You Have a Right to be Wrong: That Doesn't Make Wrong Right.
In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit! Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory forever!
Truth and error, right and wrong, exist. Yes, there can be differences of opinion on some issues, but on other issues it's either right or wrong: "For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you" (1 Corinthians 11:19, KJV). The Greek word is "haeresis" in this verse, correctly translated as "heresies," even though some modern translations render it as "factions" (NKJV) or "differences" (NIV): the latter makes it seem like St. Paul may merely be writing about minor, insignificant differences of opinion.
But look closely at the context: in verse 17 he writes - "Now in giving these instructions, I do not praise you, since you come together not for the better but for the worse." The phrase "for the better but for the worse" indicates clearly a matter of good or bad, right or wrong, not just a matter of opinion. And what is the result? In verse 20, St. Paul writes - "Therefore when you come together in one place, it is not to eat the Lord's Supper." In other words, they had turned the Holy Communion of the Lord's real Body and Blood (ch. 10:15-16) into a farce. And the consequence was: "For he who eats and drinks unworthily eats and drinks damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body" (v. 29).
The root meaning of the Greek word "haeresis" is choice, that is, (specifically) a party or (abstractly) disunion, a sect (Strong's Hebrew and Greek Dictionaries). So the idea that the freedom of choice ought to be absolute and that there's no right or wrong is a logical absurdity that leads to a party spirit, division, and disunity. To say that "Everything is relative and that's the absolute truth!" is a logical contradiction. Why? Because it requires an absolute standard to state that there are no absolute standards, that everything is relative. Certainly, some things are relative and variable, but in order to assign a value to those variables, it requires a fixed, absolute value. We should have learned in basic algebra that to solve a problem with multiple variables, you need a known value. Finding that fixed value isn't easy but it is possible ~~ and necessary!
This underscores the need for an authoritative, correct interpretation and application of the "measuring rod" (canon) of Holy Scripture. What or who would that be? To believe that any cowherd or any milkmaid can rightly interpret Scripture is just plain nonsense: that's why today we have over 20,000 mutually contradictory denominations, factions, and sects that all claim to be true Christianity. St. Peter wrote - "knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will [choice] of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit" (2 Peter 1:20-21). There cannot be private interpretations: the word "for" introduces the answer to the question of interpretation: just as it took holy men of God to record God's Word as they were moved by the Holy Spirit, it also takes holy men of God - those recognized as holy or "saints" in Christian tradition - to rightly interpret Scripture. The consensus of these holy Church Fathers is called Holy Tradition. Otherwise, we end up with heresies and sects multiplying like rabbits.
"God does not destroy the human freedom to plunge into error," - wrote St. John Chrysostom. And St. Vincent of Lerins wrote - "The overruling justice of God permits schism temporarily in order to strengthen and vindicate faith." But some will say - "We have liberty in Christ! That means we're free to choose whatever we want to do, to live however we want to live." St. Paul deals with this in chapters 4 and 5 of his letter to the Galatians: "But now after you have known God, or rather are known by God, how is it that you turn again to the weak and beggarly elements, to which you desire again to be in bondage?" (ch. 4:9). This refers to an excessive emphasis on legalism, on bondage to the Law of Moses.
At the other extreme, we shouldn't use "liberty" as a rationalization for immorality, but rather as the reason to serve one another: "For you, brothers, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another" (ch. 5:13). And St. Paul writes in Romans 6:16 - "Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one's slave whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?" Giving yourself over to "whatever feels good, do it!" isn't liberty, it's slavery to sin: true freedom is being free from the bondage to sin, it's the ability to freely choose what is right and good.
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There will always be people who insist on doing their own thing: "I'll do it my way!" has become America's theme song, almost its national anthem. They will persist in activities that they know are harmful to themselves or to society - smoking, drinking, overeating, sexual immorality, abortion - because they have "the right to choose." For them, the saying applies - "There's no cure for stupid!" You can't correct a person who refuses correction and instruction, who insists on remaining ignorant. God is right and true when He judges, even when people insist on their right to be wrong. St. John wrote in Revelation 16:5-11 -
"I heard the angel of the waters saying, 'You are righteous, Who are and Who were, You Holy One, because You have judged these things. For they poured out the blood of the saints and the prophets, and You have given them blood to drink. They deserve this.' I heard the altar saying, 'Yes, Lord God, the Almighty, true and righteous are Your judgments.' The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and it was given to him to scorch men with fire. People were scorched with great heat, and people blasphemed the name of God who has the power over these plagues. They didn't repent and give Him glory. The fifth poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom was darkened. They gnawed their tongues because of the pain, and they blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores. They didn't repent of their works."
Many people today believe that Christianity is just a myth, so they can continue doing their own thing and there will never be any consequences, any judgment. St. Peter wrote that - "in the last days mockers will come, walking after their own lusts, and saying, 'Where is the promise of His coming? For, from the day that the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.' For this they willfully forget, that there were heavens from of old, and an earth formed out of water and amid water, by the Word of God; by which means the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished. But the heavens that now are, and the earth, by the same Word have been stored up for fire, being reserved against the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men" (2 Peter 3:3-7). As God once judged the world by sending a flood, so will He judge the world by fire the next time:
"The Lord is not slow concerning His promise, as some count slowness; but is patient with us, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will be dissolved with fervent heat, and the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. Therefore since all these things are thus to be destroyed, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy living and godliness, looking for and earnestly desiring the coming of the day of God, by reason of which the heavens being on fire will be dissolved, and the elements will melt with fervent heat?" (2 Peter 3:9-12).
This may sound rather grim, but climate scientists have now come to the same conclusion: the world is heating up and we're having more and more wildfires all over the world. And what are people doing about it? Are they willing to change their lifestyle? Or are they saying - "We can keep on doing what we've been doing and life will keep on going on like it always has, nothing to worry about!" No! God is very patient with us humans, He doesn't wish for anyone to perish, but His patience is eventually and finally coming to an end. Then St. Peter warns his readers to be careful in trying to interpret St. Paul's writings "in which are some things hard to understand, which the ignorant and unsettled twist, as they also do to the other Scriptures, to their own destruction" (v. 16).
"But, according to His promise, we look for new heavens and a new earth, in which dwells righteousness. Therefore, beloved, seeing that you look for these things, be diligent to be found in peace, without blemish and blameless in His sight" (2 Peter 3:13-14). There's your happy ending!
In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit! Christ is among us! He is and ever shall be!
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This painting by Sir Alma Tadema in 1892, in the blog article