The Raging War of Absolute Truth
by Christopher Hendrix
The war rages in Israel. As report after report comes out from the horrors and atrocities of Hamas and their surprise attack began on October 7th, the levels of depravity towards the Jewish people have not been seen on this scale since the Holocaust. In the age of smart phones, almost every person has a camera at hand ready to record every evil act committed. And many of these are immediately uploaded to the internet for all to see. The depraved human heart shines forth as Hamas clearly does not care about Just War Theory or the Geneva Conventions. They aim to commit mass murder of the innocent, to torture for the sake of torture, to rape for producing terror and destruction, and to mutilate babies who do not stand a fighting chance. Many in the world—at least those who have some semblance of morality left and have not been totally given over to a depraved mind (Rom. 1:28–32)—have rightly proclaimed these acts to be pure evil, an unadulterated and unblemished evil that derives from the pit of hell.
Watch Pastor Chris Hendrix’s sermon on 1 Peter 4:17-19.
But, an initial reaction to this evil from the world doesn’t mean those in the world have acknowledged morality only comes from God. The knee-jerk reaction simply means as image bearers, their moral compass still somewhat points towards righteousness as defined by God. Others in the media, and throughout the US, are proudly standing with Hamas, waving Palestinian flags and putting blame for these atrocities on Israel. Take note of these people, for Romans 1:32 is being lived out, and these are the very people that will destroy the American society. Those who are not so far gone and are calling evil for what it is still have to answer the question, why is this such great evil? And I still have to answer the question, what does this current event have to do with 1 Peter 4:17–18.
In this passage, the Christian suffering on Earth refines us towards holiness. In a sense, this is our ‘judgment.’ Put another way, this is as bad as it will get for us as Christians, so let us entrust our difficulties and hardships to God now while doing good to those around us. However, for the unbeliever, their outcome will be different. This life is as good as it will get for them. The ungodly and sinner still suffer in this life, but a greater suffering is coming when they stand before the Judge of all the Earth in judgement. Their outcome is exponentially greater, if it’s possible to exponent eternity. True justice, though we strive for it on this Earth, occurs before the Almighty Creator who rightly judges and punishes every wicked deed. There is no defense for the evil committed. There is no excuse. There is no pointing to the Quran to say that person was simply following what they were told in mass slaughtering. For even the writer of the Quran will be right next to those who followed the orders, facing the Judge as well.
As Christians, we know there is a future judgment coming, and the judgment won’t be based on sentiment, wavering feelings, or unclear statements. The judgment will be based on absolute truth found in the Word of God. This is how Christians in the present can identify evil, call it for what it is, react mournfully to it, and even answer the question why it is evil. Those not in the Christian worldview can identify the evil, call it out, also react mournfully, but they can’t answer why. This would require them to acknowledge the King and Judge of the Earth. This would require them to say that His Law is supreme and governs our world. This would require them to submit to God. But, their hardened hearts will not let this happen. So, for this reason, over the course of the next several weeks, emotions will die down, the rhetoric will cease, and the media will be directed to somewhere else. But, as Christians, we continue to mourn for the grievous sin we’ve seen. Why? Because unrighteousness and wickedness is raging, and this does not align with God’s character. The image of God is being mutilated, from the elderly to the youngest, and this breaks our hearts, angers us, and invokes a desire for justice. This stems from the Word of God which teaches us what is right and derives from our God given desire to glorify Him. As our world continues to rage the war against absolute truth, let us not only agree with the ungodly on calling the acts of Hamas evil, let us not only respond together with anger and sorrow, but let us call those around us to look to the source of understanding and fighting evil, the Triune God, His Word, and His Gospel. He is our only hope.