truth.
—Psalm 26:3

We are looking at the dangerous consequences of relativism on our society and on the church. One of the most basic things about absolute truth that we need to understand is this: absolute truth is universal.

I was listening to a talk show on the radio driving to work, and the subject of discussion was whether or not the Ten Commandments should be displayed in the public classroom. A person called in and said to the host, “I’m a Christian, and of course I believe the Ten Commandments ought to be displayed. But I believe they ought to be displayed because these ten rules for living apply to everyone–Christians and non-Christians alike. So everybody should see them.” And the talk show host, who happens to be a Christian, said, “I agree with you, I’m a Christian. But not everyone believes like we do.” The caller responded, “Well, that’s the point. Even though everybody doesn’t believe in these truths, these truths apply to everyone.”

The talk show host had bought into this concept of relativism. It’s the idea that absolute truth only applies to people who believe it. Can you think of anything more ridiculous? Think about it. If you climb on top of a building and say, “I don’t believe in the law of gravity,” and jump off, what do you think is going to happen to you? Because you don’t believe in the law of gravity, do you think you are going to float suspended in the air? No, of course not. You see, it doesn’t matter whether you believe in the law of gravity or not, if you jump off a building, you are going to splat on the sidewalk below. There are some absolute truths that apply to us whether we believe in them or not. And that is certainly true when it comes to God’s truth. It doesn’t matter whether you believe it is God’s truth or not. These things apply to you.

The reality is, everybody believes in absolute truth whether they say it or not. For example, the person who says, “There is no such thing as absolute truth” has just made an absolute statement. That person has said, “Nowhere in any corner of the universe is there any truth that applies to everyone.” In reality, we have simply replaced old absolute truths with new truths. That is what our culture is doing.

Everybody believes in absolute truth. The only question is, which absolute truths are you going to believe in?

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Today’s devotion is excerpted from “Wimp-Free Christianity” by Dr. Robert Jeffress, 2008.

Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960,1962,1963,1968,1971,1972,1973,1975,1977,1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.