Caring Enough to Confront - What Ever Happened to Right and Wrong?, Part 2

Let me ask you, when and how did moral absolutes like sexual fidelity, honesty, sacrificial love, give way to safe sex, adultery, cheating, and living together? Why and how has the world's values infiltrated the Church and neutralized the message of Christ?

That's today. Thanks for joining us for this Edition of Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram. Chip's our Bible teacher for this international teaching and discipleship ministry focused on helping Christians live like Christians.

And today we're wrapping up our series, Caring Enough to Confront, with the remainder of Chip's message, Whatever Happened to Right and Wrong? Our prayer for this entire study has been for believers to realize the relevance and usefulness of God's Word in every situation and how we're to engage this lost world by balancing grace and truth. So if you've been encouraged or motivated by this series, take a minute after this message and share it with a friend or loved one.

You can easily do that through the Chip Ingram app or by sending them the free MP3s that you'll find at livingontheedge.org. Thanks for spreading the word about how this teaching is impacting you. Last time, Chip walked us through the slow abandonment of absolute truth beginning with the Age of Enlightenment through Charles Darwin and evolution to the God is Dead movement in the late 1800s. Today Chip will bring this history lesson closer to home and remind us what Jesus said about truth.

So if you're ready, let's settle in for part two of Chip's insightful talk. And then it came across to America. And then they begin to teach this in the universities and begin to make its way early in the seminaries of the major denominations. Dewey then in the early part of the 20th century would say, you know something, the real issue isn't what's right or what's wrong, the real issue is what works and pragmatism was birthed. And basically the whole educational system rather than the classics and this is true and what we know and God being the authority, it's man's the center, our reason trumps everything, truth is something that is a matter of perspective, and then it moved because since that doesn't work, that reality doesn't work in real life.

We'll look at it in a minute. Then what happened, people begin to experience despair. So Kierkegaard would say from a sort of a religious perspective, you need to take a leap of faith to find meaning. Jaspers would say you need a final experience. And so pretty soon the only way to authenticate truth is your experience, existentialism.

So if it feels good, do it. And this would give birth to situational ethics. And so I still remember as about a 10 year old, my mom was a guidance counselor and William Coffin Sloan, William Sloan Coffin excuse me, wrote the book and in all of our public schools we begin to teach situational ethics. And it was taught by giving these people these impossible dilemmas. What would you do if there's five people back in the room?

Would you lie in order to protect them? And no sense of yes there are competing values. And so in all of our public schools we begin to teach there is no absolute right or wrong.

There is no moral fabric. And so you get the birth of the 60s and the 60s is a throwing off all moral constraint. And then the 70s is the age of experimentation. The 80s becomes the knee generation.

It's not just what works but what works for me and greed is paramount. And then the 90s we have the kids of the parents of the 60s who grew up without any sense of absolutes. And so now we're surprised because the divorce rate goes from single digits to over 50%. Why? Who's to say? The question in life isn't what's right. It's not what's wrong. It's what works. In fact, it's what works for you. Do your own thing. That's true for you but not true for me.

Do you get it? Here's what you got to understand. All of what I just shared philosophically and historically is why when your kids go to trade school or college or hang out in your high schools at 16 or 17 and say I believe in Jesus and people start asking them questions one, two, three and four that they don't have any good answers. And that's why, by the way, inside the church the problem may be as big or as difficult. People in Bible teaching churches now would say that living together is morally acceptable.

Homosexuality or loving another person of the same sex is morally acceptable. This is in the church. And when you say things like this is right and this is wrong, you're pegged to some sort of old-fashioned don't you get it, they have no idea where they got that. When a guy hoists up a beer and says life is meaningless and kills someone indiscriminately, what he doesn't understand is that's what John Parsart said. Exactly. There is no meaning. There is no rhyme. If we're from chaos, random chance, this is just the logical flow of what's happened.

And the church has got to wake up. And by the way, if this interests some of you, and I certainly hope it does, Schaeffer's work is a good place to start. And what Schaeffer will do is give you the flow of philosophy and philosophers, and then what happens is it's the philosophers and the intellectual elites, it starts there. And it's always, oh that's kooky, that's out there, no one will ever believe that. And then it usually filters into the arts.

Now think about it. If you go back to Byzantine art and the pictures of art and pictures of God and symbols, and now you think of quote modern art. If life doesn't have meaning, if there's not a right, if there's not a wrong, if there's not an order, you can take paint and throw it at a canvas and see it and go wow. Or you can be like John Cage who went into a jazz place and just began to pound on the piano indiscriminately and then stopped. Well what's he saying? The music simply represents your world view.

And so it goes from the arts, then it moves to the music, and it goes to the general culture. If you think I'm exaggerating a bit, let me read an article from a high school student, okay? High school student.

And I want you to listen for some of the buzz words and the key words. This is a high school student. I want you to think about absolute versus relative truth. I want you to think about the shift. I want you to think about the implications in terms of not just morals but at the core of thinking.

He wrote this in his high school paper. It's entitled God. There are too many things in Christian dogma that I can't accept. The first of which is the universal idea of truth. Good and evil.

I can't rationalize all of that. All religion is based on subjective views of the universe. I wonder where he got that. All views are based on, I mean it's so authoritative, objective views of the universe. You could sit down with that kid and say, well, actually you're at odds against thousands of years of human history. He goes on. He says, my problem is that in your opinion God made the universe. In other people's opinions someone else did so.

So on and on it goes. I do believe that everyone is entitled to their own subjective reality, relative truth. You're entitled to your own subjective reality. There is no truth. There is no real reality but you're entitled to your little dotted line to perceive it any way you want. Because I just can't see how one opinion is right and one opinion is wrong.

He's a high school junior senior. What he's saying is pluralism. But he has no idea where this came from. I believe that all religions are right for particular groups. But there's no one religion that's right for everyone. My God is not a God of love but a God of reason.

I wonder where he got that. Anything that can be explained with facts and charts seems reasonable to me. I worship, notice we all worship something, I worship the idea that nothing is intangible. That man can explain anything given enough time and given enough data. My God is not a person or a being.

He is an idea. I mean, I can just literally trace the philosophers and the thinking that got him there. The tragedy is life doesn't work that way. How do you explain love? How do you explain personality? How do you explain the reason for being here?

How do you explain the longing in your heart when you're lonely? How do you explain the particulars and the beauty of life that just randomly came? Well, here's his explanation. He says we live in a mechanical universe. Your God doesn't exist here.

We don't have any equation for love. You know what happens when you die in a mechanical universe? You rot. No clouds, no angels, no free candy bars.

You rot and I rot. Now think of the moral implications of this type of thinking for this person when he would choose to be married. Or when he goes to work for you. Or when he has a decision to make about putting someone ahead of himself that might have a need.

There's not only no remorse, there's no reason logically. He finishes by saying, why do I create such a world? Why do I make this place into a machine functioning on random chance and chaos? Why do I make it like that? It's for the same reason that you make life about the kingdom of God. It's just my opinion of reality.

If you don't start turning your brain cells on and if the church doesn't start turning our brain cells on and start learning how to think, not moralize, not just don't do that honey, don't do that honey, that's wrong, that's right. Why? Why? And on what basis? We've got to get off our tablets, get off our Google searches and read some things with substance and content and reality. And teach our kids to think and understand where we are in world history and how we got here and where we're going and what it's going to take to change. The church is full of pragmatists. Well what kind of worship pursuits do you have? Whatever works. What should you do in your marriage?

What should you do with your child? Whatever works for me. What we do is we just say, and Jesus will help me get whatever works for me.

He becomes sort of like a cosmic vending machine. Make my life work, Jesus, for me, my way, as I perceive it. And so that's why I remember discipling a young man who came to Christ and about six or nine months into it was growing rapidly. And I remember one morning we met and he just turns and he goes, I've made a decision. I said, what's that?

He said, this relationship with Jesus is very real, it's very helpful, it's really transformed my life. But I've decided all the issues that regard to premarital sex and sexual content, I'm just not going to obey those. I just don't, those aren't for me.

Those don't fit in my lifestyle. Well so what's he saying? He's saying, I'm God. I choose what's best for me. I call the shots.

The ultimate authority and center is man. What he doesn't understand is he's mixed his existential relative truth into his new experience. And here's what you need to understand.

There's painful consequences. So you don't have to believe in gravity to jump off a three story building. You don't have to believe what God says about truth. You don't have to believe what he says about human sexuality. You don't have to believe what he says about homosexuality. You don't have to believe what he says about debt or lack of debt.

You don't have to believe anything the Bible says about wisdom. But when you violate it because it is absolute and it is true, there are devastating consequences. Painful ones. And here's what you need to hear and what we need to share. It breaks God's heart. It breaks God's heart.

My children perish for lack of knowledge, the old prophet would say. You're listening to Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram. Before we hear the rest of Chip's message, let me remind you that we are a listener supported ministry. Your financial gifts help us create programs like this one, develop new resources, and encourage pastors globally. Prayerfully consider supporting us today. Then go to livingontheedge.org to give a gift.

Thanks so much for your help. Well, here again is Chip. How is this relative truth or absolute truth, how's it played out daily? Here's the interesting part. The public rhetoric in our day and now in the church is that all are right, pluralism, tolerance, truth is relative. The private reaction, however, is my rights, justice, and fairness, truth is absolute. In other words, I can be as existential as I want, Christian or non-Christian, and I can say everyone has a right. You have your truth, I have my truth, and now I'm driving on the freeway, and as I drive on the freeway, someone cuts in front of me.

What are you doing? Why are you angry? Who are you to say that that space in front of you should be yours? Or someone gets promoted ahead of you. Well, who are you to judge how your supervisor decides? Or they get a raise and you don't. Or someone leaves you that you love for another person and they betray you, and you get angry and frustrated, it's not fair. Fair?

Who are you? That truth is okay for them, this truth is okay for you. See, here's what you've got to understand. Everyone draws the line somewhere. You can verbalize or publicly say, your truth for you, my truth for me, everyone, 100% of the population, draws the line and you have an absolute. And when your absolute is violated, you get hurt and wounded and angry. And when someone you care about gets a, quote, raw deal, how can there be a raw deal? There is no truth, there are no absolutes.

It's just random, no one's consistent, do you get it? And one of the ways that we help those inside the church and outside the church when their lives are falling apart and when things aren't working is to gently help them understand there is absolute truth and when you violate it, there's a price to pay, but you have a heavenly Father who loves and cares about you. And he wants you to understand what it is and cooperate with how he's created life. It's Galatians chapter six, verses seven and eight. It says, don't be deceived, God cannot be mocked, a man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please the sinful nature from that sinful nature will reap destruction. And the one who sows to please the Spirit from the Spirit will reap eternal life.

See, absolute truth is absolute truth. And we see soaring divorce rates, breakups, communicable diseases, people in debt at levels that turn their world and their life upside down, people that have addictions that they can't shake, trying to fill the gaps and the holes that the world doesn't fill. You reap what you sow. Now what I want you to do is I want you to step back and think about what it means for you to think. What are you going to do with what you've learned? How much time are you going to just keep asking and answering the question? Not by your mouth or your words, but by your behavior that basically as a Christian says, what works for me? What works for my family? How much energy is going to keep going on to I've got to make more, I've got to get my kids in the right schools, we've got to do this, we've got to do that, we've got to do that.

They have to be involved in all these sports so that they sow that, sow that, win that, we can, sow that. When's the last time you sat around the table and had some deep discussions? When and where and how are you modeling truth? How is your life different? How do you think differently?

And here's the thing, I ask myself, how much of this because it's in the air and the water and the culture, so subtly is squeezing me into its mold without me even knowing? Turn to the back page because I want to give you what Jesus said. He was the most tolerant person who ever lived. He was the kindest person who ever lived, but he made outrageous claims. He said he never sinned and no one could prove that he ever sinned. He not only said he never sinned, but he said some even more outrageous things. Jesus' outrageous claim about himself, John 14, 6. Follow along, he said, I'm the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except by me. That is a very intolerant, non-existential statement.

But in space-time history, he lived it out perfectly and rose from the grave. And there's an absolute truth that when you're down and when you're hurting and when this life is over, there is a future and it's real whether you, quote, believe it or experience it or not in the right now. Notice his outrageous claim about his word, John 17, 17. Sanctify them, this last prayer on earth, sanctify them by your word. Your word is truth.

There's something you can bank on. This is Jesus, the one who rose from the dead. He said, this is true. It doesn't change. It doesn't shift.

It doesn't depend on circumstances. And after his outrageous claims, notice his outrageous concern for you. He would say this to a woman who'd been married five times, was living with someone, and instead of a shame on you, what's wrong with you, he said to her, you're missing out on life. And after a little bit of a religious discussion, he says, here's what I want you to know, John 4, 23. He says, I want you to know that there coming a day and is now when your heavenly Father is seeking or pursuing those who will worship and follow him in spirit and in truth.

In truth, God has a concern for you, a concern for me, a concern for your kids, a concern for your neighbors. And he's pursuing people. He longs for relationship and connection that's real and absolute.

And all the things we talked about don't change. And then finally, I love his concern in John 8, 32. He says, you'll know the truth, and the truth will what? Set you free. He wants you to be free, free of guilt, free of anxiety, free of overwhelming debt, free of addictions, free of pleasing people, free of codependency. He wants you to be free, but you'll never be free with the, well, that's good for you, that's good for me. If it feels good, do it.

If it feels good, do it, and then you pay later. Here's my challenge. Let's become a people who think clearly, truthfully, winsomely, no bashing of anyone. What's true? Let's look at the evidence, and then let's go into our homes and go into our neighborhoods and go to our workplaces as thinking people who understand truth and where and how we got where we are so that we can make a difference. You're listening to Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram, and the message you just heard, whatever happened to right and wrong, is from our series Caring Enough to Confront. Chip will join us in studio to share some insights from today's talk in just a minute.

In the past, ships relied on lighthouses to help them navigate dangerous conditions and avoid wrecking on rocky shorelines. Through this timely series, Chip and our guest teachers helped us realize why God's Word remains our most relevant and accurate guide in this morally dark world. We hope you learned how the Bible confronts the most controversial topics of our day and calls believers to engage society with grace and love while standing firm on the truth. Let me encourage you to go back and revisit any part of this series at livingontheedge.org or through the Chip Ingram app. Also, throughout this series, Chip and our guest teachers mentioned a lot of resources to educate you about what's happening in our world and prepare you to respond in a Christ-like manner. We've gathered all of these resources together for you, so check out the entire list right now at livingontheedge.org.

That's livingontheedge.org. Well, Chip's back in studio now with an important challenge for all of you. Thanks, Dave. You know, God's Word is foundational to everything. But simply hearing the Word of God isn't enough.

It inspires and encourages. But after Jesus taught the multitudes, what did he do? He selected 12, and he formed a small group. And at Living on the Edge a number of years ago, we realized that we were teaching millions of people, but we really didn't give them a chance to get into small groups. And we took this leap of faith, and we said, let's create small group resources.

And Chip, why don't you actually lead it on video so they don't just hear something and then turn it off? Fast forward, we have about 25 small group resources, and here's what I know. Life change happens in small groups when you have a heart-to-heart relationship, when there's accountability, when you hear God's Word, and then you talk about it, and then you share, and then you pray for one another, and then you have a meal together, and then when you're hurting or when you blow it, there's people there for you.

That's how life change really occurs. And in this new world that we live in where, you know what, you can do this all around the country, and then you get on Zoom together and discuss what you watched, share it together, you can have a small group with your family, with business partners, with people overseas. I've heard from a lot of people the difference it made in their life. And I think back to those who came before who gave us the money to create the small group resources, not just one, not just two, but an entire array, a catechism, if you will, of discipleship, of marriage, of parenting, of leadership, of dealing with emotions, of walking with God. And so I want to ask you, number one, if you're not leading a small group or in one, go to our website, LivingOnTheEdge.org, and launch one. Built into our resources is the leadership and the information you need to lead a group well. And number two, would you be willing to go to LivingOnTheEdge.org today and make a gift and help us create small groups for life transformation?

Thanks, Chip. Well, if you'd like to help us minister to countless people through our small group resources, can I encourage you to prayerfully consider becoming a monthly partner? When you give regularly to Living on the Edge, you help us produce these impactful tools. Become a monthly partner today by going to LivingOnTheEdge.org or by calling 888-333-6003. That's 888-333-6003 or visit LivingOnTheEdge.org.

App listeners, tap donate. Well, here again is Chip to wrap up this series with a final application. As we close today's program and close this sort of philosophical view of how we got where we are, you know, sometimes we just think that the way life is today, it's been that way forever and ever and ever. And in many ways, what's ironic is the values of today, the things that people are saying are okay, there's no problem, really are all relatively new.

I mean, the concept of absolute truth was the airtight way that mankind has thought for thousands of years up until the last, you know, 60 or 70 years. And so, I would encourage you, if you look around and you see a lot of chaos and you wonder why a lot of marriages aren't making it and a lot of people that seem like great people, but boy, when their kids go away to college or they move out of the house at 18 or 19 or kind of cashing in the faith and walking away, here's what you need to understand. Jesus is the truth. The world is bombarding and has so influenced the church and Christians in our thinking that, you know, we're like that frog in the kettle that little by little by little as you heat up the water on the stove and, you know, that frog is in that kettle or that pan and it won't jump out. Many of us just don't understand how different we're living and thinking is from what's really true.

And can I just make a very practical and simple suggestion, but one that I'm realizing more and more people don't do? Jesus said he was the truth, but he said your word is truth. Sanctify them or set people apart or change them, transform them by your word.

And here's my experience. Most Christians don't read the Bible. I mean, that sounds crazy, but I don't mean a little here, a little there, but I mean a Bible reading program, not where you're checking a box and saying that I read through the Bible in a year, but I mean reading the Bible as a personal love letter from God to say, God, change my thinking, inform me. I want to know you, your truth, your word. I want wisdom.

I want you to guide me in every relationship, every decision, every purchase. When you are in God's word, he will allow you to see what's true and he'll protect you. When I meet people with really big problems who really love God, who are very sincere, what I find over and over and over is there's no grounding in the truth. The greatest thing you could do is say, oh God, I want to know what's true and I want to follow it and get in God's word on a regular basis. So let me encourage you to get into God's word to get into the truth.

And you know what? Today, just tell God, I'm going to read through the book of John or the book of Mark or I'm going to start in 1 Corinthians and just get on your knees for 15 minutes and open your Bible or shut your door at the office or take a break there at the job site and for 15 or 20 minutes say, I'm going to get into God's word. Please speak to me and see if he doesn't. Thanks, Chip. And if you're looking for a more intentional way to read your Bible and spend time with God, we have a tool that can help. It's called Daily Discipleship with Chip. This is a free video resource we've created where you can learn the basics of personal Bible study. For the entire course, you'll spend no more than 10 minutes with Chip in a particular passage of Scripture.

Then he'll challenge you to study 10 more minutes on your own. It's so easy, you'll be blown away by what you'll learn about God and his word. So sign up for any of our Daily Discipleship sessions today. Just go to DailyDiscipleship.com, tap Listeners, tap Discipleship. Well, for Chip and the entire team here, this is Dave Druey thanking you for listening to this Edition of Living on the Edge, and I hope you'll be with us again next time.