Gloria Dei Lutheran Church | Urbandale, Iowa

True for You: As Long as You're Sincere

Pastor Burcham’s Sermon

Sunday, September 27, 2009

[Video. Lie Detector Test. “Reverend Burcham, we don’t seem to be making much progress here. If I have this right, you admit that you have stolen something. Therefore, you are a thief and what you have done is wrong.” “That seems a bit judgmental, don’t you think?” “I will ask the questions if you don’t mind.” “Well, I may have stolen something but, listen, if I really believed it was the right thing to do at the time, it’s almost like you’re asking me to go against my beliefs.” “Those are not the beliefs of the State of Iowa, Reverend Burcham.” “And what makes them right and me wrong?”]

That is the question that we’ve been battling, right? What makes one person right and another person wrong? We live in a world and a society today that says you really don’t have to make that choice because there is no absolute right and there is no absolute wrong because there is no absolute truth. Truth is something which is relative. It depends upon the situation you’re in. Sometimes, what is absolutely wrong, in another situation may be exactly the thing that you should do.

We live in a world of subjective truth which means what’s right for me isn’t necessarily right for you, but that’s okay. We both can have our own beliefs. We can have our own idea of what’s true and what’s right and wrong and we just need to accept one another because really there is no absolute truth. We’re all kind of on a journey together and we’re all searching and looking for that truth. And hopefully, we’ll discover it together.

Case in point, there’s a church that’s just being formed in New York State. From the Olean Times, a little article I read says, “The Olean Unitarian universal community is developing an open-minded, free-thinking, spiritual congregation that unites Christians, Jews, Buddhists, Muslims, Hindus, Pagans, Atheists, Agnostics and others. It’s basically a group of people who want to learn from everybody a form of spiritual community based on a kind of open search for the truth,” said organizer, Anna Bush. “There is no creed and there is no must.” Anna added, “The first mandatory meeting had to be canceled because they couldn’t agree on a time and place.” Alright, I added the last part. But you get the idea. Even in the realm of religion, we all come together and we’re all in search of the truth and I can’t say that what you believe is wrong and you can’t say what I believe is wrong because that would be intolerant and so, in our tolerant society, there is no absolute truth. There is only relative truth and subjective truth. And many of the arguments they use, frankly, sound right. And they feel right. It’s hard to argue against them because they have elements of truth in them, because the devil wants to move us just slightly off the mark so he can lead us very, very far from the truth.

This morning, we want to look at the subjective truth of sincerity. Subjective truth of sincerity says, “As long as you sincerely believe something to be true, well then it’s true.” If you say, “You know, I can’t really explain it but just on a gut level, I know that this is the right thing to do. And I know that other people wouldn’t agree but, you know, for me, at least in my situation, this is what I need to do.” That’s the subjective truth of sincerity.

Possibly a conversation that you might find yourself in is someone coming to you on a break at work and saying, “You know, you’re going to think I’m nuts, given the economy and everything, but I put in my two-weeks’ notice. I’m quitting and we’re moving out west. No, no, I don’t have a job out there. I’ve just been thinking about it a lot and I can’t really tell you why, but somewhere on a gut level I just feel this is what I need to do. I’m at that stage in my life and so, two weeks from now, we’re heading out, heading up the U-Haul. We don’t even know where we’re going to land really. We’re just going to head out there and whatever seems good is going to be good. Then we’re going to land and then we’re going to look for a job and I think that’s the right thing to do.” How would you react to that? Inside your mind, you’d be going, “Are you nuts?!” But what would you say? You’d say, “Well, I hope that works for you. You know, sometimes, you just have to go with the instincts. You have to go with that gut feel.” Have you said something like that? That’s the subjective truth of sincerity.

The subjective truth of sincerity says that, “You know, I don’t agree with this other person but, man, they are doing a lot of good and you really can’t argue with the impact that they’re having on the world and the amount of lives they’re touching for the positive. So, you know, who am I to judge really? Who am I to judge whether they’re right or they’re wrong because of all the positive things that seem to be coming out of what they’re doing?” After all, the world has been shrinking for what, 60-70 years? What I mean by that is it started with air travel and, all of a sudden, the world got smaller because places, destinations became viable. It didn’t take months and months to get over to Europe or into Asia. And then, all of a sudden, telecommunications came in and now, all of a sudden, you can talk and communicate around the world. Now you have the Internet, 24/7, all of this information. What I’m saying is we’re being exposed to so many more things today, so many different cultures, so many different ideas, so many different backgrounds, who says that we have cornered the market on the truth? There’s a lot to learn out there. That sounds pretty reasonable, don’t you think? It has an element of truth to it. That’s the subjective truth of sincerity.

But if you follow the subjective truth of sincerity, you realize that it affects every aspect of your life. So you’re not just open to new ideas and new cultures but also new religions and a new idea of spirituality. See, it may surprise you to find out that actually, in America, spirituality is on the rise. In fact, it’s on a steep incline of people having more and more interest in spiritual matters and being on a spiritual quest. The difference is their spirituality isn’t defined by any one religion because their spirituality is a mixture of all kinds of religion because there is no absolute truth, there is no absolute one religion. All paths lead to the same place. So each religion has its things to add to it, but we’re all coming to the same place in the end. You know, when time is over, we’re all going to be there.

There are a couple of analogies they use to try to prove that point. One of them is three blind men inspect an elephant. So you put one blind guy up at the top by the tusk and he feels the tusk and the point and he says, “It’s a spear.” And another man is put in the middle of the elephant and he feels the rough skin and he says, “It’s a textured wall.” And some poor guy, he gets the tail and he grabs on it and he says, “It’s a rope.” You see, all three of them are on a quest for the truth and they’re all starting at a different spot but, eventually, as they all move around the elephant, then they’ll discover what it really is. All religions, all faiths lead to the same spot.

Or maybe it’s the analogy of a mountain. A mountain says that you can come on it at different sides and you may not see the person on the other side but eventually, everyone reaches the top. So it doesn’t really matter which path that you came up on because, eventually, you’re all going to come to the top of the mountain and that’s how it is with religions, you see. It doesn’t matter which path that you follow. Eventually, we’re all going to end up in the same spot.

Now lest you think this is just in New York State or on the coast, a recent Newsweek article, the writer of the article proclaimed this. She said, “America is becoming more Hindu-like thinking than Christian.” Not that they’re becoming Hindus. They’re becoming more Hindu-like thinking. She notes, “Still 76% of Americans claim to be Christians,” which is the lowest percentage, by the way, ever recorded, “but a whooping 65% of Americans say that it doesn’t matter which religion you belong to because all of us are eventually going to end up in the same spot, that same eternal life.” 35% and I’ve heard as high as 40% of evangelicals believe that eventually, it doesn’t matter which religion you’re a part of, you’re all going to end up at the same spot. So that’s more of a Hindu-type thinking. See, Hinduism says that there are many paths to God, many paths to that final resting place. Some it’s Jesus. Some it’s Ala. Some it’s through yoga and meditation but we’re all going to get to the same place. So that’s why the writer of the article says, “You know, we’re more Hindu-like thinking than Christian thinking.” You see, if we get moved just slightly off the mark, we end up very, very far from the truth. That’s the subjective truth of sincerity.

I’d like to offer to you the absolute truth from God. In offering the absolute truth from God, the first thing that I really want to call into question is do all paths really lead to the same place? Can you really say, “As long as I’m sincere about something, then it must be true or at least it’s true for me.” I’m going to have to question that one big time because just because you sincerely believe something to be true doesn’t mean that it’s true. In fact, I have a case study that each and every one of us can participate in that proves my point. Just because you sincerely believe something to be true doesn’t make it true. It’s going to start in a couple of months from now. It’s called American Idol. Just watch the first couple of episodes. There are people who sincerely believe they can sing. I can’t watch the first few weeks because it’s too painful. I wonder, “Don’t these people have friends? Drag them up, tie them up before the production team leaves.” Just because you sincerely believe something to be true doesn’t mean that it is.

There are many truths in all religions but they all can’t be true. Follow along with me on this. There are many truths in all religions. I believe that all of us can agree that, if you look at all the religions of the world, there are certain things that we can say yes and Amen to, yes, that’s true. All religions have some sort of moral base to them. All religions at least have some sanctity of life element to them. All religions believe that there is some sort of afterlife to them. So there are many things, many things in all the religions of the world that we can say, “Yes, that’s true.” So they contain many truths. But they all cannot be true.

Let me demonstrate. They all can’t be true. A Buddhist says, “There are no gods.” That’s it. There are no gods. A Hindu, as we learned, says, “There are many gods. There are lots of avenues that you can make it up to the top.” You have Muslims who say, “No, there’s only one god and that is Ala and there is nothing else besides Ala.” They can’t all be true. You can’t have one saying there are no gods, another one saying there are many gods and one saying there is only one god and have all of them be true. Any rational, logical person can come to that conclusion. They can’t all be true.

So all paths cannot lead to the same place. In fact, I want to pull apart some of their analogies and I understand that they’re just an analogy and they have their limits to them, but let’s look at the analogy of the elephant, alright? The elephant, you have the three guys that are around it and eventually, they are going to determine what it finally is. Well, my point is this: Just by simply speaking this morning and saying that I know an absolute truth, I can be looked at as being arrogant. Somehow, how could I think of myself that I’ve cornered the market on the truth? How arrogant of me to say that I know what the truth is. Well, I might say the same thing about the analogy of the elephant because who’s looking at the elephant? See what I’m saying? If you’re describing the scene, somebody must have risen above everything else and seen all these different religions searching for the truth and, almost in a condescending way, saying, “Oh, eventually, they’ll all get there.” It’s the pluralist who’s put himself above everyone else and is looking down saying, “Really, I’m the only one who has the true picture of what’s going on.” I might consider that arrogant to put themselves in that position.

How about the analogy of the mountain? Do all paths really lead to the top of a mountain? I don’t think so. Talk to any climber. Some paths lead to death. You may want to and as much as you sincerely believe you’re going to make it to the top of the mountain, you’re not going to make it to the top of the mountain, you’re just going to die. All paths do not lead to the same destination. If you want to go to California, you may sincerely believe that if you get on I-35 North, you’re going to make it there. The best you’re going to do is the Twin Cities. It’s not going to be warm and sunny. You can sincerely believe it all you want, but it’s not going to be the destination you wanted. It has taken you very, very far from where you thought you were going to end up and that’s my point. The subjective truth of sincerity, especially when it comes to this pluralistic idea that it doesn’t matter which path you take, eventually we’re all going to get to the same spot, there are going to be a lot of surprised people because it just doesn’t hold any water. And so I’m bold enough to say that there is an absolute truth from God that says there is but one path to Him and that path is Jesus Christ.

And I have reasons of why I think I can claim there is only one path to God, which is Jesus, and that is I invite you to look at the life of Christ. Now I’m not saying take a look at Christians because I don’t think we do a very good job as Christians. I think as Christians, we are hypocritical. I think as Christians, we are judgmental. I think as Christians, we are sinful human beings and many, many times, we do not represent Christ very well at all. So if you want someone to truly take a look at Christianity, you have to point them to Christ. And take a look at Jesus as He is described for us and recorded for us in the gospels.

There are four things you need to look at for Christ. First of all, look at the teachings of Jesus. Inspect the teachings of Jesus throughout the gospel. Just one small snippet. This is from Luke 6, “Love your enemies. Do good to those who hate you.” I could stop right there. Could you imagine the difference in our world today? Could you imagine the difference in the Middle East if we could just listen to that teaching of Jesus, if we could just follow that teaching that says we’re to love our enemies and do good to those who hate you? Think of your personal relationships and the difference it would make if you could follow that teaching. He says, “Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who mistreat you. If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other.” He goes on to say, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” And that’s just a snippet of the teachings of Jesus Christ. And no one argues with His teachings. Worldwide, any spiritual leader who you talk to will not argue with the teachings of Jesus because they have the ring of truth. People know His teachings to be right. So you look to the teachings of Jesus.

Look to the miracles of Jesus. Jesus was in His home town preaching once and the people said this about Him, “Where did this man get these things?” they asked. “What’s this wisdom that’s been given Him that He even does miracles?” Have you ever noticed that nobody ever questioned the miracles? It’s always astounded me. Nobody ever questions the validity of Jesus’ miracles. The Pharisees hated Him, right? They plotted to kill Him, they want to get rid of the guy so much. Well, if that’s the case, why not show Him for the con artist that He is? Why not put all the holes in these supposed miracles that He did? But they couldn’t do it. They couldn’t question them. In fact, they never even began to question the miracles.

One case in point. Do you remember the story of these men, they bring Jesus this lame man. He’s laying before Him and Jesus looks down and He says, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” Ahhh, the Pharisees and teachers of the law are aghast. “How can you forgive sins on the Sabbath?” Jesus says, “Well, is it easier for me to say, ‘Hey, why don’t you get up and go home?’” And the guy gets up and walks home. Now you would think the Pharisees would jump all over that. “Ah, he wasn’t really lame. We saw him walking around, dancing at a party last week.” No, they still are hung up on the fact, “You can’t forgive sins on the Sabbath.” No one ever questions His miracles. Lazarus is dead and he walks out the grave. A blind man can see. A deaf man can hear. Lepers, all of a sudden, their skin is healed and they’re made whole again. Miracle after miracle after miracle, no one ever questions them because they can’t. And the miracles of Jesus testify to His authority. They testify to the fact that He is the Son of God, that He does have a right to teach and to speak.

How about the resurrection of Jesus? Recorded in 1 Corinthians 15, Paul writes this, “For what I received, I pass to you as of first importance that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day, that He appeared to Peter and then to the twelve. After that, He appeared to more than 500 of the brothers. Then He appeared to James and to all the apostles and, last of all, He appeared to me.” What is it that St. Paul says is of first importance? He says, “Christ died for our sins.” What separates Christianity from every other religion in the world? Christ died for our sins. Every other religion of the world says that you have to do something. You have to make up for it. Either you have to have more good karma than bad karma. You have to beat yourself up. You have to do a certain amount of rituals to make up for your sins. You have to blow yourself up. You have to do something to make up for all the bad things in your life. You have to prove yourself to God. Christianity is the only religion which says, “You can’t do it.” Christianity is the only religion that says, “You cannot be good enough. You cannot make your way into heaven.” God says, “I’ll just give it to you.” Christ died for our sins. That the Son of God took our place and the punishment that we deserve, He took upon Himself and His righteousness became our righteousness. And then they put Him in a grave for three days and then He rose again to show that His sacrifice was acceptable to the Father and to show the victory which was His and the authority of it was His so that what He said was true and could be trusted.

Some have claimed that the resurrection of Jesus is a hoax. That doesn’t hold water either. If it was a hoax, then why didn’t they show it to be a hoax? You have to believe that the most motivated people to show that it was a hoax were the Roman soldiers, the Roman soldiers who were standing there guarding the grave and, all of a sudden, He’s not there. If He was still there, they’d be the first guys in line saying, “Sorry, folks, here He is. He didn’t raise from the dead. He’s right here.” Certainly, the Jewish leaders of the day who were trying to calm this rebellion, this new cult, as they thought it was, would have produced the body of Jesus and said, “See, folks, He’s still dead. We killed Him. We watched Him. He’s there.”

Let’s just say that the 11 disciples pulled off the most magnificent con of all time and they successfully stole away with the body and they hid it. And then they perpetrated the lie that Jesus had risen. So now you have all of the apostles, you have a group of 500 people all claiming that they’ve seen Jesus alive after they watched Him die. And not one of them cracked? Not one of them says, “Nah, I’m sorry. It was just a big goof. Sorry about that.” The apostles were beaten up. They were in prison and they were put to death because of their claim that Jesus was alive again. You mean to tell me as spikes are going into your hand and they’re nailing you to a cross, you’re going to die for a lie? Nobody, nobody’s going to die for a lie because it wasn’t a lie. Jesus rose from the grave and He showed Himself to be the Son of God.

And that’s why Jesus can make this claim and no one else can make this claim. He says, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Because of His teachings, because of His miracles, because of His resurrection, Jesus can make that claim. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Jesus issues an invitation. He says that He died for all of your sins. He says simply accept His gift, believe in Him as your Savior and forgiveness and eternal life is yours. But that’s the only way. “No one comes to the Father except through Jesus.” And that, my friends, is the absolute truth. Amen.