Anything Goes

“It may be true for you, but it is not necessarily true for me.”  Have you heard or used this statement before, or something similar?  Whether it is used in an argument or just as a general rule in life, this line of thinking is called relativism.

When thought upon a little bit longer, it becomes problematic:   it not true for itself.  If you hold the statement “everything is relative” to be true, then how can you be sure that “everything is relative” isn’t relative itself?

The historical events of the twentieth century make evident that relativism cannot be true or more importantly, livable in real life.  The greatest atrocities and the most appalling events occurred within the past one hundred years of human history.

Anyone who is familiar with the World Wars, nuclear arms race, racial genocide, threats of global annihilation, and a myriad of other social and political events wouldn’t hesitate to state that there had to be an objective right or wrong in all of this.

If anything is absolutely wrong, then there has to be an absolute right.  Many are careful to make statements such as this.  But all would agree that judging another person is wrong.  So are hypocrisy, judgments, and gossip.

Consequently if there are rights and wrongs, there must be a measurable standard to distinguish the two from each other.  What these point to is a law.  For humanity, there must be a law given from a perspective that transcends all humanity.  It must be a divine law.

For example, the American Founding Fathers appealed to this law when stating, “We hold these truths to be self-evident; that all men were created equal; that each is endowed by his Creator with certain unalienable rights; that being life, life, and the pursuit of happiness” as quoted in the Declaration of Independence.   This meant that all humanity, even the governments of humanity, had to answer to a law higher than themselves:  a divine law.

Though self-evident and enforced by humanity, there are rights and wrongs that were originally given by the Creator of all humanity.  This is why everyone innate acknowledges basing rightness and wrongness on “Majority Rules” as faulty.

The Nazi Germans were wrong not because they lost the war, but because on a divine law level, we all knew what they were doing was wrong.  Whenever injustices are done, individuals need to transcend the majority and appeal to something higher:  a divine law.

The colonial world transcended the imperial majority powers and revolted for independence.  Civil rights activists transcended the majority and appealed to laws higher than the land.  Women, minorities, and many other groups throughout history, knowingly or unknowingly, transcended the majority, because appealing to a higher law made sense and worked.

Without this law, every man and woman is out for one’s self.  There is no source of justice to appeal to, nor any objective sense of right or wrong.   Essentially, “anything goes” and no one can do anything about it.

Where Can We Find This Divine Law?

Because of a moral decline in North America, we need the renewed restoration of divine morality.  Where can we find this divine law?  Where can we find a moral foundation established by the Creator of humanity?  Where is our final source of authority to appeal to?

The Bible points to the Ten Commandments, which were written by the finger of God Himself (Exodus 31:18).  These laws provide a moral compass in this age of relativism.  Through these laws, we are told of the character of God and the nature of human life, as originally intended.

The first four commandments teach humanity on the necessity of loving our Maker:  loyalty (Exodus 20:2-3), worship (4-6), reverence (7), and relationship (8-11).  The second six commandments teach humanity on the necessity of loving each other:  parental respect (12), life (13), purity (14), honesty (15), truth (16), and peace (17).

These are eternal principles that are the basis for happiness, justice, and love in every individual’s life.  These are the same principles that Jesus summarized as loving God and loving man in the New Testament (Matthew 22:36-40 – which were in actuality other Old Testament quotes).  These are also the same laws that have been forgotten today.

Why and How?

Some believe the Ten Commandments to be obsolete because they were old Jewish laws.  While there were many ceremonial laws of Moses that were canceled out, the Ten Commandments are eternal principles taught by Jesus (Matthew 5:17) and written by God Himself for all humanity.

Others believe the Ten Commandments as part of an Old Covenant.  Though indeed it was abolished by God, this did not include the Ten Commandments.  Rather, the agreement (covenant) that humanity would keep the law by their own human strength (Exodus 24:3, 7) was nullified.  Humanity could not obey this law.

A renewal agreement (New Covenant) was made where God would now write the Ten Commandment in our hearts (Jeremiah 31:31-34, Hebrews 8:8-13).  This meant He would forgive our sins as well as would sustain our obedience supernaturally.  Humanity could now obey this law.

In essence, the Ten Commandments which are holy, just, and good (Romans 7:12) would point out our lawlessness (1 John 3:4) and drive us back to the supernatural source God, to renew and maintain our good standing with Him and fellow humanity.

Because of our human frailties, we are all sinners (Romans 3:23) and helpless before the Law.  But the Law drives us to realize we need something bigger and better outside of ourselves:  God’s power.

Looking at evil, we realize we need the supernatural law.  Looking at the supernatural law, we realize we need a supernatural power to help us.  This is what the Bible records as grace (God’s power) and law working together:  one as a mirror to show us our lawlessness and another as the balm to heal us of our lawlessness.

The Greatest Restoration

Morality will not be restored through more education, political programs, or even the posting of the Ten Commandments on courthouses.  More education will only result in more educated evil and lawlessness.  Political programs have their own ideological agendas based on relativism.  And if not careful, we may make the same mistake of the creating an Old Covenant.

Moreover, morality will be established when the eternal principles of the Ten Commandments are posted and written in our hearts.  The principles of the law will be lived out in daily, real, everyday life:  love towards God and love towards humanity.

More than any other period of history, we need the Ten Commandments in North America today.  Won’t you accept the offer that Jesus will write the law in our minds and our hearts?  If you will let Him be the Law-giver and the Grace-giver in your life, the New Covenant will bring the fruits of forgiveness, happiness, love, and justice in your inner soul.  Let God of the Ten Commandments once again restore morality in the hearts of humanity today.