The Truth Pt.1
The truth is not A truth, but indeed THE (one and only) truth. This statement may seem arrogant, self-righteous, or naive in the postmodern culture that is American society. I’m okay with that.
Postmodernism is culture that thrives on relativity and chaos. In other words, truth is relative and morality has no criteria. Worst of all it’s subtle, unassuming, and divisive. My truth may not be your truth. The line between right and wrong becomes blurred to the point that how one approaches a situation is neither right or wrong, it’s just the way he/she approaches the situation. To stand on a truth is fine, just don’t share that truth or else you run the risk of being called judgmental because your truth is not my truth. Postmodernism is corrosive. Let me be clear though, I’m not just talking about someone’s convictions.
Having convictions about something is different than having your own truth. Convictions should live in a house of truth. If there’s no housing of truth then you have chaos for lack of a strong foundation. So what is my truth? My truth is the Truth, the Way, and the Life.
The Word of God is the Truth. The times we live in now have been prophesied long ago. In fact our postmodern culture can be summed up in this scripture, “All we like sheep have gone astray, we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord has made to light upon Him the guilt and iniquity of us all (Isaiah 53:6).”
Postmodernism has shown that we have turned every one to his own way, but there is hope still because Jesus had all the guilt and iniquity of every human being laid on Him at Calvary’s cross. What is it about the gospel that makes people so heated (both bad heated and good heated lol)?
First of all the gospel of Jesus is both inclusive of everybody (John 3:16) and exclusive to those who believe (John 3:16, Matthew 7:13). *Ding* quick side note, those opponents of the gospel who hinge their arguments on what the books of (Jewish) law of the Old Testament (these are laws found mainly in the books of Leviticus and Deuteronomy) say are flawed because many of those laws have been reconciled through the death and resurrection of Christ and thus do not apply to the Christians of today. If you want specifics please contact me and we’ll sort through it together. *Ding* okay I’m back.
Second the gospel of Jesus Christ gives those who believe in it the power (the Holy Spirit) to live according to the truth of scripture. This ongoing process is called sanctification. Inevitably we will commit sins along way, this does not mean we are unconverted. But what does qualify us as not being truly converted is a lifestyle of sin. A lifestyle of intentional sin when we know it doesn’t line up with what you know to be true simply means you truly haven’t been converted to Christ (Hebrews 10:26).
This is a long post! I’ll continue part 2 later, for now, BBCOG!
Interesting devotion (at 7 a.m.!); I reflect on your “ding-moment”: in the debate of following the old law vs. the revolution of Jesus Christ, He said that he came to fulfill the law. Pastor Anthony Franklin at Christ Church brought a powerful message about this topic. The fulfillment of a concept is greater than its beginnings (that’s my paraphrasing). When Christ spoke on the commandments, he told his disciples, The law says thou shall not kill, but I say to you, if you have anger in your heart, you have broken the law–you have sinned! Therefore, the intent of your heart–more than the actual action–carries the sin. In the world, murder with intent carries a greater consequence than murder in the passion of a moment. We should consider the intention behind our actions and ask ourselves, “Are my actions in line with God’s purpose?” Looking forward to reading more of your insights (since I can’t get you to call home!) Love you, J—-Mom