“I have not spoken in secret, from somewhere in a land of darkness; . . . I, the LORD, speak the truth; I declare what is right” (Isaiah 45:19).
To not speak the truth would not be just and the God of the Universe and the God of all that is and all that ever will be . . . is the source and foundation of all that is true, right and just. Without His cosmic yardstick or plum line we would be left to doing whatever is right in our own eyes. Mankind has been there before and doesn’t need to return (check out the Book of Judges where this pattern is repeated over and over).
Sadly, this appears where the cultural current of our times is headed. A time when we feel free to “make it up as we go.” A time when we want to cast off the yoke of Divine Wisdom and see how much progress we can make without God’s help, thank you very much! Psalm 2:2-3 states the societal drift we seem to be going through: “The kings of the earth prepare for battle; the rulers plot together against the LORD and against His anointed one. ‘Let us break their chains,’ they cry, ‘and free ourselves from slavery to God.'”
A number of books have been published recently from the atheistic perspective, assailing and assaulting a God that is not supposed to even exist. What are we to make of this and just what has prompted this venomous outpouring of Godless rhetoric? Many today would like to believe that it’s really just we ourselves who are in charge. They reason that, if there is no God, then we are the arbitrators of truth and justice, the ultimate determiners of what is right and wrong. If we agree together that there is no God, then whatever any of us determine to do, as long as it is right in our own eyes, is OK.
If we look at what are becoming, our national norms and mores, we see a shift toward the philosophy of relativism. Relativism is seen as allowing for freedom of individual choice. Relativism is the philosophical platform for the idea that conceptions of truth and moral values are not, in fact, universal or absolute, but individual and situational or circumstantial. If that seems a bit too muddled, here it is in plain words: it’s the idea that anybody can do whatever they feel they want to do at any given time, as long as it appears not to hurt anyone else personally. If that’s the case, then it’s good.
Notice, God is eliminated from the equation. There is no longer the nasty term “sin,” for there is no one to sin against. We are free to do our own thing and in the process we call it “good,” – real liberation it seems. We no longer need what at one time was referred to as “the Good Book” or a “Good God” to help us do “good deeds.” Why is this again? Because if there is no God then we are left to decide right from wrong for ourselves. We have nothing outside of ourselves, no objective standard of truth to weight the issues that will continue to come before us. In the end, all judgement will be made using only our own sets of standards, using only our own intellect, and eventually we will conclude that whatever is good and right in our own eyes is the truth. . . truth as we want the truth to be.
Look with me for a moment . . . into some future time, years from now, a time when the Bible has finally been lost in the archives of lost generations. Imagine with me a new archeological find in the long ago abandoned ruins of societal decline. The “Good Book” is rediscovered!
What will this Good Book say to some future archeologist digging through an old stash of dust-covered books, long-since abandoned by the current digital culture? Not to be too presumptive of God’s working in situations like this, but I think the following might well startle the investigative eye:
In this generation there are no longer any paper bound books. All information found needful for society has been made available through instant electronic means. So then, the archeologist is excited to find an old book shelf filled with books from a time long gone by. As he looks over his find, he is mysteriously drawn to one rather large volume. On its cover the word “Bible” is barely distinguishable. He begins to dust it off and as he takes the book in his hands, it falls open toward the middle, it opens to the Psalms . . . glancing down he sees one verse in particular . . . “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’ They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds, there is none who does good” (Psalm 14:1). He is surprised by these words. What book would dare say such a thing at this time of advanced human development?
Flipping back a page, but randomly searching this new find, he again is confronted with the same message . . . “In all his scheming, the wicked arrogantly thinks: ‘There is no accountability, [since] God does not exist'” (Psalm 10:4).
What? The words hit him like a ton of bricks. The apparent audacity of this book. To call anyone a fool is dangerous stuff. But, he asks himself, “Is it possible that I have in fact fallen for a lie. Have I been a fool? Could I, a professional archeologist with advanced degrees and extensive training in my field have been mislead and misinformed?”
Searching now for a context to this book, he turns back to the very first page and begins to read the opening words, “In the beginning God created the heavens and earth.” Thinking for a moment, he reminisces. . . “These words . . . they sound faintly familiar. Could I have heard them as a small child from a generation long passed? That’s when it must have been.” He knows that there is no mention of God in his society. Presently, in this advanced age of human achievement, no mention of God is ever made. In fact the erasure of every reference to God in the public sphere has been completely successful. The progressive mind of man is governor of all.
Continuing to wonder in the privacy of his own thoughts our archeologist thinks. . . “Can this be true? Can it be that there is a God after all?” The nagging thought has never quite left his subconscious mind. “If God exists what kind of God is He? If there is a God, should we expect that He is all-wise and all-knowing? Would He speak His truth and wisdom into the world so that the world He that had created would then know truth from falsehood?”
Fumbling with his new find, this explorer of antiquities lets the Great Book slip in his hands. As it falls down on the table before him, it lands with its pages now open near the end of the book. The words his eyes are drawn to seem to jump off the page: “Great and amazing are your deeds, O Lord God the Almighty! Just and true are your ways, O King of the nations!”(Rev. 15:3).
Just and true. These words ring in his ears as he repeats them. This book is claiming that not only is there a God, but that God is in fact true and just in all of His ways. Thinking again, . . . “If this book, this Bible is correct, then God does in fact exist and I would be a fool to deny it. And further, if God exists . . . of course, the inexhaustible depth of God’s wisdom, the incomprehensible breath of God’s unfathomable knowledge and the absolute trustworthiness of God’s absolute truth would naturally follow.
“This is the kind of God,” thought our intrepid explorer, “who can be trusted in His wisdom and judgements even when I can not always be sure of my own instincts.”
Absorbing the Word, he continues to read further, “Who can fail to fear you, God, give glory to your Name? Because you and you only are holy, all nations will come and worship you, because they see your judgments are right” (v.4, MSG). The book is beginning to reveal the basis of truth and judgement. The new reality for this discoverer is none other than God Himself. The book has supernaturally revealed to this seeker, that there is and always has been the God of Creation, the God of History, the God of the Present who speaks Truth, who is just in all that He does and demonstrates what is right and good.
Our searching scientist stands in wonderment. “What is going on? If this book, hidden from common usage for decades, is true . . . then the world in which I live . . . is a lie. Truth can be known, we don’t have to make it up as we go! But what now? Where will I go from here?”
Just then, as if in answer, the wind stirs, the pages turn and, looking down in wonder, the words from the ancient book of Jeremiah appear . . . “This is what the LORD says: ‘Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls'” (v.16).
But where is this good way that the Bible speaks of? In the wisdom of this world there are many paths. Every path is to be valued equally with one another. One road is not to be considered above any of the others. But, this new discovered Bible speaks of a particular good way! Which way is it? “O’ God have mercy on me! Show me your pathway . . . I know that I have been on the wrong road. Forgive me LORD! Show me the way.”
And . . . in an instant, a fresh rush of memory, stored years before, comes back. It was something his Great Grandmother told him as a little boy. They were the words of Jesus: “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). It turns out that there is a way in this world, laid out by God for good. This way, this path has a name, and He is real and alive today. His name is Jesus.
Glancing down, as a gust of wind turns still more pages, the book settles open, and this digger of lost treasures finds a reference about this Jesus. He reads . . . “God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:9-11).
It is at this point that seeker of ancient truths finally discovers the answers to his own journey. A new life begins. The old way of looking at things has changed. There is new eyesight. A fresh breeze moves through his mind, soul and body. Everything is new. He knows that he is not his own anymore. He now belongs in the legions of those who have gone before. Those who have risked the scorn of previous societies, (at times even sacrificing even their very lives) and given their allegiances to the rightful ruler of all of our lives. The man Christ Jesus. Our King and our God!
The days of estrangement from God, the days of living what seemed best for himself, and the days being a slave to the lies of this world are over. It’s as if he has been reborn! Could it actually be? Yes! It’s real. Thanks be to God! He is true and right and just and holy and cares enough about His people, that He is willing to die for us . . . that we might live for Him!
Glory to God in the Highest!
Serving The God Who Continues To Bring Truth Into A World Of Falsehood,
Dar