Sadly, in our world today most people believe that there is no such thing as absolute truth. America today is a very relativistic society when it comes to defining truth. We are fast becoming a country where truth, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. Most people believe that what’s true for you may not be true for me and the definition of what’s right and wrong is no longer clear cut.
Fortunately, for the Christian, we can define truth in absolute terms and thankfully, this is spelled out for us in the Bible. Our role as Christians is to uphold the truth of the Scriptures no matter what personal cost it may bring our way. In the last few years in America this has become increasingly difficult due to a massive shift to the left. Terms such as political correctness, cancel culture, and wokeness have become the new filters with which our society views right from wrong and truth. The idea that there is some kind of absolute standard of truth is dismissed and anyone who holds to the teachings of the Bible is ostracized and ridiculed.
Believing in Scriptural truth is becoming alarmingly difficult in a society where new definitions of right and wrong are literally fast approaching normalcy. I believe, that living out our Christian faith over the next ten years in America, will subject us to intense persecution and a lack of the religious freedoms we cherish so much as Americans. But the truth for Christians is non-negotiable and we can never compromise it. Our job is to proclaim it and share it whenever we have the opportunity, with wisdom and love – not to win arguments but to save souls.
Pastor John MacArthur gives us a good summary of contending for the truth: “As vital as it is for us to enlist in the Truth War and do battle for our faith, it is even more important to remember why we are fighting–not merely for the thrill of vanquishing some foe or winning some argument, but out of a genuine love for Christ, who is the living, breathing embodiment of all that we hold true and worth fighting for.”1
We contend for the truth because of our desire to bring glory to the Lord and because it is only the truth of the gospel that can release mankind from the bondage of sin and open their blind eyes to a whole new joyous way of living.
My friends as our society continues to drift into a land where the truth of the Bible is rejected we, as Christians, must stay the course and shine for Jesus through our words and the way we live our lives. Remember that society doesn’t define right and wrong and that’s because it’s imprinted on our souls by God. Men can reject it, deny it, and redefine it, but the truth of the Scriptures stays the same.
Stay encouraged my fellow believer, though the times are destined to become darker in this post-modern society we live in, nothing can ever put out the brilliant light of the world – Jesus Christ! It’s only the truth of the Bible that can bring real joy to humanity. So, let’s become beacons of the truth shining forth the true light of Jesus into the darkness that surrounds us.
Albert Mohler offers the following sobering words to help us understand the battle for the truth we are facing: “We are called to be the people of the truth, even when the truth is not popular and even when the truth is denied by the culture around us. Christians have found themselves in this position before, and we will again. God’s truth has not changed. The Holy Scriptures have not changed. The Gospel of Jesus Christ has not changed. The church’s mission has not changed. Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday, today, and forever.”2
In our society where marriage is being redefined, where gender is no longer straightforward, and where the very meaning of right and wrong has been turned on its head, we must stay ever close to our Savior for persecution is coming our way. But be of good cheer for Jesus will never leave us or forsake us and will provide us the strength to endure and the joy of the Lord!
1 Charlie H. Campbell, Apologetics Quotes (Carlsbad, California: The Always Be Ready Apologetics Ministry, 2020), p. 31.
Excellent post, Curt. I’m going to share this on our Facebook Page. It’s a message that needs to be urgently heard. Thank you.