Ligonier Conference: Entry #4

I just heard one of the most important messages against relativism I've ever heard. John Piper preached on Matthew 21:23-27 where the chief priests and elders acted as de facto relativists in response to Christ's question about John the Baptist's ministry.

This message is going to posted in its entirety at Desiring God, so I will not post the fullness of my notes. But I do want to say that everyone needs to hear and meditate on this message. This post skips the order of preaching in the conference schedule, but I wanted to highlight these thoughts now while they're fresh in my mind.

Here is the basic outline of Piper's message:

Relativism is:

1. "There is No Objective Standard of Truth."
2. OR, "You cannot know an Objective Standard of Truth."
3. OR, "You cannot know what the Objective Standard of Truth Means."
4. OR, "I Don't Care If the Standard is There or What it Says."

The chief priests and elders were concerned to protect themselves from shame and harm, so they bent their view of truth.

Relativism:

1. Commits Treason Against God.

2. Cultivates Duplicity.

3. Conceals Doctrinal Defection: Language no longer is a hand-maiden of truth. It becomes a power-broker.

4. Cloaks Greed with Flattery.

5. Cloaks Pride with the Guise of Humility: I believe this section of the message is one of the most important points. It must be absorbed by the church and re-articulated to the world.

6. Enslaves People.

7. Leads to Brutal Totalitarianism: When everyone does what is right in their own eyes, anarchy is the result. The only two responses to anarchy are moral revival or dictatorship. The latter is what is developing in our world.

Again, the entire text of this message will be posted soon at Desiring God.

Get it.