Genuine holiness can only be defined from the reference point of God’s truth. Absolute truth. This concept has become an enigma in our contemporary world. 16% of Americans report that whatever works in their life is the only truth they know. 42% condone sexual relations with someone other than their spouse. 30% of adults support homosexuality, and 38% approve of pornography. These percentages may seem small, but in relation to the nation’s population, 30% reaches almost 89 million people. This is more than the entire population of Germany! “So what?” you are thinking, “That is the secular world! What do you expect?”  

19% of Christians assert that whether or not it is acceptable to view pornographic videos or pictures is a matter of personal taste, not morality. 33% of born again Christians find abortion a morally acceptable behavior. Only half (53%) of all church leaders believe in absolute moral truth! What has happened to the sanctity of our faith? What becomes of the infallible, “God-breathed” Bible if truth has been declared relative and morality has been branded obsolete?  

Francis Schaeffer correctly foreshadowed the repercussions of the society that rejects truth: 

“And if we hold this world view we live in a universe that is ultimately silent, with no meaning and purpose, with no basis for law and morality, with no concept of what it means to be human and of the value of human life. All is relative and arbitrary. And so modern man is left with nothing to fill the void but hedonism or materialism or whatever other “ism” may be blowing in the wind.”

We should consider ourselves amply warned concerning the instability of our intelligence and emotion. How many have fallen into trouble by elevating their intellect to equality with the wisdom of God?

“The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?”

Truth is defined as “a transcendent, fundamental or spiritual reality.” The word transcendent is personified as “beyond the limits of all possible experience and knowledge.” This explanation distinctly alludes to a resource greater than just us. Truth is also defined as “fidelity to an original or to a standard.” Again, we are pointed to a deity that engineered the original to which all others adhere.  

God declares Himself the source of absolutes, the “God of truth,” the beginning and the end, forever the same.

“Even they will perish, but You endure; And all of them will wear out like a garment; Like clothing You will change them and they will be changed. But You are the same, And Your years will not come to an end.”

To sincerely surrender to God’s appeal for obedience, we must define His standard of holiness by which we are to be separate within the world. The Russian revolutionary, Lenin, once said, “A lie told often enough becomes the truth.” On the contrary, one of the fundamental attributes of truth is the law of noncontradiction, which states that definitive truth cannot deny itself. That characteristic alone refutes the belief of relativism that purports that individuals define their own truth as shaped by their culture or experience or mood. To live in our world as Christians, we must confront this matter of truth. God has no tolerance for the all-embracing grace we extend over the sin of our society. Scripture mandates that we seek God “in spirit and in truth.” This demands an evaluation of our apathetic lifestyles. The law of noncontradiction combined with the specificity of whether to believe in Christ means that truth for the Christian is confrontational. The Christian cannot rest contented and happy in a world oozing with error.

God draws a line in the sand.

“You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.”

You are at a crossroads and you must make a choice before you can move forward on God’s path for your life.

“Therefore, come out from them and separate yourselves from them, says the Lord. Don’t touch their filthy things, and I will welcome you.”

Lukewarm Christianity is borne out of the belief that we can ride the religious fence and get away with it. Why do we submit ourselves to the ‘religious’ restrictions of the church, but never surrender before the majesty of the Savior? What do we have to gain by limiting our lifestyles just enough to fit into our choir robes on Sunday, but never allowing the Holy Spirit to wash over us that we might lift holy hands to the Lord in genuine praise? God left no room for interpretation regarding His opinion towards lethargy.  

“But since you are like lukewarm water, I will spit you out of my mouth! You say, `I am rich. I have everything I want. I don’t need a thing!’ And you don’t realize that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked. I am the one who corrects and disciplines everyone I love. Be diligent and turn from your indifference.”

Step out on the faith of God’s character. Choose now to pursue and embrace God’s truth unconditionally. Cry out for Jesus with the father in Mark 9, “I do believe; help my unbelief!” May God be found true, though every man be found a liar.

Genuine holiness can only be defined from the reference point of God’s truth. Absolute truth. This concept has become an enigma in our contemporary world. 16% of Americans report that whatever works in their life is the only truth they know. 42% condone sexual relations with someone other than their spouse. 30% of adults support homosexuality, and 38% approve of pornography. These percentages may seem small, but in relation to the nation’s population, 30% reaches almost 89 million people. This is more than the entire population of Germany! “So what?” you are thinking, “That is the secular world! What do you expect?”  

19% of Christians assert that whether or not it is acceptable to view pornographic videos or pictures is a matter of personal taste, not morality. 33% of born again Christians find abortion a morally acceptable behavior. Only half (53%) of all church leaders believe in absolute moral truth! What has happened to the sanctity of our faith? What becomes of the infallible, “God-breathed” Bible if truth has been declared relative and morality has been branded obsolete?  

Francis Schaeffer correctly foreshadowed the repercussions of the society that rejects truth: 

“And if we hold this world view we live in a universe that is ultimately silent, with no meaning and purpose, with no basis for law and morality, with no concept of what it means to be human and of the value of human life. All is relative and arbitrary. And so modern man is left with nothing to fill the void but hedonism or materialism or whatever other “ism” may be blowing in the wind.”

We should consider ourselves amply warned concerning the instability of our intelligence and emotion. How many have fallen into trouble by elevating their intellect to equality with the wisdom of God?

“The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?”

Truth is defined as “a transcendent, fundamental or spiritual reality.” The word transcendent is personified as “beyond the limits of all possible experience and knowledge.” This explanation distinctly alludes to a resource greater than just us. Truth is also defined as “fidelity to an original or to a standard.” Again, we are pointed to a deity that engineered the original to which all others adhere.  

God declares Himself the source of absolutes, the “God of truth,” the beginning and the end, forever the same.

“Even they will perish, but You endure; And all of them will wear out like a garment; Like clothing You will change them and they will be changed. But You are the same, And Your years will not come to an end.”

To sincerely surrender to God’s appeal for obedience, we must define His standard of holiness by which we are to be separate within the world. The Russian revolutionary, Lenin, once said, “A lie told often enough becomes the truth.” On the contrary, one of the fundamental attributes of truth is the law of noncontradiction, which states that definitive truth cannot deny itself. That characteristic alone refutes the belief of relativism that purports that individuals define their own truth as shaped by their culture or experience or mood. To live in our world as Christians, we must confront this matter of truth. God has no tolerance for the all-embracing grace we extend over the sin of our society. Scripture mandates that we seek God “in spirit and in truth.” This demands an evaluation of our apathetic lifestyles. The law of noncontradiction combined with the specificity of whether to believe in Christ means that truth for the Christian is confrontational. The Christian cannot rest contented and happy in a world oozing with error.

God draws a line in the sand.

“You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.”

You are at a crossroads and you must make a choice before you can move forward on God’s path for your life.

“Therefore, come out from them and separate yourselves from them, says the Lord. Don’t touch their filthy things, and I will welcome you.”

Lukewarm Christianity is borne out of the belief that we can ride the religious fence and get away with it. Why do we submit ourselves to the ‘religious’ restrictions of the church, but never surrender before the majesty of the Savior? What do we have to gain by limiting our lifestyles just enough to fit into our choir robes on Sunday, but never allowing the Holy Spirit to wash over us that we might lift holy hands to the Lord in genuine praise? God left no room for interpretation regarding His opinion towards lethargy.  

“But since you are like lukewarm water, I will spit you out of my mouth! You say, `I am rich. I have everything I want. I don’t need a thing!’ And you don’t realize that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked. I am the one who corrects and disciplines everyone I love. Be diligent and turn from your indifference.”

Step out on the faith of God’s character. Choose now to pursue and embrace God’s truth unconditionally. Cry out for Jesus with the father in Mark 9, “I do believe; help my unbelief!” May God be found true, though every man be found a liar.