Do You Believe in Moral Absolutes?
Monday’s Verse:
From Isaiah 5:20 ESV
"Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!".
I was watching an episode of The West Wing on Sunday afternoon. It was from season three. President Bartlet believed wholeheartedly in moral absolutes. That things are just right or wrong. That’s one of the things I loved about that show. Not because I agreed with their liberal politics, but because President Bartlet always tried to frame what he was doing in light of whether it would be right or wrong.
I love wrestling through stuff to see if something is right or wrong, don’t you? For me, my beliefs about right and wrong are anchored in my trust in Jesus Christ. Like abortion. I believe in life… womb to tomb, and that God has called us as Christians to stand for and take care of life. Aborting a child in the mother’s womb is an evil that has been heaped on society, and we should stand up against it. The arguments about “choice” or “well, what if they can’t afford the child” fall flat when you realize that killing that life is wrong. Period.
Israel had forgotten these absolute truths. Isaiah’s contemporary society had begun to mix gray into God’s black-and-white. They made excuses for what God had already condemned. “Surely violence and oppression,” says Isaiah, “will never prevail in my holy mountain, says the Lord.” (Isaiah 1:25) Violence. Oppression. Killing innocents. Whatever our society ignores or excuses, God calls it what it is… sin. Isaiah’s word of judgment tells the Lord’s people that when we cheapen life or treat it as disposable, we are doing more than making a social mistake. We are labeling evil as good.
From Creation Scripture unfolds with the understanding that human life is a gift from God. We are created in His image. We are commanded not to murder, but to care for our neighbor’s physical needs. Luther reminds us that the Fifth Commandment not only addresses what we do but also how we think. “We are not to fight against or be hostile to our neighbors in our heart,” he says, “nor ridicule them, chatter about them, or wish them any evil.” Enmity, apathy, and thoughtless speech are all sins against those God calls us to protect.
God’s Judgment ends with a promise. Isaiah’s “woe” pronouncements cut to the heart of our sin. How easily we excuse anger or look the other way when others suffer. We rationalize our choices. We make them small. Someone else is to blame. But God’s Law is no respecter of excuses. It reveals our need for a Savior.
That Savior came in Christ. Jesus did not curse those who nailed Him to the cross. He took their sins upon Himself so that by His cross we might know forgiveness for failing to love our neighbors. In Christ, by His Spirit, we are renewed and learn to see life as God sees it. Sacred. Valuable. So valuable that He died for everyone.
Pray this week for your heart to be molded by God. Ask that you might see those who are vulnerable and have hands ready to serve. The world will continue to turn dark if Christians confuse darkness with light. But the Lord has commanded His people to shine brighter. To defend life, speak compassionately, and pick up our crosses.
✝️ A Prayer for Today:
Merciful Lord, shine Your light into my heart so my sin is ever before me. May Your Holy Spirit guide and direct me to do good to help my neighbor. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.
Apostles’ Creed:
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer:
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven; give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.
Luther’s Morning Prayer:
I thank You, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have kept me this night from all harm and danger; and I pray that You would keep me this day also from sin and every evil, that all my doings and life may please You. For into Your hands, I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things. Let Your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me. Amen.
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