Program #L5—“The Theological Adventures of Johnny Lukewarm and Pastor Loophole: Truth is Relative”

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Radio Show Transcript, © 2001, Persuade The World Ministries, Gordon James Klingenschmitt, Servant.  Copying and distribution (without editing) is highly encouraged. 

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Opening introduction by Mark McWilliams…

Welcome and thank you for joining this radio broadcast of Persuade The World Ministries.  You’re about to hear our radio production of the book written and taught by Gordon James Klingenschmitt, entitled “License To Sin, The Number One Reason America Is Losing Its Moral Foundation.”  If you call us in the next hour, we’ll mail you a free cassette tape of today’s broadcast, which you can copy and give to your friends.  Just call our toll-free phone number:  866-Obey-God.  That’s toll free, 1-866-O-B-E-Y-G-O-D.  Gordon James Klingenschmitt is a graduate of the United States Air Force Academy, and a seminary graduate of Regent University, holding both M.B.A. and Master of Divinity degrees.  He’s also the founder and servant of Persuade The World Ministries, a 501(c3) tax-exempt religious non-profit corporation in Colorado Springs, dedicated to persuading individuals in America and throughout the world to forsake their sins and submit their hearts and minds to the loving rulership of our Lord, Jesus Christ.  And now with today’s teaching, here is Gordon James Klingenschmitt. 

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Teaching by Gordon James Klingenschmitt…

Thanks Mark.  Today we continue our mini-drama entitled “The Theological Adventures of Johnny Lukewarm and Pastor Loophole.”  You may remember our characters, Johnny Lukewarm, and Pastor Loophole from our last broadcast.  But before we re-introduce these two characters, let’s read from 2^nd Timothy chapter 3.  “For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine.  Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.  They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.”  People often turn to counselors who tell them what their itching ears want to hear.  As is the case with our character, Johnny Lukewarm, who comes into Pastor Loophole’s office to get advice…

            (Lower) “Please have a seat, Johnny.  What seems to be bothering you today?” 

            Johnny’s brow furrows with concern.  (Higher) “Pastor Loophole, I’m very upset about this particular passage of scripture.  It seems as though God is commanding me to do something I really don’t want to do.  Do I really have to repent, and stop sinning, and obey God?  Or is there some other alternative? 

            (Lower) “Why, certainly there is, Johnny, you just relax.  I can offer you dozens of alternatives, and give you very logical reasons why you don’t have to obey God.” 

            (Higher) “Oh, thank goodness.  For a minute there, I thought I’d actually have to change my behavior and obey God!”  Johnny breathes a sigh of relief.  He sits forward eagerly, with his itching ears searching for some escape from the Holy Spirit’s conviction.  But the Spirit of God is grieved away, and He slowly withdraws his conviction from Johnny’s life.  And Pastor Loophole’s excuses continue with Loophole #3, entitled “The Truth is Relative.”

Here’s Loophole #3:  (Lower) “Everyone interprets the Bible differently, Johnny, so only you can say what it means for you. No one has a monopoly on truth, because all men are equal, so don’t let anyone tell you what to believe.  Only you can decide what’s truth for you.  Not everything in life is black and white—sometimes moral issues are gray.  So whenever some narrow-minded literalist shows you a passage of scripture you don’t like, you can always reply, ‘that may be truth for you, but that’s not truth for me.’” 

(Higher) “That’s a great argument,” says Johnny thankfully.  “Now I can go back to enjoying my sins without feeling guilty.” 

TIME OUT !!  Let’s look at the scriptures, and analyze Pastor Loophole’s advice.  Let’s rightly divide the word of truth, and separate the truth from the lies in the advice given by Pastor Loophole.  First, I want to acknowledge the true part.  It’s true that some people interpret the Bible differently than others.  It’s true that all men are created equal.  But here are the lies: It’s a lie that truth is relative.  It’s a lie that nobody has a monopoly on defining truth.  It’s a lie that only you can decide what’s true for you.  But here’s the truth to replace the lies: God has a monopoly on Truth.  You can disagree with me, and I might disagree with you, but neither of us has enough authority to disagree with Almighty God. 

Do you realize there’s only one correct interpretation of the Bible—not mine, not yours, but God’s interpretation.  If God wrote the Bible, then God’s the only one who can correctly interpret the Bible.  And God is not dead, nor is He silent.  God is alive, and He’s willing to teach you, if you’ll submit your mind to His teaching.  If you have a teachable heart, God will teach you about His Son, Jesus Christ.  Do you have a teachable heart, or do you think you already know everything?  Jesus said, “The Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me.” [1]   The truth isn’t relative when deep down inside your heart, you know God is telling you right from wrong.  The truth isn’t relative when you know better.  And Johnny Lukewarm, if you’re listening out there, your conscience testifies against you, even right now. 

(Higher) “But isn’t the Bible just a book, written by men, who have no more right to claim their word is truth than all other philosophers?”  Johnny Lukewarm complains.  (You see, if Johnny can discount the authority of the Bible, then he doesn’t have to obey its commands.  That’s the secret agenda behind his question, really, isn’t it?) 

            But let’s think about his question logically.  Is the Bible just another book?  

Now if you were to compare 20,000 different philosophers (including me) and 20,000 different  philosophies (including mine), I’d have to agree that no one philosophy has more authority than any another, since in general we’re all created with equal authority and ability to reason. 

And yet, all of these 20,000 philosophers and all of their 20,000 philosophies are completely wrong on every subject, when you compare their ideas to God’s opinion.  If God created truth, who’s gonna argue with God?

So if any of our 20,000 philosophers agree with God, they’ll be right on every subject.  But if they disagree with God, they’ll be wrong on every subject. 

Now follow this:  if a philosopher agrees with God all the time, then he’s always right, and always worthy of your trust.  So out of all the philosophers in human history, which one agreed with God all the time?  Only one philosopher that I know.  Jesus Christ.  That’s why his teaching is trustworthy.  Because he always agreed with God.  Believe the teachings of Jesus, and you’ll never go wrong. 

Who else agrees with God all the time?  The ones who wrote the Bible.  Peter, Paul, John, James, David, Solomon, Isaiah, Moses.  These men worshipped God and submitted to God with their minds and ideas.  They chose to agree with God.  That’s why you can trust them.  That’s why you can trust the Bible over all other books.

            You know, if I want to find the truth on any philosophical question, and I want to learn from men who agree with God, and I find an answer in the Bible which differs from an answer in another book, I will trust the Bible answer and distrust the other book, because I always want to agree with God, and never disagree with Him.  Don’t you?  

            I think there’s one core reason for America’s moral decline: we refuse to believe and submit to Truth.  Did you know that 67 percent of all Americans believe “there is no such thing as absolute truth; different people can define truth in conflicting ways and still be correct.”[2] 

Many people believe “truth is relative.”  They say, “That may be truth for you, but not truth for me.”  But they refuse to submit their minds to God, and they don’t see the great danger ahead of them.

            Truth is always an issue over authority.  Whoever has the most authority is, by definition, the only one capable of defining Truth for the rest of the universe.  I mean, you can disagree with God if you want to, but what are you going to do when He throws you into hell? 

            Again, truth is always an issue of authority.  If there are millions of different opinions out there, and I’m trying to decide who to believe, I try to figure out who has the most authority.  I don’t submit my mind to somebody who tells me what my itching ears want to hear, but to the one who has the most authority on the subject.

            For example, pretend you just came from the hospital, and you’ve been diagnosed with a terrible brain tumor.  You need surgery to save your life!  Let’s also pretend that the hospital gave you a choice of three people who could perform your brain surgery: A used car salesman, a high-school biology student, or a professional brain surgeon who’s successfully performed this same operation over 500 times.  Now which of these three would you choose?  Although the used car salesman and the high school biology student might be nice people, you’d probably choose the brain surgeon.  He has the most authority on the subject, and he’s more trustworthy of me submitting myself on the operating table.

            Now, in the same way, when I hear Oprah Winfrey on television, saying “there are many paths to God, and no one way is the only way,” or when I hear comedian Bill Maher saying, “all religions are equally valid,” I choose to disbelieve their “expert” analysis.  Why?  Because truth is an always an issue over authority.  Oprah and Bill are nice people, but they don’t have as much authority as Jesus Christ, the Son of God.  Now your eternal soul is at risk here.  This could be a heaven or hell kind of decision.  Who are you gonna trust?  Oprah Winfrey, Bill Maher, or Jesus Christ?

            Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me.” [3]  Jesus said He’s the only way to heaven.  Should I believe Jesus, or should I believe Oprah and Bill who say there are many ways?  When judgment day comes, and we’re all standing before the great white throne of eternal judgment, who’s going to be sitting up there on the throne, judging us?  Is it going to be Oprah Winfrey?  I don’t think so!  For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Jesus Christ.[4]  I will submit my mind to Jesus Christ, because He alone is KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS. [5]  I choose to believe His words, and not the words of Bill or Oprah. 

            Think about that for a minute.  Whose “expert opinions” have you believed on the subject of religion?  Have you submitted your mind to Jesus Christ, or have you submitted your mind to other, less worthy people, who disagree with Jesus Christ?  Think about that for a minute, while we take this short break. 

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Middle segment by Mark McWilliams…

Thanks Gordon.  He’ll be back in just a moment.  But first, do you know somebody who needs to hear today’s message?  If you call our toll-free number in the next hour, 866-Obey-God, we’ll mail you a free cassette tape of today’s broadcast, which you can copy and give to your friends.  All our tapes are copyable and free, but please remember we need your donations to stay on the air and to give away these free tapes.  So please pray and obey, then send us your best possible donation, after you receive your free cassette.  (Gordon:  Hey time out!  If it’s your first time calling us, no donation is required!  Just call us!)  Our toll free number is 866-Obey-God, that’s 1-866-O-B-E-Y-G-O-D.  And please specify you’re requesting today’s program.  Do you believe America needs to hear these messages?  If so, then we need you to sponsor us, by joining the Persuader’s Club with a monthly pledge of just $15.  If you join the Persuader’s Club, we’ll also send you an autographed copy of Gordon’s book that you’ve been hearing.  Just visit our web-site at persuaders-club.com.  Or call us in the next hour at 866-Obey-God.  Right now, let’s return to Gordon James Klingenschmitt. 

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Teaching continued by Gordon James Klingenschmitt…

            Thanks again, Mark, we’re talking about truth here, and how to decide which ideas to believe and which ideas you shouldn’t believe.  To get that right, we need to understand a little bit about the human mind.  Did you know your brain works just like a computer disk?  When you’re born as a baby, you have a blank computer disk.  Your brain has no data.  But, as you travel through life, your brain collects data, and compares new data to old data.  When old data and new data don’t agree, your mind rejects data from less credible sources, and welcomes data from more credible sources.  So today, if you don’t believe God’s word, there’s one simple reason.  You think somebody else is more credible, more believable, and more worthy of your mental submission, than God.  Somebody else has become your god. 

When you submit your mind to somebody, proclaiming their truth is higher than God’s truth, you are actually bowing down and worshipping them as your god, and you are an idol worshipper.  You say to your idol—“You are higher than God in my life.  You create the laws in my universe.  You define what’s true and false in my mind.  Your words are my truth, and anyone who disagrees with you is a liar.  You are the highest authority—there is no other being as high as you.  I submit my mind to you, and I bow down to worship you with my mind.  I force the entire essence of my being to line up with your ideas, and I transform my entire character to wholly agree with you, your words, and your character.  You are what defines whom I choose to be.”  You’re not believing or worshipping God with your mind, you’re worshipping somebody else.  You’re worshipping a false God.

            People who don’t submit to God’s Word as truth don’t need to repent of unbelief, they need to repent of idolatry.  You say, “Well I just don’t believe Jesus Christ’s teachings.”  What you really mean is, “I reject Christ’s authority over my mind.  I’d rather submit to Oprah Winfrey or Bill Maher or somebody else.”  You do believe something or somebody. There are no voids in the realm of faith.  But you’d rather submit your mind to a worthless idol than to Almighty God. 

            So what are some of the idols we worship in America?  You can tell by listening to people’s ideas.  If you say, “I won’t believe unless it is proven by a scientist,” then you worship scientists instead of God.  If you say, “I don’t believe in miracles, the laws of nature cannot be changed by God,” Then you worship nature as higher than God.  If you say, “As long as it makes a profit, it must be ethical, right?” you worship money as your god.  If you say, “If it feels good, do it,” then you worship pleasure and sensuality as your god.  But watch out, everybody.  If you are worshipping any of these false gods, be warned.  The won’t be the One you stand before on the day of judgment.  Almighty God will cast these false idols into hell, and you along with them.