If moral choices remain relative (no right, no wrong), we will witness the death of reason, the loss of shame, and the loss of our ability to define meaning. Without absolutes, there is no shame, no meaning, no authority, no truth – reason itself will have lost meaning.
Remove God, who is the absolute meaning of Truth, and there is no authority. Without authority, there is no reason to worry about right or wrong – there really isn’t any right or wrong, so there is no guilt, no blame, and no shame.
We need more than just the Bible in today’s intellectual culture, because the Bible is considered by the secular world as not authoritative. In this context, believers must be equipped to defend their beliefs with absolutes and lead people to Christ effectively, with reason, not guilt.
Intellectual unbelievers reject Bible-thumping hell-fire-and-brimstone preaching (on a street corner or even in the pulpit).
Instead of hearing, “Repent! Turn from your sins! The end is near!” how about we simply express this to them: “Christ died for you – He just wants you to believe” and start with that. It’s simple, to the point, and gets people to thinking, not rolling their eyes.
Why say this instead? Because very few unbelievers want to turn from their sins and start living a pious life (as they see it) because their life of pleasure and debauchery suits them just fine. They see and hear these things and think, “Yeah, no way. These people are nuts!” and that’s possibly the last time they ever consider God or the Bible.
The final authority of Scripture is in Scripture – His name is “I AM“ – Jesus Christ, the resurrected Son of God – God among us who came in the flesh, was crucified for our sins, rose from the dead, and sits on the the throne of Heaven interceding to the Father for our transgressions.
In this, our time in history, it is imperative that pastor-teachers, students of the Word, and all believers be equipped to defend our faith. The Gospel is not intimidating, it is enlightening and soul-saving for a child or the sophists of society.
Truth is for everyone – some receive, some reject. They believe it or they don’t, but we cannot make headway with unbelievers, especially the intellectual ones, until we get them to listen. Perhaps it is time we changed our approach…
Happy Studying!