Dear Lighthouse,
Have you ever read George Orwell’s book
1984? It’s pretty good - creepy and weird, but good. At the end of the story the main character sits alone in a cafe after being ‘fixed’ by the
Thought Police. He mutters to himself quietly that 1+1 = 3. And to him it does. He lives in a world where truth has been
victimized and abused. History, current events, daily life - everything in his
world - is controlled by the State. Truth is transient and relative to however
it best benefits Oceania.
You know, it sounds a lot like our world today,
doesn’t it? We’ve got Bono saying the ‘f-word’ on TV,
but he’s defended by the FCC because he used the word ‘appropriately’!
We’ve got Janet exposing herself at the Super Bowl and now her popularity is soaring! We’ve got the mayor who is allowing gay marriages in California being praised as a champion while
the judge in Alabama who refused to take down the 10 Commandments from his courtroom was persecuted as intolerant! We’ve got commercials advertising Vegas as a place to go where you can sin with no lasting consequences! We’ve got the ungodly world around us screaming that there is no ultimate truth
or authority. They assert there are no absolutes except the absolute that there
are none! I ask you, is the world upside down today? Does 1+1 = 3? Rest assured the answer is ‘NO!’.
Flash back further in time to another book that’s
pretty good. It’s the book of Jude.
Have you ever read this one? Well, let me encourage you to check it out
this week. If you’ve got 5 minutes then you have time to read Jude. It’s one chapter - 25 verses - long. It’s
written straightforward and to the point. And I believe it’s written to
us today.
Jude warns his readers about ungodly men who
move among us with the intent to corrupt and confuse. They move in our culture
and move within the very walls of the Church. Jude describes these false teachers
and exposes their behaviors. He calls them immoral, dreamers, unreasoning animals,
abusive, blemishes, clouds without rain, wandering stars, twice dead trees, wild waves, fault-finders, grumblers, and dividers. He says their goal is to get us (Christians) off track and severed from life in the
Spirit. They want us to follow our own desires or our instinct for what we think
is right without regard for what God says is right.
You see, there is a Truth in this world. The enemy has tried very hard to extinguish it, to beat it to death, to shout it down,
and to crucify it, but the enemy has failed. Jesus says in John 14:6, “I
am the way and the truth and the life”. The truth is there is a moral anchor,
there are sign-posts, there are guidelines and they all come from the Father. 1+1
does equal 2. Truth, like mathematics, is not relative or transient. Moral relativism is an enormous threat to the Christian today. It
beckons us to think a little sin is okay. A little tolerance for sin is good. A little bending of God’s precepts - especially in churches - is necessary and
even desirable. I believe it is not. Paul
said, “a little yeast works through the whole batch of dough” (I Cor. 5:6).
In other words sin has the tendency to spread and corrupt and dull our awareness of it.
Look again at the examples cited. Those mentioned glory in their sin and
see nothing wrong with their behavior. Compare that with Philippians 3:19, “Their
destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame.
Their mind is on earthly things.” Did you catch that? Their glory is in their shame! That’s our world alright. Just as Adam and Eve were ashamed of their nakedness once they sinned and their innocence
was gone, so shame should be felt by those who sin. However, our culture has
ignored the shame for so long that it no longer has the intended effect. Many
have had their “consciences ... seared as with a hot iron” (I Tim. 4:2) and now feel no guilt when they
indulge in evil.
So, how are we to respond? Again, look to the book of Jude for advice. Pick up at verse
20: “But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit. Keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to
eternal life. Be merciful to those who doubt; snatch others from the fire and
save them; to others show mercy, mixed with fear - hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.”
Get it?
Look at the advice. ‘Build yourselves up’ I think Bible study, a knowledge of God’s Word, fits the bill here.
‘Pray’ That one is self explanatory. ‘Keep yourselves in God’s love’ I think
fellowship with other saints would accomplish this nicely. The last verse encourages
us to be merciful and show our love for others by sharing with them the saving message of the Gospel. But don’t become entangled in their corruption lest you be tempted to return to your former way of
thinking and acting. It’s really a powerful message and a challenge. But it is the driving force behind the Lighthouse and our community of believers.
I encourage you to stay accountable in Bible
study, prayer and fellowship. I commend you for the spiritual growth and zeal
that is being demonstrated across the Lighthouse Fellowship. I urge you to keep
up the good works that glorify God. And I caution us all not to fall victim to
the world’s trap of moral relativism. “Let us hold firm unswervingly
to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful” (Heb. 10:23). Do
not give up the Anchor that keeps our Fellowship strong and firm.
Think you can do it? James said true religion is “to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself
from being polluted by the world”. This is a tall order, but
let me give you the final encouragement found in the last two verses of Jude’s book.
I’ve shared these verses before with you, I know, but they are so good:
“To Him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before His glorious presence without fault
and with great joy - to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power, and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before
all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.”
Keep yourself pure this week and come glorify Him with us at the Lighthouse this Sunday.
1+1=2 and God is able
to keep you from falling.
Serving Him with you,
Evan
