Sterrett opens this chapter by
discussing his senior year at Oak Hill Academy. At that time the institution
was a relativistic and pluralistic environment. God used him in such an
environment to speak the truth of Christ’s death on the cross for our sins and
His resurrection and that faith in Jesus alone reconciles us to God. Through
all of the disappointments and questions he faced when sharing such exclusivity,
his conviction that absolute truth exists developed, became firm, and sustained
him. This conviction is at the heart of the answer to the question of this
chapter. Sterrett writes:
You can trust Jesus. He will reveal himself to
you when you seek Him with all of your heart, soul, and mind. You can have this
certainty in Christ, because God has first given us a sureness founded on the
basis of the knowledge of reality.1
Relativism and pluralism reign
supreme in society. Sterrett quotes Ravi Zacharias:
We are living in a time when sensitivities are
at the surface, often vented with cutting words. Philosophically, you can
believe anything, so long as you do not claim it to be true. Morally, you can
practice anything, so long as you do not claim that it is a better way.
Religiously, you can hold to anything, so long as you do not bring Jesus Christ
into it.2
Sterrett then details the polar
opposite. Jesus called people to trust in Him based on the evidence He was
providing. He spoke in a way that conveyed that the truth regarding spiritual
matters is knowable. He claimed to be the truth! How can we trust Jesus when He
made such exclusive statements? This Jesus fellow is so archaic.
Sterrett begins to answer this
question by demonstrating the self-defeating nature of relativism and
pluralism. To claim that there is no absolute truth is to do that very thing.
And to claim that the truth about God is unknowable is to claim the acquisition
of the knowledge that God is unknowable. In the end, relativism and pluralism affirm
that absolute truth exists. Sterrett wisely provides the foundation for his
book by affirming this as well.
Why should we trust Jesus when
there are so many other spiritual paths?
Because absolute truth exists, we can know it and the manner in which
Jesus spoke affirmed these propositions.
Stand
firm in Christ,
Chase
Footnotes:
1. Page 30.2. Pages 30-31.
Forthcoming: ASummary of Chapter Two: Why Should I Trust Jesus When
I’m Not Sure That a Supernatural God Is Real?
Comments