The Permeation Of Relativism

When I was in high school and college we learned about the post-modern philosophy of relativism.  This includes statements like “to each His own” and “it works for me.”  The  American Heritage Dictionary defines relativism as "The doctrine that no ideas or beliefs are universally true but that all are, instead, “relative” — that is, their validity depends on the circumstances in which they are applied."


When applied to religion this leads to what’s to universalism, the “all roads lead to Heaven” doctrine.   Meaning as long as you have faith in some type of god you’ll make it in (assuming you’re generally a “good” person – as if we could even measure that, haha).


Ten years ago this way of thinking still seemed to be pretty liberal to me and only a minority of people I knew actually believed in these concepts.  But now, ten years later, I’ve been realizing how much more this type of thinking has permeated our culture and even the church.


You hear people saying things like, “My God…” and we see t-shirts that say “Jesus is my homeboy” (I think that is so funny).  We make God out to be smaller and foolishly inflate ourselves until we’re somehow on the same level as Him.


Even on doctrinal issues I hear things like, “For me, I believe you can lose your salvation” or the opposite, “I believe in eternal security so I know I’ll always be saved.”


What we don’t get is that either true or it isn’t.  It doesn’t matter what YOU believe, feel, desire, or choose!  We’ve lost the concept of truth.  Truth exists outside of our opinions or even knowledge of it’s existence.  The same is true about God.  He doesn’t need our faith or belief in Him to be who He is.  In fact, what we know of Him is still very limited compared to his infinite existance.  So, ultimately we also have a limited view of the full scope truth --- so what we DO know is what God has revealed to us.


The farther we get from this accurate concept of truth, the farther we get from knowing God for who He is, the pursuit of that knowledge, and the deserving fear and respect of His majesty.


In wanting to accept others, we tolerate their faulty beliefs as alternative possibilities, diluting and changing God’s words and the message He was left for us in the Bible.  God is “unchanging, unaffected by anything or anyone.  He doesn’t change with the crowd, go with the flow, or alter to please somebody else” (Giglio, page 68).


We don’t really know what infinite is all about.  We can’t put God in a box and we will never be able to completely define Him since our minds are finite.  Infinite has no boundaries or limits.  For example:  is God powerful enough to create a boulder that’s too heavy for Him to lift?  Or, “if God is all-knowing for all time then how come He created Satan?  Can He or did He create sin?


We must accept that there is mystery to the universe that we won’t fully understand on this side of eternity.  We must learn our place and trust our awesome Creator.


-Rich

Oh the Wonderful Cross..

How dark was it? How utterly deserving of his wrath were we? Was there any good thing in us to save us from Gods Wrath? I would say Dark, Utterly, and Nada, but that's just me.

Oh the wonderful cross, what does it mean to me. It transformed a dead me into a living me. It changed a very dark me into a me that is in His light. It stopped a headlong race towards a dark and "life"less eternity. He came into my life and cleaned out the old sinful nature and took up residence. Wow what a bum deal He got!! The glories of heaven to the trash heap of my heart, bummer.

Like any new homeowner He brought new "light"bulbs. New window treatments and a lot of cleaning supplies. He brought new tunes also. Out with the I Want to hold your hand and in with Amazing Love. Out with, Grandma got Run Over by a Reindeer, and in with Indescribable, Amazing Grace, and The Old Rugged Cross.

Worship is now a way of life. There are now no more mountains to worship upon, only the mountains of our heart. There has come the day that we need to worship God in His Spirit and in His Truth. Worship is a good way to show Him that you have changed on the inside, the total giving up of ourselves to His Glory and His presence.

There is nothing we have,
To give to Him now,
But the worship he so deserves.
The glory he shows
To all of us here,
His glory we now Behold.

Oh The Wonderful Cross...

Billy G

I think that a lot of teachings on worship muddy the waters and make it more confusing. Years ago, as I led worship at another church, they claimed to have a “revelation” of worship. They followed a philosophy called the “Tabernacle of David” to supposedly gain access to the “Holy of Holies”. The way this teaching went, you “Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise.” That was the outer court. Then you eventually make your way through the inner court through a series of songs to the “Holy Place” and finally into the “Holy of holies” where the real worship and communion in the Lord’s presence was to take place.

The real meaning went like this: “Sing the fast songs first, dance around and clap, do medium tempo songs to bridge the gap into the slow songs toward the end. Then I have an ethereal experience that feels great.”

Everyone would scream “No! That’s not what I meant!” But really it was. One Sunday I sang the slow songs first about giving thanks to the Lord then moved to faster songs that were strong and heart-felt. Some came up to me and told me they didn’t understand where I was leading them. When I asked them to consider the words and that the words fit the teaching they didn’t know what to say. It didn’t fit the profile.

Worship is not about song order or (as some do) waving flags. I think about the example of Abraham. Abraham laid his bound son on an altar on Mount Moriah in obedience to God’s call and prepared to end the young man’s life. But what he said to the servants was that He and Isaac were going forward to “worship”, then come back. Abraham was going to lay down the most precious son that he loved and was planning to offer him to God. Now that is worship. Not raised hands or song selection. Laid-down lives and surrender. In that situation God graciously provided a substitute ram to take Isaac’s place, which was a type of Christ.

As I read through chapter 4 of Giglio’s book I was again reminded that what Jesus took upon himself at the cross was the penalty for my judgment.

I can muse all day long about how great He is and reflect on His immensity in Creation. I can see how small I am in relation to the great distances between stars and the mind-bending size of multiple galaxies and star-forming clusters. That’s exciting and He is worthy to be praised for all that to be sure. But when the Holy Spirit makes real to my heart about the judgment that I truly deserve and how Jesus loved me enough to take that judgment freely upon His shoulders at the cross when He didn’t have to, I’m struck with a greater awe than the size of the universe. The one shows great power, to be sure. But the other shows a great love beyond reason.

I worship at the Cross. Hebrews tells us that we have boldness to enter into the Holiest of All by the blood of Jesus (Heb. 10:19). Not jumping through hoops. Nothing generated through song order. But open entry, by a new and living way, which He has consecrated for us, through His flesh, we draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith. He provided His blood and took our judgment. That causes me to respond with gratitude and the living sacrifice of myself at His altar.

Worship demands my entire devotion, my all. No reserve, nothing held back. I’m leaning to lay it all down before Him and give him what He so rightfully deserves: everything! --Chris