Do you believe in absolute truth? Do you believe that something can be true no matter what? If you do, you’re in the minority! According to a 2020 Barna Group research study, 58% of American adults believe that truth depends on the individual, and that even includes people who claim to be born-again Christians.[1] The majority of Americans believe that moral truth is relative. They believe there are no absolute truths, which is ironic because by saying there are no absolute truths, one is admitting that there actually is at least one. We, as Christians, should believe that there are absolute moral truths because we have the Source of absolute truth-
As the popularity of progressive Christianity rises, it appears that more and more “believers” are questioning what God has commanded in Scripture. They ask questions like, Did God really say that homosexuality is a sin? Did God really say that only men can be pastors? Did God really say we should pursue modesty and purity? Did God really say there’s only one way to heaven and those who don’t go to heaven will go to hell? And when those who claim to be Christians continue questioning the Word of God, they tend to move further and further away from the faith until they leave Christianity altogether.
While this questioning of Scripture may seem like a fairly new phenomenon, it’s actually a very ancient temptation from the lips of the devil himself. It goes all the way back to the very beginning, to the story of the Fall in Genesis 3.
Discerning the will of God is something I think every Christian has attempted to do at one point or another. It’s definitely something I’ve prayed for and longed for and tried to figure out. I’ve often asked that God would reveal His will to me about different decisions or situations, but most of the time I never get a clear, solid answer. Honestly, I sometimes wish I could be like Gideon and put out a fleece to get some answers from God (please, do not do this the next time you need to make a decision).
God’s will can be a tricky thing to understand. We’re told that nothing happens outside of God’s will. But does that mean it’s God will for a family member to be diagnosed with cancer? Is it God’s will for a friend to get in a serious car accident? Is it God’s will for a child to tragically die at a young age? And how are we to understand His will well enough to make decisions that won’t fall outside of it?
All these questions stem from a misunderstanding of God’s will. There are actually three aspects of the will of God: His sovereign will, His moral will, and His personal will.
Several years ago, my mom worked at a Christian school, and the leadership decided that all the teachers would participate in a brief yoga session after their weekly morning devotions. My mom was extremely uncomfortable with this and decided not to participate, but they justified the decision by saying they would incorporate Christian-y phrases or ideas into the session.
Thankfully, these weekly yoga sessions didn’t last long, but they do reveal just how easy it is for New Age practices and teachings to slip into Christian settings, especially the Church. I’ve seen yoga classes held in church buildings, pastors teaching the law of attraction (if you declare something, it will happen), and sermon series based on the Enneagram.
We must be careful to not allow these practices and beliefs to enter the Church because, as Doreen Virtue writes in her book Deceived No More, New Age and Christianity cannot mix. A church’s acceptance of New Age can only lead to apostasy.