Martin Luther, defending Protestantism at the Diet of Worms, concluded his defense by saying, "Here I stand. God help me. I cannot do otherwise." What he meant was that since the Scripture taught the doctrine of salvation by grace through faith alone, he could not recant this teaching.
Luther was speaking in "absolute" language at that time. He did not say, "I will not do otherwise," but "I cannot." He knew he could not deny the clear teaching of the Scriptures in order to please the clergy of his day. Along with Luther, there were many others, often at the expense of their very lives, who would not compromise the truth of the Bible to save their skin. Frederick III defended the teachings of the Heidelberg Catechism when it could have cost him his life. When Calvin was ordered to allow the unrepentant to come to the Lord's Supper, he refused saying, in essence, "Over my dead body!"
The church today is going to have to come to grips with the fact that there are certain "absolutes" that it must uphold at all cost. An "absolute" is something complete in itself, positive, unconditional, unchangeable, and not relative. Liberal theology has long ago denied the existence of absolutes. Paul Feyerabend unwittingly stated an absolute when he said, "The only absolute truth is that there are no absolute truths." According to this there are no theological or moral absolutes. Everything is open to contextualization and compromise according to human experience. The only conclusion is that there are "absolutely no absolutes," and "truth is relative." Obviously, they have attempted to state absolutes while trying to deny them. Relativism is always self-contradictory. If it is said, "all truth is relative" (ie. subject to change), then even that statement is relative (not always true), which means that sometimes truth is not relative, and therefore it is absolute. Contradictory? Yes, but also insidiously dangerous.
A popular writer, Josh McDowell, recently cited some shocking statistics revealing what most evangelical Christian youth believe about the concept of "absolute truth." In 1991, 52% of our born-again church kids said there is no absolute truth. In 1994, 62% said there is no absolute truth. In 1999, 78% of born-again church kids said there is no absolute truth. In 2002, 91% of our born-again church kids said there is no absolute truth. Whether the statistics are totally accurate or not, the trend in numbers should shock us. The church will lose its way if it cannot define right and wrong for every generation.
Are we facing a major problem in today's view of truth? Absolutely. Postmodernism has invaded today's society and the church with the smoky haze of relativism. Luther and others put their lives on the line for what they believed the Bible said. But, who would die for a truth that is only relative - that may change tomorrow? The destructive force of relativism is the total lack of certainty of what is sinful or righteous, and ultimately lose the assurance of salvation.
Ironically, Martin Luther was challenging the doctrine of "absolution" in the Roman Catholic Church-a doctrine that said sins could be absolved by the priests. He was absolutely against that sort of absolution, knowing that a man is justified (declared innocent) by grace through faith in Christ alone, without the works of man.
Are there absolute truths that stand the test of time. Absolutely. John 17:7 tells us, "Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth." The unbeliever will always suppress the truth in unrighteousness (Rom. 1:18). He will never declare it to be settled, but always in flux. This error allows for the sins outlined in Romans 1:22-32.
When we say that truth is absolute, we are not saying that there is no room for growth. We are always growing in the grace and knowledge of Christ. But, we are saying, there is no room for give. God's word is absolutely always true, which man has no right to change. God's truth must change man, and not man change God's truth. God's Word is grounded in the perfect, immutable nature of God Himself. Faith and life absolutely must find their foundations in the Bible alone. This is what it means to be Reformed.
This is where the battleground of the Reformed church is today, as it was for the 16th Century Reformers. It is in the objective truth of the Bible itself. If we go wobbly on God's eternal truth, the tragic results will be more than just temporal instability!
Here we must stand. We cannot do otherwise.
