Wimp-Free Christianity

You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.
—John 8:32

During the next several weeks, as the time draws closer to the presidential election, we will look at what the Bible says about several key issues affecting our nation.

It was the seventeenth-century Jesuit priest Baltasar Gracian who said, “Truth is abhorred by the masses.” If you don’t believe that statement, I encourage you to engage in an experiment this week. Try making one of the following statements in the break room at work or even at church and see what happens. Try saying, “I believe only Christians are going to heaven. Everybody else is going to hell.” Or try saying, “I believe that homosexuality is a perversion.” Or try saying, “I believe husbands ought to be the leaders of their families.” And then just sit back and watch the fireworks. You will be called everything from intolerant to stupid to bigoted.

And those are just some of the kinder things that people will say about you. Don’t be surprised if those insults come from the lips of Christians as frequently as non-Christians. You see, we are living in a culture in which Christians have increasingly discarded the belief of absolute truth. That is, most Christians no longer believe there are truths that apply to everyone regardless of their religion or their culture. Instead Christians are increasingly buying into the idea of relativism—that all truth is relative. To put it simply, relativism says everything is right some of the time and nothing is right every time.

No wonder an increasing number of Christians are finding such things as homosexuality, pornography, adultery, and premarital sex acceptable. After all, everything is right some of the time, and nothing is right every time. This wholesale rejection of absolute truth not only affects us morally, but it also impacts every area of life. The fact that so many people, including Christians, have rejected the notion of absolute truth explains why it is that people, even Christians, bristle when you make statements like, “Jesus Christ is the only way to God. Every other religion is wrong.” Or, “Abortion is tantamount to murder.” Or, “America was founded as a uniquely Christian nation.” These statements may be politically incorrect, but as we will see in the coming weeks, they are absolute truth.

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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.