The words of an old gospel song say, “My religion’s not old-fashioned, it’s real and genuine, two and two make four today, as it did in my Lord’s time; Modern days don’t make a difference, you can’t alter truth with time, my religion’s not old fashioned but it’s real and genuine.”
“You can’t alter truth with time…” That certainly is not the spirit of the age in which we live. We are told that truth is relative and that what is not true for one might in fact be true for another. Reason would say that two polar-opposite philosophies cannot both be true.
Every builder has in his toolbox, a level, a square, and a straight edge. He uses these tools make sure the structure that he is building is square and plumb and proper. He does not only use these tools at the beginning of his project, he continues to use them throughout the project.
God has provided a straight edge for mankind, it is The Bible, God’s Holy Word. It alone provides the framework for living victoriously in this world. Daily, we are bombarded by arguments and lofty opinions raised up against the knowledge of God (I Corinthians 10:5). When confronted with these philosophies of man, we must lay them alongside of the straight edge of the Word of God, just like a carpenter lays a piece of lumber along his straight edge. When the straight edge in the carpenter’s hand shows that the piece of lumber is bowed and bent, he does not jettison the straight edge, he looks for a straighter piece of lumber.
As Christians, we are called to communicate the message of Jesus Christ, in which truth and absolutes are not only assumed but treated as fact. Jesus said, “I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life, no one comes to the Father but through Me.” That statement alone greatly narrows the field of that which can be called absolute truth. And the mood of our age reacts to those words of our Savior, through clenched teeth. Someone has written, “Moods can be dangerous, because they can crush reason under the weight of feeling. The Christian message is not based on moods or feelings but truth. Moods change, truth does not.”
Keep your straight edge handy!