Sometimes we find valuable things in the strangest places. For years modern thinkers have been denying the existence of absolutes in ethics and law. “Everything is relative,” they say, and it seems that many willingly agree with them. The judicial system in our country must have agreed, for crime is rampaging in America, while the punishment for crime is even more difficult to find today than it was yesterday. Lawmakers must agree, for they appear determined to ignore any law that would imply that human life is of intrinsic value or that the taking of life is “wrong,” and are rushing headlong to offer amnesty to those who violate today’s laws.
Many churches evidently agree, for it appears that most have concluded that it matters not what one believes, just as long as he/she believes something. To many of them, even the Bible is not absolutely right, but merely a collection of out-dated superstitions and man-made traditions that are subject to modification by man.
Strangely enough, right here in central Texas an “absolute” was discovered in a most unlikely place. It was an unlikely place in that it involved government, money, law, big business, and the bureaucracy. To make it even more unlikely, this “absolute” was reported in the local newspaper, which is usually the most ardent opponent of moral or legal absolutes in our community. They even seem to agree with the appearance of this “absolute” truth!
What was this monumentally significant discovery? By what means are we made aware that there are still some absolutes out there in the world? Well, we did read about it in Austin’s daily paper, and it involved the attempt on the part of a large contractor to submit their bid on the construction of the new airport terminal building that was constructed a decade ago.
What was the problem? The bid was turned in just seconds too late to be accepted. If the messenger had been just one minute earlier, the bid could have been submitted. I can almost hear the “pluralists” mourning the injustice of it all; how that rule was of “no consequence”; how the clock might have been wrong; or something. But when the official time clock struck the noon hour, it was too late, and no one would even consider changing it. An official commented,
“A rule is a rule; late is late. If they allowed a late bid in one case, they would have to allow it in others, creating a dangerous precedent.”
How absurd it is for modern men to deny the existence of legal and moral absolutes. Even more so for religious leaders to deny that God’s laws are absolute. “A rule is a rule,” and when the laws of God are violated with man’s approval it “creates a dangerous precedent” indeed. The man who turned in the late bid was described as being “totally surprised.” Why, bless his heart, he did not realize that some rules are absolutely enforced, and it cost him and his company dearly.
Unfortunately, some are going to be “totally surprised” when man is called to the “judgment seat” of God. Sadly, many will “tremble” just as Felix did (Acts 24:25) when they realize the “judgment to come” will be based upon absolutes, indisputable specifics, incontrovertible, irrefutable precepts from God, not man. We can be “sure that the judgment of God is according to truth,” Romans 2:2, not the preferences of modern man.
Many will be surprised to find that the question of abortion is not merely a matter of opinion, determined by a Gallup survey, but is the murder of an innocent life (Proverbs 6:17, Galatians 5:19-21). Others will be shocked to find that adultery and fornication are not merely “a lifestyle choice,” or the “accepted ethical norm of this century,” but are violations of the absolutes of God’s laws. They may have believed modern thinkers who declare that such behavior should be “expected under contemporary standards.” God said the following in 1 Corinthians 6:9-10:
“Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God,”
Does not sound as though these will be negotiable items, does it?
Some will be amazed to find that their opinions regarding “faith alone” contradict the scriptures. Others will be dismayed to find that the principles of denominationalism are foreign to the precepts of God, and will not avail when we stand before the “judgment seat of Christ,” Romans 14:10 and Ephesians 1:22-23, 4:4.
Others will be saddened to find that God’s commands to “worship Him in spirit and in truth,” and “lay by in store as God hath prospered him,” are not to be taken lightly, John 4:23-24, 1 Corinthians 16:1-2. Rejecting the Bible or denying its inspiration does not alter the fact that God’s commands are absolute and non-negotiable.
For those set on changing God’s truths to suit their own personal preferences, they will be as surprised as that messenger was when his late bid was rejected. And by then it will be too late for them and for those who were deceived by their words.
Some day the clock of life will strike the final hour. Then it will be too late to get ready. Isn’t this something worth thinking about? And acting upon?
