Amelia Church of Christ - Christian Church in Amelia, OH near Cincinnati in Clermont County

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Welcome to a brand new series called “Gee, Wally…” How many of you are fans of the Beav? Through the gift of reruns, we can rejoin the Cleaver family in a time that seemed so much simpler than today. We remember the uncomplicated, seemingly trouble-free life of Ward and June and Wally and the Beaver. The world of the Cleavers in 1958 was definitely different than our world in 2008.

But it seems like a lot of churches don’t want to admit that. They would rather operate like it’s still 1958. They don’t want to touch contemporary cultural issues. They want to keep doing church like they did in the ‘50s. And because of that mindset, these churches get very good at answering questions that nobody is asking.

We’re not going to be that kind of church. We’ve got to honestly evaluate where society is. We have to engage our culture as it is…not as we’d like it to be.

But the great news is that the Bible didn’t cease to be relevant in the ‘50s. God’s Word is still as fresh and relevant today as it was the day it was written. In this series, we’re going to use the Bible to address three main aspects of the prototypical American worldview.

If you were to go out and do a man-on-the-street interview, you would find these three beliefs coming up again and again and again. These three beliefs are the underpinnings of the average American’s view of life and spirituality.

We’re going to tackle one belief each Sunday for the next three weeks. And as we explore these beliefs through the prism of Scripture, God’s truth is going to come into clearer focus.

This series is going to be hard-hitting. For some of you, it’s going to be offensive. But I promise you that the things I say will be said in love.

So what would the Beaver have said if, instead of 1958, we met him in 2008? Since he was always looking to his brother, Wally, for advice and insight, he might say something like…

Gee Wally, why does Mrs. Henderson attend a Buddhist temple?

And, if Wally held the prototypical American worldview in 2008, he would answer…

Boy, Beaver…don’t you know that it doesn’t matter what you believe, as long as you’re sincere?

You wouldn’t have heard that on Leave it to Beaver in the ‘50s. But you could easily hear it if the show was on today. This is where most Americans land spiritually. They land on this belief that says that no religion, no faith, no belief system is better than any other. As long as you’re sincere, as long as you believe something, then you’re good.

It’s called relativism. Relativism is the belief that truth is relative, not absolute. What is true can vary from day to day, from person to person, and from culture to culture.

No one has access to absolute truth. All truth is relative. And that means that all religions are equal. If Mrs. Henderson wants to attend a Buddhist temple, that’s fine. Because Buddhism, Confucianism, Shinto, Islam, Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Hinduism, Shamanism, Wicca, Sikhism, and Christianity…equal. They’re all equal. No religion can claim to be superior over another. No faith can claim to be the one and only true faith. All truth is relative, which means that no one religion can make an exclusive claim to truth.

This video really illustrates where our culture has landed. It’s a YouTube video, so the quality isn’t that great. But it’s still a prime example of where our culture is in regard to spiritual relativism. Check it out.

“There couldn’t possibly be one way.” There just couldn’t possibly be one, exclusively true faith. That’s what Oprah believes. It’s what our culture believes. I’m not here to condemn Oprah. That’s not the point. She’s just the spokesperson for where the majority of America is spiritually. 70% of Americans believe that many religions can lead to eternal life. America has bought into relativism.

What does that mean for us as Christ-followers? Can the belief in relativism and the Christian faith coexist? A lot of Christians seem to believe they can. I mentioned that 70% of Americans believe that many religions can lead to eternal life. But what about those who follow Christ?

According to a recent study, 57% of evangelical Christians believe that many religions can lead to eternal life. 57% of Christians believe that many religions can lead to eternal life.

Does that jive with what the Bible says? Let’s get into the Word and see what God has to say.

In Acts 4, the Apostle Peter had just healed a man who was crippled. The religious leaders questioned him about the healing.

Picking it up in verse 7, the Bible says, “They had Peter and John brought before them and began to question them: "By what power or what name did you do this?"

Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: "Rulers and elders of the people!

If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a cripple and are asked how he was healed, then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed.

He is ‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the capstone.’ Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:7-12, NIV)

If that study that I mentioned is true, then 57% of Christians don’t believe Acts 4:12. The Bible says that, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”

Rubel Shelly points out that Peter preached these words at a time when relativism was as pervasive as it is today. The Roman Empire ruled the known world, and the Romans “sought to make a place for all the gods and religions of its conquered people. The Pantheon at Rome was a temple dedicated to all the gods…” (Shelly, Rubel. Prepare to Answer. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1990, p. 212.) Relativism.

And in this pluralistic culture, Peter stood up and said, “There is one God. One truth. One Savior. His name is Jesus Christ.”

Let me show you some more Scripture. In Isaiah 45, God says, “Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other.” (Isaiah 45:22, NIV)

The God of the Bible claims to be the one and only God. His claim is that Allah, the god of Islam, is a false god. So is Krishna, a god of Hinduism, El Onkar of Sikhism, and any other god in any other world religion. Yahweh, the God of the Bible, makes a claim that is exclusive. He is the one and only God.

Look at these verses from 1 Timothy. “For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men… (1 Timothy 2:5-6a, NIV)

Again, the claims are exclusive. One God. One mediator between God and man: Jesus Christ.

And finally, look at what Jesus said about himself in John 14. Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6, NIV)

That’s Jesus in his own words. His claim is exclusive. “I am THE way and THE truth and THE life. NO ONE comes to the Father except through me. I’m the only way. Apart from me, there is nothing else. It’s my way or no way.”

This simply does not fly in a culture that believes in relativism. This is horribly intolerant. This takes politically incorrect to another level. But this is Jesus.

We need to erase any notion of Jesus as some peace-loving, Galilean, peasant hippie in a dress who just wants to bring everyone together. This is as inflammatory, as divisive, as incendiary a statement as you could possibly make.

In the gospel of Matthew, Jesus said, “Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven.

Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.

For I have come to turn ‘a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law - a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’” (Matthew 10:32-36, NIV)

Um…that’s not the way we normally see Jesus, is it? I didn’t come to bring peace, but a sword? I didn’t come to bring people together, but to divide them?

It may not be the way we like to see Jesus, but it’s the truth. Jesus’ exclusive claims can upset peoples’ apple carts really quickly. His claim to be the only Savior of the world, the only way to God…that is incredibly divisive.

But it’s the claim that he made. And it’s the claim that is backed up by Scripture after Scripture after Scripture.

As Christ-followers, everything we believe, everything we teach, everything we live out in our lives is based on the Bible. We believe it is the inspired, inerrant Word of God. And so, when the Bible makes countless claims that there is only one God, that Jesus is the exclusive way to be saved, we have to accept that. If we don’t accept it, then we don’t accept the Bible as it is written. And if we don’t accept the Bible as it’s written, then it’s time to stop calling ourselves Christians. Pick some other spiritual sounding name if you want, but we can’t call ourselves disciples of Jesus if we don’t accept the Word of Jesus.

I realize this is offensive. I realize that this is politically incorrect. And I realize that I’m probably going to get blasted for saying these things…especially when this message is posted online. But as God’s people, it’s more important to be biblically correct than to be politically correct.

When you get to the heart of it, I love you enough to tell you the truth. And the truth is that relativism is a lie. It is a lie that ¾ of our country has bought into.

So what do we do with this? How do we live out the truth in a culture of relativism?

Be ready. It might be overstating the obvious, but you have to be ready for this. The reason we’re devoting a three-week series to exploring major beliefs in our culture is so that we can be prepared for it.

We shouldn’t be surprised when we come in contact with this cultural belief. On YouTube, tons of people left comments about the Oprah video, expressing absolute shock and disbelief. I read some of those comments, and I kept thinking, “Why are you shocked? Why are you surprised?” The only people who are shocked by that are people who are woefully out-of-touch with our culture. People who, instead of following God’s command to engage our culture with the gospel, have been content to isolate themselves. Just live in their little holy huddle.

This morning, God is putting us on notice. Don’t be shocked. Don’t be surprised when you interact with people who believe in relativism. Don’t be surprised. Be ready.

Be ready to be honest.

There is intense pressure in our culture to be tolerant. To accept people and their beliefs as they are. To never challenge them. To never suggest that they might be wrong.

But the people of God are called to live out the truth of God, regardless of what the cultural climate is. When we engage in this truth vs. relativism debate, we’ve got to remember what side we’re on…we’re on the side of truth. Therefore, we’ve got to be truthful! We’ve got to be honest.

It is not honest to suggest that it’s ok if someone’s belief system leaves Jesus out. The Bible says that salvation is found in no one else. No one comes to the Father except through Jesus.

So if we suggest to someone that their faith, their religion is ok even though they completely leave Jesus out of it…we’re lying. We are ignoring the truth of Scripture. In fact, it’s worse than that. We are perverting the truth of Scripture. We are changing the truth of Scripture to fit our current situation. And the Bible has a stern warning about that.

Near the end of the Bible in the book of Revelation, it says, “I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book.

And if anyone takes words away from this book of prophecy, God will take away from him his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.” (Revelation 22:18-19, NIV)

We don’t get the option of adding to or taking away from the Bible. God is unchanging. His truth is unchanging. And we don’t get to mess with that.

I know there’s a great temptation to lay aside your convictions in favor of your comfort. It’s more comfortable to just say, “I’m ok, you’re ok, everybody’s ok.” But by trying to make yourself and everybody else around you comfortable, you wind up offending God.

The truth is not convenient and it’s not comfortable. There are situations where speaking the truth will cost you. But if we try to change or alter God’s truth, the cost will end up being far greater. It takes courage. It takes guts. But when we engage our relativistic culture, we’ve got to be honest

And we’ve got to be loving. This is where a lot of Christians miss the boat. They’ve got the truth thing down. They know the truth. They speak the truth. In fact, they beat people over the head with it. They’ll bludgeon people with the truth.

There are a lot of times when I see a Christian speaking the truth, and I really wish they’d just shut up. Because their harsh, condescending, self-righteous, arrogant attitude speaks a lot louder than their words. I see these people, and I even agree with what they’re saying. But how they’re saying it makes me cringe.

You know the only people that Jesus beat over the head with the truth? Religious people. People who really ought to have known better. But when he was dealing with lost people, with people who were living far from God, there was an amazing patience and compassion and love in his demeanor. He told them the truth…but he told it in love.

The Bible says, “speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ.” (Ephesians 4:15, NIV)

Speaking the truth in love is the hallmark of someone who is following Christ. When you speak the truth of one God, one way, one Savior in our culture, people will tee off on you like Tiger Woods. You will take shots from all sides. From people that you thought were your friends, from family, from everywhere.

You don’t reciprocate. You continue to speak the truth, but you don’t join in the attacks. You continue to speak the truth of Christ in the love of Christ.

The Bible says, “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect…” (1 Peter 3:15, NIV)

You know what this verse says? Be ready. Be honest. Be loving.

Always be prepared to give an answer. Be ready.

To give the reason for the hope that you have. Our hope is based in the truth of Jesus Christ. Be honest

Do it with gentleness and respect. Be loving.

This is the way a Christ-follower responds to the culture of spiritual relativism. Be ready. Be honest. Be loving.

I occasionally show videos in my messages, but I almost never use a video that’s this long. But I feel like this guy says it better than I can. One of my favorite preachers on this planet is Mark Driscoll. Mark preaches at Mars Hill Church in Seattle. Earlier this year in a message from the book of Nehemiah, Mark dove directly into what we’ve been talking about today. This culture of spiritual relativism.

I want to show you a clip from that message. First of all, I think you’ll see why Mark is one of my preaching heroes. Secondly, he takes everything we’ve been talking about today and absolutely drills it. Check it out.

Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6, NIV)

The Apostle Peter said about Jesus, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12, NIV)

It’s all about Jesus. I was talking to a family member who is living in Korea right now. She told me that the main religion in her area is Confucianism. And then she said, “But there are a lot of similarities between Confucianism and Christianity. They’re both about loving others and denying yourself.”

Yeah, but there’s one major difference…Jesus. You can love others all you want. You can serve, give, show compassion, and just be as good a person as you know how to be…but if you do it apart from Jesus, you’re lost.

But the great news is that you don’t have to stay there. That’s the message of the cross. Do you realize that if relativism was true, then the cross would be worthless? Seriously, if every religion is the same, if they all lead to eternal life, then Jesus really went through a lot of pain and suffering for nothing. He was beaten for nothing. Spat upon for nothing. Crowned with thorns for nothing. Had spikes driven into his wrists and ankles for nothing. Hung on a cross for nothing. Died for nothing.

If every religion can save you, then the cross is worthless. But the truth is that there is one way, one truth, one life…his name is Jesus. The Son of God who gave up his life for yours. And if you’ve never given your life to him, he’s calling you home today.

Mike Edmisten

Tags: Gee Wally, Jesus, relativism, tolerance, world religions