Shades of Gray

Shades of Gray, the idea that nothing is a concrete truth, is a concept that permeates society and the church today.  However, the foundation for logical thinking is the law of non-contradiction. The law may be stated as follows: a statement cannot be true and not true simultaneously and in the same respect.  Throughout the Bible, the law of non-contradiction is implied. If it were not, then nothing would be a claim to truth. Correct thinking is thinking that imitates God’s thinking. God’s revealed law, which is part of the law of nature, is to be found only in the Holy Scriptures.

Sometimes we have heard it said that you could not legislate morality. Some have even stated that religion should be kept separate from the law. Those statements are ridiculous. Every law is a legislation of morality because law sets a standard of acceptable. The only issue is what will be the standard?  The only issue is what will be the standard?  What will be the religion that determines what the law is? We either live in obedience to God and follow His Word for our entire legal system, or we put a manufactured substitute.  If we change the theological base of a legal system, we will change its government, its families, its education, etc. (see Deut. 4:5-9).  However, if we don’t obey God’s Word, we will pay the consequences.

The most insidious humanistic philosophy being perpetrated on us today is called relativism.  Relativism is the belief that there is absolutely no absolute.  Relativism says, “to each his own.”  In the eyes of a relativist, the greatest evil that you can commit is being close-minded, intolerant, or judgmental.  Every law in our country is based on a concept of morality.  For the Christian and non-Christian, the morality dictated by the Ten Commandments holds society together and governs us and is the basis of any just legal system.  The question isn’t whether morality or values will be part of our society.  The question is, whose values are going to rule our community?  When you take a “neutral” position between good and evil, you are in a position that directly supports and encourages evil.

In the subsequent chapters, we will be studying what ethics is, some of the prevailing philosophies that affect our thinking, why it is essential to understand worldview, Antinomianism and its humanistic contribution to the relativism of today, and finally a foundation for a biblical way of life.  To make a difference, we must know what we believe and why.  In his book The Universe Next Door, James Sire wrote that “to be a Christian theist is not just to have an intellectual world view; it is to be personally committed to the infinite-personal Lord of the Universe.  And it leads to an examined life that is well worth living.”  My prayer is that this book will help you live out Paul’s exhortation to the Romans,

“Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.  Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is - His good, pleasing and perfect will” (Rom. 12:2, NIV).