Resources/Articles
Truth In Our Age
We live in an age of religious and moral confusion. Morality is in a state of serious degeneration. And instead of being concerned about that degeneracy, society is puffed up with pride about its broad-mindedness, even while it pompously declares its toleration as moral progress.
Religion, rather than fighting back against this moral retrogression, has decided to join the broad-mindedness and give in to society’s tolerations. Even today’s worship is, in most churches, merely a religious adaptation of the immoral actions of the masses.
Thus our nation continues on a course that seems sure to bring about its own self-destruction. And sadly, it is doing so with impunity and a sense of smug self-satisfaction. Having become devoid of any ethical principles, it descends further and further into a quagmire of moral insanity and empty religion.
This solution to this situation is difficult, mostly on account of the subjective spin that has been put on truth. Truth is what you make it in this society. There is no such thing as an objective standard for morality, only a wisp of a moral code that really says little about what is actually right or wrong. If I think a thing to be right, it’s right, even if it’s wrong for you. If I think a thing to be wrong, it’s wrong for me, even if it seems right to you. It’s a moral maze. The conscience is confused because it has lost any sense of direction. And so man wanders about in moral aimlessness. Nobody knows which way to go, even though everyone goes around acting like he does.
Truth is delineated in the Bible as a reliable, understandable way for determining a proper course of action. “I am the way, the truth and the life,” (John 14:6) is much more than a statement of the Savior’s provisions, it’s a statement of the reality of truth, one that can be acted upon to determine a course of action, one that results in both moral purity in the present and everlasting life in the hereafter. Jesus is here affirmed as the true and living way.
The Scriptures are affirmed to be what is needed for doctrine, reproof, correction, and for instruction in moral purity in 2 Timothy 3:16-17. As such, they offer discernible, definitive information for determining which way to go and why. They leave no room for subjective interpretation, only a detectable, reliable method for living life. They not only define the course we should follow, but warn of what happens if we don’t.
Bible truth is both definitive and functional, make no mistake about it. Jesus says “Ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32). Freedom from sin is what Jesus is all about. Forgiveness is what His truth is all about. Admittedly, we live in a world that is unaware of its bondage. But ignorance of its present condition doesn’t make it acceptable; it only makes the need for preaching the gospel more urgent.
There is a need for revival in this country, a need for a standard that directs...a need for a truth that is the same for all men. There is a need for a return to the Bible. And that will not be done on a national basis, but one person at a time. It us unclear whether or not the tide of immorality can be turned, but it is certain that persons can know and obey the truth; and it is certain that these same persons can recommend that truth to those who come under their influence. Furthermore, their influence can have an effect, and might well turn the tide.
But we cannot plant the seed when it’s in the barn. There needs to be a revitalization of our evangelistic fervor. We need to see what is the real need right in our own backyard.
The process for such an endeavor is assigned and illustrated in 2 Timothy 2:2. “The things thou has heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou unto faithful men who shall be able to teach others also.” It’s a one-at-a-time thing. It starts with one and multiplies. No big programs are needed—only a love for the souls of men. No big evangelists are necessary—only a love for the souls of men. No gimmicks are needed to draw them in. The gospel will do that...if we’ll let it.
(In 1971, Dee Bowman began full time work as the minister for the Auburn Street church of Christ. In 1976, he moved to Deer Park, TX and he began working with the Southside church of Christ in Pasadena. He would work with this group of Christians until his death - a total of 45 years.)
MARRIAGE RESOLUTIONS:
Have a marriage where you talk like best friends, play like kids, defend one another like siblings, touch like lovers, and protect one another like a husband and wife.
OBEDIENCE RESOLUTIONS:
It has been said that more people praise the Bible than read the Bible, and more people read the Bible than believe the Bible, and more people believe the Bible than understand the Bible, and more people understand the Bible than obey the Bible.
