Absolute Truth for a Relative World

Your Only Source of Absolute Truth!

A couple of weeks ago at Spare Time Lanes something interesting happened. As we were enjoying the evening, we had the opportunity to talk to a young lady who is in the final stages of Confirmation at her church. Her dad asked her come over and talk to me and a couple of the other guys joined in. Her premise was that she just didn’t believe that the Bible was true. She believed in God, she thought, but to her most of the issues of faith just weren’t convincing.

She didn’t believe in Creation, she didn’t believe in the account of Adam and Eve and sin entering the world. She didn’t believe the miraculous events that are recorded in this book. She was going to the classes, she was memorizing the verses, learning the answers to the questions that she knew she had to recite back in order to be confirmed, but she didn’t believe it.

But come the Spring of this year, she will stand before her church in a white robe, be handed a piece of paper, and told by her priest that she has been confirmed in the faith and is now bound for heaven.

Like so many of the students I see each day at our schools, she sees the hypocrisy in the system. Our schools and our homes are filled with people who have been told that because the completed a class, fulfilled a requirement, and recited rote answers, they are saved. In most cases of students I have talked to, and there have been many, when I ask them, “Do you believe the things you are being told?” They answer, “Not really.”

Now, it would be easy to point an accusing finger to some of our more traditional, liturgical brothers, and be critical of their “salvation by certificate,” but the fact is that many of the “evangelical” churches, like our own, have lots of people in the seats who feel that they are going to heaven because they have had some experience, maybe even a life-changing experience, but who do not really have any idea what they believe.

In Matthew, chapter 7, we find some chilling words. Jesus said, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’” (Matthew 7”:21ff)

Folks, the reality is that there are a lot of people attending churches every Sunday, and even more who only go to church a few times each year, who are going to be part of that group. They will wave their baptism certificates, their confirmation certificates, their church memberships at the Lord, and cry out, “Lord, Lord, did we not recite the verses back to our pastor? Did we not get baptized, were we not members of the church?” And He will say, “I never knew you.”

It is my responsibility as your pastor to make sure that none of us, or at least as few of us as possible, are in that group. I am concerned that we never become a church of “easy believers” – people who can look like a Christian and talk like a Christian, but don’t have any idea what it means to really be a Christian.

As we examined a couple of weeks ago, the world has rejected the concept of absolute truth. Each individual is encouraged to believe what they believe with all their heart, and be faithful to whatever “religious tradition” they hold. Over the course of the last 12 days we have had countless calls to prayer for our nation. You will hear people say, “There’s nothing wrong with allowing children in school to have a moment of silence to pray to THEIR god.” Even at the community service here in Mayville, last week, one of the pastors said, “We will now have a moment of silence. Please use this time to pray to your god.” Do you see what has happened? Even in the church, political correctness has replaced absolute truth. Now pastors encourage people to pray to “their” god. AS IF THERE WAS MORE THAN ONE – OR AS IF WE EACH CAN HAVE OUR OWN VERSION OF GOD THAT IS ACCEPTABLE!

Folks, I don’t care if it is politically correct or not, when I ask you to pray, it is not to “your version of god.” I want you to pray to the One and Only God – the God of this Book – the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph. The God of David and Solomon, Daniel and Jeremiah, the God of Paul, and John, and Peter. The God of the Universe, who loved you so much that he sent his only son, Jesus Christ, into the world as the only way to the Father. I will not apologize for Truth. I will not back down from Truth. I will not be part of a church that does not teach Truth.

That’s why for the next 10 weeks or so, we are going to be looking at the basic truths of Christianity. These are the foundations of what it means to be a Christian. I sincerely believe that without these pieces in place, we are kidding ourselves. To quote our president this week, “these items are not negotiable.” We are calling this study of basic theology, “Absolute Truth for a Relative World.”

Today we take up what I believe has to be the first step – the only source of Absolute Truth – The Word of God. Let me state unwavering and unashamedly – This is the inspired, inerrant and complete Word of God. Throughout the history of the world, every time a person, school or movement has began to waver on this basic pillar of faith, it has soon abandoned other basics – like the deity of Christ, the Trinity, Salvation and all the rest. Like a series of dominos falling when the first is nudged, when the Bible’s truth is rejected, all faith is soon compromised.

It only makes sense. All that we know about God, except those things we see from natural revelation, comes from the revelation He has given us of Himself via this Book. If we cast doubt on what is said here, then what do we believe? But let’s not be guilty of ignorant, blind faith. We must believe by faith, it’s true, but God does not call us to be ignorant. There are good reasons to believe the validity of this Book and it’s claims.

First a little bit of background.

I have referred to the Bible as a “book,” but in fact it might best be understood as a “library.” This library is made up of 66 books, written by numerous people over a span of more than 1500 years. But it is not a library made up of disjointed, independent books glued together into one volume, rather it is a “unit of books, that fit together into a perfectly harmonious system of thought revolving around a single theme: Salvation through Jesus Christ.”[1]

The Old Testament is made up of 39 books, and it is essentially the same body of Scripture that Jesus had access to when He taught in the synagogues. In Luke 4:17, for example, we read:

He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read. [17] The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him.

Isn’t it amazing to know that we can open our Old Testaments and know that we are reading the same Holy Scriptures that Jesus read and used in His ministry?

The Old Testament can be broken up into 4 sections:

First, there is the Law. The first five books of the Bible were written by Moses to chronicle the beginnings of creation, life and the origin of the Jewish people. In this section we see the establishment of God’s holy character, the presence of sin, and the need for us to have forgiveness.

Secondly, we have History. The books from Joshua to Esther tell us of the history of the Nation of Israel as the possess the Promised Land, their interchanging periods of faithfulness and rebellion, and of God’s patience with His children.

The third section is Poetry. Much of the writings from Job through Song of Solomon is poetic in nature. There are sections of great praise and worship, and sections that are, in layman’s terms, “the blues.”

Lastly, in the Old Testament, we have the Prophets. These books, from Isaiah to Malachi, are the recordings of the word of God as it was delivered to the people of Israel during the period of their rebellion and subsequent captivity. They speak of God’s righteous judgment, His unending love, His future plans for Israel, and the promise of a Savior.

The New Testament can also be divided into four sections:

First, Biography. The first four books of the New Testament make up a biographical section of the life of Jesus Christ. I just love biographies. I have great big sections of my personal library that are biographies of presidents, and generals and heroes of the past. The Bible library has a section just like that: four biographis of Jesus, each from a different perspective, resulting in a complete picture of His life.

The second section of the NT is History. Just as the OT History section told of the people of God moving into a new land, NT History tells us of the church of God moving around the world. It is found in the book of Acts.

The third division of the NT is the Doctrinal section. Here we find the writings of the Apostles, as they tell us how take the teachings of Jesus and make them practical for daily living. Just how should we behave if we are going to call ourselves “Christians?”

Lastly, the New Testament closes with another section of Prophesy. In the book of Revelation, God reveals his unfailing love, his plans for the nation of Israel, the church and the world, and the promise of eternal life.

The 66 books that make up the Bible have been accepted as the Word of God for hundreds of years. The 39 books we have in the Old Testament have been considered the Word of God since before Jesus’ time. The New Testament was established as early as 140 AD, barely a century after Jesus’ death. And that is very important. We know that Paul’s writings, for example, were already being circulated as Holy Scripture when most of the original disciples were still walking the earth and working in churches. There are other books, like the “Apocrypha” and the Epistle of Barnabas, some of which provide interesting history, but have not been considered part of the Word of God by the ancient Jews, or the early church.

OK, that’s all well and good, but how do we know it’s GOD’s Word?

First, the Bible is Historically accurate. The Bible is a historical book. In fact, most of it can be considered original source material for the history of the ancient middle east. We read of kings, nations, cities, mountains, rivers, battles, civilizations. It serves as a great source of historical information - and the historical aspects of the Bible are amazingly accurate. While most skeptics believe that the evidence for disputing the Bible will one day be uncovered, the archeological evidence simply continues to knock down their theories!

In 1961, archaeologists uncovered an inscription of dedication at Caesarea
Maritima in Israel from "Pontius Pilate, Prefect of Judea to Caesar Tiberius."

b. In 1990, workers constructing a park just south of the Old City of Jerusalem
discovered an ancient burial vault. Experts were called in to examine the find.
Within, they found 12 ossuaries – small burial boxes. The most ornate of the
boxes contains an inscription identifying the remains as those of the High
Priest Caiaphas. The first record outside of the New Testament that the man ever lived.

The same cannot be said of any other so-called holy books. Did you know that the book of Mormon, claims that a great civilization lived in America from 600BC to 700AD, and it speaks of cities, rivers, mountains and coins? Yet not one piece of evidence has been discovered to back up the claim. Folks, it may take faith to believe the Bible, but it is not blind faith! The Bible passes the test! It is accurate! Faith in this book is reasonable!

This week we have heard much about the Moslem faith, and the Koran, it’s holy book. I recently met a Muslim chaplain at the Waupun Correctional Institute. He had some copies of the Koran in his office. There were also some wall hangings with Arabic writing on them. I asked him if he read Arabic. He said, “Yes, there are some things in the Koran that can only be understood if you read it as a native in the original language." How unlike God that is! If God were going to speak His truth to the world, would he choose to do so in a language that only those people born to that language could understand it? No, God chose to reveal himself in a clear and accurate way - through the Bible that you hold in your hand, in words that speak to you directly and clearly.

The Bible is God’s word to us. It is not the story of humans trying to reach God. It is the story of God’s incredible love for humanity, and His plan to reach us. And it is presented by God in a way that has been divinely protected through the centuries.

People often claim that the Bible is full of errors because it was written by hand from one generation to the next, and there were surely mistakes made. But that is simply not the case. The Bible is the most documented ancient manuscript in history. For centuries, the oldest copies of the Bible were from the 10^th century AD, only a thousand years ago. Many people claimed that if an older manuscript were found, it would show terrible changes because it was hand written from one generation to the next. Then in 1948, the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered, and the oldest set of manuscripts jumped back 1000 years in a day! What did they find? Remarkably, they found that the copies of Isaiah and other scriptures were virtual matches. Even over a thousand years – with one generation hand copying an old text on to new scrolls, for the next generation to later copy, there was virtually no change! That is amazing, and it shows that this book is accurate.

The Bible is the most documented ancient work. Do you know how many ancient manuscripts of all of Plato and Aristotle's work exist? There are less than 10 copies of their ancient works in existence. Now, how many pieces of ancient Biblical manuscripts are in existence today? Maybe 20? 50? 100? Wouldn't that be great? One hundred ancient manuscripts to back up the authenticity of the Bible! That would be 10 to 1 over Aristotle and Plato combined! I’ve shared this information before, anyone remember? Well, there are more than 14,000 ancient manuscripts of Biblical material. And those pieces allow us to verify from century to century that there was very little or no change at all in the way they were handed down from generation to generation. In fact, of the 184,590 words in the Bible, only 400 are on the disputed list, and none of them affect the doctrine or theology of the Bible.

OK, Ok, Ok, so maybe the book is historically accurate, and maybe it is unique, but how can we know that it is inspired by God himself?

First the Bible claims to be inspired. II Timothy 3:16 reads, "All scripture is inspired by God..." II Peter 1:21 says "prophesy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit..." You see, God moved people, by His Holy Spirit to write His message to the world. Each persons character and culture is evident in their writing, but the message is clearly from one source. God communicated His message through people.

Secondly there is the evidence of Prophecy. You see, the Bible was written over 1600 years, and in some cases, some pretty bold prophesies were made. For example, the Old Testament, written centuries before Jesus was born, told in specific detail how and where he would be born, how he would live, what his message would be, how he would die, and that he would rise again.

Daniel prophesied the rise of Alexander the Great, even the number of his children and grandchildren, the rise of the Roman Empire, hundreds of years in advance. In the book of Ezekiel, the prophet said the ancient city of Tyre, along the sea would be destroyed, and never rebuilt. The people of his day thought he was a fool. It would be like saying that Boston is going to be a corn field 100 years from now. In fact, Tyre was thought to be indestructible because it was built on an island just off the coast of Lebanon. Tyre possessed one of the best harbors on the coast. But Alexander the Great reduced Tyre in 332 BC by building a causeway that joined the island to the mainland. Today you can go on a tour of the area and see the flat stones that used to be the foundations of a great city that was never rebuilt.

Further evidence of the inspiration of God's word is the word of Jesus. Now whether you believe Jesus to be God's Son or not, most people agree that he was a great teacher, a good moral leader, and not given to wild tales and lies. Jesus himself says in Matthew 5:18 that "till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass away from the law until all is fulfilled." He stated categorically that this is the word of God.

There are many sound reasons to believe the Bible is the Word of God, but the fact of the matter is that the word of God does not need our defense. It is it’s own defense. No other book has withstood the test of time, the trials of persecution, and the scrutiny of skeptical science and philosophy. No other book has the power to stand complete until the end of time, and no other book has the power to change you life. Hebrews 4:12 says,

For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

The Word of God is able to cut through the confusion, the doubt and the deceit of the world. It will give peace in the midst of trouble, and strength in weakness. The single greatest way to be sure that the Word of God is THE source of absolute truth is to allow it to transform you. Read it, study it, obey it.

[1] Charles Swindoll, The Living Insights Study Bible, Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, 1996. Page xiii.

Resources: Know What You Believe, Paul Little, Victor Books.

Know Why You Believe, Paul Little, Victor Books.

Biblical Archeology Review, September/October 1999.

"Reasons for Believing the Bible" tape by Bill Hybels, Seeds Tape Ministry, 1991

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