Isaiah 5:20-21; Judges 21:25; Romans 1:18-22
Summary: Isaiah confronted the nation of Judah for its spiritual depravity and worldviews that turned the nation into a complete disaster with no concept of right and wrong. The LORD called Isaiah as His chosen vessel to warn Judah and call them back to God.
“Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil, who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness, who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight!” (Isaiah 5:20-21, NASB).
In these two verses, Isaiah describes the attitude of the person or nation that has adopted the idea of a world without the direction and presence of God, instead choosing to embrace a worldview known as relativism. This is a philosophy that teaches that what may be true for one person may not necessarily be true for someone else. There is, then, no set or absolute standard by which one can decide if something is right or wrong. Relativism goes hand-in-hand with the last sentence of the book of Judges: “In those days there was no king. Everyone did what was right in their own eyes” (Judges 21:25, NASB).
Relativism is the essence of self and the idea that whatever one wants to do, that shall be the whole of the law. This is the foundation of satanism itself. Little wonder that the worship of the devil is growing exponentially in America and the world. It is the ultimate expression of self-esteem and the idea that one’s own ideas are superior to those of someone else, and to blazes with any alternatives or the consequences thereof.
When there is no set standard of law, behavior, ethics, morality, or other factors that govern the course of a civilization, there remains nothing but a mindless quagmire of varied thoughts and theories that do not help anyone nor give adequate solutions to problems. Good and evil are what one makes of it.
When God is removed from the fabric of a nation or the heart of a person, chaos always follows. All we have to do is look at the downward spiral our country has taken since 1962 when the Supreme Court sided with the atheist Madalyn Murray O’Hair and struck down both the reading of Scripture and teacher-led prayers in public schools in the 1963 case of Schempp v. Abington. Public schools today are headquarters for ideologies, causes, and indoctrination of radical, godless ideas and lifestyles that go against any sense of Bible-based morality and standards.
People who choose to “do their own thing” in opposition to God’s Word and counsel have abandoned any sense of clarity in their lives. The reason is that they refuse to embrace a biblical worldview and its standards that conflict with their own ideas and beliefs. However, when someone repents of their sins and rebellion against God and comes to Christ for salvation, it flies in the face of a world comfortable with their own self-centered ideology, which, in God’s sight, is totally degrading and immoral, leading to eternal consequences that condemn their souls to a real, literal hell, whether they want to believe it or not (Matthew 25; Luke 12:13-21, 16:19-31; Philippians 2:2-9; Hebrews 9:27; Revelation 20:1-15).
The cure for rebellious, relativistic thinking is the Gospel of Jesus Christ, period. The Gospel is like the sun; it melts wax and hardens clay. There will be hearts and minds closed to the message of salvation in Christ, choosing instead to be content in their world of self-centeredness and the moral cesspool in which they swim. Others will hear what the Bible has to say about the wages of sin and the price for rebellion (Romans 3:23, 6:23) and call to the LORD for mercy and grace, which He freely gives to anyone who comes to Him in faith (Matthew 11:28-20; John 10:28-30; Romans 10:9-10, 13).
Where do you stand? Have you been content with evil being called good and good evil? Are you tired of the world’s constant redefining of what is right and wrong? Are you tired of the growing self-centeredness and its bitter harvest of entitlement, greed, and lack of character? Are you tired of chasing the wind and reaping the whirlwinds? Do you want a strong, sturdy, and reliable standard by which to live and think?
Then I ask you to repent of your sins and give your life to Christ today. He will give you a new heart and outlook (2 Corinthians 5:17), along with the promise of eternal life (John 3:16, 14:6; Acts 4:12) and a new world to come free from the curse of sin, suffering, and shame.
Why would you want to remain stuck in the world’s confusion when Jesus Christ offers you certainty, assurance, mercy, and grace? Come to Him today and begin a new life under His perfect and loving rule.