Gene E. Veith (Prof., Concordia University, WI):
Today, modernism, though existing in certain isolated pockets, is all but 
over. The promises of reason, the notion that the human mind can engineer 
the perfect society, that science and technological progress can solve all 
problems, have faded in bitter disillusionment. The reasons for the passing 
of modernism are complex, ranging from the findings of technical 
scholarship to the practically universal disenchantment with the bloodshed, 
tyranny, and corruption of the 20th Century, that "modern age" looked to 
with such optimism by believers in progress. Around the time of the 1960's, 
academics were dismantling the claims of reason, and the general public 
turned away from the apparent meaninglessness of the objective world and 
began an inward quest for subjective fulfillment.
Today we hear casual epistemological statements that would stagger both 
classical and modernist philosophers. "That may be true for you," someone 
says in a discussion of religion, "but it isn't true for me." Every casual 
discussion seems to end with the mantra, "everyone is entitled to their own 
beliefs." The assumption is that everyone is locked into their own private 
virtual realities. Since there are no objective criteria for truth 
applicable to everyone, attempts to persuade someone to change his or her 
beliefs are interpreted as oppressive acts of power: "You have no right to 
impose your beliefs on someone else."
The language of rational assent is replaced by the language of aesthetics. 
Instead of saying "I agree with what that church teaches," people say, "I 
like that church." Instead of saying, "I believe in Jesus," people say, "I 
like Jesus." Of course, they usually do not "like" the Bible's teachings on 
sin, Hell, and judgment. What they do not like, they do not believe. Truth 
gives way to pleasure; the intellect is replaced by the will. When people 
exclude truth, basing their faith on what they enjoy and what they desire, 
they can believe in literally anything.
While relativism may be postmodern, it is not particularly new. The notion 
that truth is unknowable, that morality varies from culture to culture, and 
that there are no absolutes was first articulated in ancient Greece by the 
Sophists. In reaction, Socrates rose up to show that there are indeed 
absolutes, thereby, with Plato and Aristotle, founding classical 
philosophy.
When classical civilization was exhausted, relativism returned with the 
Stoics, Epicureans, and the cultural diversity of the Roman Empire. This 
may well be reflected in Pilate's comment, "What is truth?" (John 18:38), 
when the Truth was standing right in front of him. The era which 
entertained itself with sex and violence and tolerated all religions except 
Christianity turned out to be the greatest age of the Church, which not 
only remained faithful, but converted the whole Empire to Christ.
The early church was not market-driven. It did not make Christianity 
particularly user-friendly. Converts had to go through extensive, lengthy 
catechesis and examination before they were accepted for Baptism. In the 
ultimate barrier to new member assimilation, those who did become 
Christians faced the death penalty. Nevertheless, by the power of the Holy 
Spirit, the Church grew like wildfire.
The temptation to preach what people want to hear is always great, but 
today it has become in some circles almost a homiletical principle. My own 
pastor tells of attending a Church Growth conference in which he was told, 
"Don't preach sin anymore. People don't want to hear that. You need to give 
them a positive message." Of course, people have never wanted to hear about 
sin. Repentance hurts. And yet, people need to hear God's demands, 
particularly now in this age of moral relativism; we need to be convicted 
of sin, so that we can turn in faith to God's forgiveness in Jesus Christ.
Those who do not want to be told they are sinners have a special need to 
hear God's Law. Those who want to hear about how they can be happy need to 
hear about bearing the Cross. To be most relevant, a sermon should preach 
against the culture. The tendency today is to pick and choose teachings 
from the Bible that correspond to our likes and interests. But the test of 
following the Bible is accepting what goes against one's personal 
preferences. The Bible is thermostatic, humbling the exalted and exalting 
the humble (Luke 14:11), and so should our sermons be.
Ultimately, though, a sermon will contain only two messages: the Law and 
the Gospel. Each must convey the truths of God's Word. The truth of the Law 
must be preached in all its severity. The preaching of the Law is not mere 
moralism, however. The temptation is to water down God's transcendent, 
all-consuming demands so that they are more easily fulfilled. This only 
creates self-righteousness, which is the greatest barrier to faith in the 
Gospel. Moralistic preaching can easily become self-congratulatory, giving 
the congregation smug reassurance about how good they are. Such preaching 
creates not Christians but hypocrites. The preaching of God's objective, 
transcendent law, and its condemnation of the specific sins of relativism 
and self-righteousness is only a prelude to proclaiming the real solution 
to the postmodernist condition, the truth of the Gospel.
On the Cross, Truth was crucified, objectively, outside ourselves. With 
Him, our relativism, subjective experiences, and attempts to evade truth 
are put to death, nailed to that objective tree. In the same way, our 
sins-both our sinful actions and our sinful condition-are objectively 
removed from us. Ours is an objective Atonement, which means that we do not 
have to rely on our changeable moods and experiences, our illusions and 
petty choices. Because Jesus is the truth, we are liberated from our 
unstable, reinvented selves. When Jesus objectively rose from the dead, our 
salvation was won, not as a subjective interpretation, but as a fact.
Preach the truth of the Law and the truth of this Gospel, against all 
pressure, and the barriers against Christianity, no matter how formidable 
they seem, will, like the walls of Jericho, come tumbling down.
Sincerely in Christ,
Charlie Ray, 
Chaplain
1 Timothy 4:16
Watch you life and doctrine closely.  Persevere in them, because if you do, 
you will save both your
self and your hearers.  (NIV).
chaplain@isgroup.net
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 * WR  # 461 * Sola Fide, Sola Gratia, Sola Scriptura, Solus Christus.
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