Sitting on the fence

One way people have discovered to deal with opposing views of the truth is to propose that both opposing views can be right! Isn't this approach behind the modern idea that truth is relative, each person being given the freedom to choose which way he wants his truth to be? Logically, this is ridiculous as well as stupid. If everyone agrees on the meaning of black and white, no one can logically agree to saying that something that is white is black for him!

Christians use this technique to wriggle out of the contradiction between the Calvinistic theology of God's sovereign determination and others who take into account the free will of man with which God has created him. Some have said that both are true and run along into infinity as parallel truths without ever meeting together. But this is not being realistic, because either man is so depraved that he is unable to choose God or he has enough ability left in him to make a choice for God, either God has chosen all who will be saved and who will not entirely on His own or it is man who makes the choice to accept or reject the salvation God is freely offering to Him, either Jesus has died for the sins of the whole world or He has died only for those whom He has chosen to be saved, either man has the ability to resist the grace that God is offering him or he does not, and either man has no ability to reject the salvation that he has received from God or he has. Either or, not parallel truths.

Some believe that there will be no salvation except through Jesus, and there are others who believe that all religions lead to the same God in the end. Obviously both these cannot be true.

When we choose one side, immediately we will face opposition from others who hold an opposite view. But clever people find out a way by which both sides can be kept happy! Some people say that in many cases this is a cop-out by people who are not willing to take a stand. If we believe that something is true, we cannot agree also that the opposite is also true. In many cases, the opposition is so adamant in sticking to their position and they are not averse to doing it by stealth, rhetoric or plain crookedness, that the truth side finally agrees to an amicalble via media, which is actually a step down from the perfection of truth.

Of course, every matter of difference is not of such importance that it demands a total resolution. As we see in Rom.14, some differences can be overlooked for the sake of not losing out with other brothers because of them. But when differences touch the character of God or they affect the way of salvation that God wants to save people through, they cannot be ignored, overlooked or accepted. Any distortion of the character of God will amout to blasphemy, and any twisting of the way of salvation will affect the destiny of people. When we come across such differences, let us spend enough effort and dedication to finding out the truth, keeping our mind open to learning and also changing.