| From
the Church on the Hill
by D. Eric Williams Pastor, Cottonwood Community Church pastor@cottonwoodcommunitychurch.org Last week we revisited the subject of absolute truth. This week we look at why there is such a thing as absolute truth. Most people understand that creation equals ownership. If I build a house, pay cash for the land and materials, the house is mine. Since it is my property I am free to alter it according to my will or even knock it down completely. Or, if I choose, I can rent it out to someone else. Even if I rent it out I have the right (as owner of the property) to establish rules that the renter must abide by in order to remain a tenant. The point is, I built the house, it is mine and I am the one who sets the rules regarding the house and its use. This is why there is such a thig as absolute truth. God is the creator of the universe and therefore he is the one who makes the rules. The rules he has made are not arbitrary but are a reflection of his character and are thus loving, just and good. These laws cover all aspects of life. There is “natural law” that governs creation such as the “law of gravity” and so on. There is also moral law that is given to properly order humanity. God’s moral law is summed up (but not exhausted) in the Ten Commandments. Now, some folks might object to the idea of God’s law as absolute and unchangeable, saying Jesus restructured all that with his ministry, death and resurrection. However, Jesus himself said, do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill (Matthew 5:17). Part of what Jesus meant is that he came to perfectly obey the law of God. To fulfill the law in this way does not destroy it but provides a full realization of its intent. Jesus did not do away with God’s law but brought it to its fullest expression. He did so both in his behavior and accomplishments. Moreover, Jesus the Christ expects us to follow in his footsteps and live a life of obedience to the law of God (John 15:10, 1 Corinthians 11:11, John 2:6 and so on). We will not take the time to discuss at length the other aspects of fulfillment as it pertains to the Mosaic ritual. Yet even there we find the focus on unchanging (absolute) principles. For instance, animal sacrifice pointed to the absolute truth of redemption purchased by the shed blood of Jesus Christ. Indeed, Christ has come as the high priest of the good things to come. He passed through the greater and more perfect tent not made with hands, that is, not of this creation, and he entered once for all into the most holy place not by the blood of goats and calves but by his own blood, and so he himself secured eternal redemption (Hebrews 9:11-12). The point is this; there are absolutes and God is the author of those absolutes (law). To violate those absolutes is lawlessness, meaning sin (1 John 3:4). To receive redemption, repentance from sin is required (Mark 1:5 and many more). And my goal here is to jump on the bandwagon that Pastor Dan got up and running a few weeks ago and agree, there is no redemption without repentance. I look forward to his next installment. |
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